It’s time to toast Kangaroo Island wines and gin – and meet Drinky Bill the koala
Kangaroo Island celebrates nature’s gifts — and that includes its wines and spirits.
THERE’S a thrill in discovering new wines and along with them their emerging regions, and certainly that applies to Kangaroo Island.
I doubt most people head there because of its wines; most likely it’s more about the nature of the place, its beaches, sea lions and koalas.
Sure there’s a buzz about its seafood, honey and cheeses among other boutique foods, but there’s also a lot to say for its small and enthusiastic wine businesses, as well as highly regarded Kangaroo Island Spirits, whose distillery near the airport is a must visit for cocktails, coffee and terrific tasting bench.
In a place like KI, these are important tourist attractions, boosted further in the past six months with the opening of several restaurants and cellar doors that serve regionally produced wines.
Both Amadio Wines Kangaroo Island Trading Company (wines) and Islander Estate Vineyards have opened their doors, the first right in the middle of Kingscote in a heritage corner building at the Dauncey and Commercial St intersection where you can enjoy tapas as well as the KITC island-made wines and Amadio wines from the Adelaide Hills.
Many of the island’s winemakers back cabernet sauvignon as their shining red, and that’s certainly the case with the Kangaroo Island Trading Company 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon ($39) with its delicate herbaceous waft, its classic black berry profile, cloak of subtle mocha and delightful fine boned texture in the finish.
The Islander Estate Vineyards crew, driven by French flying winemaker Jacques Lurton and his man on the ground here Yale Norris, grow and craft their wines near Parndana and have now opened a cellar door at Cygnet River. They, too, celebrate the maritime climate- loving cabernet realm – try their cabernet franc driven reds, malbec, and also the IEV Wally White 2015 Semillon ($35).
There’s also a new generation picking up on the excitement of an untapped region, with Nick and Rebecca Dugmore’s The Stoke Wines adding a breath of fresh air.
They tap into The Islander Estate Vineyard for their delicious The Stoke 2017 Sangiovese ($30), a sangio rose, as well as a couple of other reds available at the Penneshaw Hotel and the new
Table 88 tapas bar at Stokes Bay.
Notably, they subtitle their KI bottles “Wines of Paradise”. How fitting.
