Penny’s Hill Estate winery reveals huge expansion plan for larger cellar door, restaurant and ‘family friendly tourist village’

One of McLaren Vale’s best-known wineries is planning a $4m “village” expansion, including restaurant, pizza and beer garden and even a chocolate and ice cream factory.

A massive expansion at a beloved McLaren Vale winery includes a larger cellar door and restaurant, and a “tourist village” with an interactive chocolate and ice cream factory as a highlight.

Penny’s Hill Estate owner Warren Randall – who also owns Seppeltsfield in the Barossa – plans for a “family friendly, Australiana” market-type atmosphere, with four historic buildings on the 32ha winery reclad and renovated.

Detailed plans reveal a $4m cost but Mr Randall said by the time the buildings have been redone, the spend will be closer to $5m.

The expansion includes an evolved cellar door, new restaurant and an interactive, year-round ice cream and chocolate factory with glass viewing windows allowing a look into how the treats are made.

A function venue for up to 150 people, cafe, bakery with fresh bread, pizza and beer garden and distillery are part of the development, as well as gallery and exhibition space and extra carparking and even a segway track across the estate.

The northern end of the existing cellar door will be expanded with a new restaurant yet to be announced.

A render of the proposed new entrance facade to Penny's Hill winery. Picture: Supplied

An aerial image of the Penny's Hill Estate winery site as it currently looks. Picture: Supplied

Penny’s Hill has been closed for major renovations since February, when it received approval to turn a former stable into a gin bar.

Mr Randall bought Penny’s Hill Estate early last year and said his dream was for it to be known as “the Seppeltsfield of the south” – but aimed squarely at families with an Australiana feel, partly because of the “magnificent 300 red gum trees throughout the estate”.

“I want almost a market-type atmosphere, something family friendly, with a bakery, coffee, craft beer and whiskey, a distillery, artisan ice cream using Fleurieu milk,” he said.

The original coach house will become a gin distillery named Prohibition Gin, and the original stables a function centre – “on weekends a serving area for beer, cider, wine, coffee, pizza”.

There’s even plans for a petting zoo for the kids, one “highly visible to mum and dad sitting on the lawn having a beer or wine on a Saturday or a Sunday”.

A render of the proposed new Penny's Hill winery. Picture: Supplied

A render of the proposed new Penny's Hill winery. Picture: Supplied

“In many ways I honestly believe it’s more spectacular than what I was developing at Seppeltsfield because there’s a bigger platform,” Mr Randall said.

He’s all planning a viewing platform between two of the buildings, with a pergola area and views over vineyard towards the ocean.

He said he, former owner Tony ‘Parky’ Parkinson and Seppeltsfield landscape architect Brenton Hann spent about six weeks walking about estate developing ideas.

“We started with Parky’s original ideas for the property and used the experience gained with Brenton at Seppeltsfield to develop into what we see there now today – it’s taken 18 months to go to this stage,” he said.

Four original structures will be renovated and linked with walkways for the project.

“It’s not building as such, it’s more finessing and connecting and staying on Tony’s original brief and enhancing it with the Australiana family friendly-theme and adding the genius parts of Brenton Hann.

The proposed new outdoor pergola and walkway. Picture: Supplied

“We didn’t want to rush, force it, we wanted creative ideas to surface.”

Redevelopment plans have been submitted to Plan SA and are open for public consultation until Monday, December 11.

In October, Randall Wine Group also acquired the Gemtree organic wine brand in what the group’s executive chairman Mr Randall described as a gambit to “attract young consumers”.

“(Millennials) are more educated and aware, and have a greater appreciation of choices and the provenance of what they eat and drink,” Mr Randall said.

“They are more likely to seek and understand the winemaking techniques used to craft the wine they are buying and consuming.”

Penny’s Hill was founded in 1988 on the foothills east of McLaren Vale, and vines were planted in 1991.

More vineyards were bought in 1993, when the newly planted Malpas Road property was purchased, and in 1996, which was named Goss Corner.

In 1998, the original Goss family homestead, ‘Ingleburne’ was added to the Malpas and Goss properties to reconnect what had originally been one entire holding.

Originally published as Penny’s Hill Estate winery reveals huge expansion plan for larger cellar door, restaurant and ‘family friendly tourist village’