Stay at a winery owned by a soft drinks giant

An iconic South Australian brand has opened a string of elegant suites at this McLaren Vale vineyard.

Beresford Estate in McLaren Vale.

When I lived overseas, the mere mention of Fritz, Golden North honey ice cream or Bickford’s Lime Juice Cordial made me misty eyed for home. All as South Australian as Stobie poles.

But especially Bickford’s, which began life in Adelaide in 1839 as a small apothecary, establishing a cordial factory three decades later. The company remains family owned but things have moved on from tinctures and sweet sodas (although lime cordial remains a summer staple in my household). Twenty-first century Bickford’s is a beverage polymath: spirits, beer, juices, soft drinks, iced coffee. And wine from its beautiful ­Beresford Estate nestled in the folded hills and vines of McLaren Vale, less than an hour from Adelaide.

Six months ago, the estate unveiled 15 luxury suites, a swish new base for exploring the cellar doors and pretty backroads of the vale, a captivating realm sandwiched between gently rolling hills and the sea. You know the weekend’s going to be fun when check-in takes place at a cellar door, although Beresford’s version is far more architectural than most, an elegant tasting pavilion that is the nerve centre for the 28ha estate, with the new suites fanning out either side.

The new accommodation at Beresford Estate.

Suite Number 5 is a sprawling retreat in soft gelato tones kitted out with every luxury imaginable, from a serious coffee machine to a full makeup table, even a styling wand, in the bedroom (the Kardashians may have had a hand in the interiors). The incredibly comfy bed comes with a remote control to raise the base for reading, the bathroom has a big Italian freestanding tub and vast shower, and the kitchenette has two fridges, one for wine.

But the real luxury is the view, through picture windows, over a private terrace with small circular plunge pool to the dam and beyond to Beresford’s shiraz and 65-year-old grenache vines. Cabernet vines swirl around the property’s original homestead (today a wedding venue), with its Tuscan-style bell tower. And way up atop the vine-cloaked hill is another new addition, The Vale restaurant and taphouse.

The level of investment is significant. The property reminds me of a sophisticated European or cashed-up Napa wine estate – until the grunting of a koala drifts down from the gum tree canopy and a riot of kookaburras swoops over the dam. It functions like a waterhole in Africa, a magnet for local wildlife, including kangaroos and a little family of wood ducks with 12 fluffy ducklings in tow. (I make it my responsibility to keep track of the large brood, counting them in and out, morning and evening.)

The airy new tasting pavilion at Beresford Estate.

Early morning, Mr Koala gazes benignly down at me as I set out on a pre-breakfast walk along a narrow gravel road crowded by bush to the top of a hill wearing a cluster of old Monterey pines like a toupee. Black cockatoos swoop over a little sign pointing to the Willunga Basin Trail. I strike out through wild olive trees and over a dry creek bed buried beneath thick eucalypts. Flocks of firetail finches rise from the dry grass, superb fairy wrens dance in the bush, lorikeets and magpies sing and chatter. This little slice of bush, snuggled alongside glistening green vines running all the way to the golden hills, makes for an evocative landscape, part Mediterranean, part bush.

The 130km Willunga Basin Trail traverses the ranges and vineyards, looping along the coast. I wish I had more time to explore but breakfast beckons, and my little kitchenette is stocked with an epic continental spread: muffins, ham and cheese croissants, local yoghurt, granola, chef-prepared fruit compotes. (Hot breakfasts are available on the weekends.)

Sleek bathrooms are a feature of the suites.

Beresford’s new accommodation wing includes six Grand Reserve Suites and nine studio-style Reserve Suites. The latter are slightly smaller, no bath, no plunge pool, but no less stylish. I’m smitten with my Grand Reserve set about with soft, curvaceous furniture, and a palette of pinks, caramels and pale mangoes plus leather banquettes and big TVs in the bedroom and living rooms. Everything happens at the press of a button: the blinds and curtains, the fancy gas fireplace (like an art installation), the Alessi kettle, and in the vast wardrobe, alongside the robes and slippers, a new-fangled steam iron. Very handy for wedding guests (this is a popular venue) whose glam wear has crinkled enroute.

The plunge pool and deck (with barbecue and sofa) make staying in tempting but if you do venture out for lunch, there’s no need to travel far, just to the top of the hill to the estate’s new restaurant. From tables on the terrace or beanbags on the lawn, the views are lovely, with glimpses of the ocean in one direction and Mount Lofty in the other. Chef John Rankin oversees an extensive menu of South Australian produce such as Mayura Station wagyu, Port Lincoln abalone and Spencer Gulf kingfish.

Suites look over a private terrace with small circular plunge pool to the dam.

If you’d like to explore further, McLaren Vale’s many cellar doors are within a few minutes’ drive, and the region has an especially good selection of restaurants, including the Salopian Inn with its large vegetable patch, the chic Muni in the pretty village of Willunga, and the charming Currant Shed, nestled between wine and orchard and within walking distance of Beresford.

But that’s only if you can tear yourself away from that luscious gelato suite with koala soundtrack and hot and cold running ducklings.

Christine McCabe was a guest of Beresford ­Estate.

In the know

Beresford Estate is at 252 Blewitt Springs Rd, McLaren Flat. Reserve Suites from $335; Grand Reserve Suites from $445. The Vale Restaurant is open seven days for lunch, Friday and Saturday for dinner.