Mount Surmon Vineyard, Restaurant & Retreat: Clare Valley in the Mid North of South Australia
The Clare Valley has long been a magnet for artists - all intent on capturing the changing seasons and colours of this world renowned wine growing region. As you meander through the district make sure you drop into Corella Hill studio at Watervale, where Murray Edwards' impressions of the Valley take centre stage. Then again, the Burra Regional Gallery usually contains a selection of the works of local artists all striving to capture that special something that is the mid north. And should you head just north of Clare to Mount Surmon you'll come across the latest addition to the Valley's unique blend of art and wine.
The day we dropped in Adelaide artist John Illsley had commandeered a special spot in the car park.
For the past fifty years this man has combined his two passions: interpreting this state's distinctive landscapes in watercolours and travelling the state's many back roads as a stock agent and photographer for Rural Press.
“I prefer the north. I think the reds and the ochres and the oranges... I just like capturing that harshness that's up here. I can see beauty in a lot of it.”
And it shows. On the walls of Scarlatties Cellar Door Gallery hang a collection of woolsheds, barns and cottages. Enough to whet the appetite for any traveller setting their compass for north of Clare.
“It reflects on the pioneers of the country and how hard it would have been for them. And a lot of the old buildings are dry stone buildings and a lot of them are still standing.”
From Mount Surmon you can still take in these vistas of yesteryear but the winery's tasting area, gallery and downstairs retreat are anything but heritage. The emphasis here is on minimalist architecture and bold and modern colours. Burt and Jeni Surmon fell in love with the Clare Valley while escaping from a major restoration project on an old villa back in Adelaide.
“The penny suddenly dropped. This is where we needed to spend the rest of our lives. So it was a seachange.”
The colours used here reflect the vibrant golds of the local canola crops and the vines in autumn, while the purples hark back to the days when these two vignerons were pulling out Salvation Jane and establishing rows of shiraz and cabernet merlot.
“That was an absolutely romantic dream. We then had to find a property. We found this property which was eighty four acres all up. It was just a paddock divided into four by a rusty old barbed wire fence. That was ten years ago and nine years ago we moved up here into the galvanised iron shed down the hill and lived there for six months while the house was being built. And while we were planting the first twenty acres. We worked those twenty acres for three years and let me tell you it's a lot of hard work. There's a romance in the background but when you're actually hoeing the weeds out that's a lot of hard yakka.”
So from hard yakka to the fulfillment of a dream, Burt and Jeni's blend of wine, art and stunning views is Fridays and weekends. Mount Surmon Vineyard, Gallery and Retreat is located about six kilometres north of Clare on the road to Jamestown. Just look for the sign. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards.sa.com.au
