Bird in Hand Winery: Keith enjoys the wines and the olives from this Adelaide Hills region winery in South Australia

Just over 10 years ago, a young South Australian grape grower was looking for a place to build his dream – a small but great international winery. He found it on an old dairy farm near Woodside in the Adelaide Hill – the Bird in hand Winery was born.

The old feed silos now proudly bear the winery’s name – and the produce from the winery beneath can be found in some of the finest wine merchants around the world.

The bloke who made his dream a reality is Andrew Nugent. The quiet unassuming persona of this family man belies his steely determination to make his Bird in Hand winery one of the world’s best.

And if the setting has anything to do with producing a good wine he’s well on the way. The rolling manicured vineyards skirting quintessential Australian redgums make a picture perfect Postcards location.

Since 1997 this one-time dairy farm has undergone a dramatic transformation. Wine barrels have replaced the cows in the milking shed and there’s a link with the old farm in the cellar door too.

Lynette McFarlane, Cellar Door Manager: “We’re standing in what was the yogurt making room and what we now use as our bench was a fridge that contained yogurts at the stage it was all being made. Before that the dairy fridge was used in the Royal Adelaide Hospital kitchen.”

‘Liquid gold’ comes from the land today but way back in the 1881 it was the real thing. The hills around here were studded with gold mines and one of the biggest, the Bird in Hand yielded 10 and a half thousand ounces of gold in just 8 years. But they didn’t get it all - current test drilling in the valley behind the winery is showing good signs for a modern mining operation.

But the Nugent’s are concentrating on what’s happening on the surface. The barrel hall is bulging with twenty different wines – including Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon – many named after other gold mines around the area – like Nest Egg and Two in the Bush.

But it’s not just wine on offer at the cellar door. Here you can taste three varieties of olives and two different oils. In sort of a chicken and egg scenario the olives actually came before the wine.

Lynette McFarlane, Cellar Door Manager: “The olives are what started our Bird in Hand brand. Our table olives have been fermented and cured to a special recipe that Andrew developed over a timeframe. We have Kalamata olives and we have the Manzanillo olives.

“There’s a strong connection between wine and olive oil – a lot of the climates are very similar.”

Justin Nugent, Bird in Hand Winery: “It is on Bird in Hand Road and we have the Bird in Hand goldmine. It is a wonderful concept we’ve got and we don’t want to let it go by chasing other wineries or other vineyards or other opportunities. Let’s concentrate on what we’ve got here in hand and make sure it’s a success.”

They’ve talked me into it – a Bird in the Hand is worth two in the bush particularly if they are both gold mines – or even better, delectable Adelaide Hills wines.

Bird in Hand Winery is on the corner of Bird in hand and Pfeiffer Roads, just outside Woodside. The Cellar Door is open Monday to Friday between 10 and 5. And on weekends from 11 til 5.

A new gallery suitable for functions and exhibitions will open in November and watch out for their concert series on the lawns – James Morrison will be there in February. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Bird in Hand
Cnr - Bird in Hand & Pfeiffer Roads,
Woodside
Ph 8389 9488

Cellar Door
Mon – Fri 10am – 5pm
Weekends 11am – 5pm.

Published 28th September 2008