Somerled Cellar Door

Somerled Cellar door is located on the busy main street in Hahndorf. Sometimes I think this is a good thing and sometimes I think this is a bad thing. It is definitely a great place to expose your brand to many tourists. There are not many places in Adelaide that get this much traffic. However, sometimes I just want to be situated amongst the vines.
The Cellar door felt like walking into a French Café and is unique in the setting of Hahndorf. Hahndorf is traditionally German, so it is nice to stand out in the crowd. The music and ambiance was comfortable and jazzy. This cellar door has a humble feel and shows that they have confidence in the product.
Ok, so I am not an expert on wine. But what I do know a lot about from my hospitality background is about creating a customer experience. And Somerled really delivers. We were served our tasting from the owner’s daughter. Wow, what an honour. And of course she gave us a great insight into the story behind Somerled. She was very knowledgeable in the product and industry making references to production and viticulture.
The tasting experience was only $ 10 and was accompanied with smoked almonds. The stand out wine for me is the Shiraz. Really deep and flavoursome, without being too dry. Hints of spices and fruits and would be amazing with a lamb roast.
We were very impressed and will return.

South Australia is filled to the brim with vineyards and cellar doors and so it takes careful consideration to stand out from the crowds. Somerled have managed to do just that, with a small but thoughtful space that welcomes guests as if they were coming in to someone’s kitchen.
A tasting here will cost $ 10, but it’s a lovely affair and well worth the small spend. Pull up a seat at the bar and a tasting sheet will be set before you with notes and details about each of the wines you will taste. You’ll try 5 – 6 wines and also be given a small dish of smoked almonds that are made by the winemakers wife.
When I visited I was served by the winemakers daughter who was absolutely delightful and treated us like old friends. There was enough nerdy wine talk to keep it interesting, but not so much so that it felt overly serious. My kind of tasting!
The Shiraz was the standout for me with silky tannins and enough going on in the bottle to reward some time in the cellar. Now to patiently wait a few years…

The Moody’s are great hosts for a tasting of their great wine. Lucy and Neela will relax you and tell you all about Robyn’s great talent as a winemaker. They have some great museum stock — but don’t buy it as I’m working my way through it — from 2001 onwards. Great sparkling and Rose to complement the Shiraz!
I’m a bit biased as I live 100m away and am there all the time.
Enjoy the great hospitality

The sign read «Wine and Oysters»…finally a Cellar Door with something for me other than the odd beer! Somerled’s Cellar Door is located on Main Street in Hahndorf (happily straight across from Udder Delights Cheese).
Only a small place, but it has an outdoor area (serving breakfast and lunch) and a group area for small wine tours (like the one I was on). The tatsing, for groups anyway, is a bit more ‘hands on’ than in other cellar doors I have attended. One of the employees sits in with you and talks you through the experience, each of you with a scoring sheet for notes etc. Not being quite my cup of tea I skipped out as this was beginning and headed to the pub… I’m sure the wine was nice?!