Pindarie — Attraction in Gomersal

Pindarie, on the western ridge of the Barossa, about 10 minutes drive from Tanunda, is a family owned sheep farm and boutique small batch wine producer. Tony and Wendy Brooks , 6th generation Barossan's have done an amazing job developing the property which in Aboriginal means "hilly place".The view that Pindarie commands certainly reflects the location. They have 87 acres of vineyard, including some delicious varietals like Tempranillo, Montepulciano & Sangiovese . Their winemaker, Peter Leske, is another Roseworthy graduate, with accolades and credentials from roles accross Europe, the US, and Australia. This year, 2022, sees another varietal, Fiano, in its first vintage, off 2.5 acres, being released , and early reports suggest its a ripper. We tasted wines from the Pindarie Estate range. The TSS blend ( 70% Tempranillo, 25% Sangiovese & a small amount of Shiraz) was a bronze medal winner at the Alternative Varieties Wine Show in 2021. The 2020 Risk Taker Tempranillo is a ripper of a wine, needing 8 years , however its drinking well already. Their 2019 Schoff's Hill cabernet, silver medallist at the Barossa Wine Show had 11 months in french oak, and is another keeper, if you can. The Black Hinge range are outstanding, all handpicked, and aged on wood for an extended period, like 14 to 16 months. The bonus for us was watching the sheep they run on the property as the young lambs were being tailed and tagged. Lunch at the estate is a delight, with a range of local dishes on offer, the lamb pie was...

Great outdoor area with view and play area for the kids, however customer service was a big let down. We walked into the venue, after waiting for at least 5 minutes at the entrance, no one came to seat us so we assumed it’s a find a table then order at the bar kind of venue. We found a table outside, no reserve sign, so we sat down and checked out the menu. Initially, we were only going to do wine tasting, but because our toddler was having fun playing in the play area and the view outside was lovely, we decided to order lunch as well. After about 20min a waitress came by and said that our table was actually reserved (they didn’t have enough reserved signs) so we would need to move inside. The way we were talked to though was very rude and quite humiliating. “How did you get in here? Did you just walk in and sit down? This table is reserved, that’s why there’s cutlery on the table.” The way she talked to us was like we were intruders. The way we were treated was such a big let down, especially after we had already ordered and paid for our pretty pricey meals and wine paddles. If they had just apologised, it would have been fine, but it was the telling off that was not...

We rang this winery from Nuriootpa and booked in for lunch outdoors in the garden for 2 people and our mini schnauzer puppy. Arrived at a nearly empty winery to be greeted by the little friendly winery dog in the garden and one table with three ladies who took straight away to our puppy. I walked inside for the menus and when just about to order, the assistent saw our dog and told us that the puppy was not welcome and that intact no animals are tolerated at this winery, except the owners own dog. I just about pleaded and explained there was no one in the garden and that he sits on his little mat on a leash. The assistent went to the owner in the kitchen to ask once more. The owner looked at me, did not come out, but sent her employee back to tell us to leave the winery. Dog owners beware you are not welcome here! We went on to Keller meister who welcomed us with open arms and a platter, wine and water bowl for puppy. Just as the many wineries in McLaren Vale. SHAME on you Pindarie. Hospitality is not your strongpoint. Don’t know about the wine as we were not allowed...