Dandelion Vineyards has just unveiled its ‘Wonder Room’, a new 180-degree view cellar door at its McLaren Vale Home. Owner and winemaker, Elena Brooks, tells us more.

You’ve waited 15 years for this space to come to life…

Our dream was to have a Wonder Room – a place where our customers can experience our wines and their flavours, wonder about [where] they come from and what styles they’re made in. It’s a place where people can learn more about our trade and what we do, and feel free to ask silly questions. It had to be in a spectacular location, so Firehawk Farm was perfect.

How does a day at the cellar door unfold?

There are many places that our visitors can enjoy, from the colosseum steps to the recycled jetty harbour and the vast lawn. Our tastings are all sit-down and tutored by our Wonder Room staff. [The wines] represent the finest traditions of artisan winemaking at Dandelion Vineyards.

Tell us more about the design of the space – capturing panoramic views over Firehawk Farm must’ve been front of mind.

The Wonder Room [vision] was brought to life by Hank Kaas from Looka Design and Darren Jones from GT Building Group. It thoughtfully repurposes the footprint of the old tractor shed to create a space that seamlessly blends rustic features, warm tones and clean lines. With its extensive glass window façade and grand white amphitheatre-style sitting steps, the Wonder Room takes full advantage of the stunning natural landscape surrounding the Firehawk Farm vineyard.

You also appointed highly acclaimed chef Chris Bone to curate a selection of food from your estate-grown produce. How does his food philosophy pair with Dandelion Vineyards?

Dandelion Vineyards wines are perfumed, fruit dominant and most of all, regional. Chef Bone’s philosophy of food and approach to dishes is similar. He loves working with fresh produce and edible flowers, but, most importantly, local produce. My favourite dish is whipped butter with lutenitza, which is a Bulgarian roasted summer vegetable relish. The butter goes with the freshly baked sourdough bread and all of the wines perfectly.

You’re a well-respected and award-winning winemaker globally. How did you first get into winemaking?

When I was a young girl in Bulgaria, my mother worked in the local winery. The demise of the Eastern Bloc opened the door to an influx of Westerners interested in the age-old history of winemaking in Bulgaria. Many Australian winemakers visited and stayed at the winery, and as the only one able to speak English, I started helping translate after school. By the age of 12, I was interpreting barrel tastings with the winemakers, and by the age of 15 I had extensive wine knowledge and vocabulary in winemaking. At 16, I made my first batches of Chardonnay. I was accepted to The University of Adelaide to study winemaking, and the rest is history.

Is there a winemaking philosophy that underpins what you do at Dandelion Vineyards?

I like to describe Dandelion Vineyards’ wines as wines made from old vines for the modern palate. Wines that capture the way we drink wine, the way we eat food and the way we spend time with each other. That means fruit-forward, perfumed wines with a medium body and great acid and tannin structure.

Dandelion Vineyards
191 Chaffeys Road, McLaren Vale
08 8323 8979
dandelionvineyards.com.au
@dandelionvineyards