Alpha Box & Dice

It’s McLaren Vales coolest kid on the block. An incredibly eclectic cellar door boasting vintage decor, pinball machines, mismatch everything and a huge cheese platters.

You’ll find it nestled in the heart of vale, surrounded by rows of vineyards and shady gum trees. Alpha Box & Dice is a small boutique winery, however the flavour of their wines is far from small. Tastings are always good fun at this cellar door, as you slowly work your way throughout their ‘alphabet’ of wines. You’ll find wines you’ve probably never heard of, let alone tasted, but thanks what AB&D does best. Their sparkling, Zaptung, is light and palatable and their reds pack a punch. My go to is their Tarot, or if you’re after something a bit left of centre, their Golden Mullet Fury, or orange wine, is one not to be missed.

Walking into the cellar door is like stumbling into your favourite antiques store- with the addition of a excellent playlist and staff who are attentive and passionate about what they do. You’ll find everything from velvet furniture, Polaroid cameras, eccentric art work and vintage vases dotted around the place- you could easily spent a hour or so looking at everything, or maybe that’s just me.

If you want to kick back after a tasting, there’s a combination of lounge chairs around coffee tables and long tressles inside, or small and large tables outside with views of the vineyard. When the weather is turning it on, grab a glass of bubbles, head to the table on the grass (and practically in the vines) and drink away. It’s easily the best seat in the house.

Other than being bloody good at making wine, these guys are also pretty handy at making a cheese platter. They used to offer DIY platters, but to be honest, their “Super Glory Deluxe Platter” trumps that and takes the cake. You can expect to see all the goodies on there, from locally sourced produce, soft, hard and blue cheeses, breads and crackers, fruits and cured meats. Basically all you could ever want. It could easily feed 4, but when 2 of my girlfriends and I visited we polished it off easily (we LOVE cheese though).

One other awesome thing about this winery is their They also offer their “Life Improvement Plan”- a wine subscription service, so you can get the good stuff delivered to your door. Perfect for those who are interstate, love suprise wine deliveries every few months or just cant be assed driving to the bottleo or Mclaren Vale.

If you a winery that’s casual and fun, but serious about wine, pop into this gem.

Their wines sell out quickly as they don’t mass produce so if you find one that you love be sure to snap it up or no doubt you’ll suffer buyers regret.

You can find Alpha Box & Dice at 8 Olivers Road, McLaren Vale.