Potential Wedding Venue? by Shane L

NOT INTERESTED!! Well firstly my partner and I live in Adelaide and currently looking for a small, rustic wedding venue. We have completed a little research and thought this venue could potentially work? We had an opportunity to visit the site on a Weekday not understanding it was closed. Upon entry the gardens outside the newly built shed were unkept and slightly untidy, so not as portrayed on other social media sites. We had a chance to pop our head in, so off course we did. We stood inside the door and were met with pure rudeness and a bad attitude, the person couldn't usher us off any quicker, we tried to explain our situation, but the person threw ridiculous costing at us whilst speaking on a mobile phone. Hospitality I wouldn't say is a high priority here, maybe try security control? I needed to share my experience, so If you wanted to visit this place maybe wear a helmet? Wouldnt even bother coming back for a tasting, not a positive experience...

Passion and Craft by Bobbie C

I visited with a group as part of short course on distilling run by Adelaide Uni. It was a very enjoyable and enlightening experience to tour the distillery and listen to the master distiller/owner, John talk about the all that went into getting it up and running and also his own pretty amazing background and connections.His passion for this craft is obvious when listening to him talk about it. I would highly recommend a visit, it’s a lovely location and the distillery is just beatiful.

Shocked at the Service We Received. by Aussie_750

We were not aware that there was a Distillery in McLaren Vale until we passed a sign on the way to a winery cellar door, so we decided to follow the signs and have a look. Being a fan of distilled spirits, I was excited to have a look at the distillery.We eventually found the place, after back tracking....the sign at the entrance was lying flat on the ground and was impossible to see while driving past but Navman to the rescue, a quick U-turn and we made it.We parked in a nice shady spot and walked into the 'Cellar door' which was empty, No one home. We called out but still nothing.I carefully opened and peered through a door in to the Distilling room and observed a 30ish year old chap, leaning on a bench, engrossed in his mobile phone. I asked if the Distillery was open.... the chap looked up from his phone, and made it well and truly known, with the expression on his face, that he was not happy about being disturbed. He casually sauntered over to us and we introduced ourselves and explained that we had been unaware of the Distillery but had dropped in for a look and a tasting.The reply to our introduction was to tell us - "I'm the only one here and I cant leave".... then "I've set this up as a tourism business - a tour of the distillery is $25.00 and it'll take about 45 minutes"No friendly welcome, no smiles, nothing....in fact, the most uncomfortable unwelcoming place we have ever visited in McLaren Vale. No offer of a tasting or explanation of the products on offer - the message was clear - Pay the $25 for the tour....or leave.In no uncertain terms, we were made to feel like an unwanted inconvenience - so with this arrogant, unfriendly attitude, we chose to leave.I would have been happy to have paid a 'tasting fee' but that was never offered, so we left knowing nothing about the distillery, and now, not wanting to know anything about it, or its products.A stark contrast to the Winery we had just left, where they were so friendly and welcoming it was like we were part of the family.If you are visiting the 'Vale', you wont be missing much if this is not on your list.A sour ending to an otherwise magnificent day in beautiful McLaren Vale.