Bay of Shoals vineyard, winery and cellar door offer spectacular views, proximity to Kangaroo Island airport, hamper lunches, cellar door tastings and wine sales – all just five minutes out of Kingscote. We overlook the Bay of Shoals and Reeves Point, the site of the first settlement in South Australia, and our cellar door is open from 11am to 5pm daily.

If you are visiting Kangaroo Island we invite you to come in for a memorable tasting experience. We offer wines that are sophisticated, yet approachable, and make a range of varietals to suit any occasion. Also, on offer are local produce hampers and wine-by-the-glass sales from our cellar door. There is ample seating in our garden overlooking the vineyards and the Bay.

When visiting our cellar door you can taste our wine varietals, including Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Rose, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Island Blend, Tawny and Vintage Fortified.

Bay of Shoals cellar door was designed by artist Bernie Walsh, the creator of our distinctive pelican labels. The original pelican has become widely known, and coupled with the unique setting of the winery among the vines, with magical sea views, we can provide you with a wonderful wine tasting experience.

E X T R A   H E A D I N G

HISTORY

Bay of Shoals is located on Reeves farm which was part of the first land subdivision shown in South Australia.

South Australia’s settlement began at Reeves Point on 27 July 1836. Augustus Reeves was the pioneer who farmed and built his home on the saddle of the hill overlooking the Bay of Shoals. This homestead is now heritage-listed and commonly known as Reeves Cottage.

Owner John Willoughby has a passion for sailing, handed down from his father who sailed on the Nerida with winemaker Tom Hardy in the 1930s. Nerida won the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in 1950 and was the only South Australian boat to have accomplished this honour for the next 50 years.

John’s yacht Enchantress won the Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster yacht race in 2010 and was the first South Australian yacht to achieve this since Kangaroo Island’s Jamie Cowell achieved this feat in 1983 in his yacht Morning Hustler.

Visitors to Bay of Shoals will find endless nautical delights. John has assembled an impressive array of old traditional wooden boats built with planks and copper nails and caulking. There are charts from the Nerida dating back to surveys from 1874, and the chronometer from the SS Karatta which served Kangaroo Island as a ferry from 1910 to 1960. There is an octant from Captain Cook’s era, ropes and sailing gear from the Bark Endeavour replica which John’s son sailed around the world. He recently completely replaced all the rope rigging. The walls of the cellar door are decorated with old timber spars of oregon and spruce and glass buoys. Outdoors are slipping cradles, windlasses and derricks, ketch masts and booms from the historic Searles boatyard which was demolished in 2010.

Bay of Shoals celebrated the opening of its Cellar Door and Winery on Easter Saturday 2006. The winery commenced operation with the 2007 vintage and there are future plans for a gallery cafe and a marina, complete with a foreshore museum of old boats for the sailors visiting Kangaroo Island.

Discounts and showers are available to sailors who arrive by yacht – contact cellar door staff for more information.

VINEYARD

Our vineyard is located on the property at Bay of Shoals, just north of Kingscote, Kangaroo Island.

In 1992 we put in a nursery bed of cuttings and the resultant rootlings were planted in 1993. Our first harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon was in 1998, Chardonnay followed in 1999, Shiraz in 2000, Riesling in 2001 and Sauvignon Blanc in 2004.

More recently we have planted Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Savagnin which were harvested for the first time in 2012.

The majority of our vines are now on rootstock to improve drought resistance, saline tolerance and provide us protection against phylloxera.

We have doubled the density of our plantings to reflect the European style, planting the vines one metre apart, with the expectation that this will result in greater consistency and quality of the wines. The climate is Mediterranean, modified by our coastal location, giving a true maritime environment which leads to a slower ripening period with enhanced flavours and protects against extremes of temperature. To date, we have never experienced a frost.

Our beach block Shiraz cuttings were taken from Penfolds Magill Estate vineyard and were sailed to the Island in Enchantress into the teeth of a sou’westerly gale.

Our Riesling vines are 30m from waters-edge and thought to be the closest to the sea in the Southern Hemisphere.