MOST CLARE VALLEY days involve a fair bit of driving between stops. Pikes doesn’t. The wine, the beer and the restaurant all sit on the one property at the Polish Hill River Estate, which is how people arrive at eleven and find themselves still there at three.
Start in the tasting room, seated, with the estate-grown wines the Pike family are known for. Riesling, then Shiraz, Cabernet and Sangiovese, with a few other varieties along the way. Tasting them on the ground they came from is a different thing to tasting them at home.
Next door is Pikes Beer Co. Same estate, different mood entirely. There’s the core range, limited releases that don’t travel far past the tap room, and a beer garden where a casual bite and an hour or two disappear easily enough.
Lunch is at SLATE, which holds a chef’s hat and looks out across the vineyards. The modern Australian menu runs on seasonal regional produce, some of it from the kitchen garden, with dishes matched to Pikes wines and the beers from next door. Sit on that side of the room and you won’t be in a hurry to leave.
There are also a few experiences that go further behind the scenes: a premium Private Cellar Tasting with canapés, a guided brewery tour, the Kitchen Pass at SLATE, or the Pruner’s Hut Private Lunch, four courses in a private hilltop setting above the vines.
To book tastings, dining and experiences: pikeswines.com.au
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