Bird in Hand plans $30 million winery revamp
Adelaide Hills winery Bird in Hand has unveiled plans for a $30 million revamp of its Woodside property.
Picture: Mike Annese
The upgrade will include an exclusive 40-seat wine and culinary experience, art gallery, increased cellar door space, underground cellars, tasting rooms and landscaped gardens.
A development application has been lodged with Adelaide Hills Council and is out for public comment until this Friday.
Bird in Hand is hoping its application will be approved in the coming months so construction can begin early next year.
Founded in 1997 on a former dairy farm near the 19th-century Bird in Hand gold mine site, the family-owned winery released its first vintages in 2001 and now produces close to 90,000 cases a year. Bird in Hand exports wine to about 15 countries including China, the United States, Canada, Germany and the UK.
Founder Andrew Nugent says the project is the next step towards its goal of becoming one of the world’s leading wineries and a pre-eminent international tourist destination showcasing elite South Australian wine, produce, art and culture.
“We intend to create a space of global, cultural and artistic paramountcy that helps secure our state and region as an imperative on the world wine and tourism map,” he says.
“That means not only increasing our ability to cater for growing demand but also shining light on the outstanding winemakers, food producers, artists and designers that we nurture here.”
An artist’s impression of the redeveloped Bird in Hand winery.
The existing Bird in Hand winery features a cellar door, The Gallery restaurant, a smaller private dining and tasting room, and a larger area suitable for concerts and formal functions.
The company expects the revamp will create up to 50 sustainable, long-term jobs for the local community and will cater for up to 400 additional visitors to the region every day – on top of the more than 20,000 who currently visit Bird in Hand annually.
Nugent says the project aims to reciprocate the support Bird in Hand has received from South Australians and the Adelaide Hills community for so many years.
“It is a community we are so grateful to be a part of.”
This article was first published on The Lead.