The term 'Cellar Door' is very much an Australian term, not used much throughout the world. Used in relation to wineries, it is a mysterious phrase which conjures up visions of a wooden trapdoor in the ground leading down to a dark and mysterious cellar, lined with racks and racks of dusty bottles of wine. The sun's rays peeking through the air vents bounce off the floating dust that has been disturbed for the first time in years. Very romantic sounding in our musings, and quite likely very much describing the original cellar doors.
Historically, wine cellars were underground rooms where wine was made and stored due to the stable, cool environment it offered. These rooms were often connected by tunnels, with large wineries having a veritable maze of rooms connected by tunnels. Customers would come to the cellar door to purchase their wine, knocking to grab the attention of the wine makers.
What
started from very humble beginnings has evolved into a thriving industry. There are approximately 1600 Cellar Doors across Australia, which are no longer classed
as the door to the winery. These days, in Australian wineries the Cellar Door is usually a stand-alone building
where you can go to sample and purchase wine. Sampling the wine, known as tastings, allows you to sample a variety of wines without purchasing the whole bottle. The Cellar Door, although forming part of the winery, is distinctly different to a winery. The winery is the part that makes the wines, whereas the Cellar Door is the part that markets the wines to the public. Not all wineries operate this way - some just produce wines.
Tastings
are usually conducted by someone who can tell you the flavour profile of the
wine, the best food pairings, as well as some of the history of the winery. Sometimes free, some wineries also charge a small fee for this. As well, some Cellar Doors offer tasting platters - a cheese board, or the more diverse charcuterie.
Visiting a Cellar Door is a great experience, especially when it comes to smaller boutique wineries. As not all wines are offered in stores, a visit to a winery offers a wonderful opportunity to expand your collection with wines that are locally produced.
