Alpha Box & Dice

Great wine, the Grenache was standout. Friendly helpful staff and cute quirky tasting room, much less mainstream feel. Very cool and stellar wine.

As eclectic as it comes with old furniture, a piano, and pinball machines. Definitely a much younger clientele than any other cellar door we visited. The tasting area is pretty large and there is a side room to hang out or imbibe in purchased bottles.
We were here on a Saturday around noon when it was very busy. There weren’t nearly enough hosts on hand to pour *and* provide even limited info on the wines. Add to that that the side room was full with with ‘young kids’ being loud and getting drunk, this was memorable for the wrong reasons.
Note: review and rating is for cellar-​door *experience* only. The wines we tasted were good.

We have bought Alpha Box & Dice wine from the bottle shop before, but haven’t actually visited here … again, because it’s so popular with hipsters and wannabes alike, that has put me off. But I spied on Instagram a photo of their new drop, Siren Nero D’Avola, and felt I just had to buy a bottle :)
We arrived here right before the hoards arrived… the girl who served us was amazing and very knowledgeable about the wines. The place itself is what you would typically expect from a hipster haunt, everything quite deliberately and appealingly scruffy — gorgeous! By the time we were trying our third wine, the place was getting packed … on our left were tourist from Brisbane, and on our right from France. Well, McLaren Vale is a popular hotspot (as it should be!).
We ended up buying that gorgeous bottle of wine, as well as a couple of Alpha Box & Dice glasses — their designer is a genius, everything is beautifully presented! Another thing I love about this place is that it is not only for wine tasting and buying bottles, but they have the wines by the glass as well, so you can sit and relax with a glass on one of the couches.
We will definitely be visiting here again!

The first thing you notice about this place is the odd collection of unusual items all about the tasting room (that’s «cellar door» in Australian) including quirky furniture, an old piano and two vintage pinball machines over in the corner. This is a place with personality.
Their wines also had lots of personality. In fact the three wines we tasted were all interesting mashups of Spanish, Italian and French varietal — blends that were quite unique and had personality. For example, Blends with Grenache, Shiraz, and Tempranillo, barberra+cab, Viognier+Sauvignon Blanc. All were interesting and quite one of a kind. We’ve tasted wines in Napa, Sonoma, France and Italy and never come across anything quite like these wines.
Interesting blends and a really quirky winery make this a place that deserves a stop on your wine tasting itinerary in McLaren Vale.

Now I know my ABC’s, won’t you come and drink with me?
Aiming to produce a wine for every letter of the alphabet, and with a philosophy of producing «wines without boundaries — regional, varietal or stylistic,» these guys hit the nail on the head in my books. They produce small batch, unusual varietals that you wouldn’t be used to but that are still temperate to the Vale wine region. Justin Lane is the winemaker apparently, but someone else can give you the spiel on here about that stuff.
As you may be able to tell, I am a bit of an Alpha Box & Dice groupie so when I rocked up to see their shed covered in funky sign writing, full of old knick knacks, skulls, pinball machines and tattooed cellar door staff I wet myself a little with excitement. The labels aren’t just winester cool, they deliver the whole package!
My group of friends and I were very encouraged by staff to try all of the wines available, and by the 5^th or boldly flavoured, smack your lips blend I had to tap out. A lot of the wines we bought at the time (a year ago) are now sold out (favs included the Rebel Rebel Montepulciano and Enigma Barbara) and they are now onto another 4 or so by the looks of their website. So my recommendation? Get to this cellar door if you fancy something different, boutique and limited edition (all of Kanye’s favs) in the Vale.

What a fun cellar door! The décor here is so interesting you almost forget how good what you are drinking is!
Think sugar skulls, tarot cards, antique jars & oddly enough a handful of trinkets with Jesus on them.
AB&D make some really quirky and interesting blends which their cellar door staff are more than happy to talk you through.
The staff are friendly, charismatic, flamboyant and somehow know exactly where the line is to still maintain the right amount of professionalism.
This is a great cellar door to take first-​time wine tasters for a few reasons:
1 — It’s so relaxed and there is not an ounce of pretentious wine snobbery here — ask any question you like
2 — A range of products at different price points, no need to dig to deep if you don’t know exactly what it is that you are buying
3 — Pretty labels, if you don’t know varieties give the frowned upon theory of «Judge a wine by its label» a go
4 — If it turns out wine isn’t their thing, soaking up all of the décor and trinkets will keep them entertained while you sip away
For those who are a little more familiar with wine, there is still a long list of reasons you should go (some of them are the same as above) but the biggie is that you will probably find a variety or a blend here that you have not tried before.
When in McLaren Vale, I strongly encourage a visit to this almost hipster, alternative cellar door.

I was torn between a 3 or4 star rating… and let me tell you why…
We visited Alpha Box & Dice on a very busy day — and we knew this would be the case; they were holding one of their very popular events there. It was awesome — plenty of food options, a band, lots of great atmosphere and plenty of drink options — try the wine, the sangria or even some Mexican beer! The event was great and we could not fault it — albeit a stark contrast from some of the quieter wineries we had visited earlier.
The clientele was brimming with bright young things — people who like to be seen in the right place by the right people. Maybe a little hipster? Maybe a little fashionable… call it what you want, these are people who like to think they have taste. That being said… I’m not sure they have the best taste when it comes to wine because, having tasted all the wines here I can honestly say that there was not one that I liked — and I am usually easily pleased with wines. Sure the labels were cool and the names interesting but the taste… not so much. The friendly staff were telling me of how the wines are created — a blend of varieties from a blend of vintages; I know that other brands do this to a degree, but I feel like this place is trying to create a wine that is ‘out there’ unique’ and ‘different’ but just getting it oh so wrong.
Correct me if I’m wrong — maybe I don’t have the right taste for wine… I mean I only grew up on the stuff — being an Adelaide Hill Native and all… but your wines didn’t do it for me. Otherwise, great quirky and fun location with very helpful staff!!!

Alpha Box & Dice is the new kid on the Mclaren Vale block and is the flavour of the month/​year among Adelaide coolster wine geeks. They’ve moved into the old settlement wines cellar door location, opposite Maxwells and are open weekends. This is a Friday to Sunday establishment 10am — 5pm, unless you want to make a time ‘by appointment’.
They also sport some of the best bottle designs in the business and are making quirky, complex wines for adventurous palettes. Everything about this operation is a little eccentric, so to titilate you just a little below are the wines currently listed on their website;
Apostle — 2009, Shiraz (73%), Durif (27%)
Blood of Jupiter — 2007, Sangiovese (85%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%)
Changing Lanes — 2005, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon
Dead Winemakers Society — 2010, Dolcetto
Enigma — 2009, Barbera (65%), Cabernet Sauvignon (35%)
Fog — 2006, Nebbiolo (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), Tannat (10%)
Golden Mullet Fury — 2009, Mascadelle (50%), Chardonnay (50%)
Tarot, 2008 — Grenache