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Welcome to Clonakilla's brand new cellar door outside Canberra

Natasha Rudra

Inside the new Clonakilla cellar door and tasting room.
Inside the new Clonakilla cellar door and tasting room. Jay Cronan

For nearly 40 years, Canberrans heading to Clonakilla have slipped into a small stone-floored cellar door to taste new vintages and purchase a bottle of shiraz viognier. But in recent years it's become a bit of a squeeze as the winery racked up more awards for its wines and visitor numbers increased - 15,000 in the last year.

This week chief winemaker Tim Kirk and his family will open the doors to a brand new, much expanded cellar door and tasting room, a sign of how far the lauded Murrumbateman winery has come.

The original cellar door was built by Clonakilla's founder and owner John Kirk in the mid 1970s. "Dad built it with his sons helping him - he's got six boys. We gave him a bit of a hand," he says.

The new Clonakilla cellar door.
The new Clonakilla cellar door. Jay Cronan
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"It's with mixed feelings of course that we're going to be moving into the new place. For so many people their experience of Clonakilla wine is in that humble and rustic building. People love the rusticity of it and the fact that it was built by my dad by hand."

The new building is bright and airy, with a rustic facade made from the stone that lies under the winery soil and gives the Clonakilla grapes their distinctive terroir.

"The business keeps growing and the number of visitors keeps growing exponentially. We felt it really was time to build a whole new cellar door, with more room, more facilities. It really is a wonderful experience of being in cool climate wine country," Kirk says.

Inside the winery's new Cellar Door.
Inside the winery's new Cellar Door. Jay Cronan

The main feature bar in the cellar door is made from the curved ribs of Clonakilla's oak wine barrels, each coloured a deep ruby from the wine. It leads out to a covered patio set close to the vines, with a rose garden and outdoor bench seating.

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Timber framed floor-to-ceiling windows fill the room with light, with a modern stone fireplace dividing the wine bar from a more informal lounge area with sofas.

"Just occasionally, as hard as it it to believe, someone might come in whose spouse is not quite as nerdy about wine as they are. So this is the resting area, with an amazing open fire which will be perfect in winter," he says.

There will also be a display area for produce from the Murrumbateman area. "Some of my kids often have business ideas on what they can make, from Anzac biscuits to growing flowers," he says. "We want to celebrate local produce as well as local wines."

There's also a private tasting room with state of the art, inbuilt wine spittoons (press button to rinse), and expanded offices for the winemakers.

And a new commercial kitchen will allow Clonakilla to host its own wine launches and vintage nights.

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"We're really thrilled and I think it's a bit of a statement about where Clonakilla has come to and where we've come from. But it's also I think a real vote of confidence in this Canberra district as a wine region," Kirk says.

He says the winery has been blessed to have such a good run. "It's been an amazing ride. We have to pinch ourselves, it's hard to believe it's come as far as it has in the time that it's had."

Clonakilla opens the new cellar door to the public this weekend, March 12-13, with a bit of a party. 3 Crisps Lane, Murrumbateman.

Know a new restaurant, cafe or venue opening in Canberra or the region? Tell us at food.wine@canberratimes.com.au

Default avatarNatasha Rudra is an online editor at The Australian Financial Review based in London. She was the life and entertainment editor at The Canberra Times.

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