Cafe development planned at Willow Point Wines
A blink-and-you'll-miss-it bottle shop on Jervois Road will soon offer a complete cellar door experience with River Murray views.
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The only cellar door on the Lower Murray is about to get a bit fancier.
The owners of Willow Point Wines plan to transform the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bottle shop on Jervois Road into a 150-seat cafe and retail outlet.
At present, about a dozen people at once can fit into the cafe at the front of the building for coffee and a scone.
They can’t actually sit and have a glass of wine – the venue’s liquor license is only for tastings and takeaway sales at this stage.
That would change with the new development: a cafe featuring a deck with views of the vineyard behind it, and the River Murray and Monteith in the distance.
A larger car park would also be built on site, and other landscaping work carried out to improve its visibility from the road.
Cellar door manager Renee Meyer said the locals she had spoken to had been excited about the proposal.
Willow Point Wines is in its 50th year this year, following the establishment of the vineyard and cellar door at White Sands by the late Lloyd Light in 1972.
It was bought by prominent South Australian businessman Robert Gerard in 1997, then sold on to Peter and Jenny Hurley – owners of eight hotels around the state – in 2005.
It remains the only cellar door in the Murraylands – locals would otherwise have to drive to Langhorne Creek, or further afield, for a wine tasting.
Members of the public are invited to have their say about the proposed development by 11.59pm this Wednesday, September 14.
Feedback will be passed on to the Murray Bridge council’s assessment panel.
If approved, construction would likely start sometime in 2023.
- Have your say: Fill in the form at plan.sa.gov.au before 11.59pm on Wednesday.
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