The Station Kapunda – Review

Pull up at this sanctuary outside Adelaide for a laid-back wine weekend.

The last steam engine may have left Kapunda’s grand Italianate train station decades ago but this sprawling property, about an hour north of Adelaide, still manages to evoke the golden era of rail travel.

Lofty ceilings and large windows accentuate the feeling of spaciousness in the 160-year-old building, which, at 91 metres, is large enough to turn a game of hide-and-seek into an all-day affair. And vestiges of its past life are visible everywhere, from the gold lettering on the ticket office to a former tearoom (complete with wood stove) that has been converted into one of seven bedrooms.

But pride of place goes to the preserved railway platform out back, where a long table with plenty of space for 14 guests renders the dining room obsolete. Even in the height of summer, an overhead mister keeps things cool as the sweet smell of trellised jasmine washes over the platform and the sky turns burnt-orange at dusk. On the other side of the building, a shady arcaded verandah looks onto a 12-metre pool and a cellar that’s been turned into a reading room for anyone needing some alone time.

The small township of Kapunda is just 20 minutes from the nearest Barossa Valley wineries and less than an hour from the Clare Valley. But if that seems too far to travel, head for the main street, where Coven Wine Room showcases vibrant minimal intervention wines including an amphora-fermented grenache.

And because nobody wants to spend their holiday shopping, the owners will fill the pantry and even organise someone to fire up the pizza oven and cook. Then all you need to do is grab a handful of garnishes from the flourishing herb garden, sit back and enjoy life in first class.