It’s Saturday. You’ve had a tough week. You just want to relax in the sun with a glass of wine. But hey, maybe was a particularly tough week. How about we go one better? How about relaxing with 100 of South Australia’s leading wineries, some cider and a gin bar with some of your closest friends?

On Saturday March 24, we headed to Vardon Ave for the 2018 East End Wine Down. This little popup laneway fest was the perfect chillout zone, with flowing wines, sparkling ciders and generous gin pours. Fake grass lined the floors, a fantastic DJ and ample seating made the afternoon a great success. For a little crowded area, the East End Wine Down was cosy, comfortable and fun.

On entry each person was given a plastic wine glass and wristband. This allowed Wine Down goers an opportunity to chat with winemakers from around the region and sample their best wines for free. Wineries like Maxwell, Ngeringa, Langmeil and Lost Buoy offered a range of sweet, tart, crisp and spicy varieties. Non-wine drinkers could also enjoy Lobo cider or mead, and Never Never Juniper Gin.

We tried a whole range of wines – too many to even list! In particular, we enjoyed the red Three Gardens from Langmeil (Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre) – a smooth, spicy Italian style red, the Lobo mead – a super sweet honey mead, and the Juniper Gin – a crisp, citrusy summer treat.

Street food was available throughout the event and looked delicious. We opted for a medium-sized meat and cheese platter from the East End Cellars. For $45 this platter featured salami, jamon and three types of cheese. It was a perfect grazing dish to pair with our wine-filled afternoon and took us almost an hour to finish – very worth our while!

For a ticket price of $35 that included entertainment and free tastings, the East End Wine Down was an excellent way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. Keep an eye out for their next event down at the East End.

Words and Photos by Olivia Henry