Wedding Venues · Limestone Coast / Mount Gambier, South Australia · Visit in person

Bellwether Wines

About

Overview & Vibe

A boutique winery in a restored 1860s stone woolshed on the Riddoch Highway at Coonawarra, on Boandik country. Bellwether does one kind of wedding and does it deliberately: micro-weddings and elopements, ten people maximum including the couple. The pitch is unusually direct — “if you would prefer to spend your money on your honeymoon or other life priorities” — and the whole thing comes as one published price.

Setting & Style

You arrive past 1,000-year-old red gums and are met, the winery warns, by Mabel the maremma who guards the chickens. Ring the bell, slide the old wooden door in a stone archway built by Chinese migrants en route to the goldfields, and you are in the tasting room. The buildings are the leftovers of the district’s wool money, now a working winery, a produce garden, a kitchen and a campground. Beds are bell tents pitched a hundred metres or more apart under the gums, with a central communal campfire.

Ideal For

Two people, or two people and eight of the ones they like most — who want the day organised end to end, want it to be about the food and wine, and would rather not spend twenty thousand dollars.

The Need-to-Knows

The whole package is $6,500 and the whole package is published. It covers a ceremony location, a celebrant, hair and makeup for the couple, a photographer, a chef-cooked meal for two, the wines, and a glamping tent for two nights — the night before and the night after.
Ten people, hard. “A special elopement package just for two, or you can add a few family or friends, maximum including the couple — ten.”
Extra guests are welcome but not catered. Their food, accommodation and drinks are explicitly outside the $6,500.
Monday to Thursday only, and not over public holidays or South Australian or Victorian school holidays.
Guests sleep in bell tents. Five unpowered glamping tents and six powered campsites, at $200 a night for a queen or twin (minimum two nights, wine tasting for two included), $125 for a single person in a twin. Glampers get fresh eggs and sourdough on arrival. The amenities are better than that sounds — seven showers, six toilets, a disabled shower and toilet, and a claw-foot bath.
It is a farm. Sheep, chickens and cows. Dogs are welcome on a lead. The cellar door closes for the whole of August and on Christmas Day.

Standout Feature

A complete two-night elopement — celebrant, photographer, dinner, wine and a bell tent under thousand-year-old red gums — for one published price.

Amenities

Restored 1860s Stone Woolshed
Stone Archway Built By Chinese Goldfields Migrants
Boutique Winery On Site
Cellar Door Tasting Room
Produce Garden
Camp Kitchen
Central Communal Campfire
1000 Year Old Red Gums
Glamping Bell Tents
Powered Campsites
Claw Foot Bath
Disabled Shower And Toilet
Chef Cooked Meals
Celebrant Arranged
Hair And Makeup For The Couple Arranged
Photographer Arranged
Estate Wines Included
Exclusive Guest Wine Tasting
Dog Friendly On Lead
Working Farm With Sheep Chickens And Cows
Vintage Experience February To April
Gourmet Traveller Wine Star Cellar Door

Ceremony Setting

outdoor
winery
garden
bushland
historic stone building

Dietary Options Supported

No details available.

Nearby Landmarks

Coonawarra – The Terra Rossa wine strip the winery sits on
Penola – The region's main town, minutes away
Naracoorte Caves – World-heritage fossil caves, twenty minutes up the road
Mount Gambier and the Blue Lake – Fifty minutes south, past the sinkholes
Robe – Historic seaside fishing town on the Limestone Coast
Beachport – The second of the old coastal towns west of here
Wrattonbully – The neighbouring wine region the estate also draws from
Riddoch Highway – The winery fronts it

On Site Accommodation

Five glamping bell tents (unpowered) and six powered campsites
Queen tent or twin singles for two people – $200 per night, minimum two nights
Twin single for one person – $125 per night, minimum two nights
Extra single bed $50; child or baby mattress free (bring your own bedding)
Wine tasting for up to two people included with a tent booking
Two nights in a bell tent are included in the $6,500 wedding package
Amenities building with seven showers, six toilets, a claw-foot bath and a disabled shower and toilet
Camp kitchen with power points; produce garden; central communal campfire
Lanterns supplied for the bell tents; fresh eggs and sourdough on arrival for glampers
Exclusive guest wine tasting – 4pm Thursday to Saturday, 3pm Sunday to Wednesday
Campsites are 100–300 metres apart
Dog friendly on a lead; sheep, chickens and cows on the property

Price Notes

The wedding package totals $6,500, which is a package price covering two people rather than a per-person rate.
Two hard conditions attach to that price: 'Wedding must be Monday - Thursday, not over public or SA/Vic school holidays.' No weekend or holiday rate is offered as an alternative - the restriction is absolute as published.
Extra guests cost extra and the venue says so in a footnote: 'maximum including the couple - ten, *with accomodation, food and wine added for guests' and '*extra guests are welcome to join the couple getting married but their food, accomodation and drinks are not included.' A ten-person wedding is therefore $6,500 plus eight guests' meals, tents and drinks, at rates that are not published for the food but are for the tents.
Accommodation is priced in full, which matters because guests must pay for their own. 'GLAMPING in our Bell tents: Queen tents or Twin singles for two people $200/night (min 2 nights) including a wine tasting for up to 2 people. Extra single bed - $50, small child/baby mattress (bring your own bedding) - no charge (request in notes). Twin single for one person $125/night (min 2 nights) includes a wine tasting.' The campground is '5 Glamping Bell tents (unpowered) and 6 powered campsites for people with their own camp gear.'
The venue's rationale is part of the offer and worth quoting: 'If you are planning a wedding and would prefer to spend your money on your honeymoon or other life priorities, Bellwether wines might be the perfect place... Going small means you have a beautiful experience with really good food and wine. Not only is the stress free option, it is a way to ensure your wedding is enviromentally sound with less waste.'
The contact block reads 'Cellar Door Open: 12 noon - 4 pm, 7 days a week. We appreciate online bookings, essential for groups over 8 people.' The four-day version is the more specific and carries the closures, so it is the safer read.
Credentials the winery publishes: "Coonawarra's star cellar door according to Gourmet Traveller wine, listed in the best cellar door list of Coonawarra, every year since opening." The wines are described as 'classics from Coonawarra and Wrattonbully with an array of climate appropriate alternatives too', made by 'a creative, environmentally concious winemaker and well respected wine show judge'.
It is a working farm and campground, not a function centre, and that shapes the day: 'You will most likely be met at your car by Mabel our maremma who guards our chickens.' 'We are dog friendly but please keep them on a lead, pick-up after them and ensure they don't bother the sheep, chickens, cows or other campers.' 'What really sets Bellwether apart from other campsites is the space, you are at least 100-300m apart from other campers.' 'Come and visit between Feb - April and you might see the wine being made during vintage.'
Contact is by text by preference: '0447 334 545 (text preferred as we are often serving people or making wine!)'. The site also publishes GPS coordinates, -37.231244, 140.853091, and a postal address of PO Box 344, Coonawarra SA 5263.