Coonawarra has plenty of old vines, but few wineries can point to the exact rows. At Brand's Laira, on the Riddoch Highway seven minutes from Penola, you can still spot 15 rows of Shiraz planted in 1893 by Captain Henry Stentiford, among the first vines on the region's famous terra rossa strip. They still produce fruit, and it goes into the winery's flagship Stentiford's Old Vine Shiraz. The 2016 vintage scored 97 points from James Halliday and made his Top 100 wines of 2020, and the 2018 followed with 95 points in the 2023 Halliday Wine Companion.
The name on the label came later. In 1950 Eric Brand, a baker by trade, and his wife Nancy Redman bought the 24-hectare property, which had just over two hectares of Shiraz. For the next 16 years Eric was a "blocker", the local term for growers who sold their grapes to other wineries. Then in 1966, armed with an antique basket press, a must pump, four concrete fermenters and what the winery calls the best Coonawarra weather of the decade, he made the first vintage under the Brand's Laira name. He was later named the First Patron of Coonawarra. The winery is now part of Casella Family Brands, and its lead winemaker, Brooke Blair, is a Limestone Coast local who grew up 40 minutes from Coonawarra.
A cellar door built around the original shed
In 2019 a local South Australian team rebuilt the cellar door without losing the past. A striking timber ceiling now shelters and preserves Eric's Shed, the original stone building where it all began, alongside a modern indoor dining area, lounge and fireplace. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the vineyard and open onto a deck, lawns and a woodfired pizza oven, and the whole space holds up to 150 guests.
What a Brand's Laira wedding looks like
That space has made Brand's Laira a wedding venue as much as a cellar door. The winery's wedding offering flows across the property: couples say "I do" among the vines, move to the sprawling lawns for an aperitif and cocktail hour, then sit down to dinner in the cellar door. They can choose between the rustic stone of Eric's Shed and the large, modern interior, and private hire hands over the entire venue for the day or evening, including the cellar door, the meeting room, Eric's cellar and the grounds, for up to 150 guests. The ceremony and reception can both be held on site, or couples can marry elsewhere and bring everyone back to the cellar door for the reception.
Unlike many winery venues, Brand's Laira puts a number on it. Venue hire is $6,500 and covers the grounds, kitchen, cellar door, deck, staff, glassware, wine barrels, umbrellas and select seating and tables, though couples should confirm current rates when they enquire. Catering isn't in-house, so couples bring their own caterer, with the kitchen included in the hire and the cellar door team on hand to recommend one. The wine is the estate's own, from Sauvignon Blanc and rosé on the lawns to old-vine Shiraz and Coonawarra Cabernet at dinner, and a $5 tasting at the cellar door is the easiest way to choose.
The winery's own wedding photos show how couples use the space: ceremonies on the deck in front of the glass-walled cellar door, welcome signs propped against the concrete entrance wall, acoustic sets on the lawn among wine barrels and bar stools, and a dance floor laid out on the grass under festoon lights and bunting as the cellar door glows behind. For portraits, there are the vine rows and the cypress-lined driveway at the estate's entrance.
There's no accommodation on site, but Penola is seven minutes up the road, and the winery puts itself four hours from Adelaide and five from Melbourne, which makes it a natural base for a wedding weekend when families are split across two states. Private tastings for up to 20 people can also be booked, an easy option for a welcome gathering the day before the wedding.
A busy October on the terra rossa
Anyone wanting a look before they book has good timing. For Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations, the cellar door is running long-weekend sessions from 3 to 5 October, 11am to 4pm, with platters and light lunches, pétanque and games on the lawn, and music from David Blackett on Saturday 3 October. Cocktails on the deck follow on 10 and 11 October, with spritzers, sangria and whisky sours by the fire or on the lawn, and on 17 October the Band on the Bus tour brings Lady & the Amp to each stop.
That same night, Brooke Blair hosts the winery's inaugural Winemakers Dinner: four courses from chef Luke Scheidl, paired with current releases and museum pours from the Brand's Laira wine library, from 6.30pm on Saturday 17 October for $165 a head. Places are limited and bookings are essential. In November, the Woof & Wine Walk returns after a sell-out 2025 debut, with a self-paced trail between six Coonawarra wineries, Brand's Laira among them, on Saturday 14 November. Tickets start at $35 for one person and a dog.
On any other day, the cellar door is open seven days a week. Tastings cost $5, redeemable on purchase, take about an hour, and groups of 10 or more need to book. Wedding and function enquiries go through the weddings page.