Aphelion Cellar Door Accessibility Guide
Welcome
At Aphelion, we’re passionate about crafting memorable, inclusive wine experiences for everyone.
We believe great hospitality means making all guests feel welcome—from the moment you arrive to the last sip in your glass. That’s why we’re always exploring ways to improve access and comfort at our Cellar Door.
This Accessibility Guide outlines the ways we've considered accessibility, to help you plan your visit with confidence.
Our family-owned approach means we care deeply—our owners and Cellar Door team are hands-on, genuine, and dedicated to giving you the best day out possible.
If you have a specific question or request, please don’t hesitate to reach out directly. While we can’t guarantee we’ll be able to meet every need, we’ll always do our best—and it never hurts to ask.
Your Aphelion wine journey begins with a warm welcome and a tasting experience thoughtfully tailored just for you.
Summary of Accessibility & Inclusiveness
The following provides a brief overview of accessible inclusions at Aphelion cellar door. There are more details further on in this document:
· Three vehicle parking bays close to the entry
· Accessible unisex toilet
· Baby change table
· Service animals welcome
· Gravel pathways throughout the site which has some gradients to access the toilets from the cellar door
· Recommended for those with low mobility
· All staff have completed online Disability Awareness Training
· Wheelchair, walker and pram friendly particularly through western door
· Variety of seating and shade
· Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free dietary options available. All wine is vegan.
· Willing to tailor experiences to make them more accessible.
It is important to us that we offer experiences that can be enjoyed by all regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, cultural beliefs, religion, ethnicity, age, level of mobility, disability, and more.
Some things we have done to improve our inclusive practices include:
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Staff training in disability and inclusive awareness
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Provide the option of private group bookings on our VIP deck or Back of the Ute
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Willingness to do our best to accommodate guests with special or specific needs.
Contact Details
We encourage guests to reach out and contact us if you have a query or cannot find the information you are looking for online.
Below are ways you can contact us to ask questions and make bookings:
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Website
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Instant bookings
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Ability to add special requests, additional information to assist us with preparing for your visit or ask questions at time of booking
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This is our preferred form of booking
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Phone or Text Message
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0473 902 101
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If we miss your call, please leave a voicemail or send a text message to the mobile number
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Email
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Email us at cellardoor@aphelionwine.com.au for clarification, additional information or to make a booking
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This is our preferred form of contact as it's less likely to be overlooked than social media
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Facebook Messenger
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We do receive a lot of traffic and spam on our Facebook account, it is possible to get a quick response however at times we do miss messages
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Google Messages
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Instagram Messenger
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In person at 67 Kays Rd, McLaren Vale, SA 5171
Overview of Services
At Aphelion Cellar Door we offer wine tastings and the opportunity to make-your-own-platter from local produce.
Wine tastings are seated at your choice of location:
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Inside our cellar door which is air conditioned and has booth seating or small square or round cafe tables with armchairs. It is possible to locate a wheelchair at any of our tables, and we are happy to assist you by moving furniture if needed.
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Outside on the verandah which is directly accessible from the carpark via a short gravel path then onto the concrete verandah. There is armchair seating with low coffee tables, a loveseat, a bar table with tall stools, and a cafe table with dining chairs. It is possible to locate a wheelchair at any of our tables, and we are happy to assist you by moving furniture if needed.
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Picnic tables on the lawn. This is less accessible for wheelchairs but possible with a carer.
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VIP Deck is raised considerably from ground level and we do not have a ramp suitable for wheelchair access to the deck at this time. There is limited space on the deck around the lounge suite, so this is not the most accessible option for your visit.
The Make-your-own-platter station is stocked with local produce including cheese, pate, charcuterie, almonds, olives, olive oil, dried fruit, fresh bread, crackers, juice boxes and craft-brewed soft drinks. There are vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options.
Location and Transport
McLaren Vale is a rural area with townships around 40 minutes drive South of Adelaide, South Australia. The major roads Marion Rd, South Road lead to the free Southern Expressway M2 which takes you to the turn off to Victor Harbour Road which leads into McLaren Vale.
Our address is 67 Kays Road, McLaren Vale, SA 5171. We are 6km north of the township of McLaren Vale.
There is brown tourism signage on many of the roads around McLaren Vale signage which indicate proximity to Aphelion cellar door.
The easiest way to access our cellar door from Adelaide is via Victor Harbour Road. At the roundabout at Robinson Rd / Quarry Road, turn onto Quarry Road which becomes Seaview Rd and then Kays Road. Refer to Location Map below.
We are very close to a number of emergency services as outlined below:
· Police Station: Seaford - 7 minutes
· Ambulance: McLaren Vale - 5 minutes
· Fire Brigade: McLaren Vale & McLaren Flat - 5 minutes
· Noarlunga Hospital: Noarlunga Hospital - 14 minutes
In the case of an emergency, we can quickly access emergency support.
Location Map of Aphelion cellar door
Aphelion Cellar Door Venue
Aphelion lease the cellar door, lawn, parking spaces and toilets on the property.
Leasing the space means we have limits on what we can change onsite. The owners make all final decisions. The Aphelion Cellar Door building, and the landscaping was not undertaken with accessibility in mind.
We acknowledge the regrettable limitations this has for accessibility.
Key issues we have identified are:
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There are lips at all doors to get into the cellar door building.
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The car parks, entrance and access paths are all made of gravel.
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The site is undulating and not level. This includes:
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a turn and rise to get from the carpark onto the verandah (which is concrete);
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A moderate hill to get from the cellar door building to the toilet facilities.
It is our hope that by being honest about the site will help you plan your trip. Of course we are always keen to help, so please be in contact with us to discuss your individual needs.
On Arrival: Entrance To The Property
On approach to the Aphelion cellar door travelling either east or west on Kays Road, there are brown tourist signs indicating the proximity to our driveway.
To enter the Aphelion property when travelling east on Kays Road, there is a fairly sharp left hand turn into the stone wall lined driveway on a sharp right hand bend of Kays Road. The entrance to the Aphelion cellar door driveway is marked by large blue Aphelion signage and council yellow arrow markers highlighting the right hand turn of Kays Road.
To enter the Aphelion property when travelling west on Kays Road, drive past the exit driveway to the entry driveway. We suggest you perform a U-turn in the Kay Brothers driveway and enter the property heading East. That is the safest way to enter the property.
Accessibility Map of Aphelion Cellar Door
This map highlights areas on the Aphelion cellar door property that should be considered when planning your visit.
Accessibility Map of Aphelion Cellar Door
Parking
There are 16 car spaces across five small parking areas on the Aphelion cellar door property.
All parking areas are gravelled.
While no parking spaces are marked as Disabled Parking, the two car parking areas closest to the cellar door are the most accessible spots.
Immediately left and right of the entry driveway are the first two parking areas. Each is angled parking, level and offers 4 spaces. Access into the cellar door from here is via one of two ways:
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the gravel path up a short, medium gradient hill to the left which then turns right and travels past the toilets to the back door of the cellar door. This door has the smallest lip into the cellar door. We would be happy to help maneuver the wheelchair into the cellar door - please let us know before your visit.
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Continuing straight through the gravel car park to the cellar door entry signage (the white line with arrows) and left through the entry arch. Then choose either:
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Left up a short incline (1.5m) then right onto the concrete verandah. Let us know when you will arrive and we can move furniture to make this easiest for you. From here you can either enter from the east facing entry door which has a large lip, or continue around the cellar door to the left to the back door with the smallest lip. (following the right hand dashed yellow like from the starting arrow).
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Continue straight on the white gravel path around the cellar door to the left to the back door with the smallest lip. (following the right hand dashed yellow like from the starting arrow).
The third parking area is the least accessible. It is on the left, two angled parking spots on an incline facing the property owner’s shed.
The fourth parking area is on the right is level, angled parking on gravel and offers 3 spaces.
Access into the cellar door from here is via continuing straight across the gravel car park to the blue “Making good wine is a skill, making fine wine is art” cellar door entry signage and left through the entry arch. Then choose either:
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Left up a short incline (1.5m) then right onto the concrete verandah. Let us know when you will arrive and we can move furniture to make this easiest for you. From here you can either enter from the east facing entry door which has a large lip, or continue around the cellar door to the left to the back door with the smallest lip. (following the right hand dashed yellow like from the starting arrow).
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Continue straight on the white gravel path around the cellar door to the left to the back door with the smallest lip. (following the right hand dashed yellow like from the starting arrow).
The fifth car parking area is level, angled parking on gravel on the left facing the stone retaining wall in front of the brick cottage and offers three spaces. This car parking area is the closest to our cellar door.
Cellar Door
The cellar door is a high ceilinged, glass walled addition to the brick cottage with wrap around verandah built in 1990. The orange roof on the map above is the cottage and the blue highlighted addition is the cellar door.
Seating
Once inside the cellar door there are 3 types of tables, two types of chairs, a make-your-own-platter station and a bar area where you can meet our cellar door employee and pay your bill at the end.
There are:
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Two booths with room for a wheelchair at the end;
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Round cafe tables each with two or four dining chairs;
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Square cafe tables each with two or four dining chairs.
We are happy to help arrange furniture to help you sit together and be comfortable.
Make - Your - Own - Platter - Station
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Settling the Bill
When settling the bill, we can hand you the eftpos terminal to tap your card comfortably from your wheelchair. We will also be happy to bring any purchases out to you.
Verandah Seating
To minimise movement over gravel to get to our cellar door, you can enter along the verandah.
On the verandah there is a variety of tables, chairs and seating areas.
(list them)
We will be very happy to help move furniture to make a comfortable spot for a wheelchair.
Toilets
The toilets are in a separate building from the cellar door.
To reach the toilets from the cellar door,
The toilet building contains two unisex toilets, one of which is accessible.
The accessible toilet has:
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More space to move around;
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A baby change table.
Thank You
Our family-owned approach means we care deeply—our owners and Cellar Door team are hands-on, genuine, and dedicated to giving you the best day out possible.
If you have a specific question or request, please don’t hesitate to reach out directly. While we can’t guarantee we’ll be able to meet every need, we’ll always do our best—and it never hurts to ask.
We look forward to welcoming you to Aphelion cellar door!
