Everyone loves a Hidden Secret!  Lost in a Forest Wine Bar

Why are people getting so excited about Lost in a Forest Wine Bar, a boutique Adelaide Hills food and wine destination newcomer?

We’d like to think it’s probably due to the holistic approach being taken to the food and wine. The venue is serving up minimal intervention Hills premium wines matched with minimal intervention premium rustic food.

Dining Room-Anglican Church

Dining Room-Lost in a Forest

Former musician turned wine maker Taras Ochota from Ochota Barrels and partners have remodelled the old stone Anglican Church in Uraidla. It has been turned it into a cosy wine bar and lounge with wood fired oven.  Consequently Lost in a Forest has become a great go-to gourmet food and wine tour lunch destination on a weekend.

Named, like Ochota’s wines after song lyrics, Lost in a Forest Wine Bar echoes a line of The Cures’ song “A Forest”. It has a trending ambience which tempts people to respond to its call to come and explore “into the forests trees and dark”.

Uraidla securely on the Food Trail

Lost in a Forest Wine Bar is helping to bring Uraidla, a smaller Hills settlement out from under the shadow of Hahndorf, the region’s main tourist draw card.  The ”off the beaten track location” helps to reinforce “Lost in a Forest” nature of the venue, but since Uraidla is very small it’s not that easy to miss in the main street.

Luxury in its simplicity

Gourmet Pizzas hot from the Wood Oven

Gourmet Pizzas hot from the Wood Oven

A huge wood fired oven has replaced the altar with chefs turning out organic pizzas with locavore ingredients on wooden boards.  Thai inspired toppings complement traditional Italian with interesting combinations like Sprouts and Speck to tempt the adventurous. These are all prepared under the filtered light of the old church’s lead light windows.

Facebook marketing depicts slow cooked pork and even wallaby in preparation for what feels like almost ritualistic weekend feasts. A unique mezzanine where the choir once sang has been turned into a group dining area overlooking the main dining room where previously the church congregation sat.

A holistic philosophy based on spontaneity

The small bar serves Ochota Barrels wines as well as showcasing other small production Basket Range talents and selected old world wines. Taras’s wine making philosophy, influenced by his international and local experience aims for minimal intervention in farming and wine making. Represented winemakers help to underpin this ethos, small batches of love and passion.

His personal wine-making ambition to “produce something delicious and gorgeous for all to enjoy with none of the nasties” is clearly evident and a common thread that weaves its way through this whole new attraction.

And who doesn’t love a bit of mystery and exclusivity.

Why come on a Shiraz & Co Adventure?

Specialising in small group boutique food and wine tours, we offer to take visitors through the picturesque Adelaide Hills and quietly lead them to this hidden secret. A bread crumb trail is purely optional, as once found we suspect you will not want to leave.