Shane Ettridge and Mitchell Fitzpatrick have deep roots in the Hills. The pair met as kids at Mount Barker South Primary before going on to form wine label Hills Collide in 2016, using fruit exclusively from the Adelaide Hills. Now they’ve established a home for the brand in its natural habitat, in a site deeply connected to the Hills wine community, the space formerly occupied by The Summertown Aristologist.
“I had so many special experiences there as a punter, it was certainly a very important part of South Australia’s hospitality offering,” says Ettridge, who’s also a managing partner at CBD bar Proof. “When that shut, along with Brid and Lost in a Forest, it was a pretty sad time for the inner Hills. So when we saw the opportunity to move in, it was certainly on our minds that this was a special space to a lot of people.
“When we started work on it, the amount of neighbors walking with their dog, stopping by, you could tell they were excited to see the lights on and the door open again.”
Aristologist devotees will find a radically different space. The place was gutted before Ettridge and Fitzpatrick received the keys; it’s now lighter and stripped back, with blonde oak tables, countertops and cladding, and rattan chairs. Where the kitchen once stood, there’s now a bar, behind which the team will plate up classic wine bar snacks like cheese, charcuterie, terrine, anchovies and taramasalata alongside bread from Thelma. Proof fans will be pleased to know there’ll also be a toastie on the menu, elevated with the likes of Mylor venison, wild rabbit, goat or boar.
“I was umming and ahhing as to whether I’d keep toasted sandwiches a part of my life,” laughs Ettridge. “It turns out I couldn’t escape it.” There’ll be occasional guest chef stints, too.
The venue is both a cellar door for Hills Collide – with tastings and bottles for sale – and a wine bar, for those who want to drop in for a glass or a cocktail and a snack (the cellar is also available for larger groups and private dining). There are nine Hills Collide releases on pour, including an aromatic gruner veltliner, savoury nebbiolo, lively pinot noir, and mineral-y chardonnay, and they’ll be adding international drops to the list over time.
“Hills Collide has got to a point where we were very content with our reach to market – we’re now selling nationwide, and we’ve increased production a little bit – but we’ve been doing it now for six years, and we always thought the potential to add a hospitality site to the business was strong,” says Ettridge. “We’ve always thought that was something we could do well … to be a bit more customer-facing and be the ones to tell the story ourselves.”
There are also not-wines like Bridge Road’s non-alcoholic Free Time pale ale, house vermouth, a house Martini, and a spritz made with gruner veltliner, elderflower cordial and soda water, a drink Fitzpatrick was introduced to while working vintage at Austrian winery Arndorfer.
The pair also have access to the next-door sites, previously used as the Aristologist’s prep kitchen and cellar door, so you might see more offerings from them in the coming months.
Hills Collide
1097 Greenhill Road, Summertown
Hours:
Sat & Sun 11am–6pm
