A family picnic in the vines
Come for lunch with the Lloyd family, who champion fresh, simple ingredients in a picnic with an unrivalled view.
The delighted squeals of children ring out as they climb the old boughs of a 100-year-old carob tree, watched on by Duncan Lloyd – decades earlier, he was the one ducking and weaving through its branches.
As the children play, Ducan’s wife, Lara, is on the lawn, piling a table high with homemade goodies for her family and guests.
The setting for today’s lunch with friends is Coriole Vineyards – the place Duncan’s family has owned since his grandparents purchased it in 1967, and the property he grew up on.
While the Coriole winemaker and his family now live in Port Willunga, they all feel at home at this spectacular spot.
Duncan’s grandfather, Hugh, was a doctor in Adelaide, but when he and his wife Mary came across the McLaren Vale plot while searching for a weekender, winemaking began to take hold.
“It was that time when wine was changing a lot,” Duncan says.
“Before the 1950s and ’60s, it was all fortified wines. For my grandfather and grandmother, there was a real interest in dry, table wines as we know them now.”
As he looks out to Lara perfecting the table, Duncan recalls the very early photos he has of his family enjoying picnics at that very spot.
Duncan’s father, Mark, was one of five children, and he was the one in the late 1970s to return to the business – the first decade was a bit of a hobby project, but then his interest in wine and wine tourism started to boom.
Duncan went on to study winemaking, travelling while learning the trade. He and Lara met in Sydney, where Duncan was winemaking and Lara was in marketing and labelling, and also pursuing singing – she grew up singing gospel in church, and now mostly performs jazz.
The pair eventually moved to Mudgee in New South Wales, an area in which Lara spent most of her childhood.
Lara’s early life informed her food philosophy – she was born into a commune that her family left when she was four, but the health and sustainability practices remained.
She grew up in Gulgong, a small town in the central west of New South Wales filled with happy memories she wanted to replicate for her own children.
“What I love about Port Willunga is there’s a lot of kids riding their bikes after school, hanging out on the street,” she says.
“I look at that and it takes me back to the tiny little speck of a town I grew up in and I think there’s the freedom for them to have a looser schedule down here.
“I’m not saying kids can’t have a wonderful life in the city, but I certainly enjoy the freedom that they have down here to just find things to do and roam a little bit further and have the beach.”
As Lara chats, her daughter Valentina, 10, runs past with the purple tinge of a grape-stained face from foraged fruit.
She’s playing with her brother, Darcy, 8, and a bunch of friends she’s grown up with.
Lara and Duncan have invited their good friends, architect Alexandra McCarthy and investment manager Sam Saunders, and their children Edie and Hugh.
Also here today are Annabelle and Chris Hocking, both doctors, and their children Eliza, William and Louis.
The families have been close since Lara and Duncan moved to the area a decade ago.
“When I moved over from Mudgee I didn’t know anyone,” Lara says. “Alex has since moved to the city, but at the time, she lived in Port Willunga and she really embraced us as a family.
“Our friendship really grew from there and we have lots of dinner parties at each other’s houses – or more like afternoons with the kids.”
These three families, along with another family not here today, go to the Flinders Ranges together every year.
Lara says when entertaining with kids in the mix, her advice is to make sure there’s lots of food – and lots of space.
Today, the children are seen mostly as they whiz past, running around and exploring.
That is, until the pork and fennel sausage rolls come out. Then, a hush falls as they sit on picnic rugs and devour the flaky parcels, which can be found in Lara’s Willunga General Store, opened in the throes of Covid in 2021 when it was just a simple corner store.
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“Willunga’s a very sweet, loyal, locally-focused community,” Lara says. “It was kind of nice to get to know everybody during Covid before the tourists came. This has allowed me to meet the community in a really special way.”
Lara is passionate about showcasing local produce and her shelves are filled with jars and packets from Salt Gang, Lucia’s, Taronga Almonds and more. It’s also fully stocked with fresh local produce, homemade treats, homewares and seasonal blooms.
On today’s table are more yummy things you might find in the store, including a rich leek and gruyere tart made with Careme pastry.
“I wanted something rustic and filling. I feel like the humble pie has got a bit lost with everything getting so fancy, whereas tarts, pies and quiches are delicious and really satisfying,” Lara says.
Then, there’s Alexandrina ricotta baked in fig leaves, drizzled with Annabelle’s own honey, served with Barossa Bark.
There’s also Brillat Savarin triple cream brie, Charles Arnaud 18-month comte, prosciutto, Lara’s figs and baguettes from the General Store.
Before the guests get to those, they pluck Coriole’s Smoky Bay oysters from a tray, while sipping Pol Roger.
Other dishes from the restaurant include roasted beetroot and cashew cream, and kingfish crudo with spring onion, chilli, garlic and ginger.
Lara’s food philosophy is all about starting with good ingredients and building on that.
“My parents were both hippies and I’ve always been big on fresh ingredient and simple flavours – I just love flavour,” she says.
“When I have a lot of kids coming around, we always start with platters – little hands love to pick at these and you can fill them with nutritious bits before moving on to something more satiating like pasta. I always feel like simple is best for a crowd of potentially picky eaters.
“And creating a sense of occasion is really big for me – it doesn’t have to be fancy, but if you can provide something that looks amazing, people come in and there’s the immediate sense that they’re welcome.”
That’s exactly what has been created today, with the help of installation florist, Louise Woodhouse, whose work can often be found in the window of the General Store.
To fill the picnic table, she’s used the very last of the season’s hydrangeas, piled with grapes and pears from Coriole, all atop a beautiful blue floral tablecloth.
The pièce de resistance is a layered chocolate cake, mascarpone cream oozing from the centre, topped with plump blackberries.
“I love this cake for many reasons. It’s so simple, yet has a moist, tender crumb,” she says.
“You can dress it up to be a rather grand centrepiece, or keep it simple for lunchboxes.
“I made some blackberry jam as I had excess this summer, but you can use any store-bought jam or berries you fancy – though the darker berries are a crowd pleaser.”
Moments after the children are given the green light for dessert time, the cake stand is nothing but crumbs.
This article first appeared in the June 2026 issue of SALIFE magazine.
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