Five Barossa Valley wineries to visit this weekend
You don’t need to be into wine to make the most of a Barossa Valley visit, but it sure helps!Barely an hour’s drive north of Adelaide the Barossa is probably Australia’s best and best-loved wine regions and the producers have turned on the entertainment factor with some cracking cellar doors and restaurants. Having trouble choosing which to visit? Grab your designated driver and try these five for size.
Seppeltsfield Estate, Seppeltsfield
The avenue of palm trees leading to Seppeltsfield gives a hint at the history surrounding this winery, which was founded by Joseph Seppelt in 1850. He and son Benno had the foresight to lay down barrels of port and leave them 100 years for bottling – and you can taste the latest release. Currently, that means the 1922 port, but the barrel room contains every vintage so in a separate tour you can also taste your own birth-year (the older you are, the better it gets!) or book a tasting of Seppelt’s range of other wines. Check out the gardens, original homestead, cooperage and Fino restaurant.
Rockford Wines, Tanunda
Just outside Tanunda is Rockford Wines and among the glamour of some big-investment wineries, this cellar door provides a more rustic wine-making experience. Visitors are welcome without an appointment to the gorgeous 19th-century farm buildings surrounding a courtyard littered with old machinery. The tasting room is earthy and the signature Basket Press is one of the Barossa’s best Shirazes, while the use of Mataro, Alicante and Grenache makes for some other enlightening tastings.
Hentley Farm, Seppeltsfield
The single-estate winery that is Hentley Farm produces some fine examples of Barossa’s best wines culminating in its Clos Otto Shiraz. But the charming cellar door – nestled in gardens in a small valley - is almost as famous for its attached Atrium restaurant where executive chef Clare Falzon takes diners on a tour of locally-sourced gastronomy with either lunch for two or the full-blown chef’s table experience. Include the option of wine pairings for a full Hentley Farm experience.
Artisans of Barossa, Tanunda
What to do if you’re a smaller Barossa wine-maker without the resources to establish a cellar door to showcase your boutique wines? Simple. Team up with seven like-minded producers to form Artisans of Barossa and welcome visitors in a contemporarily chic establishment just outside Tanunda. The beauty of this for wine-tasters is up to 90 different labels can be sampled, including many that aren’t available in shops or restaurants. Don’t just stop at sampling Spinifex, Purple Hands, Chaffey Bros and many more wines, stop for lunch at Essen restaurant or a more casual bite from the Delicatessen with a glass (or bottle) from the store.
Calabria Family Wines, Vine Vale
Calabria Wines has made the most of its hillside location outside Tanunda by placing its tasting room and restaurant above a tree-shaded terrace, all overlooking vines and the valley beyond. It makes for a very enjoyable hour or four: try one of the good value wine-tasting flights or better still, book a seat on the veranda of Harvest Kitchen restaurant where the “feed me” menus are long, tasty and fabulous value.
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