Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Where to Go
Barossa & Clare Valleys
Close enough to be kissing cousins but far enough apart to conjure up very different
wine-region experiences, these two valleys are probably the first regions that spring to
mind when anyone mentions South Australian wine. Just an hour from Adelaide, the
Barossa Valley
(
www.barossa.com
) represents SA's old-school Germanic establishment,
with day-trippers galore and iconic names such as Penfolds and Henschke ruling the
roost (actually, Henschke is 10km over the hill in Eden Valley, but close enough). Big,
ballsy Australian red wine is what you're here for.
cloistered overnighter, with myriad stone B&Bs dating from the late 1800s and cool-cli-
mate valley folds producing world-class riesling. The
Riesling Trail
(
www.southaustraliantrails.com
)
is an easy-does-it bike track meandering through the
vineyards.
McLaren Vale
patchwork landscape, vineyards and almond groves patterning the sun-baked slopes of
the Willunga Escarpment as it levels out down to shimmering Gulf St Vincent. This gor-
geous place - a kind of fantastical new-world Tuscany - produces some of the best shiraz
you'll ever smack across your lips, and has a progressive vibe. You won't find much
that's quaint or cottagey here - the mood and is more celebratory, decadent and contem-
porary, with some fab restaurants, cafes and markets in among the vines rows.
Coonawarra
and Melbourne to rule it out as a day-trip or easy overnighter. People live here rather
than pass through: the resultant wine trade is hard-working, utilitarian and often family-
run, exploiting the area's fertile
terra rossa
soils and producing super-silky cabernet
sauvignon. Penola is the region's service town - an affable country hamlet with a decent
pub, a couple of good eateries and Australia's only saint - one-time resident school
teacher Saint Mary MacKillop - presiding over the grape biz with imagined ambivalen-
ce.
