favourite barossa wineries

Old Feb 23rd, 2006, 03:15 PM
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favourite barossa wineries

Hi

am doing a 2-day trip to the barossa in a couple of weeks, just wondering whether anyone has any favourite wineries they'd like to recommend? I'm not fussy and would like to visit a mix of bigger producers / smaller boutique wineries. so if you've been and stumbled across a gem, please pipe up!

Thanks.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2006, 03:21 PM
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Apart from chosing wineries for their wines, some places are worth visiting for their ambience. Yulumba and Seppelts are lovely old buildings and Orlando/Jacobs Creek is brilliant modern architecture in a very Australian setting.
If you are in the Barossa on a Saturday morning, the farmers' market is worth a visit.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2006, 06:22 PM
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We like Rockfords (small, boutique), Langmeil (100+ year old vines, lovely wines, small), Henshcke, and also the larger,more commercial, Peter Lehmanns - where you can get a platter of local fine foods to eat in their beautiful gardens. Sometimes the smaller wineries close for all or part of the weekend, so check before you head off.

For lunch/dinners I can recommend Vitners and 1918. There is a tourist office in Tanunda for further tips.
We stayed at Strathlyn B & B, Angaston which is about 3 minutes drive from Vitners - found it on the web on it was lovely. Heather (the gracious host) does facials/massages etc.
If you like fortified wines there is a relatively new tasting/food place in Tanunda - can't remember the name but tourist office will have details.
Have a great time - you might be there during harvest.


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Old Feb 23rd, 2006, 06:24 PM
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Sorry, that is Vintners - spelling !!!
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Old Feb 23rd, 2006, 07:21 PM
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Hi,
you already have good info on the Barossa.
If you have 2 days I would recommend driving also on just a little further to the Clare Valley.
There are also many wineries in the Clare Valley.
You will come through Seven Hills. Here go to the Sevenhill Cellars, part of an old Jesuit Monastry that in the early days produced Altar wines ( still does ).
http://www.sevenhillcellars.com.au/

Only a few km's back towards the Barossa Valley is Auburn.
I can recommend staying there for the night at the Rising Sun Hotel.
It's an old hotel that has been modernized without destroying it's "Old World Charm".

Enjoy,
Mike
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Old Feb 24th, 2006, 01:43 AM
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Rockfords is sensational and if you like a big red you can't go past Basket Press Shiraz. Winery is small and lots of heritage - Robert O'Callaghan is worth a chat if you really want to hear about wines in the Barossa. Charles Melton and Bethany are also both great wineries. Both small and family run still - enjoy
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Old Mar 13th, 2006, 06:49 PM
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Thanks to all for suggestions. Just back from Barossa trip and thought I'd share where I went in case others looking for ideas.

Visited:
Two Hands (small winery, nearly all red wines, very nice)
Torbreck (small range of good wines, some quite pricey though)
Seppelts (did the tour there, quite interesting but historical rather than actually processes)
Langmeil (this was my favourite - both wines and staff were fantastic) Rockford (nice and atmospeheric cellar door, but very busy. Wines were good, but I didn't think they were as outstanding as I'd thought they might be)
Charles Melton (wines good, nice atmospherere, tasting sitting down at a big table)
Chateau Tanunda (great building, you can have a game of croquet if you fancy. Actual Chateau Tanunda wines I didn't like so much, but they showed potential; but there's also a small winemakers centre there, so we had a tasting with one of the locals Hans Haan and his wines were all great. http://www.haanwines.com.au/index.php)
Saltram (really lovely spot, lunch menu looked very tasty. Big range of wines to taste)
Yalumba (another nice cellar door, but very busy and a little understaffed. So many wines in the Yalumba range, you'd possibly be best to pick one variety and taste the range)
Also went back through Adelaide hills and stopped at
Chain of Ponds (lovely cellar door and wines, but staff weren't so friendly)
Petaluma/Bridgewater Mill (fantastic setting, quality wines, if you want to lunch there at the weekends, book well in advance).

I'd also recommend:
- a trip to Maggie Beer's place - lots of yummy things if you're a foodie and another lovely lunch spot
- a drive along Seppeltsfield Road which is lined by Palm trees - apparently during the depression there was not enough work in the winery, but the Seppelt family kept the workers in work by getting them to propogate and plant 2000 palm trees)
- drive to Mengler's Hill lookout, it's a great view over the valley.

So there you go, my take on the barossa. I was really impressed with the wines and the whole atmosphere - I've been to lots of wine regions and I was expecting it to be a bit snobby, given it's great reputation. (In my opinion both the the hunter valley and yarra both suffer from a bit of snobbiness). But to my pleasant surprise the barossa was very down to earth, people both chatty and knowledgable.

Also, the dirt roads on the map in the Barossa brochure were all good quality, so don't be afraid to go the back way between wineries, you get some great views driving through vineyards.

Can't wait to go back again and try some more.

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