13 Best Sights in The Barossa Wine Region, South Australia

The saltbush and scrub-lined Murray River floodplain 150 km (94 miles) east of Nuriootpa is an unlikely setting for a winery, but it is worth making the journey to this spot at Kingston-on-Murray. Within the eco-friendly rammed-earth building perched above the vineyard and wetlands you can select a wine to accompany an all-day grazing platter or lunch on the outdoor deck—try the baked Murray cod with seasonal quinoa salad. Afterward, you can take one of three self-guided walks (ranging from 2.5 km [1.5 miles] up to 8 km [5 miles]); trail access is by donation) to view the surrounding wetlands (which can be "drylands" during a drought), and learn about the ongoing restoration and conservation work funded by Banrock Station wine sales and walkers' donations.

Renowned cook and food writer Maggie Beer is an icon of Australian cuisine. Burned-fig jam, ice cream, aged red wine vinegar, verjuice (a golden liquid made from unfermented grape juice and used for flavoring), and her signature Pheasant Farm pâté are some of the delights you can taste and buy at Maggie Beer's Farm Shop. Treat-filled picnic baskets are available all day to take out or dip into on the deck overlooking a tree-fringed pond full of turtles. Book ahead for the paid cooking demonstrations.

Joseph Seppelt was a Silesian farmer who purchased land in the Barossa after arriving in Australia in 1849. Under the control of his son, Benno, the wine-making business flourished, and today Seppeltsfield Winery and its splendid grounds are a tribute to the family's industry and enthusiasm. Fortified wine is a Seppeltsfield specialty; this is the only place in the world where you can find an unbroken lineage stretching back to 1878. Most notable is the exquisite 100-year-old Para Liqueur Tawny. Book ahead for the Centenary Tour that allows you to walk through the cellar and taste it directly from the barrel. The Rosé Grenache and Cabernet are also worth tasting before exploring the rest of the complex that includes an excellent on-site restaurant, an art gallery and studios that you can visit, a soap factory that runs workshops, and a coffee roaster as well as the Seppelt family mausoleum that overlooks an avenue planted with more than 2,000 palm trees.

This is one of Australia's top estate wineries and a good representation of classic, artfully made Barossa wine. The modern and airy tasting room complements its original 1850s settler’s cottage cellar door, with subtle color tones and earthy textures. Taste the iconic Shiraz wines on the deck overlooking its renowned Descendant vineyard for A$20, or upgrade to the more premium experience with the renowned RunRig that is blended with Viognier to create a powerful, elegant wine.

Australia's oldest family-owned winery, the iconic Yalumba sits within a hugely impressive compound overlooked by an imposing clocktower. It's the only winery in the southern hemisphere with a functioning cooperage on-site, and that can be visited on one of the many tours that start from A$50. A range of tastings are available in the tasting room that is decorated with antique wine-making materials and mementos of the Hill Smith family, whose ancestors first planted vines in the Barossa in 1849. Try the award-winning Viognier and The Signature, a classic Australian "claret" blend of Shiraz and Cabernet. Private tours can be arranged upon request.

You can drink in a leafy vineyard view while tasting from the wine barrels (if you get so lucky) at this understated cellar door. Winemaker Derek Fitzgerald's repertoire includes Semillon, GSM, Shiraz, and Rhône blends.

Tasting here is relaxed and casual in a brick-floor, timber-wall cellar door, which is warmed by a log fire in winter. After making sure the resident cats have vacated it first, settle into a director's chair at the long wooden table and let the staff pour. Nine Popes, a huge, decadent red blend, is the flagship wine, and the ruby-red Rose of Virginia is an iconic Australian rosé. You can enjoy a glass of either with a cheese platter on the veranda. Tastings from A$10.

This is one of the most successful of the Barossa's younger wine labels. Wines include impressive Chardonnays, crisp Rieslings, and powerful reds such as Meshach Shiraz. Don't miss the Holy Trinity—a highly acclaimed Rhône blend of Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre. The cellar door overlooks the vines at Krondorf, 5 km (3 miles) south of Tanunda and offers regional grazing platters in addition to tastings. Tastings from A$10.

An impressive block of glass, steel, and recycled timber, Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre overlooks the creek whose name is familiar to wine drinkers around the world. It can sometimes be overrun with large groups, but the informative staff members make it well worth a visit—it's certainly more than your run-of-the-mill visitor center. Inside the building, plasma screens and pictorial displays tell the history of the label. Five tasting flights have themes, including "light & fresh," "low alcohol & organic," and limited release, or staff can tailor a selection of wines for you. The sprawling lawns edged with towering eucalyptus trees are perfect for a picnic, and you can bring your own hamper or purchase one at the cellar door. Tastings from A$5.

A family-friendly tribute to the purple flower that adorns the hills, Lyndoch Lavender Farm grows more than 80 varieties on 6 lush acres high above Lyndoch. Light café meals are available, and the farm shop sells essential oils, creams, and other products, including wine from the surrounding vineyards. The most spectacular time to visit is during flowering season from August to September. 

A very big brother to the 19th-century Magill Estate in Adelaide, this massive wine-making outfit in the center of Nuriootpa lets you taste Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Riesling blends—but not the celebrated Grange—at the cellar door. To savor the flagship wine and other premium vintages, book a Taste of Grange Tour (A$150 per person, minimum of two, 24-hour advance notice needed). There are also 90-minute blending workshops for A$85 per person.

This winery was founded by a larger-than-life Barossa character who had an influence on just about every winemaker in the valley. Art-hung stonework and a wood-burning fireplace make the tasting room one of the most pleasant in the valley and it is the only place to find the Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz. Wooden tables on a shady lawn encourage picnicking on the Weighbridge platter, a selection of local smoked meats, cheeses, and condiments that's big enough for two. Tastings from A$10.

The interior of this 19th-century sandstone cottage is every bit as surprising as the wines produced here. Polished wood and glass surround the contemporary counter where the excellent staff leads you through the tasting of several "out of the box" reds, whites, and blends. The main event is the Garden Series Shiraz sourced from six wine regions;. compare and contrast Shiraz from the Barossa, McLaren Vale, and Adelaide Hills, among others. The Search For The Holy Grail (A$150) takes you into the estate vineyard for a behind-the-scenes look at how the wines are made.