8 Best Sights in The Barossa Valley, South Australia

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.

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.

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.