Day Trip to Clare Valley with Wine Tastings and Lunch

the history

the clare valley has a rich heritage originating from the english, irish and polish settlers who arrived in the 1840s. names like penwortham, skillogalee, watervale, sevenhills and armagh are reminders of these early settlers. viticulturally, clare is classified as moderately warm to cool, similar to the alsace, burgundy and rheingau regions in europe.

the valley has been described as " the most unblemished wine region in australia". it catches the cool, moist westerlies that blow in from spencer gulf. the warm ripening period causes a concentration of grape flavour resulting in the distinctive riesling and red wine styles produced.

the tour

at 9 a.m. you are collected from your hotel and escorted along the scenic route passing picturesque rural landscapes and small towns as we head towards the clare valley, in the direction of the flinders ranges.

our first introduction to the valley is the quaint little town of auburn where we will stop for morning tea with time to a short wander through antique shops. we do a tasting of the small winemakers of the clare valley. if it is the right time of year, we will visit the exemplary grosset's winery and then the stylish wines from mount horrocks nearby (limited opening hours).

we then visit the sevenhills cellars, which is run by the jesuit brothers. here we can visit the historic church and explore the heritage of the first vineyard in the region. ideally, we will meet brother may the winemaker and see the original cellars. we travel up to the main historical town of clare where we may visit the innovative knappstein winery, which have in recent times made very high quality beer. their outstanding wines are generally not exported, so a treat to do a tasting and pick up a few bottles.

we travel through penwortham and along to the scenic route to this family run mitchell's winery, where we may catch up with jane and andrew mitchell, who may show us their fine wines.

lunch will be at the charming skillogalee restaurant/ winery where a gourmet lunch will be served, under the olive groves. after lunch if time permits, we may travel next door to taste the fine wines of kilakanoon wines.

our journey back takes us through the old slate mining town of mintaro. if time permits we will have a drink at the old magpie & stump or have coffee at the stately martindale hall before our return to adelaide.

*for an additional cost you may hire bikes and cycle the riesling trail that runs through the centre of the region.

cost per person

please refer to index and code tables for accurate pricing

dependent on number of persons travelling and vehicle type

no of people

minimum 1, maximum 20+

departs

on request

duration

8 hours

pick up & drop off

adelaide cbd or as requested

tour inclusions

experienced wine tour guide/driver, wine and tourism information kit, pre and post-tour assistance, wine tastings, refreshments en-route with gourmet lunch provided. private tours include more comprehensive tastings and lunch.  

notes

this is a wine lovers tour!

tour code

tsa-pe