Barossa Valley visit. Need some advice.

Hello,
I will be vacationing Australia in late September and will be in Adelaide for a couple of days. I plan to tour the Barossa Valley and visit a few cellar doors. Any recommendations as to which one’s to visit? Im thinking Rockford Winery, Henschke, and Hentley Farm Wines so far. Also, I was thinking of hiring a driver for the two days. There will only be two of us. Any recommendations there? Thank you.

First advice: If you don’t hire a driver, remember that they drive on the left. I forgot that, driving down the gravel road leading Henschke 20 years ago. (It’s much easier to keep that in mind where there’s traffic.)

I visited Henschke and Penfolds, and one other place I don’t know remember that made so-so pinots. None of the visits were life-changing. (I’d lived in Northern California and had visited Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhone and Tuscany before.) But it was very pretty country – it reminded me of the rural parts of Sonoma, not least because of the eucalyptus trees.

Some suggestions:

Make sure to visit The Artisans of Barossa tasting room. Some of my favourite Barossa wineries have joined forces there to showcase their wines. They include Massena, Sons of Eden, John Duval and Schwarz. Other excellent wineries include Charles Melton, Kalleske, Kaesler, Rockford, Two Hands, Elderton, Torbreck, Sami Odi, Turkey Flat, Hentley Farm (as mentioned), David Franz, and Izway. Most will have cellar doors, yet for some (such as Sami Odi) you may need to try and book an appointment.

On the very top of my “must buy” list every year are the Shiraz releases of Dan Standish. He doesn’t have a cellar door but you may be able to arrange a visit by appointment. Trust me, Shiraz doesn’t get much better than this…. anywhere on planet earth!

One last note: Try and book lunch or dinner at Hentley Farm Restaurant and live on the memories for a very long time. It’s simply fabulous dining and not to be missed! Best to book as soon as possible.

Hope this helps.

I’ve never been to Australia, and my knowledge of Australia is a little out-dated [s/p the demise of the old Grateful Palate], but here are a few who immediately came to mind [and it doesn’t look like any two of them are more than about ten miles apart]:

• Chris Ringland [Angaston?] - might be very difficult to cross paths with him, since he spends so much time in Spain

• Dan Standish [Light Pass]

• Massena [Dan Standish & Jaysen Collins, Greenock]

• Greenock Creek [a little to the south of Greenock]

• Rolf Binder [Tanunda]

• Colonial Estate [Jonathan Maltus’s old stomping grounds, Lyndoch?]

• https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=14820

• Can’t find any info as to what Sparky is up to these days, since he split with Sarah a few years ago

Dave Powell was forced out at Torbreck, but apparently he has a new venture, called Powell & Son?

Thank you for the replies thus far. Yes, I read good things about the restaurant at Hentley Farm. I will definitely look into it. Alot of good recommendations thus far and I thank you all.
Any leads on a driving service or a driver him/her self?

Henschke is a bit of a drive.
Charles Melton is close to Rockford and worth a visit. Also enjoyed Elderton.

Freddy,
I would consider Fino at Seppeltsfield for lunch and also Fermentasian which has won best wine list in Oz. Grant Dickson is the owner and wine list curator and is well worth engaging for a recommendation. His wife Doui’s heads the kitchen and the food is really good. There are a number of chauffeured tours available, however i have no experience. I generally drive and sip as it is easy to get around.
I too recommend Artisans of the Barossa. Rockford is a must.

Dining
fermentAsian: Wonderful wine list. Excellent food.

Vintners Bar and Grill: Food is very good. Decent wine list.

Fino: Some interesting wines on the list. Very good food and a lovely setting. Seppeltsfield cellar door is here too.

The Eatery: An outstanding new lunch only joint run by Elli Beer at Maggie Beer’s farm shop. The cooking is wonderful. Take your own wine.

Casa Carboni: Fabulous Italian food. House made pastas are outstanding. They also run cooking classes.

Hentley Farm: Modern, degustation only. Excellent food but need to allocate a whole afternoon.

Wineries
David Franz Lehmann has a fantastic new Cellar Door just out of Tanunda. Food offering is good for lunch.

Standish Wines: By appointment only. Excellent wines.

Elderton: have just opened a new ‘fancy pants’ cellar door. Haven’t been yet but have heard good things.

Langmeil: Good, full flavoured wines.

Rieslingfreak and Michael Hall share a cellar door opposite Langmeil.

Turkey Flat: Excellent set of wines. Cellar door of real character.

Rockford: On most people’s list and with good reason.

Yelland & Papps: Great cellar door. Some interesting and quirky wines.

Flaxman Wines: Col and Fi are awesome people. The wines are well crafted and whilst tucked out the way it is a cellar door worth visiting.

Artisans: Home of several small producers. The attached restaurant is good.

Izway: Really lovely new cellar door out past Seppeltsfield.

Henschke: Quality wines from top to bottom. Nice cellar door.

Yalumba: Larger winery but the cellar door has good character.

No cellar door but look out for their wines: Sami-Odi, Ruggabellus, Cirillo, Eperosa.

What Jeremy said!

Fino and Ferment two I wouldn’t miss, have heard Hentley Farm is fantastic also, bummed we missed this last time.

Wine tasting is easy and fun through the Valley, maybe try though not to go on the weekend, say a Thursday/Friday might be good if you can.

I had 5 day road trip with my wife in 2011 around that area. We started from McLaren Vale. There was few really nice ones like Coriole and Kay Brothers, but the one that is a must is d’Arenberg. Their Dead Arm Shiraz is one of the best one out there.

Then we headed out to Adelaide Hills to sleep. There I could recommend visiting at least Shaw & Smith. Just excellent wines. Close to it is small biodynamic vinery called Ngeringa. They tend to make more European style than Aussie. I really liked their Syrah and Viognier.

From Adelaide Hills it’s not that far away to drive to Eden Valley and visit Henschke and Yalumba before driving to Barossa. We stayed couple of days in Tanunda. Best one to visit are Rockford, Charles Melton, Chateau Tanunda, Turkey Flat, Glaetzer and Torbreck.

Last destination was Clare Valley, where we visited Jim Barry and Kilikanoon. Both highly recommended!

Excellent suggestions fellas. Thank you

Isn’t Dan Standish half of Massena, with Jaysen Collins? LOVE their shiraz, though it’s hard to find here in the states.

Australia’s top 100 restaurants released. Topic | Australias Top Restaurants | Australian Financial Review

A handy resource. Note that Fermentasian, Speppeltsfield and Hentley Farm make the list.

Interesting list Kent. Can’t argue with Brae at Number 1, a brilliant restaurant. I’m heading to St Peter in Sydney this weekend. Will report back.

Freddy, if you want someone to drive you around, get in touch with Werner http://www.barossavalleytours.com/

A good mix of the old and the new. A few new names to me that i would like to try. Kudos to the Barossa for such a good hit rate.

Go to Artisans both days as the wines on tasting change. Also, it is one of the last to close, so a good place to finish up each day

The last 3 days I’ve been sipping on a 16 Langmeil ‘Spring Fever’ Chardonnay [Eden Valley Barossa] which has been a nice surprise. 14% abv yet light bodied, with a crisp/zippy/minerally feel to it. It doesn’t get any wood, which seems clear to me in the way it tastes, but other commenters pick up that (non existent) element up. A bunch of OZ wines showed up at our market during the winter, at low prices, which is where I picked this up, so I didn’t have any expectations when popping this after a hot day of moving furniture. Color me (pale straw) pleased with how refreshing and light it is; it’s a great summertime quaffing wine. Screwcap closure so no risk of an infected cork ruining a glass. I hardly buy antipodean wines, but the last few have been solid citizens, as well as great values. I’d slot this into the B zone, but would consider it for repurchase, although realistically the acquisition prices will not be repeated. Maybe its not the producers biggest/baddest blanc, but I like it.

Arv, Always wondering how you find posts that are 3 years old? Did you do a search and I assume the OP has been there done that.