10 Secret Cellar Doors Around South Australia That You Can Brag To Your Friends About
Australia is actually pretty damn good at making wine, but when you’re talking about the best of the best, South Australia has more than its fair share of wineries on the list. With over 350 cellar doors to choose from, it’s not surprising Aussie rank SA so highly.
There’s something particularly special, however, about finding a smaller and/or lesser-known winery that you can be a snob about next time you bring a bottle out at dinner with your mates. “Oh this? Yes, from a little cellar door we just stumbled upon that no one knows about yet, it’s just darrrrling” — that sort of thing.
It happens to be a particularly good time for wine and SA, given that it’s actually the Year of Wine, and SA Tourism is boosting up their winemakers. Frankly, I’m happy to help.
But mostly because I’m supportive of you, your snobbery, and the pursuit of good wine — here are 10 of the best secret cellar doors around South Australia for your next trip.
#1 Ten Miles East
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Not only is the tiny 1800s stone barn and surrounding garden pretty darn beautiful, but Ten Miles East also focuses on keeping their footprint small and focus on growing small quantities of high-quality wine — just six small-batch, 100 percent estate-grown wines a year, to be exact.
16C Debbneys Road, Norton Summit, Adelaide Hills
tenmileseast.com
#2 Samson Tall
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Wine connoisseurs will love a trip to Samson Tall. This boutique winery in McLaren Vale is actually located inside a church that dates back to 1854. You literally pull up a pew and let the winemaker pour you a few tastings, there’s a piano you can play, plenty of room for a picnic and even a historic graveyard.
219 Strout Road, McLaren Vale
samsontall.com.au
#3 Berg Herring
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I don’t know what it is with SA and converting old churches into cellar doors, but I’m not mad about it. Another one is Berg Herring, who have made the interior of my dreams, with sweeping views across Sellicks Beach. They’re small-batch producers, making basket-pressed, minimal intervention wines.
Lot 21 Sellicks Beach Road, Sellicks Beach
bergherringwines.com.au
#4 Between the Vines
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Hidden away at the bottom of a lush valley in the Adelaide Hills, Between The Vines cellar door is exactly that. This Tuscan-style cottage garden and vineyard make the perfect place to enjoy all the wine and cheese your heart desires. You’ll even get panoramic views from the rooftop.
452 Longwood Road, Longwood
betweenthevines.com.au
#5 Peter Teakle Wines
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On a hill overlooking Port Lincoln and Boston Bay in the Eyre Peninsular, Peter Teakle Wines has one of the most striking cellar doors you’ll ever see. Designed to resemble a wine barrel, the building is pretty cool by itself, but add some amazing wine grown onsite and you have a winner. There’s also a restaurant to line your stomach.
31 Whillas Road, Port Lincoln
peterteaklewines.com
#6 Dowie Doole
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The fab wines of McLaren Vale is no secret, but Dowie Doole’s cellar door is something of a hidden gem. As an almost entirely off-grid winery, they use Biodynamic techniques to keep themselves sustainable. So You can feel good when you sit in and pair your wine tastings with a build-it-yourself style produce platter.
695 California Road, McLaren Vale
dowiedoole.com
#7 Kimbolton
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I’m a sucker for an industrial container that’s been turned into something fab, and Kimbolton Wines do the aesthetic well. They keep it in the family here, being run by fifth-generation winner makers who descended from some of the first wine-making families in the area (dating back to the 1800s).
29 Burleigh Street, Langhorne Creek
kimboltonwines.com.au
#8 Alkina
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Alkina is brand new to the beautiful surroundings of the Barossa Valley, but it’s Mediterranean feel and beautifully transformed stone woolshed make it a huge pull. The name — meaning moonlight in the local Ngadjuri language — is a nod to their certified regenerative, organic and biodynamic practices which, yes, are influenced by phases of the moon.
41 Victor Road, Greenock
alkinawine.com
#9 The Tank at Uraidla Hotel
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So it’s technically not a cellar door, but it’s one of the most trippy rooms to drink a lot of different wines in, so whatever. Head down to their underground liquid library for a 30-minute session of sommelier-selected wines. There’s some pretty delish pub grub upstairs when you’re done, too.
1196 Greenhill Road, Uraidla
uraidlahotel.com.au
#10 CRFT
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This certified organic wine label has its cellar door right in front of the beautiful Mount Lofty Ranges. Apparently, the unique micro-climate of the area means CRFT’s wine can be produced with a minimum of human intervention. Try it for yourself in their barn-turned-winery.
45 Rangeview Drive, Carey Gully
crftwines.com.au
(Lead image: provided by Tourism SA / Instagram @travelwith_sallymac)
