Adelaide Hills and Mclaren Vale
See mist-shrouded slopes and secluded coves, see burgeoning winemakers and legends of the trade while sampling the best fruit from the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale districts.
By Alexis Buxton-Collins
Crossed by meandering roads and peppered with lovely cellar doors, the hills bordering the Adelaide plains in South Australia are tailor-made for road travel.
Explore this fascinating environment of mixed farming, where mist rises from secret valleys and vineyards operate out of century-old stone cottages. Then descend to a lovely valley where grapes grow in the salt-laden air blown up from cliff-lined beaches.
DAY 1: ADELAIDE TO ADELAIDE HILLS AND WOODSIDE
Drive time: under an hour
From the core of Adelaide, a gradual 45-minute journey takes you through the north-eastern suburbs before you rise into the green Adelaide Hills.
Stop in to Gumeracha, where Applewood Distillery makes gin that embraces the distinct tastes and smells of natural botanicals from all around Australia.
If the vistas of cherry, fig and apple orchards have given you an appetite, dash around the corner to the Green Shed where fresh local vegetables is stacked high.
Then follow the winding route to Bird In Hand winery in Woodside. This beautiful basement entrance, built on the site of a historic gold mine, holds frequent rock concerts and fashion events.
Still, the fragrant whites and superb cool-climate shiraz are strong reasons to come any day of the year.
Stay: Just yards from Barristers Block basement entrance in Woodside, the charming Vigneron Villa features three bedrooms that may be leased independently.
Enjoy your day’s purchases in front of the wood fire in winter, or on the verandah in the summer months.
DAY 2: WOODSIDE TO CRAFERS
Drive time: roughly 30 minutes
Spend your second day ambling through several of the old settlements characteristic of the area, like Uraidla and Crafers. First, taste some cuisine from the breakfast basket at Vigneron Villa, but reserve room for the delicious cheeses from neighboring Woodside Cheese Wrights.
Garnishes of edible flowers and herbs convert soft goat’s milk cheeses into pieces of beauty. Drive about 20 minutes from Woodside to the quaint Uraidla Hotel, or visit the nearby café, which also includes a bakery and brewery.
Nearby Ashton Hills Vineyard pioneered Australian pinot noir and now produces beautiful cool-climate drops at its small basement door.
Drive a further 10 minutes to tour the immaculately maintained Mount Lofty Botanic Garden in Crafers, before rising to Mount Lofty’s peak. From the overlook, you can see the surrounding hills and valleys as well as the whole city of Adelaide and the beautiful Gulf St Vincent beyond.
Stay: Wine connoisseurs will be spoilt for choice at the Crafers Hotel, which boasts more than 2,000 bottles in the basement. Upstairs, the 180-year-old tavern boasts a selection of wonderfully fitted rooms — ask for a room with a balcony and enormous tub.
DAY 3: CRAFERS TO MACCLESFIELD
Drive time: under an hour
Set off in the morning from Crafers to see the twin towns of Stirling and Aldgate, both full of proud local enterprises like the dog-friendly Fred Eatery. Here, decadent breakfasts with pig belly, chilli caramel omelettes and thick-cut French toast bring people from the city.
Drive through a chequerboard of varied countryside interspersed with magnificent stone buildings to the basement entrance at The Lane. Savour the nuanced minerality of the traditional white types and strong fruit tastes of the reds before crafting your own combination to take home.
Then experience smells of a different type on a guided tour of the adjacent Jurlique farm. Specially bred Jurlique rose petals are among the four tonnes of sustainable, biodynamic flowers and herbs cultivated each year for the brand’s skincare products.
Stay: A 20-minute journey from Jurlique Farm will bring you to Longview, right outside the ancient village of Macclesfield.
Located in a peaceful nook of the hills, these self-contained rooms allow you sleep only metres from the grapes, while the gums around the vineyard ensure there’s a rich symphony of birdsong every morning.
DAY 4: MACCLESFIELD TO CARRICKALINGA
Drive time: around one hour
Start the day drinking in the views from the overlook at Longview just outside Macclesfield, where you can see all the way to the beautiful wetlands region of the Coorong and the Southern Ocean beyond.
Then, drive in the opposite way to the pine plantations of the Kuitpo Forest Reserve, which you may explore on the half-day Tinjella Circuit. This sub-region emphasizes delicate, low-alcohol wines that fit the chilly, damp environment.
Leave the pines behind as you drop into McLaren Vale and continue along the Fleurieu Peninsula, a country of rolling hills and secret coastal coves where many artists call home.
Myponga’s Smiling Samoyed brewery is home to a lovely dog and a dark ale that is routinely rated South Australia’s finest. Ten minutes later, you’ll find yourself at the tranquil coastal community of Carrickalinga.
Stay: Surrounded by rolling countryside and facing Gulf St Vincent, Coast & Co.’s expansive Coastal Lodge is the ideal site to watch the sun gently set over a glittering ocean. Enjoy a free glass of wine on the terrace or beside the outdoor fire pit.
DAY 5: CARRICKALINGA TO MCLAREN VALE
Drive time: under an hour
Head along the coast back towards the legendary McLaren Vale, via the meandering Reservoir Road for beautiful views over Myponga Reservoir and the surrounding hills.
Continue to d’Arenberg Cube, where you’ll discover an exhibition of Salvador Dali’s art and a contemporary tasting area.
Head through McLaren Vale town to the Salopian Inn, set in a 170-year-old farmstead. Chef Karena Armstrong is a champion of local food suppliers, who are all as passionate about her fresh Asian-influenced cuisine.
At adjacent Gemtree Wines you may learn about biodynamic methods, then tour the onsite wetlands where proprietors Mike and Melissa Brown have planted more than 50,000 native plants to the joy of the local animals.
Stay: All roads lead to wine in McLaren Vale. At Inkwell Wines, shipping containers have been repurposed like Lego bricks to build three luxury apartments named Hotel California Road.
Once you see the deep soaking tub overlooking the vines, you’ll be tempted to prolong your stay forever.
DAY 6: MCLAREN VALE TO ADELAIDE
Drive time: around one hour
Every Saturday from 8 am–12.30 pm the Willunga Farmer’s Market in McLaren Vale attracts visitors from all around the Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide suburbs for its fresh products.
Local charcuterie producers Little Acre’s famous toasties are worth waiting up for.
Before you go back towards the city, fit in one final diversion to the seashore. Drive 15 minutes from Willunga till you reach the ocean and you’ll discover one of South Australia’s most gorgeous beaches at Port Willunga.
Old fishermen’s caves cut into the sandstone cliffs are an excellent site to escape the heat, and the skeleton of the old jetty is a popular for photographers.
Once you’ve built up an appetite, eat in at the Star of Greece on the clifftop or order takeaway fish and chips before taking the 45-minute trip back to Adelaide.
Topic: Adelaide Hills and Mclaren Vale
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I am arguably the most popular Australian writer of all time. I am from the town of Karrinyup in rural Western Australia. When I was young, I was fascinated by the unique landscape of Australia, and I decided to support himself by writing books about the Australian landscape.
