Barossa Valley

Introducing Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is Australia’s best-known wine region, with around 60 wineries opening their cellar doors to welcome visitors and offer tastings. The Barossa has been producing wines for about 160 years and approximately 65, 000 tonnes of grapes are crushed here annually. Most varieties are planted but the Barossa is especially regarded for its full-bodied Shiraz wines such as Penfolds Grange, the Barossa Valley Estate’s Black Pepper, Rolf Binder Wines’ Hanisch and Henschke’s Hill of Grace (from nearby Eden Valley).

The valley’s rolling landscape is an artist’s canvas of manicured vineyards, burly red gums and prim Lutheran churches. Fleeing religious persecution in Prussia and Silesia, the first settlers arrived clutching vines that are the origin of today’s powerful reds. Petite stone cottages dating back to the original settlement of the 1840s still grace the village streets. Prior to WWI, place names in the Barossa sounded more Germanic, but during the war many names were patriotically anglicised.

Being so close to Adelaide (60km) there are numerous tours on offer, and if you make your own way to the Barossa you will find plenty of accommodation and eating options, with many of the wineries within walking or cycling distance of each other.

Last updated: Apr 23, 2009