SA-Clare,the Barossa and McLaren Vale

These three areas at this time of year provides a picturesque contrast between the golden fields of grain ready to be harvested and the lush green row upon row of grape vines.
The Jesuit priests planted the regions first grapes in 1851 in the Clare valley and today are still making wines at Sevenhill, which is one of the areas oldest wineries.
The Clare, Barossa and McLaren Vale have huge contrasts in the size and age of the wineries. You can visit a small family run winery producing beautiful limited quantity wines and right next door may be one of the larger castle like buildings with acre upon acre of vines.
We spent several days in these three areas and found each one beautiful. The Clare township is charming, has some wonderful old buildings, and for the bicycle enthusiast you can cycle the 30 klm riesling trail which takes you to a large number of the Clare’s 41 wineries. Both days that we were here it was very windy and rained which dampened our enthusiasm to ride it.
Unlike the Clare, the Barossa has several towns that make up this rather large area in which there are 60 or so wineries. This area was originally settled by many different Europeans so there is a great variety of foods and traditions. We stayed at Tanunda which has a population of 4000, with many of the dark ironstone cottages and barns that have been lovingly restored. While here we visited the very impressive, Wolf Blass and Chateau Tanunda wineries. Chateau Tanunda has a croquet green and a cricket ground.
Some of the original old homes in these three areas were built by wealthy families who had done well from the mining and farming.
McLaren Vale was our last wine stop heading south to Kangaroo Island. We were here about 10 years ago and the area had expanded noticeably. Many wineries had built new, stunning cellar doors and even one of my


favourite, Wirra Wirra had updated theirs.
The huge fence out front still remains, and after sampling a few wines one afternoon( giving myself a little extra dutch courage) climbed on it to see if it would still support me. It Did. Whew! It would have been a hard landing if it hadn’t.
As you drive through these areas you can’t help but fall in love with them. The wonderful old buildings, the vines, the surrounding countryside, the locals and the shops give them a feeling that makes you want to return.