Some Help Planning Barossa Trip

[dan_smee]

Hi All,

Planning a Barossa trip for the new year with the Minister for Finance (the wife) and wanted some help form the experts of this forum on which wineries I HAVE to go to, which wineries to go to if there is time, and which to miss out altogether. I have made a list of the ones I know / love / have heard great things about, and prioritised them from what I know - also provided some reasons for having things placed where they are. I also don't know if all of these actually have cellar doors, or if they are available for tasting elsewhere? Any help would be greatly appreciated:

Greenock Creek - the 2002 Apricot Block was my real Barossa epiphany, it feels like this place will be my spiritual Barossa home.

Rockford - for very obvious reasons

Seppeltsfield - Opportunity to taste the 100YO Para, and birth year wines

Hentley Farm - Some personal experience has been great, some strong recommendations from friends

Standish - Never had, wish to try

Kalleske - Good personal experiences with aged bottles

Head - On recommendation from here and other places

Ballycroft - Strong recommendation form here

Henschke - I hear the Hill of Grace tour is a must?

Penfolds - Do you have to when you go? Their wines and business philosophy have disappointed me of late

Elderton - Recommendation from a trusted friend

Flaxman - Recommendation from here

David Franz - On reputation

[Scotty vino]

If you're going to Rockfords then go a bit further to Charles Melton. It's 500 metres further down.
Sit around a big table to taste rather than over the counter. Staff are very friendly. Great wines.
Turkey flat is also a nice cellar door and not far from the ones in Krondorf if you're heading back towards Tanunda.
Henschke is a good one to do first up as it's out in Keyneton and somewhat out on it's own. Then make your way back.
Greenock Creek was a little more outta the way then i was expecting and I thought I'd made a wrong turn but keep going you'll get there
Haven't been to Hentley Farm but apparently the restaurant is a winner.

[timmspe]

That looks like an awesome list! To the best of my knowledge, Head, Standish, Ballycroft, Flaxman, David Franz and Kalleske do not have a cellar door (Kalleske were in the process of building one when I visited a few months ago). However, tasting by appointment is of course a different matter. The Barossa Valley website has a decent wineries search engine, with location details and visiting hours (http://www.barossa.com/wine/wineries-search), however, the information is not always accurate, e.g., it states that Kalleske are open for tasting on a regular basis, however (at least when I visited) they are by appointment only, so it might be worth ringing ahead to double check for some of the smaller places.

Based on the quality of the wine, I recommend Kalleske, Tscharke, and Artisans of Barossa.

My memory of Greenock Creek is very positive, and Charles Melton is also worth a visit.

Pindarie have a fantastic view out over the valley.

Peter Lehmann, although more mainstream, have a very nice cellar door. If you haven't already, their semillon is worth trying, and their Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz has proven time and again to be my favourite sparkling shiraz, and indeed my favourite wine at present.

There are a few of places that I think are worth avoiding. PM me if you are keen to hear more on that.

Excellent coffee can be had at Nosh in Tanunda, Barista Sista in Nuriootpa, and Blonde in Angaston. The Angaston Farmers Market is a great market that is on every Saturday morning, and Barossa Valley Coffee Roasters have a table there and their coffee is sublime. FermentAsian is worthwhile, although be prepared to book at least two or three weeks in advance. Vintners is well regarded, as are, of course, Appellation and Hentley Farm.

If you have had enough eating and drinking, Menglers Hill Lookout, about 5 min out of Tanunda, is a great place to watch the sun go down. Although they can be a little hard to find, and snakes could be an issue at this time of year, good walking can be had at Kaiser Stuhl National Park and Hale Conservation Park.

Have a great trip!

[dan_smee]

Thanks for that, both of you.

I would be interested in hearing the bad stories too - if you don't want to post them, more than happy to hear them over PM

[Mike Hawkins]

I agree with the Turkey Flat and Artisans recommendations.

Yalumba is excellent, but generally the newer / younger staff aren't allowed to pour the good stuff. Before approaching the counter, see who the boss appears to be and try to get served by her/ him. The better labels will be under the counter. Yalumba is on the way to Henschke as well.

[Matt]

Hi Dan
I would check out The Willows in Light Pass for exceptional value for money wines and Ferment Asian in Tanunda for BYO dinner...

[Nick]

Hi Dan
I would visit Tscharke before just about any other Cellar Door in the Barossa, definitely try to make time.
I would make fermentAsian my first booking for a meal; I'd eat there every week if it was in Adelaide.
If you're not a Stonewaller, I would try to visit Rockford in the company of a Stonewaller and thereby do a tasting in the separate tasting room. If you can, try to organise the Stonewaller's lunch on the Friday.
I believe the Fino team (from Willunga) are opening in Seppeltsfield in the New Year, would be worth seeing if they're open when you land.
Aside from that, would second most of the suggestions above, and would particularly be angling for visits to Head and/or Ruggabellus (having enjoyed bottles recently from both).
Have a great trip.
Cheers
Nick

[Rossco]

I went to the barossa a couple of weeks ago, so everything still
Fresh in my mind.

Loved Gibson and visiting there is a must. IMO one of the best cellar doors in obarossa.

Went to charlie Melton as well. While the food was fantastic
I felt the wines were overpriced. They wernt bad, just too expensive for what they were.

Went to artisans, and was a little dissapointed.....I think I built it up in my head too much. Really depends on
What is on tasting, but when john duval entity is $50 from there and
I can get it from the big green store for less in my own state, kind of gets me upset. Still I bought some
2010 Schwartz nitschke block shiraz.

Previous trips I have loved langmeil.....LOVED IT, but didn't get there this trip,
So don't know if it's still amazing.

David Franz wines are a favourite of mine, but it's by appointment only and he was busy when I was
There, so couldnt meet the man himself or buy any of his wines. I didn't try to make an appointment with Sami odi.

Turkey flat is great, but can get very busy.

I think kalleske is now open, so head down there, same as dutschke.....if they are
Open give dutschke a go.

[jimv]

I was there in March, Torbreck wines were the highlight by a significant margin.

[Matt]

Yes another one for Tscharke - from memory I had his 2010 Marananga Cab as my favourite wine of 2013.

[TravisW]

You'll have a great time Dan. The 'rossa rocks.

Try:
Langmeil.
Dutschke.
Yalumba.
Artisans.

Ferment Asia for your posh meal.

The Apex Bakery in Tanunda for your non-posh meal.

The Lyndoch butcher for your bratwurst and metwurst.

Have a Farmers Union Iced Coffee.

Also, pop into the Eden Valley tasting rooms in Angaston.

Cheers, Travis.

[George Krashos]

Had a brilliant lunch at fermentAsian last weekend and a great tasting at Rockford beforehand. Both are "musts".

-- George Krashos

[Diddy]

There's some great information in this thread - thanks all!

I'm in a similar position to dan_smee, and I'm having to work (hard) on the Mrs to get her into the idea of an Adelaide trip.

She wants a beach holiday, where are the nicest spots around Adelaide (1-2 hours by car) that are worth a visit?

[Luke W]

Hi Dan
Hope u have a great trip. Its worth asking Rockfords if u can do their lunch (sometimes they let non stonewallers in). The other winery that hasn't been mentioned is Two Hands (just realised my mistake, thanks and not just the Ares but all their other wines as well) - I found their wines quite superb.

cheers

luke

[LGW]

The other winery that hasn't been mentioned is Ares - I found their wines quite superb.

Isn't that a wine made by Two Hands winery?

If the minister lets you splurge a bit, I went to appellation restaurant @ the Louise and had the degustation there. Sometimes they have winemaker dinners there too.

There's a few coming up, hopefully one is at the time you go:
http://www.thelouise.com.au/dine/events/

[timmspe]

Two Hands do have some excellent wine on offer. However, many wines come out of Clare, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills, and as such it does not seem like a Barossa Valley experience. The have a very interesting business model! The cellar door is very nice and they a couple of impressive tricks up their sleeve! With due respect to Luke, they make some very good wine, but if you are going to Barossa and want to get a pure Barossa experience, it's probably not worth a visit. On the other hand - does that take us up to three hands? Ha ha haaa... - it could be a good way to compare Shiraz etc. from different SA regions.

[sjw_11]

My "must visit" wineries for a full itinerary would be to drive up via North East Rd (the nicest albeit longest way to get there) then stop at Henschke and Yalumba (but as Mike points out, at Yalumba you have to make it clear you really know wine and then usually the good stuff comes out, at any rate the winery and location are very pretty anyway)... then in Barossa proper I always visit Rockford, Charlie Melton, Turkey Flat and lately Willows...

Heritage is one other name few people mention but is run by an older bloke same generation as Rockford and makes very reasonable, older fashioned Barossa reds at good prices ... In my 1990/91 wine label collection (I was only 5 so I was too young to drink) I have Heritage and Rockford wine labels among others...

I guess you can kind of split Barossa into two: new wave and old school.
New wave is all the Greenock Creek, Torbreck, Two Hands, & their ilk
Old school is Rockford, Turkey Flat, Charles Melton, Heritage, Veritas, & co...
I personally prefer the latter more

Of course some wineries have wines in both camps - I second a recommendation above for the Willows ... very good base Shiraz for about $20 and then they also have the "Bonesetter" which is more like the tricked up super Barossan style, still good QpR at about $50...

Other oddball thoughts:

Stop at Jenke for another touch of old school Barossa, interesting Cab Franc, perhaps some back vintage Semillon's (they are Barossa style, with some wood I believe, but age surprisingly well)... also a lovely little cellar door.
Peter Lehman is worth stopping but not buying at, its so big its pretty easy just to try the eyes out of the list and then sneak out.
Langmeil makes decent wines but is very commercial and invariably very busy (they do a lot of bus tours as well)
No one mentions Elderton anymore, but they still make some nice wines.
If you have gone to Henschke, consider trying to find Mountadam which is in a gorgeous spot in the middle of nowehere in Eden Valley...
Kalleske cellar door is also good
Two Hands is a bit "slick" in the modern Barossa school & sell more to export than anything, but at the same time the quality is good (QpR questionable) and normally the CD experience is OK (good glassware, may let you compare things side by side)

Oh and its still quite commercial but if you havent ever been to Seppeltsfield before, you don't get a choice you have to visit and do a tour... might be better these days now more removed from corporate ownership too.

You must also get a German hot dog in Tanunda, a pasty from Apex and a bee-sting cake from Lyndoch Bakery...

[Michael R]

Hi Dan

I’m sure you’ll have a great time.
Seems like loads of good recommendations above, so these will only echo some of them. But fwiw….

1. Torbreck.
Yes, I know there’s been some sad and distasteful events recently, but if you assume there’s 2 sides to the story, you shouldn’t miss visiting here.
It’s the best CD by a mile for general public, given they pour every wine they make, in Riedel glasses, and the staff are great fun and very engaged.
Its quite a small room, so be sure to avoid busy times or Saturdays.

2. Rockford. What more needs to be said. I’m a stonewaller so I’m biased but if you can somehow squeeze into a Stonewaller lunch, drop everything and do it. It’ll take up the entire day (i.e. 11.45am – 6.30pm), but you will absolutely love it. Also mate, connect with the CD staff, buy some bottles and get on the Stonewaller wait list, you can be surprised how quickly things can happen 

3. Charles Melton. Honestly I’m not a huge advocate for the wines anymore as the prices have risen beyond where I think they should be. But as mentioned earlier, its on Krondorf Rd and a short walk up from Rockford. You can also stay at Charles Melton in a converted church which is great. Every Barossan trip should include a pie lunch here too, happy days.

3a. Kabminye, next door to Melton is this smaller producer. Really decent, younger couple making quality wines and a small art gallery/studio upstairs. I don’t have a lot of experience with their wines (Michael McNally can better advise) but definitely worth calling in to check them out if you have time after Meltons/Rockford .

4. Dutchske…superb wines. The Oscar Semmler would be up there for me as the most consistent iconic Barossan Shiraz.

5. Artisans….great range, Spinifex, Duval, Sons of Eden, Hobbs etc etc.

6. Gomersal, you can pick up wines here for ~$25 that are excellent. Ticklenow has written tonnes about this place, and having been there I can say its well worth a visit.

7. Elderton. This was a massive surprise. I’ve never really liked the wines historically, always been particularly disappointed by the few Commands that came my way, but we had a fantastic visit here. No one else around, really engaging lady at the counter, knew loads of info and a good banter.
The 08 Ashmead Cab Sav was the best wine I drank on our last trip. The had decent quality cheap bottles too for under $20. Also the Command vineyards are right beside the cellar door.

8. Henschke….tiny cellar door, so must avoid on Saturday or peak times. Great staff and beautiful winery, but not everything on taste. All the icons are kept for those doing the swanky tour. If you pick a quieter time you may be able to charm a few tastes of the good stuff. Tour is meant to be superb though. Still definitely worth a visit, but bear in mind crowds! Its places like this that make the Torbreck experience all the more amazing.

Barossa Valley Estates, Hentley Farm, Grant Burge, St Hallet etc, there’s loads more down there which will provide excellent CD experiences. I’ve unfortunately never been to Tscharke but its clear it’s a superb experience from the report here.
Of course if you’re keen on the newer wave stuff, Sami-Odi, Ruggabellus etc don’t have cellar doors (at least they didn’t when I was there), so an email or a call beforehand might be able to sort something.
Also, although Greenock Creek wines are not generally my cup of tea and have never looked to visit there, but a friend of a friend is a winemaker there, so let me know if you need help arranging a cellar door visit.

On a negative front, we had a shocker at Turkey Flat. But given the amount of others recommending it above, it must just have been a bad day.

Food-wise, yep Fermentasian is very good, and we’ve also ended up at 1918 a couple of times as its byo and a solid spot after a long day tasting.
Maggie Beer’s is worth a look, but it’s a penfolds style supermarket set-up, coaches galore outside and cash registers ringing away, but if you want to get supplies and eat in one night…….
Also I’ve never actually made it to the markets, but my wife loves going, I thing Saskia Beer has a stand there, plus the bacon/eggs rolls she comes home with are superb!

Looking forward to hearing all about it!
Michael

[Teisto]

A lot that the others have mentioned

Artisans - I think you can actually book a bigger run through of some of the individual wineries and do more of their stuff. I would do Teusner, Sons of Eden and Spinifex
Charles Melton
Heritage Wines - smaller producer
Torbreck
Kurtz - By appointment
Standish - by appointment but can also get to try Sami Odi there as well.
Kaesler
Gomersal
Yelland and Papps

Hope you are spending a while down there.

[sjw_11]

On a negative front, we had a shocker at Turkey Flat. But given the amount of others recommending it above, it must just have been a bad day.

Oh I meant to say, I still usually go as I have a soft spot for the winery but yes the service at Turkey Flat can be awful (either rude or just a bit not quite with it) but the wines are good and excellent value (the Shiraz and Cab are still no more than $40)...

[Michael McNally]

Hi Dan

For some non-blockbuster-Shiraz action I would visit Burge Family Winemakers for some great Rhone reds. Straight Grenache (Garnacha) and blends of various varietals. Very interesting wines, and Rick Burge is a nice bloke and happy to talk wine. Oh and he has pretty good Shiraz too! Older wines on offer and some great Semillons.

Cheers

Michael

PS You didn't say how long you are going for, but with your list of wineries I hope it is 3 or 4 days!!

[Panda 9D]

To second a few recommendations.

Tscharke's Place is great. As for Head.. he doesn't have a cellar door but you might be able to arrange for a tasting at Tscharke's joint as they do a lot of work together.

Two Hands is totally worth visiting. They do have wines from other regions but they make a lot of Barossa wine and it's a good chance to try some of their stuff that you mightn't necessarily want to fork out for.

I've only been to Greenock Creek once and the mood wasn't the best in the Barossa at the time as mouldy bunches of grapes were still visible in a lot of vineyards after the 2011 harvest. Mrs Waugh wasn't impressed and thought that pride in their vineyards alone should motivate growers to remove the grapes. Felt kind of like you were stumbling onto Jonestown after they drank the Kool-Aid. The wines were great though. I bought the 09 Seven Acre which was 14.5% alcohol and really not matching the image of their earlier Parker era wines. Definitely worth visiting. Anyone have any idea when these 09 Seven Acres will be anywhere near ready to drink??

[redstuff]

Laughing Jack! Shawn Kalleske is a great guy.
You will need to contact them on their website though
http://www.laughingjackwines.com/

[PaulG]

I second the recommendations of Rockfords, Charles Melton, Turkey Flat and Artisans, but would strongly recommend also going to Rolf Binder Wines. Rolf does some amazing stuff, and he has a decent range on tasting. It's reasonably centrally located, and is worth the trip.

When will you be here? Any chance we could host an offline whilst you are in town?

[TrickyH]

+1 for Rolph Binder (Veritas) - make sure to taste the Bull's Blood if you're into that kind of thing.

There's also Murray Street Vineyards if you want to venture out to Greenock (if you're going to Greenock Creek it's not that much further) - well worth it for their premium range which they were quite happy to open last time I visited.

I'd also add Peter Lehmann - yes it's a bit more targeted at the tourist market but it's a beautiful cellar door and they make some good drink as well.

[ticklenow1]

It's all pretty much been covered here but I'll second Michael and recommend Burge Family. Also Gomersal Wines and Sieber Road Wines are worth look as well. 3 smaller wineries producing high quality, great VFM wines.

If you can get into a Rockford Lunch, don't pass up the opportunity, that are fantastic and it's something you'll never forget.

Saturday morning you'll need to visit the Farmers Markets at Angaston. Amazing Bacon and Egg Rolls and a treasure trove of digestable goodies from the Barossa are there.

For meals, Fermentasian is a must, 1918 is also very good and for a bit of a spoil for the wife, take her to The Louise @ Appellation. If you are into German food, the Lyndoch bakery does an incredible German mixed grill. Great for lunch.

Have a great trip. We always do.

Cheers
Ian

[mjs]

my 2c worth from three tours over the last eighteen months

Definitely visit Tscharke, certainly consider (in no particular area order) Murray Street, Flaxman, Dutchske, Laughing Jack, Kalleske, Artisans, Cimicky, Standish (+Fraser McKinley's Sami Odi wines)

Definitely do the Masterclass tasting at Lehmann's ($), consider the VIP tour/tasting at Henschke ($$$)

Oh, and Farmers Market on Sat morning at Angaston

Lastly, our most recent tour was timed around Greenock Ck CD being open in Sept. Somewhat underwhelmed have to say. The 2011's were ok, and I know others rave about the Roenfeldt Road series, but we thought they were undrinkable, Parker-ish in the extreme.

[dan_smee]

2. Rockford. What more needs to be said. I’m a stonewaller so I’m biased but if you can somehow squeeze into a Stonewaller lunch, drop everything and do it. It’ll take up the entire day (i.e. 11.45am – 6.30pm), but you will absolutely love it. Also mate, connect with the CD staff, buy some bottles and get on the Stonewaller wait list, you can be surprised how quickly things can happen 

Thanks everyone for all the advice - I am fast learning that this may be two trips!!

Michael - I really want to get on the Stonewallers list - do you have any tips on how to fast-track the process, or at the very least how long it may take?

Would you recommend that I email them a few months before going and order some bottles? I ws thinking of putting an order in to get a member log-in and then progressively placing a few orders of 6-12 bottles a year.

[tex0403]

Happy to give a tour and taste at Two Hands Dan. Just pm me. Same goes for any forum members who are visiting the BV.

[dan_smee]

Thanks Tex! may just have to get in touch with you when we are planning!