Barossa Valley Food & Wine
Penfolds, Seppeltsfield and Farm Shop picnics in Australia's most historic wine region.
The Barossa is Australia's heartland Shiraz country — 150-year-old vines planted by German settlers who built the region's stone cottages and bakeries. An hour north-east of Adelaide buys you the oldest wine estates in the southern hemisphere and some of the most generous farm cooking in the country.
Highlights
- Penfolds Magill Estate and Seppeltsfield Centennial cellar
- Fermentasian or Hentley Farm for a signature long lunch
- Maggie Beer's Farm Shop — pâté, verjuice and the daily demo at 2pm
- Mengler's Hill lookout over the valley floor
- Barossa Farmers Market (Saturday mornings in Angaston)
Suggested itinerary
- Saturday · 10am
Adelaide → Barossa
An hour up the northern expressway. Coffee stop at The Stirling Hotel or Lyndoch Bakery when you arrive.
- Saturday · 11am
Seppeltsfield tasting
Walk the 1860-planted palm avenue, then the Centennial cellar — taste a wine from your birth year for $150.
- Saturday · 1pm
Hentley Farm lunch
Hatted degustation in a converted stone barn, vineyard views, 3-hour commitment. Book 4+ weeks out.
- Saturday · 4pm
Mengler's Hill + Menglers Hill
Short drive up to the 400m lookout. Valley laid out below — the shot every tourism ad uses.
- Sunday · 9am
Angaston Farmers Market
Locally grown produce, cheese-maker stalls, German-heritage cakes. Open 7:30am – 11:30am Saturdays.
- Sunday · Midday
Maggie Beer + drive home
Farm Shop lunch with a harvest platter, then back to Adelaide by 4pm. Detour via Kapunda's heritage main street.
Getting there
An hour from Adelaide via the Northern Expressway. Barossa Wine Train runs on weekends if you'd rather not drive.
Eat & drink
- FermentAsian — modern Vietnamese in Tanunda, hatted for a decade
- Hentley Farm — the Barossa's most-awarded kitchen
- Lyndoch Bakery for pork pies and fruit loaves
Local tips
- The Barossa is flatter and more compact than McLaren Vale — easier to do by bike if you stay central
- Shiraz is the headline, but Riesling from Eden Valley (next door) is the region's under-loved gem
- Summer can push 40°C — winter tastings come with fireplaces and fewer tourists
- Most cellar-door tastings are free or $10–15; premium flights are $40–80