While it was once not much more than a curiosity, Australian wine has become a global favourite.
This massive country is home to a wide range of soils, geographies and climates that allow it to create an equally wide range of vino – from deep and hearty reds to light and playful whites and everything in between.
Not only does this make a fantastic tourist trail, but Australia’s best vineyards are an ideal starting place to find work in the wine industry. Backpackers can find plenty of work from fruit picking jobs to cellar door bar jobs.
Australian wine regions are uniquely stunning, and you don’t have to be a connoisseur to appreciate the beauty of the vineyards and the deliciousness of the wines. But where exactly should you aim for the ultimate Australian wine experience?
You won’t find better than the 10 regions listed below.
1. Barossa Valley, SA
The Barossa Valley is widely considered Australia’s preeminent wine region, and for good reason. Here you’ll find the oldest living vines not just in Australia, but probably the world.
Combine these 170+ year old vines with the hot, dry South Australian summer, and you get some of the richest, heartiest, most full-bodied reds your tastebuds will ever experience. Shiraz is the grape of choice here, with the likes of Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Yalumba producing world-famous drops.
The Barossa is super accessible, being found less than an hour’s drive north of the Adelaide CBD. It’s also as famous for its food as it is for its drinks, with Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop forming a delicious pitstop between all the cellar door action.
2. McLaren Vale, SA
Beginning again in the Adelaide CBD, but this time heading south, a short, 35km drive will see you arrive in another esteemed wine region known for its robust reds.
McLaren Vale has a distinctly Mediterranean climate. Four clear-cut seasons are headlined by a hot and dry summer that adds serious intensity to the grapes while they hang on the vine. While shiraz and cabernet sauvignon grab the headlines, the region’s unique take on whites make its chardonnay, semillon and sauvignon blanc definitely worth a try.
The most famous attraction in McLaren Vale is The Cube, a five-storey, Rubik’s cube-inspired cellar door that is a layer cake of indulgent and often eccentric experiences: a museum, an art gallery, a restaurant and a top floor tasting room make this attraction a day trip in itself!
3. Margaret River, WA
With cool winds flowing in from the Indian Ocean, the maritime climate of Margaret River is often compared to that of Bordeaux. And like Bordeaux, the focus of Margaret River producers isn’t on quantity, but quality.
Found three hours south of Perth, this is a gorgeous part of the world. Here you’ll find stunning and largely untouched coast – china-white sand is sandwiched between rolling green hills and turquoise water, which offers up a steady diet of waves for surfers to enjoy. On dry land, hiking trails take you to lighthouses, caves and other attractions.
In terms of wine, Margaret River is known for cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and signature blends like sauvignon blanc/semillon and cabernet/merlot. Head to the cellar doors of Vasse Felix or Voyager Estate to experience the local wines in all their glory, or poke your head in at Cullen Wines – a self-powered, biodynamic and totally carbon neutral operation that will serve you up the most guilt-free alcohol of your life!
4. Hunter Valley, NSW
When the Father of Australian wine, James Busby, planted the country’s first vines, he did so in the Hunter Valley. A two to three-hour drive north of Sydney (depending on traffic), the Hunter is a favourite of Sydneysiders looking for a cheeky wine-filled weekend away.
While it might be the birthplace of Australian wine, the Hunter is now known for an innovative approach to winemaking that is producing ever more exciting results. An almost subtropical climate produces a popular medium-bodied shiraz, but semillon is probably the region’s most famous variety.
Grabs your boards, because the Hunter is also charcuterie heaven. The area seems to have gourmet festivals every second weekend, so prepare your stomach for a steady supply of cured meats, cheeses, olive oils, sourdoughs and sweet treats. Three square meals a day are replaced by constant nibbling that starts when the cellar doors open and ends when they close.
5. Mornington Peninsula, VIC
A couple of decades ago the Mornington Peninsula was a sleepy area where you’d find livestock grazing and Melbourne families enjoying quiet beach weekends. Fast forward to today and it has become one of Australia’s most luxurious and fastest-growing wine regions.
Just an hour south of the Melbourne CBD, Mornington is now home to a dozen world class golf courses, a wealth of high-end restaurants, and endless luxury day spas and resorts. You’ll also find over 50 cellar doors, all of which have been established since 1980.
If you had to craft a custom climate to grow pinot noir and chardonnay in, it would look a lot like that found on the Mornington Peninsula. The soils of the region vary wildly, from sandy to volcanic, which means that a pinot from one winery can taste totally different to a pinot from a few kilometres away, even if you aren’t exactly a sommelier.
6. Coonawarra, SA
Dirt usually isn’t that interesting, but in the case of the South Australian wine region of Coonawarra, the dirt is what makes it such a fascinating place.
In 1951 a man named Samuel Wynn noticed a strange stretch of red dirt, 2km wide and 15km long, to the north of the township of Penola. This ‘terra rossa’ soil sat on a limestone ridge with swamps on either side. Turns out it is ideal for growing grapes. To some degree the terroir of Coonawarra transformed the Australian wine industry – its table wines were so good that they turned the nation’s palate away from fortified wine.
Found 380km southeast of Adelaide in sheep grazing country, today the region is home to Wynns, Katnook and Brands Laira. While you’re in the area, be sure to check out the stunning and fossil-filled Naracoorte Caves.
7. Yarra Valley, VIC
Yet another world class wine region within an hour of a major city, the Yarra Valley is a stone’s throw from Melbourne, and delivers fine cool-climate wines by the bucket load.
Delicate and complex chardonnay, pinot noir and sparkling are the specialties here. Oakridge, Punt Road, Mac Forbes and Domaine Chandon are some of the most famous names, while Giant Steps is worth a visit for its cellar door alone.
The tasting journey extends far beyond the wine glass though, with cheese, preserves, gin and loose-leaf tea offered up by gourmet producers throughout the region. While you’re there, head to Healesville sanctuary for an up close and personal experience with Australian wildlife. If aesthetics are more your thing, check out the TarraWarra Museum of Art.
8. Tamar Valley, TAS
The Apple Isle turns decidedly grapey to the north of Launceston, where a 50km stretch of the River Tamar is lined with vineyard after beautiful vineyard.
The Tamar Valley is Tassie’s leading wine region, specialising in cool climate varieties like pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. It also prides itself on its paddock-to-plate produce – food producers actually outnumber wineries two to one.
Then there’s the untamed Tasmanian wilderness to explore. Hikes stretch from craggy mountaintops down through old growth forest and out to waterways and beaches (some of which are nude). The Tamar Valley producers are also quite eco-conscious, with many wineries striving to be carbon neutral.
9. Great Southern, WA
Great Southern is perhaps the most remote of Australia’s wine regions, found 400km south of Perth, near the towns of Albany and Denmark. It is also massive, stretching 100km north to south and 150km east to west.
Its five sub-regions specialise in different styles: rich reds, pure rieslings, premium sparkling and almost any other grape and profile you can think of. Over 50 wineries call the region home, some of which date back to the 60s, when Great Southern was on the leading edge of Australia’s table wine renaissance.
Beyond wine, the natural beauty of this most isolated part of the world will blow your socks clean off. Pristine white beaches fall into the bluest of blue waters which are teeming with dolphins, seals and other wildlife. If you expend the effort required to get there, you’ll find that Great Southern is criminally underrated and overlooked.
10. Clare Valley, SA
Attention riesling lovers: if you’re on the hunt for the best drops in Oz, and perhaps the world, you need look no further than the Clare Valley, two hours north of Adelaide.
Here you’ll find a quaint slice of rural Australian life that just happens to find itself in prime wine-growing conditions. The bulk of the wineries are family owned and run, with Jim Barry, Pikes and Taylors amongst the best known. The cute cafés, shops, pubs and restaurants bring the same country hospitality that the wineries do.
Found at the northernmost point of the Epicurean Way, which links Clare to South Australia’s other famed wine regions, consider hiring a bike and working off those glasses between cellar doors. And when you’re all wined out, be sure to check out Martindale Hall – a spectacular, though slightly creepy, Georgian-style manor.
