Clare Valley Wineries & Cellar Doors
Best riesling in the world
Clare Valley winery Kilikanoon has won the trophy for the best riesling in the world at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. It won for its 2006 Mort's Block riesling. Kilikanoon is just one of the leading wineries that calls the Clare Valley home.
Visit our cellar doors
If you're looking for famous labels bearing equally famous names, look no further. Clare Valley is home to the likes of Neil Paulett, Stephen John, Jeffrey Grosset, David O'Leary, Andrew Mitchell, the Barry family, Robert Crabtree, Neil Pike, Stephanie Toole, Tim Adams and Brother John May. And if you have a question about wine, chances are the winemaker is somewhere nearby and will be delighted to attend to you personally. It's just one of the many advantages of being a truly 'boutique' region.
Riesling Trail Map
Don't forget to follow the Riesling Trail, leading you past cellar doors throughout the Clare Valley. Grab the Riesling Trail map here.
The wines
As Australian wine regions go, Clare Valley is small, accounting for around 2.5 per cent of the nation's crush. But its boutique wines are select and moreover, they're taking the world by storm.
You'll find Clare Valley on wine lists in the world's five-star restaurants, as well as in the First Class compartments on Qantas aircraft. In 2004, a few lucky guests were even served a local drop by Jamie Oliver at Brad Pitt's birthday party.
Clare Valley continues to be known as the home of Australian Riesling, having set the standard by which others measure their own excellence. But 2004 also saw a local Cabernet Sauvignon being voted the world's finest by a panel of London judges, while a string of Shiraz vintages garnered their usual crop of gold medals.
Local wine-makers are great innovators, and not only in the blending of their varieties. You'll notice the widespread use of the screw-cap closure. This cork replacement was bravely championed by the region, and has proved so successful in preventing 'wine taint' that it's rapidly being adopted by the industry in Australasia and overseas.
The cellar doors
In 1848, Jesuit priests fled religious and political persecution in Silesia, migrated to Australia and established Sevenhill Cellars. Three years later, they planted Clare Valley's first grapes and began making sacramental wine - although the priests were soon supplying settlers made thirsty by their labours in the fields and copper mines.
Today, Jesuits at Sevenhill are still making sacramental wines in the same cellars, but they've been joined in the region by 22 other wineries and 40 cellar doors.
You'll find cellar doors operating out of farmhouses and sheds, heritage buildings and state-of-the-art structures. Some overlook sublime views, others enjoy straw-littered courtyards or aromatic flower gardens.
The great majority of wineries are small-scale boutique producers, and many are concentrated along a single land corridor just 15 minutes from Clare. Touring is both easy and delightful, made more so thanks to their association with a string of charming historic villages.
Clare Valley Winemakers - brochure
Download a copy of the Clare Valley Winemakers [PDF 2.5mb].
