Wine & Cellar Doors
Taste the Peninsula
The best wine & cellar doors in McLaren Vale
From the legendary Shiraz of McLaren Vale to small-batch grenache and emerging Italian varietals, the Fleurieu is South Australia's most celebrated wine region. Over 80 cellar doors welcome visitors for tastings, tours and vineyard meals.
The Fleurieu Peninsula is one of Australia's great wine destinations, and its beating heart is McLaren Vale — the birthplace of South Australia's wine industry and one of the country's oldest regions. The warm, maritime climate here produces the generous, sun-soaked Shiraz and Grenache the Vale is famous for, alongside a growing cast of Mediterranean varieties like Vermentino, Fiano and Nero d'Avola that suit the warming seasons.
But the peninsula's cellar doors reach well beyond the Vale. You'll find boutique, family-run wineries around Willunga, Sellicks Hill, Currency Creek and the Southern Fleurieu, many of them pouring tastings just metres from the vines. The experiences run the full range — from architectural landmarks like the d'Arenberg Cube to honest tin-shed makers where the winemaker is often the one behind the bar.
Most cellar doors open daily for tastings, and a good number have kitchens or restaurants attached, so you can build an entire day around long lunches and slow drives. If you plan to taste widely, consider a designated driver or one of the local small-group wine tours. Spring and autumn are the prettiest seasons in the vineyards, but the cellar doors welcome visitors year-round.
Browse wine & cellar doors by area
66 places
S.C. Pannell
$$$Mediterranean varietals & a hilltop restaurant
Stephen Pannell's renowned cellar door and restaurant high above McLaren Vale, specialising in Grenache, Tempranillo and other Mediterranean varietals.
Samson Tall
$$An 1854 chapel turned cellar door
Intimate cellar door housed in an 1854 stone chapel on Strout Road, with an adjoining historic cemetery - one of McLaren Vale's most atmospheric tastings.
Samuel's Gorge
$$1853 barn with views over the gorge
Boutique winery by Justin McNamee in an 1853 stone barn overlooking the Onkaparinga Gorge, specialising in Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz.
Scarpantoni Estate Wines
$$Italian-Australian family winery since 1979
Three generations of Scarpantonis run this McLaren Flat estate, pouring a broad, affordable range from the veranda with vineyard views.
Serafino McLaren Vale
$$$Cellar door, restaurant & accommodation
Family estate on Kangarilla Road combining a celebrated cellar door, restaurant, conference centre and on-site accommodation, set around a lakeside garden.
Settlement Wines
$$Seaview Road family winery
Family-owned cellar door on Seaview Road, McLaren Vale, specialising in old-vine McLaren Vale Shiraz and Grenache.
Sherrah Wines
$$Young-gun winemaker on McMurtrie Road
Alex Sherrah makes small-batch shiraz, grenache and left-field whites at this unpretentious cellar door on McMurtrie Road.
Shingleback Wines
$$Red Knot Shiraz & an 1800s barn
Family-owned winery at the entrance to the McLaren Vale township, based around a beautifully restored 1800s ironstone farm barn.
Shottesbrooke Vineyards
$$McLaren Flat hilltop with Mount Lofty views
Family winery on Bagshaws Road, McLaren Flat - home to The Currant Shed restaurant and a large cellar door with sweeping Mount Lofty Ranges views.
Smidge Wines
$$$Wine Spectator favourite on Tatachilla Road
Matt Wenk's boutique Smidge Wines has a Halliday five-red-star rating and has featured in Wine Spectator's Top 100 for ten consecutive years.
The Vineyard Retreat McLaren Vale
$$$$Boutique guesthouses on a working vineyard
Six elegantly appointed self-contained guesthouses on a 15-acre working vineyard at Blewitt Springs - plus a shared jacuzzi with vineyard views.
Thicker Than Water Wines
$$Home of Giant Squid Ink shiraz
A family-run McMurtrie Road cellar door famous for its Giant Squid Ink shiraz.
Varney Wines
$$Heritage 1870s barn overlooking Onkaparinga Gorge
Alan Varney's cellar door sits in a restored 1870s limestone barn on the edge of the Onkaparinga Gorge at Old Noarlunga.
Willunga 100 Wines
$$$The Grenache Room at Blind Spot Vineyard
Willunga 100's Grenache Room is a grenache-focused tasting space inside a restored 1920s cottage in the Blind Spot Vineyard at Blewitt Springs.
Wirra Wirra Vineyards
$$Heritage ironstone cellars
Heritage winery established in 1894, famous for The Angelus Cabernet and the award-winning Harry's Deli bistro in the ironstone cellar.
Woodstock Wine Estate
$$Family-friendly Douglas Gully winery
Family-owned winery with the Stocks Tasting Room, Coterie Restaurant, native wildlife park and extensive gardens on Douglas Gully Road.
Yangarra Estate Vineyard
$$$Biodynamic Grenache pioneers
Certified biodynamic and organic estate in the sandy-soil Blewitt Springs sub-region, making Australia's most celebrated old-vine Grenache.
Zonte's Footstep
$$Cellar Door & Kitchen on the Main Road
Family winery with a casual cellar door and kitchen on Main Road, McLaren Flat, known for Chocolate Factory Shiraz and a fun, family-friendly vibe.