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
105 places
Pertaringa / Bec Hardy Wines
$$Two brands, one beautiful cellar door
Contemporary cellar door on Hunt Road showcasing both the Pertaringa and Bec Hardy ranges - wines by the sixth-generation Hardy family.
Pirramimma
A fifth-generation Johnston family estate making McLaren Vale Shiraz since 1892, from some of the region's oldest vines.
Primo Estate
$$$Joseph and the Il Briccone spirit
Family winery by the Grilli family known for Joseph wines, the Il Briccone blend, and one of Australia's most admired Italian-accented ranges.
Red Dot Gallery at Penny's Hill
A constantly-changing contemporary art gallery built into the historic 'Ingleburne' cellar door at Penny's Hill, alongside the wine tasting room and The Kitchen Door restaurant.
Richard Hamilton Wines
$$Leconfield sister brand with Willunga views
Family-owned McLaren Vale winery on Main Road with a modern cellar door set amongst vineyards, views to the Willunga escarpment, and sister-brand Leconfield.
S.C. Pannell
$$$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.
Sabella Vineyards
Italian-accented cellar door and restaurant pairing Sabella estate wines with Joe Cangiano's wood-fired Italian cooking on McLaren Vale's main road.
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
$$Seaview Road family winery
Family-owned cellar door on Seaview Road, McLaren Vale, specialising in old-vine McLaren Vale Shiraz and Grenache.
Sew & Sew Wines
A minimal-intervention Grenache and Shiraz specialist sharing a boutique cellar door at Pennys Hill Road.
Shadow Creek Winery
A heritage-style cellar door above Turraparri Creek with luxury accommodation on the property - open Friday to Sunday 11am-5pm.
Sherrah Wines
$$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
$$Red Knot Shiraz & an 1800s barn
Family-owned winery at the entrance to the McLaren Vale township, based around a beautifully restored 1800s ironstone farm barn.
Shirvington Wines
A family-owned producer of powerful single-vineyard Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, with barrel-room tastings overlooking the estate vineyard.
Shottesbrooke Vineyards
$$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.
Silent Noise Wines
Charlie O'Brien's alternative-variety wine project showcased in a shared tasting room on Stump Hill Road, McLaren Flat.
Smidge Wines
$$$Wine Spectator favourite on Tatachilla Road
Matt Wenk's boutique Smidge Wines has a Halliday five-red-star rating and has featured in Wine Spectator's Top 100 for ten consecutive years.
Somos Wines
A shared cellar door (with Seven Eves) championing climate-appropriate Mediterranean varieties crafted by winemaker Mauricio Ruiz Cantu.
The Vine Shed (Conte Estate)
An Italian-heritage family cellar door on Sand Road with regular live music, a kids play area and a big deck overlooking the vineyards.
The Vineyard Retreat McLaren Vale
$$$$Boutique guesthouses on a working vineyard
Six elegantly appointed self-contained guesthouses on a 15-acre working vineyard at Blewitt Springs - plus a shared jacuzzi with vineyard views.
Thicker Than Water Wines
$$Home of Giant Squid Ink shiraz
A family-run McMurtrie Road cellar door famous for its Giant Squid Ink shiraz.