Tastings and tours in Barossa Valley

Phylloxera never reached the Barossa. That single accident of quarantine means there are Shiraz vines here planted in the 1840s, still on their own roots, still fruiting — the oldest continuously producing vines anywhere.

Summer is punishing and the fruit shows it: these are big wines and they are unapologetic. Go in autumn if you can. The valley is small enough that three cellar doors and a long shed lunch is a comfortable day.