Clare Valley Wine Tour. Local Guide, Clare Valley pickup, & lunch
Six and a half hours from your Clare Valley accommodation, six guests at most, with a charcuterie lunch and the scheduled tastings in the fare.
From $177 per person
Check AvailabilityClare Valley Wineries and Riesling
You come here for Riesling, and a handful of cellar doors decide your day. Comparing Clare Valley winery tours? Find the wineries you want first, then pick the day that stops at them.
Why the Clare Valley pours Riesling
The answer is height and cold nights. Many vineyards sit at 400 to 500 metres, higher than most in South Australia. In summer the days reach 30 to 35 °C, then the nights fall to 8 to 13 °C. The Clare Valley Wine and Grape Association says that swing slows the ripening, and that is why the region makes some of Australia's best Rieslings.
Vineyard heightMany at 400–500 m, rising to 608 m at Mt Horrocks
SummerDays of 30–35 °C, nights of 8–13 °C while the grapes ripen
SoilsRed loams, limestone, slate and shale; many vineyards are dry-grown
Main grapesRiesling, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon: nearly 80% of the region's wine
You will taste reds too. Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon make up most of the rest of the region's wine. Clare fruit goes into Penfolds Grange and St Henri, and Leasingham's Classic Clare Shiraz has won the Jimmy Watson Trophy. Ask at the tasting bar for Sangiovese, Tempranillo or Assyrtiko if you want something less expected.
The localities: Auburn to Clare
The valley has no legally defined sub-regions. Its hills split it into localities instead, and each pours a slightly different wine. You will hear these names on every tasting sheet.
- Auburn:
- The southern end of the valley and of the Riesling Trail. Grosset Wines sits at its edge, and Wines by KT is close by.
- Watervale:
- Chalky soils that have grown Riesling for generations. Crabtree Watervale Wines pours it a short ride off the trail.
- Penwortham:
- The valley's first European settlement, founded by John Ainsworth Horrocks in 1839. Mitchell Wines and Kilikanoon are on its back roads.
- Sevenhill:
- The Jesuit village, home of Sevenhill Cellars and St Aloysius' Church.
- Polish Hill River:
- East of Sevenhill, on heavy slate soils that give wines a different character from Watervale's. Pikes Wines is on Polish Hill Road.
- Clare:
- The main town, at the northern end, with Knappstein in the old Enterprise Brewery building, Jim Barry, Tim Adams and Mr Mick.
Sevenhill Cellars and the Jesuits
This is where Clare wine began. Sevenhill Cellars calls itself the first winery ever built in the valley and one of the oldest in Australia. Austrian Jesuits founded it to make sacramental wine, and it still makes wine today.
- 1848Father Kranewitter arrives in South Australia in December, with Brothers Georg Sadler and Joannes Schreiner.
- 1849The Jesuits buy 100 acres and name the place Sevenhill, after the seven hills of Rome.
- 1851They plant the first vines, so they no longer need to buy sacramental wine from Europe.
- 1852The winery is built, the first in the Clare Valley.
- 1858Sevenhill takes first prize at the Auburn Agricultural Exhibition.
You can look round the underground cellar on your own, and visit St Aloysius' Church, whose crypt holds 41 Jesuit brothers. There is a picnic area too. The shared valley day and the private day both start here, with about an hour and a half on site. If you ride the Riesling Trail instead, it is on the edge of Sevenhill village. Confirm the cellar door's hours with the winery before you set out.
The screw cap came from here
Almost every Australian Riesling you buy has a screw cap, and the Clare Valley is the reason. The first trials began in the 1970s at Yalumba, in the Barossa. In 2000, Clare winemakers banded together to champion the Stelvin screw cap, to keep their Riesling fresh.
Drinkers liked the consistency, and the design set the standard most screw caps follow today. It is now rare to find an Australian Riesling under cork, so the bottle you take home from a Clare cellar door will almost certainly have a screw cap.
Cellar doors the tours stop at
These are the wineries named in the tour itineraries. On the valley days your guide may swap a stop for a similar one, so treat them as the likely route, not a promise.
Taylors Wines:
The first winery on the Wine Escape from Adelaide: a winery tour and a tasting, about 45 minutes.
O'Leary Walker Wines:
On the stretch between Leasingham and Auburn. Clare Valley Tourism suggests its cheese platter over the vines.
Hill River Clare Estate:
An afternoon tasting stop on the Wine Escape, after lunch at Antidote kitchen.
Pikes Wines:
233 Polish Hill Road, in the Polish Hill River area. The Wine Escape ends here with Riesling. Book ahead if you go on your own.
Mitchell Wines:
246 Hughes Park Road, Penwortham, in an old stone apple shed. A likely stop on the shared valley day.
Claymore Wines:
On the way into Leasingham, with wines named after songs. The valley days plan lunch here, or somewhere similar.
Sussex Squire Wines:
On the Spring Gully Loop. Call ahead for a full tasting. The private day suggests it as a second stop.
Wines by KT:
Near Auburn, at the southern end of the trail. The private day offers it as an afternoon stop.
Which tour visits which winery
Find your winery in the first column. The second lists every day whose itinerary names it, and what you do there. The shared day with local stories names its stops by type only, and the three-day trip names no Clare winery, so neither is listed.
| Winery | Tours that stop there |
|---|---|
| Sevenhill Cellars | Shared valley day, 6 h 30, six guests at most (first stop, 1 h 30) Private day for up to four, from your valley stay (history and a formal tasting, 1 h 30) |
| Mitchell Wines | Shared valley day, 6 h 30, six guests at most (tasting, 1 h, or a similar family winery) |
| Claymore Wines | Shared valley day, 6 h 30, six guests at most (lunch and tastings, 1 h, or similar) Private day for up to four, from your valley stay (lunch, 1 h, or similar) |
| Sussex Squire Wines | Private day for up to four, from your valley stay (tasting, 1 h, or a winery you choose) |
| Wines by KT | Private day for up to four, from your valley stay (tasting, 1 h, or a stop you choose) |
| Taylors Wines | Wine Escape day from Adelaide or Glenelg (winery tour and tasting, 45 min) |
| O'Leary Walker Wines | Wine Escape day from Adelaide or Glenelg (tasting, 45 min) |
| Hill River Clare Estate | Wine Escape day from Adelaide or Glenelg (tasting, 45 min) |
| Pikes Wines | Wine Escape day from Adelaide or Glenelg (Riesling tasting, 45 min) |
Found the cellar door you want?
Compare the days that stop there, with tastings and lunch in each fare.
Tasting on your own
You can reach every cellar door here without a tour, if someone in your group stays sober. Clare Valley Tourism counts around 30 cellar doors along the Riesling Trail alone. These steps keep the day simple.
- Book the busy ones. Clare Valley Tourism advises booking Pikes' tastings ahead, and Kilikanoon's a couple of days out.
- Call the small ones. Ring Sussex Squire ahead if you want a full tasting.
- Ask the fee at the door. Each cellar door sets its own tasting fee, so ask as you arrive.
- Pick a driver. Whoever drives does not taste; South Australia enforces a blood alcohol limit.
- Ship the bottles. Many wineries courier your wine home or back to your accommodation.
- Keep a taxi number. Clare Valley Taxis will run you back to your car.
Winery questions
What is the Clare Valley known for?
Riesling above all. Riesling, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon together make nearly 80% of the region's wine, and growers also plant Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Assyrtiko.
What is the oldest winery in the Clare Valley?
Sevenhill Cellars. Austrian Jesuits planted vines there in 1851 and built the winery in 1852. It was the first winery in the Clare Valley and is one of the oldest in Australia.
Are cellar door tastings included on Clare Valley tours?
On the valley days and the Wine Escape from Adelaide, yes: the scheduled tastings are in the fare. The three-day Flinders Ranges trip does not list tastings, so budget for them on its Clare stops.
Why are Clare Valley Rieslings sealed with screw caps?
Clare winemakers wanted to keep their Riesling fresh. In 2000 they banded together to champion the Stelvin screw cap, and it is now rare to find an Australian Riesling under cork.
Do you need to book a Clare Valley cellar door?
For some, yes. Clare Valley Tourism advises booking tastings ahead at Pikes and a couple of days out at Kilikanoon, and calling Sussex Squire for a full tasting. On a tour, the guide books the stops.
Where these facts come from
These figures come from the region's own bodies and the wineries, read in 2026. Tour stops come from each tour's own itinerary.
- Clare Valley Wine & Grape Association: About the region
- Clare Valley Wine & Grape Association: Climate
- Sevenhill Cellars: History
- Clare Valley Tourism: How to do the Riesling Trail
Tours that spend the whole day among the cellar doors
Clare Valley Scenic Wine Tour with Local Stories
Six hours with the local guide, collected in one of seven valley towns, five guests at most, with the tastings and a winery lunch paid.
From $174 per person
Check Availability
Group of Four Private Clare Valley Wine Tour with Lunch
Only your group of up to four, a route shaped around the wines you like, and the scheduled tastings and lunch in one group price.
From $535 per group, up to 4
Check AvailabilityNext: ride between the cellar doors on things to do in the Clare Valley, see where each winery sits on the Clare Valley map, or compare every day out on Clare Valley Tours.