McLaren Vale Wineries: A Local's One-Day Cellar Door Itinerary

McLaren Vale sits about 45 minutes south of Adelaide, and you can see a good deal of it in a day if you plan the drive. Here is how we would spend it: when to arrive, how many cellar doors to book, where to stop for lunch, and where to stay if one day turns into two.

There are more than 80 cellar doors across McLaren Vale. Try to see them all and you will taste nothing properly. Pick three or four, leave room for a long lunch, and you will drive home having actually tasted the place.

We are a family winery on Pennys Hill Road, at a site we call The Range, so we plan a lot of these days for people who ask. This is the version we give them. (For a route with names and addresses, see the day trip we’d send someone we love on.)

Plan the drive before you plan the wine

Three or four cellar doors is the right number for a day. Any more and the afternoon blurs. A few things to sort first.

• Book the small places ahead. Many of the smaller, family-run cellar doors seat tastings by appointment, and you sit down with someone who actually made the wine. Our own door is open seven days from noon. Walk-ins welcome, though booking a flight guarantees a table.
• Sort the driving. A designated driver, a hire car, or one of the local day-tour operators. Tastings are generous out here, and the roads wind.
• Pick your season. Autumn brings vintage, with pickers in the rows and the smell of fermentation. Spring is green and quiet. Summer weekends fill up, so book earlier.

Morning: start small, start with whites

Begin at one or two of the smaller hilltop cellar doors before the crowds arrive. Taste whites first while your palate is fresh. McLaren Vale does a fine Fiano and Chardonnay, not just the Shiraz it is known for. Look for places that name their blocks and their case counts on the back label. That usually means someone there can tell you what you are drinking and why.

Lunch: eat where the wine is made

The best lunch in McLaren Vale is often at the cellar door itself. At our place you can order a cheeseboard built for two to four and a beer from Penny Red Beer Co, who brew on the same site, which helps when not everyone in the car wants red at midday. Long tables, an open fire in the cooler months, a glass beside something local: that is the middle of the day sorted.

Wherever you land, eat properly. A real lunch is what lets the afternoon tasting count.

Afternoon: one good seated tasting

Finish the day with a single sit-down tasting rather than two more rushed ones. This is where you slow down and taste up through a maker’s range.

At Sew & Sew, that is three tiers, and they tell a clear story.

• Sashiko is the everyday wine, from $30: Tuesday-night company, the bottle you do not have to think about.
• Contour is single-vineyard, at $60, made when a block earns it.
• ICON is the estate wine, made only in the right vintages and in tiny runs. The 2023 Cabernet was 83 cases. Our VIP tasting opens the museum and the rare bottles for these.

If something lands, you can order it on the spot, or join Tailor Made, our wine club, and have it follow you home.

If one day turns into two: where to stay

Plenty of people come down for the weekend rather than the day. There is glamping and a tiny house at our own vineyard, the town of Willunga for breakfast and a Saturday market, and the Gulf St Vincent coast about 15 minutes west when you have had enough of vineyards. One night turns a tasting run into a proper break.

A few common questions

How many wineries can you visit in McLaren Vale in a day?

Three or four is comfortable. Any more and the tastings run together and the driving gets long. Book the smaller ones ahead so you are not left waiting.

Do McLaren Vale cellar doors serve food?

Many do. At our place you can order a cheeseboard and a beer from Penny Red Beer Co on the same site. Elsewhere you will find a simple platter or a full long-table lunch. Book food when you book the tasting.

How far is McLaren Vale from Adelaide?

About 45 minutes by car, heading south. Easy as a day trip, better as a weekend.

Do you need to book a tasting?

For the smaller family wineries it is worth it. You sit down with someone who knows the wine. Our cellar door takes walk-ins seven days a week, and seated flights can be booked online.

Which McLaren Vale wineries have a wine club?

A lot of the family makers do, ours included. Ours is Tailor Made. A club is the easy way to keep the wines you liked coming after you have driven home.

Key takeaways

• Pick three or four cellar doors, not eight. You taste more by doing less.
• Sort the driver before the wine, and book the small family places ahead.
• Eat lunch where the wine is made. It is what makes the afternoon worth it.
• Finish with one seated tasting and taste up through a maker’s full range.
• One night down here turns a tasting run into a proper weekend.