CoonawarraThe Coonawarra wine region is around 4 hours drive from Adelaide and 5 hours drive from Melbourne. The region, with its layers of red soil on limestone base, is best known for its red wines, particularly its Cabernet Sauvignon, but also produces a nice variety of other wines including Shiraz, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.
As a region to visit, it is particularly easy to get around to each of the cellar doors, even on foot if you are inspired! The cellar doors are located along a 22 kilometre stretch and situated either side of the Riddoch Highway, making it very easy to navigate your way. It is also a very picturesque walk/drive with vines scattered either side of the highway as far as the eye can see. We have now visited the region on 3 different occasions and note that if you stay at the north end of town, just before the stretch of cellar doors begins, you are able to walk up one side of the highway (as far as you would like), stopping at each of your chosen cellar doors and then walk back along the other side, again stopping wherever you like (we do note, however, that at this stage there is no defined walking path between the cellar doors, so it is a matter of walking along the side of the highway to do this). All of the cellar doors we visited were also more than happy to hold our purchases until the next day, when we went back with our car to collect! There are also some great places to eat in the region and lunch at Hollick was lovely, with a great outlook over the vineyard, Ottelia does some great wood fired pizzas and share plates and one of the restaurants in town, "Pipers" was a particularly delicious experience. A number of the cellar doors also offer picnic supplies and/or allow you to bring a picnic and enjoy the surrounds. The Coonawarra Vignerons Association also has a great winery map on their website which also seemed to be available at most of the cellar doors we visited. We really enjoy the family feel to this region and also note that it is probably one of the most child friendly regions we have visited, with most cellar doors having indoor/outdoor toys and play areas that seemed to be a hit with kids. With it's picturesque setting, nice accommodation options, great eateries and welcoming residents, it's certainly a great place to visit.
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