Three To Try: New Cellar Doors Shaking Up South Australia’s Wine Regions

Adelaide is in a sweet spot. It’s a capital city located just a stone’s throw from its wine regions. Whether you’re drawn to the coastal cool of McLaren Vale, the prestige of the Barossa or the approachability of the Adelaide Hills, all three are perfectly positioned for daytrips or weekends away.

These three cellar doors all opened in the last six months and all are within an hour’s drive of the CBD. Here’s what’s new in SA wine country and why you should visit.

Jam House, Nuriootpa

The Barossa is the nation’s oldest wine region and it’s got a reputation to match. It’s known for established wine labels, traditional styles and big, bold wines. But Jam House is changing things up. It’s run by four next-generation winemakers: Scott Rogasch and Justin Westhoff of Forage Supply Co, Geyer Wine Co’s David Geyer, and White Gate Wine Co’s Chad Connolly.  The three wine labels are all known for their fresh, minimal-intervention drops. Jam House joins similar concepts like Bottle Shock in the Adelaide Hills and Under the Sun Collective in Aldinga. It’s part of a growing trend where brands that would otherwise be competitors share facilities and a sales floor. 

The venue’s name is borrowed from a century-old cottage on the winemakers’ Nuriootpa property. In the ’80s and ’90s, local musicians used that cottage to gather for jam sessions. Now it’s where the winemakers welcome visitors to taste pours from the three labels, as well as gins from partner Laneway Beverage Co. Soon, they’ll host winery tours where you can sample from barrels and learn how these smaller-batch wines are made. Quarterly live music events are also in the pipeline, as well as sporadic pop-up food takeovers.

Jauma, Lenswood

James and Sophie Erskine’s Adelaide Hills farm is home to an organic orchard, vineyard, winery and, as of late-December 2025, a new cellar door.

The cellar door is charming and wholesome. What was once an old workers’ cottage is now a rustic haunt with space for 30 visitors. The couple renovated it themselves with help from a carpenter, recycling many items from the farm, including a large barn door thought to date back to the days when the property was owned by geologist and Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson.

Seated tastings are $20 per person and include six wines, which could be grenache grown in McLaren Flat, chenin blanc from Blewitt Springs or an unusual blend like arneis, grenache and chenin. Everything is farmed organically and vinified with zero added sulphur (still a rarity in Australia) and no filtration.

Under the Sun, McLaren Vale

Three mates. Three wine labels. One barn. Meet Under the Sun, a new cellar door and collaboration between artisanal wine darlings Brash Higgins, Golden Child and Poppelvej, which recently opened in a converted Aldinga barn. The three wine labels share the same values when it comes to winemaking: minimal intervention with respect for the terroir.

The winemakers themselves – Brad Hickey of Brash Higgins, James Hamilton of Golden Child and Uffe Deichmann of Poppelvej – are often on-site to chat through their drops. There’s room for 20 indoors and an additional 40 seats in the courtyard.

Reporting by Katie Spain and Emily Taliangis.

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