How To Spend a Weekend in the Barossa Valley (but Not As You Know It)

I’m sitting in the dark in a closed burger joint, having a lock-in with three of Australia’s best new winemakers. We’re smashing boxes of crinkle cut fries slathered in cheese and house made hot sauce, and stacked burgers as good the best in the country. To drink? Glasses of chilled cinsault and elegant local grenache, of course. We might as well be in Sydney, New York, or Paris, but this is Mike’s Burgers in downtown Tanunda in the heart of the Barossa Valley.

We’re in the dark because the place is closed tonight – owner Kyle Johns doesn’t want the locals to see the lights on and come knocking. His day job is head chef of noted winery restaurant Hentley Farm, and word has spread.

Things are changing in the Barossa, and this crew has something to do with it. Around the table are Scott Rogasch from Forage Supply Co, Belinda van Eyssen from The Cutting and Chad Connolly from White Gate Wine Co: three up-and-coming, creative, sustainable producers making great wine in the region.

Rogasch started Forage with his childhood mate Justin Westhoff, who is perhaps better known for playing 280 games for Port Adelaide. Their cheekily labelled range of wines includes The Chardy Party chardonnay, Spliced riesling (which tastes of Splice ice-creams), and a signature Pooch montepulciano celebrating their dogs. There’s a sense of fun and wit about Forage that has perhaps been missing from this corner of wine country.

The Barossa is arguably the most well-known of Australia’s wine regions, with over 100 cellar doors attracting more than 1 million visitors a year. But it has suffered from a slightly dusty reputation compared to, say, the Mornington Peninsula, or Margaret River, on the opposite sides of the country. When many people think of the Barossa, it’s usually for boozy shiraz from old school wineries. Yet there’s a rush of new blood here too, as my mates at the burger shop are keen to explain.

Here’s how to spend a weekend in the Barossa – but not as you know it.

Dubbed “Brunswick in the Barossa” after the cool Melbourne suburb, Vino Lokal brings bohemian cafe vibes to the main street of Tanunda. Owners Wendy and Elisa Trotta and Lucy Koehler run another coffee spot, Darling’s, a few doors away, which is the town’s unofficial meeting spot. Vino is more a place to settle in with a big breakfast plate – hello house-made potato cakes – or a pastry from local bakers Breaking Bread. As the day progresses, it turns into a wine bar and shop, offering some of the most exciting examples of Barossa wine. Each week, it hosts Knock Off Fridays in the adjoining lane, with wine tastings and more. 64 Murray Street, Tanunda, vinolokal.com.

How early is too early to get on the sauce? At Artisans of Barossa, as soon as doors open at 10am is fair game. This sleek building on the outskirts of Tanunda is a one-stop shop, with eight wineries coming together in one venue for a mega cellar door. The standout tasting flight is the Grenache Project ($75), showcasing an experiment where each of the eight wineries made grenache with the same tonne of fruit (with wildly different results). The resilient vine was originally grown for brandy, then gained traction in the GSM blends of the ’70s and ’80s. Now grenache is booming in the Barossa, offering a lighter, pinot noir-ish alternative to the more common shiraz. 24 Vine Vale Road, Tanunda, artisansofbarossa.com.

Grant Dickson is the engine that powers Otherness, a smart cellar door, wine bar and bottle shop in Angaston. The ex-Rockford and Ferment Asia restaurateur is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to wine, particularly from the Barossa. Ask him for a recommendation and Dickson will spin a long and legendary yarn about each bottle’s origin. It’s a great match with the generous, unfussy menu – perhaps crusty bread, butter, pate and pickles; or house-made jersey cheese with bright chimichurri. 38 Murray Street, Angaston, otherness.com.au.

Amid 30 acres of vines on an 80-acre site, Wonderground Gallery is a glorious heritage family homestead, which has been renovated and reimagined as a regional art space. The five light-drenched rooms display up to 100 artworks which change every seven weeks. There are also tastings of the venue’s wine made under the label Mirus Vineyards offering a drop of courage to make that big art purchase. Owners Renee de Saxe and Kirsty Kingsley are also turning the nearby Marananga Community School (abandoned since the mid-1990s) into a restaurant and arts collective to open in late 2024. 130 Heinze Road, Seppeltsfield, wondergroundbarossa.com.

After 15 years making stellar riesling seen on restaurant wine lists across the country, John Hughes’ Rieslingfreak has opened a fancy new cellar door in Tanunda. The sandstone-and-glass tasting room features flashes of vivid green used on the wine label (and the sparkling glass underfoot is made from crushed Reislingfreak bottles). Even the most casual riesling drinker will be blown away by the depth and complexity of the range on offer here, with 18 expressions using grapes from across the region. If you get the chance to chat to Hughes, you’re in luck. He’s an SA winemaking legend who was even on the first season of Masterchef. Rieslingfreak, 25 St Hallett Road, Tanunda, rieslingfreak.com.

Down the road at Gibson Wines, the newly renovated cellar door overlooks a crumbling, low-ceilinged 1850s stone cottage built by one of the region’s first settlers. It’s a family affair operated by Rob “The Dirt Man” Gibson, wife Anne and son Adam. A trained geologist and down-to-earth character, Gibson came of age in a hippie commune in the 1970s before settling in the Barossa. His winery is the antithesis of the corporate wineries of the region, celebrating small batch drops made with care, from elegant shiraz to zingy fiano. Gibson Wines, 190 Willows Road, Light Pass, gibsonwines.com.au.

If you want to stay in the thick of it, Rogasch Cottage is off the main drag of Tanunda, yet somehow feels like it’s in remote countryside. The heritage two-bedroom 1860s cottage has been restored by Scott Rogasch (who we met back at Mike’s Burgers). The cosy stay features a flash plunge pool and deck overlooking the vines, plus homely living, kitchen and laundry facilities. There’s also charming original features like an old rotary phone and a private cellar under the house. Rogasch Cottage, 4 Maria St, Tanunda, rogaschcottage.com.au.

But the most recognisable accommodation in the Barossa is arguably Kingsford Barossa, made famous as the location for TV series McLeod’s Daughters in the 2000s. It’s been radically restored since the pandemic, with a sleek extension featuring a pool, full-size keigl bowling alley, and 13 suites overlooking 225 acres of rolling green hills.

With its epic bridal suite, the original Drover’s Run homestead is the ideal stay for a flash wedding. The rest of the property is postcard Australiana, with kangaroos hopping across the skyline and lazy billabongs flowing. It’s up there with such luxury lodgings such as Jackalope. It’s still expanding, with eight new suites and a six-star spa in the old shearing shed due to open in 2025. And it’s only a 45-minute drive from Adelaide. Kingsford Barossa, 68 Kingsford Road, Kingsford, kingsfordbarossa.com.au.

The writer was a guest of Barossa Australia.