Sevenhill Cellars
South Australian Tourism Commission

Highlights

Clare Valley wineries

This wine-producing district extends for 35 km across the fertile valley, including big names as well as charming boutique establishments. Although the climate is generally Mediterranean in style, many Clare Valley wines have cool-climate characteristics. Clare Valley rieslings are regarded as among the best in Australia.

Clare Valley produce

This wine-producing and gourmet district extends for 35 kilometres across the fertile valley. Of the dozens of wine producers in the area, including many charming boutique establishments, well-known names include Annie’s Lane, Taylors, Pikes and Mount Horrocks. It’s also famed for its gourmet food producers, who embrace the slow-food philosophy in their lovingly created offerings, such as chutneys, jams, olive oils and sausages, available at Wild Saffron in Clare and other outlets throughout the region.

Riesling Trail

Running through the picturesque Clare Valley wine region between Clare and Auburn, this scenic 27-kilometre route provides a perfect way to visit the surrounding villages and wineries on foot or by bicycle. One of the first rail trails to be commissioned in South Australia, it traverses the old Riverton to Spalding railway line, handily passing by several cellar doors on the way.

Sevenhill

Austrian Jesuit priests established the Clare Valley’s first winery here in the early 1850s to ensure a steady supply of altar wine. There have been seven Jesuit winemakers since then, and the wine range now includes table wine. Next to the cellars, St Aloysius Church (1875) is worth a visit.

Mintaro

Mintaro is an almost-intact 19th-century village, with many attractive stone buildings incorporating the region’s unique slate. It was the first town in South Australia to be declared a State Heritage Area. Just south-east is Martindale Hall, an 1879 mansion used in the film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and now open to the public.

Burra

Located in the sparse landscape of the Bald Hills Range, this former coppermining centre is a timepiece of the mid-19th century. Pick up a Burra Heritage Passport and visit mine shafts, museums and heritage buildings. Marvel at the creek-bed dugouts that were home to over 1800 miners, and see the working conditions on a guided mine tour.

Focus On: History

Historically, this is one of the most interesting and well-preserved areas of rural South Australia. In 1839 Edward Eyre explored the Clare Valley and his favourable reports led quickly to pastoral settlement. Jesuit priests planted the first Clare Valley vines at Sevenhill in 1851, and a booming wine industry followed. Copper deposits found at Burra and Kapunda in the 1840s drove a huge mining industry, but this fell into decline in the 1870s. The community’s perseverance in preserving Burra’s history led to the town’s State Heritage Area listing in 1993. Kapunda had a change of direction after mining, with cattle baron Sir Sidney Kidman initiating an agricultural industry that has since grown exponentially. This mixture of viticulture, agriculture and mining history is a Clare Valley attraction in itself – endless stories of survival and success can be found in the museums and displays throughout the region.