Clare Valley Wine Tour

On Tuesday, 17 March, we looked forward to a relaxing wine tour we had booked and paid for the day before. We waited at our accommodation, ready to be picked up. By 11:00 am, half an hour past the scheduled time, we realised something was wrong. When we called the Wine Valley Tourism Centre, they were just as surprised as we were that the operator hadn't shown up. After talking it through, our tour was moved to Thursday, but we felt frustrated and disappointed.

We've now received an email confirming our tour for tomorrow, with a pickup time of 10:20 am.

The rescheduled tour is now planned for Thursday, giving us a chance to explore the region. Even after the earlier setback, we remain hopeful that this tour will show us the best of the Clare Valley. Steve, who drove us around, knew a lot — not just about the wines but also about which wineries, including some from the Barossa, have vines planted here in the valley, including Penfolds. We tried the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes still attached to the vines and were surprised at how sweet they were.

Our six-hour wine tour in the Clare Valley stopped at a few lookouts with great views. We shared the day with two others: John from Kent, England, and his friend Julie from Melbourne. 

Our first tasting was at Hill River Wines, then we visited Pikes Wines and Brewing Company. For lunch, we ate at Paulett Wines Bush Devine Restaurant, and both had pumpkin gnocchi with a glass of wine. After that, we visited Mitchell Wines, bought more wine, and finished our day at Kilikanoon Wines with a final tasting and a few more purchases.