Visit The Barossa
Having grown up in the Barossa and as a resident there is always local knowledge when it comes to experiencing the Barossa through our eyes.
It is always difficult to define a Barossa experience especially when there is so much to offer.
As a guest to our website, we feel that we could put some ideas forward which could help you relate and feel like a local while you are in our back yard.
The Barossa has a brilliant food culture driven by the needs of our pioneering families to be self-sufficient. In the last decade there has been a resurgence in back yard veggie patches, fruit orchards and home produce, jams, chutneys, sauces, sausage making, salami making, in fact anything you can preserve.
You will see small offerings at some of the local wineries often made by their staff or family, or if you want to see a larger selection in one place you can’t go past the Barossa Farmers Market open every Saturday from 7am. Get there early and mingle with the locals, so everything isn't sold out before you get there! Also a visit to Maggie Beer's Farm is a great taste of the region with dedicated premises to see her complete offering. In Angaston Angas Park Dried Fruits and the Barossa Cheese Company are both worth a look for the foodies.
Barossa Dining experiences
There is so much on offer here, from the high end to the family on a budget. If you want the true dining experience you could try; Appellation, 1918, Vintners or Ferment Asian. For true Barossa German experience you can’t go past Cafe Zinfandel (best Schnitzels in town and the German meat platter is great for a group of four people, you won't have to eat meat for a week after that! For a new wine bar experience you need to visit Bibu of the Barossa a boutique wine bar situated in Tanunda.
We also have a great selection of pubs and clubs that not only provide good food but a great place to have a cleansing ale. You can try the Tanunda Club (Tanunda), the Angas Park Hotel (Nuriootpa), The Greenock Tavern (Greenock) and the Angaston Hotel (Angaston) but you will find that all the local pubs have something great to offer.
For a family friendly option, you can try Roaring Forties (Angaston) a great and well renowned pizza bar
Local Knowledge
If you feel like getting into other activities with the kids or you just like to go for walks there are few gems around the valley. Kaiser Stuhl National park is a great walk, the stringy bark loop trail takes between 40 to 60 minutes and often you will come across a few kangaroos. The view from Menglers Hill is stunning and shows the patch work of the Barossa ground, there is also a great shelter shed at Bethany oval and in the winter a great creek bed for the kids to explore, you can also take a walk up the creek to the first and second waterfalls, just be aware it can get a bit slippery in the winter.
The local towns all have parks and play grounds, so good for a BBQ, or there is the Tanunda Ten Bowling club and mini golf.
For the golfers, pack the clubs as Tanunda Pines Golf Club is a brilliant natural course with heart breaking greens, a tough course but also a rewarding one, but bookings are important.
Wineries
It is always tough to put forward names of wineries as the region boasts close on 180 wineries in the region. From a historic sense visits to Seppeltsfield, Yalumba and Chateau Tanunda, Henschke’s and Richmond Grove show some of the old grandeur of the region's beginnings.
Some of the wineries that represent an era of new small family premium offerings from the 1980s are Rockford Wines, Charles Melton, St Hallett, Peter Lehmann, Bethany Wines, Steve Hoff, Willows, Elderton Wines and Greenock Creek.
With the 1990s new wineries like Langmeil Winery, Torbreck, Chris Ringland, Murray Street, Hently Farm, Thorn Clarke, Rusden wines and Schild Estates.
Then you have smaller offerings that are more appointment only, but certainly show a bright new generation coming through, producers like Diggers Bluff, David Franz, Laughing Jack, Travis Earth, Tomfoolery Wines, Pindarie, Teusner, the Artisan Group of Wineries, Gibson Wines, Tin Shed Wines, Whistler wines, Kerra Yerta, Hobbs, Hutton Vale, Soul Growers, in fact the list is endless.
We would highly recommend visiting the Barossa Visitor’s Information Centre, which has maps and lists of wineries. No doubt there are many more I could highlight and in fact you always upset someone when you make lists, so when visiting wineries always ask their recommendations.
Breweries
We can recommend the Barossa Brewing Company in Greenock, well worth visiting, or if you see any of their beer around the traps give it a go but don’t drink too much as they are only small and the locals still need their cleansing ales! There is also the Barossa Valley Brewing Company in Tanunda, now open for drinks and nibbles and they are also doing some interesting brews.
Drink Driving
Please be aware that the Barossa has a very active police force and as a region we encourage all groups to have a designated driver. Please keep our region safe as accidents can cause fatalities that are felt very deeply in our small community.
Accommodation
To get a true taste of the Barossa you need at least a minimum of 2 to 3 days and within the region we have plenty of accommodation offerings from the Novotel Barossa Valley Resort (Rowland Flat) great for families with brilliant rooms, swimming pool, and views. For the 5 Star approach The Louise (Marananga) is pure indulgence. There are other hotels available so there's something for everyone.
Caravan Parks in the region have great facilities and are located in Nuriootpa and Tanunda.
Their also many Bed and Breakfast in the region with diverse offerings from affordable to high end, another great way to share a home with friends in the many towns are country areas of the Barossa.
We hope this helps those that wish to plan ahead or those just researching the Barossa as a destination. Living here is great but visiting doesn’t mean you should miss out on living the Barossa life style.
Enjoy your visit and make sure you come to Langmeil Winery and Say Hello.
For more information visit www.barossa.com.
