Tips for visiting the Barossa in Spring

The Barossa is a fantastic place to visit year-round, with each season having its own perks. If you are planning on visiting the Barossa this spring, we’ve put together some information that might be handy and some insider tips and thoughts on what to see and do while you’re here enjoying the area – live like a local for a few days.

SPRING IS HERE!

We are so excited that the days are now longer – more daylight! Daylight savings rolled around on the weekend just gone and I am certainly cheering. More hours in the day for gardening, backyard cricket with the kids and walking the dogs after work. It also means more light at the end of the day for bbq dinners and relaxing with friends over a great bottle of wine!

After an especially dry summer and autumn this year, it has been pleasing to have some rain, although we can certainly use some more as the vines do their growing. Stonefruit orchards are coming to life again after winter, olive trees are flowering and farmers are busily cutting and bailing hay. And the Saturday sounds of whistles on the footy field and netball court have been replaced by thwacks of balls on the tennis courts and cricket pitches.

VINEYARDS IN SPRING

Gosh nature is cool! In mid-late September, the vines have come out of their winter dormancy and have burst to life for another year. Literally burst – this time of year is called bud burst! They are now well on their way to growing canopies to help produce grapes for vintage 2020. Over coming weeks we will see inflorescence begin to form (the part that will flower and become the grape bunches).

Budburst on a 1915 Shiraz vine at our Greenock vineyard

LIVE LIKE A LOCAL – TIP 1

Tips from our Winemaker, Brock Harrison:

What is your favourite place to visit within the Barossa, during spring?
Provenance Barossa, it has everything you need all in one fabulous location with plenty of lawn for our kids to burn some energy on. We are incredibly lucky to be able to choose from a coffee, gin, beer or wine all within 50 metres of each other. Once the kids get hungry (and us adults too) we all sit down and enjoy a delicious pizza at Ember Pizza and Grill. Just two doors down, Steiny’s Mettwurst is also a delicious addition to any platter.

If you had friends or family visiting during spring, where is the one spot in the Barossa you would take them?
Most definitely the Elderton Cellar Door and that’s not just because I work at Elderton, it genuinely has one of the most peaceful settings for a cellar door in the Barossa. Nestled in among our iconic vineyards, the new seasons’ growth provides plenty of colour and excitement for the vintage ahead. The diverse range of exceptional quality, regional wines on offer are sure to satisfy our visitors’ tastebuds. We then grab a local produce platter and sit outside in the garden, where we can enjoy a glass of wine – what more could you want!!!

Your wine tip for spring– what will you be drinking?
I tend to drink more white wine during the spring months and my cellar will build to at least 25% Riesling at this time of year. The 2019 Eden Valley Riesling is not too far away from release and has just picked up a Gold Medal at the 2019 Barossa Wine Show among some tough competition. It is uber fresh and bursting with generous citrus and floral flavours and will be enjoyed most likely on a sunny Sunday afternoon, whilst our kids run around outside.

WEATHER / WHAT TO PACK

This is a gorgeous time of the year, with average daytime temperatures of 17-24°C perfect for enjoying all the Barossa has to offer including outdoor activities such as hiking in the Kaiser Stuhl National Park if you’re looking for a break in between wine tastings! The nights are still cool (6-10°C) so you’ll need layers!

Barossa.com suggests, “Pack lighter clothing for the day and some warm clothing for the cool evenings. Local tip: be prepared to layer, as the mornings can still be quite crisp.”

WHAT’S ON IN SPRING

So you’re planning your visit to the Barossa this spring – what’s on that you can add to your wine tasting itinerary?

You might like to head to the Barossa Farmers Market to grab all the fresh goodies produced in the Barossa to make your own Barossa meal or afternoon tasting plate.

Check out the suggested itineraries on Barossa.com https://www.barossa.com/visit/suggested-itineraries where you can explore arts, shopping, not just wine tasting, the Nuriootpa Wine Trail and more!

We’ve got our Elderton Tennis Classic on Sunday, 10 November – a day of fun, tennis, food and wine. We’d love you to register to join us for the day, but if you’re not a tennis player, you’re welcome to come to Cellar Door and enjoy food by Barossa Street Food accompanied by our wines!

For upcoming events, check out our Events page for events at our Cellar Door and for events and tastings throughout the Barossa, check out the Event Calendar on Barossa.com.

LIVE LIKE A LOCAL – TIP 2

Tips from Reece, from our Cellar Door team:

What is your favourite place to visit within the Barossa, during spring?
My favourite place to visit within the Barossa during Spring is Musque in Tanunda. The beautiful warm nights that come around in spring make it the perfect spot to sit out on their bar seating with the big open windows enjoying a cocktail or one of their 300 varieties of gin. It is also a great place to enjoy a shared style tasting menu that is constantly changing to feature what is in season with produce.

If you had friends or family visiting during spring, where is the one spot in the Barossa you would take them?
The Barossa Farmers Market on a Saturday Morning at Angaston to start the day. It’s always my favourite place to take the family and friends to stock up on some great produce and to also have a taste, of course. You also can’t forget their famous brekky roll and a coffee to fill up for the day ahead in the Barossa (aka wine tasting)!!

Your wine tip for spring– what will you be drinking?
With the days now warming up a bit and being able to enjoy the outdoors a bit more, a nice bottle on ice is the 2019 Rose with its sweet, dry and zesty characteristics it goes down a treat. For a red wine you can’t go past the bright and relaxing palate of the 2018 GSM. When I think of these two wines I always picture myself relaxing outside over a Sunday BBQ lunch, enjoying some vitamin D and defrosting the bones after winter.

AND OUR CELLAR DOOR, OF COURSE!

As always, we welcome you to our Cellar Door. Along with our great tasting experiences, we have delicious local produce platters, perfect for relaxing at one of the tables in our beautiful garden or setting up a picnic on the lawn.

This spring we also have a decadent light lunch option – a truffle cheese toastie paired with a glass of 2017 Western Ridge Grenache Carignan! We got to taste-test these in a staff meeting a couple of weeks back and there was a fight over the last piece of toastie – everyone was raving – so we can vouch it is delicious!

Barossa.com is also a wealth of information to help plan your visit –  from accommodation and transport, to dining and suggested itineraries. Check out http://www.barossa.com/visit.

When you are here, the Barossa Visitor Information Centre in the main street of Tanunda is also a great place to start for information.

And if you’re one of our Elderton Commanders, then contact Jodhi in Cellar Door to access our concierge service, to help plan the perfect Barossa getaway.

Cheers!