Coonawarra Things to Do

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The Poplars Cellar door , also known as Chardonnay Lodge, is one of the best winery we found. It not only offered wine tasting but also a restaurant, cafe, cheese tasting, tours and a gallery. (pretty good if you ask me because if you drink too much you can stay the night.) So stay, eat,. taste, view and buy.

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the Zema EState welcomes visitors to their winery. They are located in the heart of Coonawarra and was established in 1982. This is a family owned and operated winery that specialises in handcrafted quality wines.
Cellar doors are opened 9am to 5pm daily.

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You are pretty limited in what you can do in Coonawarra -- eat and drink. Sip wines at the cellar doors, eat at beautiful restaurants and enjoy the scenery and views.

There are sooo many cellar doors along the road, that I am only going to mention a few, and they are ones that I either love the wine, love the service or love the surrounds.

Balnaves Of Coonawarra - wines not so impressive but the surrounds are - huge rose garden and a bit pond with fishies to feed. www.balnaves.com.au

Di Giorgio Family Wines - excellent wines, mainly the sparlkings (we can't call them champagne!!) - www.digiorgio.com.au

Hollick Wines - sensational Savignon Blanc, the restaurant is particularly worth a visit. www.hollick.com

Rymill Winery - a grand scale modern winery, with huge statues of horses at the front, glassed viewing to the production areas and great views out over the terra rossa! www.rymill.com.au

Wynns - an old winery set in old buildings, lovely cellar door, great wines. www.wynns.com.au - located on Memorial Drv just off the main drag.

Redman Wines - only do reds so you white lovers (like me) will have to wait in the car! www.redman.com.au

This is a rather grand and expensive looking winery, a little out of the way if anything. But it is worth the extra bit of driving. It is set back off the road amongst the wines, a double story building with viewing platforms. Also boasting a statue of 'rampant stallions' which reportedly cost $260 000. But the best bit is their wines. Very good whites and I have it on good authority that the 1999 Shiraz is to die for!! Worth a stop.

Bowen Estate is one of the wineries NOT TO BE MISSED when in the Coonawarra.

Owned and operated by the Bowen family, Bowen Estate lies toward the southern end of Coonawarra. The vineyard of 34.7 hectares, supports mainly red grape varieties for which Bowen Estate has become renowned since its first vintage in 1975.

Bowen Estate is a sharp contrast to the majority of producers in the region, favouring traditional methods and hand-pruning in an effort to restrict quantity and optimise quality.

Doug Bowen is often labelled the Coonawarra's quiet achiever. Bowen Estate's award-winning wines are testimony to this title.

Bowen Estate Shiraz 2002
"One of the most highly regarded small-scale producers, Bowen Estate is particularly adept with shiraz, and this spicy, medium-bodied but intense, wild-berry-tasting wine is a great example."
Max Allen
Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine
December 2004