Clare Valley

It's 130km north of Adelaide along the Main North Road, around 2 hours 15 minutes, a genuinely pleasant drive through the mid-north. Auburn, Clare, and Watervale are the main townships; the Riesling Trail cycling path runs 35km between them and is reason enough to spend a weekend. The valley is compact enough to cover thoroughly in two days and unhurried enough to reward three.

Riesling harvest is typically late February to mid-March: cool mornings and a focused efficiency quite different from the theatre of a Barossa Shiraz picking. October and November, when the vines are leafing out and the weather is soft, is arguably the most beautiful the valley looks all year. Winter is the valley at its most still, perfect for a quiet cellar door crawl with no crowds.

Riesling is the star: lean, mineral, and capable of 10 to 15 years in bottle. The Clare's dry style is one of Australia's most distinctive white wine expressions. Shiraz and Cabernet have their advocates too, especially from higher elevations. The food scene is understated but genuine: Polish Hill River artisan producers, long lunches at Auburn's Terroir, and stone buildings that feel like they've been here forever.