Barossa spotlight: Four stellar cellar doors to put at the top of your list

The Barossa really needs no introduction. For this is one of Australia’s most well known wine regions – boasting a vinous history dating back almost 180 years.

It’s famous for its big and bold wines – think shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, and for the incredible wineries, both new and old, that have benefitted from the many generations of winemakers and viticulturists that have shaped the Barossa into the beloved region it is.  

This long history and the diversity of the region, from the warm parts of Tanunda to the cooler heights of the Eden Valley, are all a part of the Barossa's charm and what makes it so interesting. 

To help you get to know this renowned region a little better, we have spotlighted four local wineries – calling out what makes them a must-visit, and which of their wines you need to try if you're unable to make the trip. 

Corryton Burge

Owners and siblings Amelia Burge and Trent Burge say: Corryton Burge is the next chapter in our winemaking story, alongside our older brother Toby and our parents Grant and Helen. Named after our family’s Corryton Park Homestead in the Barossa, the brand celebrates the places, people and stories that have shaped our family for more than 160 years, while looking confidently to the future. Our purpose is simple: to share the joy of wine.

Our wines reflect the regions we know best. Barossa is at the heart of what we do, while we also celebrate the Eden Valley and Tasmania. Across every collection, our focus is on expressing regional character with wines that are approachable, authentic and made to be shared around the table.

H. What can guests expect from a visit to your cellar door?
AB & TB. A visit to Corryton Burge is about experiencing the Barossa in a relaxed and welcoming way. Our cellar door invites guests to discover wines that tell the story of our family and the regions we love, with panoramic views across the Barossa and the family’s bush-vine grenache.

Hosted by our knowledgeable team, tastings are designed to be engaging, personal and unpretentious, and can be enjoyed as wines on their own or paired with a small morsel, created to enhance the flavours in the wine. It's a chance to discover the diversity of our vineyards, hear the stories behind the wines and experience the warmth and hospitality that sits at the heart of the Corryton Burge philosophy. Our cellar door is both family and dog friendly (outside only).

H. What other experiences can guests look forward to?
AB & TB. Beyond the cellar door, Corryton Burge offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Barossa lifestyle. Our family’s original homestead, Wilsford House, provides beautifully appointed accommodation surrounded by vineyards, making it the perfect base to slow down, explore the region and enjoy everything the Barossa has to offer.

We’ve been open just over 12 months and, in the future, we’re planning to host seasonal events, long lunches and special experiences that celebrate wine, food and connection. Whether guests are planning a romantic weekend, travelling with friends or celebrating a special occasion, we aim to create memorable experiences that bring people together.

Wine to try

2024 Corryton Burge Shiraz, Barossa

Magenta/purple with aromas of satsuma plum, black cherry, boysenberry and raspberry fruits. Hints of dark spice, dried tobacco, dark-chocolate bullets, wildflowers and vanillin oak. Full bodied and rich, with spicy plum conserve, a swell of oak-derived wood spice, thick, silty tannins and a fruit-pure exit. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 91 points.    

RRP $28 | Drink to 2031 | Halliday profile | corrytonburge.com | Shop this wine

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Hoffmann Family Vineyards

Winemaker Adrian Hoffmann says: Hoffmann Family Vineyards is the culmination of six generations of grape growing in northern Barossa. Every wine we produce is site-driven, with each release showcasing the unique personality of an individual vineyard block rather than following a house style. Produced in small quantities and made with a philosophy that great wine begins in the vineyard, our collection reflects the diversity, history and longevity of northern Barossa. From approachable current releases to museum wines and limited bottlings from our oldest vines, every bottle tells part of our family's story.

H. What can guests expect from a visit to your cellar door?
AH. A visit to Hoffmann Family Vineyards is a hosted experience rather than a traditional cellar door. Guests are welcomed into our family property in Ebenezer, surrounded by the vineyards that have shaped our story for more than 170 years. Tastings are personally guided and explore not only our wines, but the individual vineyard sites, the history of the Hoffmann family and the people behind the wines. It's a relaxed, intimate experience that gives visitors a genuine connection to one of the Barossa's most significant vineyard families.

H. What other experiences can guests look forward to?
AH. Beyond our guided tastings, guests can enjoy museum and limited release wines and gain an insight into the vineyards that supply fruit to many of the Barossa's leading wineries. Throughout the year we also host special events, long lunches and collaborations that celebrate the region, its growers and its wine community. Whether you're discovering Hoffmann Family Vineyards for the first time or returning to explore a new release, every visit is centred around genuine hospitality and the stories behind our vineyards.

Wine to try

2018 Hoffmann Family Vineyards North by Adrian Hoffmann Dallwitz Block Shiraz, Barossa Valley

Shiraz from the famed Hoffmann Dallwitz block that sees a whopping five years in new French oak. An impressively scaled wine, what with its impenetrable dark crimson hue and thick cassis and plum conserve fruit depth. It’s cut from the ‘classic’ Barossan cloth of big fruit, big oak and big flavours, a direction that, truth must be told, many lean away from these days. But these styles have both their fans and their place and this ticks a lot of boxes for those that seek a full-bodied, powerful wine. Spice-laden, with fruitcake, cedar, asphalt, prunes, roasting meats, Old Gold chocolate and licorice. It is a wine of immense concentration and stature. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 95 points.    

RRP $200 | Drink to 2050 | Halliday profile | hoffmannfamilyvineyards.com | Shop this wine

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Mirus Vineyards and Wonderground Gallery

Viticulturist Nick Radford says: From the first visit, myself and Luke Edwards recognised the vineyard's potential. Mirus Vineyards is located on the Western Ridge, a subregion of the Barossa Valley renowned for its distinctive reds, its ancient soils and slightly warmer and windier conditions. With 21 blocks across 12ha, Mirus is a story of varying varieties, age, clone, soil type and micro-climate. We believe great wine begins in the vineyard and is enhanced through careful winemaking with minimal intervention. Together with Wonderground Gallery, wine becomes part of a broader story that celebrates art, landscape and the culture of the Barossa.

H. What can guests expect from a visit to your cellar door?
NR. Our Wonderground cellar door is where our two families have come together to interweave art and creative practice into the craft of winemaking. It sits within a contemporary art gallery surrounded by vineyards, sculpture and gardens, and is a destination where visitors are encouraged to slow down, explore and connect with both the wines and the stories behind them. 

Enjoy a platter and a wine in the lounge, on the lawn or on the terrace, or guests can enjoy guided tastings of both the Wonderground and Mirus collections, including our limited-release single-block wines, while learning about the vineyard, the soil, the region and our approach to viticulture and winemaking. One of these guided tastings is the Mirus Room Winemaker Private Tasting: a two hour one-on-one experience with owners and winemakers Nick and/or Luke providing guests the time and access to deep dive into the Mirus wines and philosophy.

Families are welcome, and well-behaved dogs on leads can enjoy the outdoor areas with their owners, making Wonderground an ideal place to spend an afternoon exploring the many layers of the Barossa.

H. What other experiences can guests look forward to?
NR. Both a dedicated art gallery and cellar door; we invite visitors to experience Barossa differently. Led by creativity and celebration of place, enjoy a glass of wine while you immerse yourself in the Wonderground Gallery, which presents a new exhibition every seven weeks and showcases contemporary Australian artists.

Beyond art and the cellar door, we also offer a range of curated experiences designed to immerse visitors in the Barossa. These experiences include The Art of Wine School, providing fun, immersive and accessible wine education for our visitors, as well as Eight, our once-a-month private dining experience in the 100-year-old Mirus Room that is led by chef Sandor Palmai and is perfectly matched to Mirus wines. We also hosts private events, corporate gatherings and bespoke experiences for small groups. 

Wine to try

2023 Mirus Vineyards Block 16 Bush Vine Grenache, Barossa Valley

If you should find yourself in the Barossa, you should head out to Wonderground and Mirus wines. They are putting together something pretty special out there. This grenache off ironstone and limestone is lovely. All airy red-fruits, exotic spice, twiggy nuance, cola and earth. Perfumed and wild-eyed with a savoury stare and a lovely meaty facet to the finish. I like this a lot. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 95 points.    

RRP $65 | Drink to 2030 | Halliday profile | wondergroundbarossa.com | Shop this wine

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Otherness

Owner Grant Dickson says: As the name suggests, we are different. Where most small wine companies will have a single winemaker crafting each wine, we currently have nine different wines made by eight different winemakers. How did this come to be? From a long career in the wine industry, both at Rockford Wines and then as co-proprietor at ferment Asian Restaurant, I have befriended many great wine professionals, which led to discussions and plans about wine and certain untapped winemaking possibilities. 

Many of the wines that we make were instigated by the winemakers we work with. We provide them the opportunity to make the wines that they would really love to make, love to drink, but are sometimes constrained from making. The wines are different and distinctive, and demonstrate the region is not a one trick pony. There is an otherness about the wines that we make. There is an otherness about the manner in which we present them to our customers.

H. What can guests expect from a visit to your cellar door?
GD. Otherness is a cellar door, a wine bar, a restaurant, a delicatessen and a bottle shop selling both local and international wines. Sam Smith and Emily Thomas present a frequently changing menu of regional cuisine, celebrating produce purchased from local farmers. Recognised by the Slow Food movement with a ‘Snail of Approval’ the food is extraordinary and the service team led by Charlie Schultz and Tess Mathai makes every guest feel like family.

H. What other experiences can guests look forward to?
GD. Otherness has evolved into the Angaston community hub. It is quite rare for there not to be local winemakers sitting at our tables, and locals often visit for a meal or a glass of wine several times a week. We run monthly wine symposia with both local and visiting winemakers which are quickly booked out by our wine-passionate guests.

We have a number of outdoor tables where guests are welcome to sit with their dogs.

Wine to try

2025 Otherness ‘un Message Jeté á la mer’ Mourvedre Grenache, Barossa Valley

A new collaboration with Nigel Sneyd MW and Jean Gilly, a visiting young winemaker from the family of Domaine Tempier in Bandol, France. Made of old vine mourvedre from Cimicky Estate, Lyndoch, and old vine grenache from Gatt Vineyard, Siegersdorf. Aromas of freshly baked cherry clafoutis, allspice, cassia and bruised sage. And, on the palate, red fruit: pomegranate and rhubarb counterpoint gamey Mourvèdre notes. A confluence of bright acidity and sensual tannin energises the oral membranes and promises a long evolution in a cool cellar. The label is the creation of local artist Jason Pevreall and is a Barossa homage. – Otherness. 

RRP $95 | Drink to 2035 | Halliday profile | otherness.com.au | Shop this wine

Top image credit: Hoffmann Family Vineyards