Barossa Valley is a wine region in South Australia, about an hour drive north of Adelaide. It is arguably the most famous wine region in Australia and has a special place in my heart as the wine region that started my wine appreciation journey.
The Barossa Valley is a very large wine region with the Barossa GI (Geographical Indicator) denoting fruit that come from the Barossa Valley and also Eden Valley; the Barossa GI is part of the “South Eastern Australia Super-Zone”. The Barossa Valley comprises of a number of different towns, so when you are visiting wineries I will suggest you will need to plan ahead to avoid zig-zagging and back-tracking on yourself. In close proximity to Barossa Valley are other wine regions too, which include Clare Valley to the north of the Barossa Valley, Eden Valley to the east of Barossa Valley (but very close by), McLaren Vale to the south of Adelaide and Adelaide Hills to the east of Adelaide; for the purpose of this sharing I will not focus on these areas as they have very different wine styles to the Barossa Valley.
- Climate: Warm Mediterranean Climate; dry summers with rain fall during the cooler winter months
- Grapes: Barossa Valley is famous for Shiraz and then Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache.
- Wine Style: Full-bodied reds, dark fruits and aged in American oak to provide the coconut and vanilla aromas.
- Size and Yield: The Barossa Valley has approx. 12,000 hectares under vine1
Winery
Some of Australia’s most famous winery are based out of Barossa Valley, so there are no shortage of wineries to visit. As with most new world wine regions, and wine regions across Australia, pretty much all wineries will have a “walk-in” cellar door where for a small fee (refundable upon a purchase) for a wine tasting. As there are many famous Australian wineries located in Barossa Valley, in the list below I will state an ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating based upon my recommendation.
- Rockford Wines (map) (Tanunda) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -
This is a must try! Rockford in my humble opinion produces the best Barossa Shiraz under their flagship wine Rockford Basket Press Shiraz (where they limit the purchase for each customer to only 3 bottles), where I try to buy as many as I can when travelling with friends. It is an amazing wine, one of the hidden Australian gems. 
Yalumba (map) (Angaston) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - One of the oldest (if not the oldest) family run winery in the Barossa Valley, I have been having their wine since the start of my wine journey. Their cellar door is very nice, one which I will visit each time I am in the Barossa Valley. Their favourite wine of mine is their The Signature, which is mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Shiraz.- Penfolds (map) (Nuriootpa) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - One of the biggest winery in Australia, with a huge variety of wines at various price points and their wines available all over the world. Their cellar door however has some unique and limited edition wines which are only available at their cellar door (but these wines are usually super premium wines with the price tag to match). My favourite wine from them is Penfolds 389, (Cabernet Shiraz) which is known as “Baby Grange”, as some of the fruit picked for Penfolds Grange (Shiraz, their top wine) are “rejected” go into 389; hence on a good year there is sometimes little difference between the two wines (except for the price!)
- Henschke (map) (Keyneton) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - One of Australia’s top wine makers, famous for their flagship wine Hill’s of Grace. Their others wines are great too, showing the high quality and standards.
- Jacobs Creek (map) (Rowland Flat) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Another large Australian winery with a huge variety and range or wines at various price points. My favourite wine from them is St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon (Cabernet Sauvignon), which is actually not a Barossa Valley wine, but from Coonawarra, another part of South Australia famous for their Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Saltram (map) (Angaston)
- Wolf Blass (map) (Nuriootpa)
Accommodation
There are a few expensive high-end places to stay, which are resort style. However I prefer to rent a house / cottage where I can cook. I have not physically stayed in the Barossa Valley in the last few years, I have been doing day-trips from Adelaide (which is only an 1 hour drive away), but if it is your first time in the Barossa Valley I will recommend to stay there for a few nights.
Restaurant
Barossa Valley is quite large and made up of many towns, each town has restaurants and cafes and bakery, so just stop by when you are hungry and try! Here are some places I have tried and will try to visit each time I am in the Barossa Valley
- Maggie Beer's Farm Shop (map) (Nuriootpa) - Maggie Beer is a famous Australian chef and this farm shop has a little restaurant / cafe and local produces to purchase. Highly recommended to visit.
- Barossa Farmers Market (map) (Angaston) - Open only on Saturdays (check out their website for exact dates and times), a great place to purchase local produce such a cheese, bread etc
Additional Information
As mentioned above, Barossa Valley is one of many wine regions surrounding the city of Adelaide; if it is your first time to Adelaide on a wine tour, I can suggest you to stay a few nights in Barossa Valley but then move your base to Adelaide and make time to explore the other wines regions too, especially Adelaide Hills.
Not strictly a wine region, but I will also suggest to visit Magill Estate (map), it is part of the Penfolds group and is just outside of Adelaide city with a cellar door and a great restaurant.