The Barossa Valley is a wine region located not far from Adelaide, South Australia. It’s a popular destination for wine tourists, and even if you’re not a big wine-drinker, a trip to the Barossa is a fun experience.

There are dozens of wineries to choose from, and most have a cellar door and tasting room – just show up and you’ll have the chance to try a selection of the wines the winery produces. As in most other wine regions in Australia and New Zealand, you aren’t usually charged to taste – although tastes of premium vintages do sometimes come with a pricetag. There is, however, the expectation that you’ll buy something on your way out the door, but that’s not too much of an ask!

On a recent trip to the Barossa, we headed to Penfolds and Saltram with our mate Nev. Both wineries looked after us extremely well, with well-informed and friendly staff talking us through the wines while still finding time for a bit of a chat. The gregarious Aussie charm made wine-tasting in the Barossa a pleasant experience, quite apart from the awesome flavours of the wine we got to try — Penfolds Grange (A$550 a bottle) was definitely a highlight!

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This article was written by Linda Martin

Linda Martin is a self-confessed word geek, Spanish addict and world traveller. She and Craig have been travelling full-time for six years, taking in parts of Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. She's currently in A Coruña, Spain.