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Geoff Hardy made his name as a grape grower so it's no surprise the K1 cellar door in the Adelaide Hills fronts a vineyard that could win a gardening award.

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Skillogalee

Travellers often skip the Clare Valley for the more famous Barossa or the easier-to-get-to McLaren Vale. They shouldn't. Clare is South Australia's cellar door crown jewel and there are so many unique cellar door experiences it's difficult to pick just one. Skillogalee gets it for unadulterated Clare quaintness and the good food (pictured) it offers. The name comes from the thin watery gruel the early settlers had to eat in times of dearth. There's no skillogalee on the lunch menu but the authentically low ceilings in the old tasting room definitely suit the undernourished more than the grain-fed. Clare is all about riesling and Skillogalee has a great riesling - even a sparkling riesling - and an array of bold reds that are classically Clare.

Trevarrick Road,Sevenhill via Clare,(08) 8843 4311. Open daily,10am-5pm.

K1 By Geoff Hardy

Geoff Hardy made his name as a grape grower so it's no surprise the K1 cellar door in the Adelaide Hills fronts a vineyard that could win a gardening award. It's immaculate and one of the more photogenic trellis and vine set-ups in the state. The cellar door (pictured) looks as if it has been built on a pontoon in the large dam/small lake that waters the vineyard. The wines aren't well known but they should be. Sauvignon blanc is the bread-and-butter but make sure you check out the chardonnay and shiraz. The wine range is divided into gold label and silver label and the silver label range at $18 a bottle offers excellent value for money.

Tynan Road,Kuitpo,(08) 8388 3700. Open Friday-Sunday and public holidays,11am-5pm.

Murray Street Vineyards

Murray Street winemaker Andrew Seppelt has the Barossa in his DNA - he's a descendent of the legendary Benno Seppelt,the man who built Seppeltsfield. That doesn't mean Murray Street harks back to the past;it's modern in style and modern in method. The building (pictured) is a renovated 1950s house that opened its cellar doors in 2004 but,with the use of local stone,it looks to have been there since the 1800s. The interior layout is less like a tasting room and more like someone's house with couches instead of benches and large glass doors that open out to views of the vines. It specialises in shiraz from Barossan sub-regions Gomersal and Greenock and the shiraz at the top of the range is called Benno.

Murray Street,Greenock,(08) 8562 8373. Open daily,10am-4.30pm.

Bleasdale Vineyards

Bleasdale is half museum,half operating winery and is home to some of South Australia's best cellar-door bargains. It's still run by the family that started it all with Frank Potts in 1850. The old winery,built out of local redwood - as was everything back in the day - is still on show. No slave to fashion,some of the wine prices seem 20 years out of date and Bleasdale has some of the best examples of the much underrated malbec being produced. A case of the Second Innings Malbec at $15 a bottle is worth the trip alone.

Wellington Road,Langhorne Creek,(08) 8537 3001. Open daily,10am-5pm.

Hentley Farm

One of the most addictive things about cellar-door travelling is a new discovery - happening upon something you've never heard of with a memorable cellar door,chatty staff and a brace of fantastic wines. Hentley Farm (pictured) ticks all these boxes. A relative newcomer to the Barossa (it opened in 2002),it's on the outer western edge of the region,just past Seppeltsfield,and operates out of a renovated 1840s shearing cottage. The terroir is on show - 19 different shiraz blocks - and all the wines come from what you see at the cellar door. These are blended to make five different shirazes that are priced from $20 to more than $100. The quality is fantastic and it's also one of the few cellar doors to offer an excellent zinfandel.

Corner Jenke and Gerald Roberts roads,Seppeltsfield,(08) 8562 8427. Open daily,10am-5pm.

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