The Clare Valley is about two hours north of Adelaide and a world away from it. Limestone country. Old stone walls. Gum trees and riesling vines and a sky that turns every shade of orange around six o'clock. The valley has been quietly producing some of Australia's finest wine for over 150 years, and more recently, a gin or two.
Most people come for the riesling. That's the right move. But the Clare Valley is also the kind of place that gives back more than you expected — the more you slow down, the more you find. This is a guide from people who actually live and work here, so it's deliberately honest: what's genuinely worth your time, what to skip, and how to put together a day (or a weekend) that feels effortless rather than itinerary-managed.
Get on the Riesling Trail
If you do one thing in the Clare Valley, make it this. The Riesling Trail is a 35km rail trail that follows the old Riverton to Spalding railway line through the heart of the valley. You can walk it, ride it, or do a section and call it a day — most people hire a bike in Clare or Blyth and pedal between cellar doors at their own pace.
It's flat and easy, lined with old gums, and it passes through Auburn, Watervale, Leasingham and Sevenhill. Several cellar doors sit right on the trail or a short walk from it. The Watervale section on a spring morning, when the vines are just coming into leaf, is one of those things you describe to people for years after.
Bike hire is available at multiple points along the trail. Half-day and full-day options exist. Worth booking ahead on long weekends.
Cellar Doors: More Than Just Riesling
The Clare Valley's reputation is built on riesling, and deservedly so — the cool nights and ancient soils produce a style of dry, intensely aromatic riesling that ages unlike almost anything else made in Australia. But the wine scene here is broader than one variety, and the cellar doors are as diverse as the people running them.
A few worth your time:
Sevenhill Cellars is the oldest winery in the Clare Valley, established by Jesuit priests in 1851 and still operating today. The stone buildings alone are worth the stop. The wines are serious and honest, and there's something genuinely moving about a place that's been making wine in the same paddock for over 170 years.
Jeanneret Wines is right on Jeanneret Road in Sevenhill — and worth knowing about because it forms part of something unusual (more on that in a moment). Good wine, proper cellar door, nice people.
Skillogalee up in the Skilly Valley is a consistent favourite for lunches. The restaurant is a stone cottage and the menu runs to slow-roasted things and local produce. Book if you're going on a weekend.
Pikes in Polish Hill River makes some of the valley's most distinctive rieslings and has a good food offering. Worth the short detour off the main road.
The thing to know about Clare Valley cellar doors is that almost all of them are relaxed and unpretentious. You're not going to be lectured. Show up, taste what you like, buy a bottle of what you love.
Three Venues, One Road: The Jeanneret Rd Collective
This is the part of the Clare Valley that most visitors don't know about — and it's become one of our favourite things about being located where we are.
On Jeanneret Road in Sevenhill, three producers have ended up operating essentially next door to each other: Jeanneret Wines, Clare Valley Brewing Co, and Three Little Birds Distillery — that's us. The three places are close enough that you park once and wander between them on foot.
What that means in practice: you can taste locally made gin, drink locally made wine, try locally brewed beer, and eat something made with local produce, all in the space of an afternoon and without moving your car. For a group with mixed drink preferences, it's genuinely useful. For anyone who appreciates the idea of a properly local afternoon, it's hard to beat.
Three Little Birds is the Clare Valley's only gin distillery. We make small-batch gin using 13 locally sourced Australian native botanicals — lemon myrtle, strawberry gum, pepperberry, Geraldton wax and more — with the base spirit made from leftover wine grapes from Jeanneret Wines next door. Every bottle is hand-filled, around 100 a week, and only the best part of the distillation (the “hearts”) gets bottled. The tasting room sits among the gum trees and seats 100, though it never feels like a factory.
A tasting flight is $25 and covers Signature, Navy Strength and Bramble with tonic or soda. Open Thursday to Sunday.
Plan your visit to the Sevenhill tasting room →
Low & Slow Sundays
Every Sunday from midday, 22 Jeanneret Rd becomes the venue for something that started small and turned into a proper reason to plan your weekend around.
Low & Slow Sundays is run by the Jeanneret Rd Collective — the three of us — and it's exactly what it sounds like: a slow smoker loaded with whatever's on that week, usually smoked pork and butterflied chicken, served with rich gravies and roast vegetables. It runs alongside the tasting room and cellar door, so you've got gin, wine and beer on hand, the gum trees for shade, and no particular reason to be anywhere else.
It's a genuinely casual Sunday afternoon — the kind where you plan to stay an hour and look up to find it's four o'clock. Bring dogs. Bring friends. No booking needed.
Eat: Where the Locals Go
Three Little Birds Kitchen is the food arm of the distillery — wood-fired pizza made on-site, five-star rated on Google, and responsible for approximately half the reason people stay longer than they meant to. The pizza is proper: good base, good ingredients, cooked in actual fire. Available Thursday through Sunday during tasting room hours.
Sevenhill Hotel is a short drive from Jeanneret Rd and worth knowing about as a later-evening option. Solid pub food, local atmosphere, and they pour Three Little Birds gin at the bar.
Watervale Hotel is a Clare Valley classic — country pub, cold beer, food that doesn't try to be anything it's not. Good stopping point if you're on the trail and need a break.
Skillogalee Restaurant (mentioned above) is the most sit-down dining option in the valley and worth booking for a longer lunch.
History: More Than You'd Expect
The Clare Valley has an unusually rich history for a region of its size. Most of it is written into the buildings, which are largely still standing.
Sevenhill Cellars is the obvious starting point — the Jesuit winery and St Aloysius Church date to the 1850s and are genuinely beautiful in the way that old stone churches in Australian wine country tend to be. Free to walk around.
The town of Auburn at the southern end of the valley is South Australia's first inland town and has some handsome bluestone streetscapes. Worth a slow walk if you're passing through.
The Clare Valley Heritage Trail connects several historic sites through the towns. Not the kind of thing you need a full day for, but a good complement to a wine-and-gin trip if you want some structure.
Get Outside
Beyond the Riesling Trail, the Clare Valley has some good quiet walking. Spring Gully Conservation Park near Clare has walking trails through native scrub and wildflowers from August through October — the timing is worth noting if you're visiting in spring. Nothing strenuous, but genuinely lovely on a good morning.
The Wakefield River flows through the valley and has some accessible spots, especially around Clare and Auburn. Good picnic territory if you've stocked up at a cellar door.
When to Visit
The valley has seasons. Spring (September–November) is the most reliably beautiful — wildflowers, new growth on the vines, mild days. Vintage in March and April brings a certain energy to the cellar doors, and the valley smells extraordinary when fermentation is in full swing.
Summer (December–February) gets hot inland, but evenings on the deck at a cellar door or at the distillery are very good. It's also the busiest period, so plan ahead on weekends.
The Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend in May is the valley's major food and wine event — worth building a trip around if you're interested in the region's producers in a single concentrated hit.
Winter is quiet and beautiful if you like quiet and beautiful. Most things stay open; it just breathes differently.
Practical: Getting Here
Clare Valley is about 130km north of Adelaide — two hours on the A32 through Gawler and Auburn, or a slightly longer but prettier drive through the Barossa Valley and Seppeltsfield Road if you're not in a hurry. No public transport worth mentioning. This is a driving trip.
Most of the interesting things are spread over about 30km between Auburn in the south and Clare in the north. Sevenhill sits roughly in the middle.
If you're staying overnight — and you should, the valley is much better on a second morning — there are options ranging from wine country B&Bs to the larger hotels in Clare township. The valley isn't huge; you'll find something that suits.
One Perfect Day
If you want a shape for the day:
Morning — Bike or drive the Riesling Trail between Auburn and Sevenhill. Stop at two or three cellar doors on the way. Buy something.
Midday — Head to Jeanneret Rd in Sevenhill. Arrive at Three Little Birds for a tasting flight, then stay for pizza from the kitchen.
Book a table at the tasting room →
Afternoon — Wander between Jeanneret Wines and Clare Valley Brewing while everything from lunch settles. If it's a Sunday, you're already at Low & Slow and there's no hurry at all.
Evening — Sevenhill Hotel or back to wherever you're staying with a bottle you picked up along the way.
That's a good day in the Clare Valley. It's not exhaustive. The valley has a habit of handing you more than you came for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Clare Valley worth visiting if I don't drink wine? Yes — the gin distillery, local craft beer, food, the Riesling Trail for cycling, and the scenery are all genuine reasons to visit regardless of wine. The valley's food scene has grown well beyond the cellar doors.
How far is the Clare Valley from Adelaide? About 130km north — roughly two hours by car via the A32 highway through Gawler. No practical public transport option exists; you need a car.
What is the best time of year to visit Clare Valley? Spring (September–November) for wildflowers and mild weather, and March–April for vintage season. Summer evenings on a cellar door deck are excellent; winter is quiet but peaceful.
Is there a gin distillery in Clare Valley? Yes — Three Little Birds Distillery at 22 Jeanneret Rd, Sevenhill is the only gin distillery in the Clare Valley. Open Thursday to Sunday, tasting flights $25, no booking required.
Can you do the Riesling Trail without a bike? Yes — sections are easy walking. The most popular section between Auburn and Watervale is well-suited to a couple of hours on foot.
Are dogs allowed at Clare Valley cellar doors? Many are dog-friendly outdoors, including Three Little Birds — it's a relaxed outdoor setting. Worth checking individual cellar doors if that's important to your planning.