At a Glance
Embark on the ultimate South Australian food and wine tour, with this epic 3-day self-drive package that showcases the best of McLaren Vale, the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley.
Home to 18 world-renowned wine regions, South Australia has officially been named a great wine capital of the world alongside Bordeaux, France, Bilbao Rioja, Spain, and the Napa Valley, USA. There are more than 200 cellar doors within an hour’s drive of Adelaide city, encompassing all manner of varietals and experiences. Birthplace of the South Australian wine industry, McLaren Vale is best known for its Shiraz as well as premium Grenache and Cabernet, while the cooler climate Adelaide Hills is known for intensely fruity Sauvignon Blancs that are high in natural acidity. The iconic Barossa Valley, meanwhile, is world-famous for the world’s ...
Trip Highlights
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What's Included
- 1-nights’ accommodation at The Vineyard Retreat McLaren Vale on a twin share basis
- Entry into the d’Arenberg Cube Alternate Realities Museum
- d’Arenberg wine blending class and sample bottle of your blend to take home
- 8-course degustation lunch with matching wines at chef-hatted d’Arry’s Verandah restaurant
- Estate tour, private tasting and 3-course lunch with matched wines at Penfold’s Magill Estate
- 4-course dinner at 3 chef-hatted Hardy’s Verandah restaurant
- Hosted vineyard and heritage tour, hosted wine tasting in private museum cellar and wine matched lunch at Yalumba
- Guided tour and birth year Tawny tasting from the barrel at Seppeltsfield
Itinerary
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Commencing in Adelaide, self-drive 50-minutes’ south to the magnificent McLaren Vale. Nestled between rolling hills and sandy beaches, McLaren Vale has a Mediterranean climate ideal for grape growing and is famous for its intensely flavoured shiraz. First stop: D’Arenberg, a founding member of Australia’s first families of wine. At 10:30am, your experience begins in the Alternate Realities Museum on the ground floor of the d’Arenberg Cube, where a self-guided exploration will take you through a space filled with wall-to-wall art installations designed to awaken and excite your senses. All tours are assisted by the d’Arenberg smart phone application ‘The Alternate Realities Museum’ – advance downloads recommended. |
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At 10:45am, it’s time to play winemaker. A pallete of wine parcels, each with distinctive flavours and textures, are melded in search of balance, fullness and finesse. You then bottle, name and label a 750mL sample to take home and show off to your friends. Following your blending session, indulge your tastebuds with an 8-course degustation lunch at chef-hatted d’Arry’s Verandah restaurant. D’Arry’s menu changes with the seasons, serving the freshest offerings from the McLaren region, at their mouth-watering best. When you are ready, head over to the Vineyard Retreat to check-in to your accommodation for the evening. You will be staying in a contemporary and well-appointed guesthouse overlooking the vines and valleys. Make sure to enjoy the jacuzzi located high in the vineyard. |
The Vineyard Retreat McLaren Vale 
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After a delicious breakfast, continue your journey to the Adelaide Hills, where you will find a fairy tale land of rolling vineyards, leafy lanes and villages dappled in light. Embark on a guided historical tour of the Penfolds Magill Estate. Your host will take you through Penfold’s history including a visit to the Grange Cottage and the vintage cellar. You will also experience the underground drives and see the original hiding spot of Max Schubert’s hidden Grange. Your host will then lead you through a structured tasting of some of Penfolds’ most highly coveted wines followed by a 3-course lunch with matched wines prepared by Magill Estate Kitchen. |
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When you’re ready, check into your accommodation for the evening, Mount Lofty House. Perched up high on the escarpment of Piccadilly Valley and enriched with 170 years of fascinating history, this beautiful heritage estate is best known as one of South Australia’s most luxurious boutique hotels. In the evening, head to Hardy’s Verandah restaurant for a 4-course degustation dinner. Three Chef Hat Hardy’s Verandah is filled with the refinement, elegance and opulence that Arthur Hardy’s guests would have enjoyed 165 years ago. NOTE: Upgrade to Sequoia Lodge is available at an additional cost. |
Mount Lofty House, Adelaide HillsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner  |
Commencing in Adelaide, self-drive 50-minutes’ north-east to the internationally acclaimed Barossa Valley wine region. Nestled between rolling hills and vineyards, you will find more than 150 wineries and 80 cellar doors. Self drive to arrive at The Louise, your boutique accommodation for the next two nights. Drop off your car and luggage and await your air-conditioned transfer to Yalumba, the most historic family-owned winery in Australia, established in 1849. Embark on a Yalumba signature tour, a journey into the history, symbolism and provenance of one of Australia’s most iconic wines. This in-depth experience begins at the historic Yalumba Wine Room, where your host will provide an introduction to the story of The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz and an explanation of the sentiment it holds for the people of Yalumba. Next, move into the Signature Vineyard at Lights Pass, home to the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown for The Signature. Look out over the rolling hills of the Valley while indulging in a tasting among the vines. After tasting the Signature, return to Yalumba for a private tasting of a yet to be released, current release and a Museum Release of The Signature before a tour through the Hill-Smith family’s private museum cellar. |
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Your experience culminates with a decadent lunch prepared by a local chef, paired with Yalumba’s Rare and Fine collection in one of Yalumba’s iconic dining spaces. After lunch, venture over to Seppeltsfield, the only winery in the world to release a 100-year-old single vintage wine each year. At 2:30pm, embrace the rare opportunity to try your own birth year vintage Tawny, directly from the barrel. Join one of Seppltsfield’s wine educators in the renowned Centennial Cellar and sip on a wine as old (or as young) as you are. When you’re ready, self-drive to depart. NOTE: This itinerary is provided as an example only – prevailing conditions and local arrangements may cause variation. |
NoneBreakfast, LunchAccommodation
Dates & Prices
Daily departure on request. Please contact us for group bookings. Single Supplement is available. Surcharge applies to festival/holiday season. Upgrade to Sequoia Lodge is available at an additional cost.
More Info
The start and finish point for this package is Adelaide, South Australia.
The Adelaide Airport (ADL) receives flights from all Australian capital cities and some regional centres as well as international locations including New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore.
Due to their elevation, the Adelaide Hills have a cooler climate than the rest of Adelaide. The Hills have four distinct seasons, each offering different experiences and reasons to visit. Sit outside in summer or pick your own cherries and strawberries in summer, or settle in by the fire with a glass of red wine in a cosy B&B in winter. Autumn puts on a colourful show of leaves, while spring is one of the best times to visit open gardens.
Onlyluxe Travel acts as travel agency and work with different tour operators.
Payment Detail
All pricing is in Australian dollars and are quoted on a per person twin share basis. A supplementary price is available (see below). Bookings are not confirmed until full payment and the signed Booking Form has been received by Onlyluxe Travel.
A non-refundable 30% deposit is payable within 7 days of your booking, with the final balance due 60 days prior to departure. If a booking is made 60 days or less before departure, the full payment is payable immediately. Last minute bookings are payable before arrival. Failure to pay on time may result in automatic cancellation of a booking with cancellation penalties payable to Onlyluxe Travel. If you pay by credit card or PayPal a surcharge will be added to the total price.
Single Supplement
All accommodation is twin share. Single guests will share with someone of the same gender. If a single room is demanded, a supplementary price of will apply. The supplementary price refers to our quotation and needs to be stipulated at the time of booking.
General Cancellation Policies
- Outside of 60 days monies will be refunded less 30% of full fee
- Within 60 days prior to arrival all monies will be forfeited
- No refunds will be given in the event of non-arrival, any unused services or unused nights due to flight or weather disruption
- We strongly recommend guests protect themselves with travel insurance and medical insurance
Please Note: Cancellations must be advised in email and will take effect from the date they are received.
Liability
The participant agrees to indemnify Onlyluxe Travel, and its servant, tour operator and agents, in relation to any liability, loss and damage which the tour operator, or its servants and/or agents may incur as a result of the participants, negligence or misconduct during the tour.
Smoking is not permitted on the bus, or in tents or in other accommodation being used by tour operator at the time that a trip is being conducted.
Child Policy
Please consult travel consultant on age limit.
Changes to Itineraries
Local conditions may necessitate changes to sightseeing, walking and driving routes, camping and accommodation locations. While every effort will be made to provide the services and experiences as offered in our brochure, on our website, and in our trip letters, we reserve the right to vary your itinerary. In the event that we are forced to change your arrangements, substitute arrangements of a similar standard will be provided. The tour operator will not be liable where interruptions to itineraries are caused by weather conditions, technical problems to transport used by the tour operator, industrial action, political or civil commotion or other circumstances beyond our control. We refer you to the conditions regarding travel insurance.
Changes in Prices
While we will do its utmost to honour its pricing unforeseen circumstances may mean that prices may be subject to change without notice.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions and Age Limits
You need to advise Onlyluxe travel and the tour operator on any pre-existing medical condition, mobility impairment and/or disability that might reasonably be expected to increase the risk of your requiring medical attention, or that might affect the normal conduct of a trip and the enjoyment of other trip members. Onlyluxe Travel and the tour operator may require an assessment of your medical condition from a qualified medical practitioner. If you fail to adequately notify the tour operator of any pre-existing medical conditions and/or disability, the tour operator reserves the right, at its reasonable discretion, to cancel your participation in a trip at any time, including after the commencement of your trip, with no right of refund if your medical condition, mobility impairment and/or disability could be reasonably expected to affect the normal conduct of the trip and the enjoyment of other trip members.
Cancellation by The Tour Operator
The walks take place in very special wilderness settings. The tour operator is at the mercy of nature in all her beauty and all her fury. The tour operator will under no circumstance knowingly place at risk the health and well-being of our guests and guides. In the case of natural threats, acts of God and the like (e.g. bushfires, impassable snow, etc) the tour operator may need to cancel a walk with very little notice. In some cases, this can occur after the walk has commenced. The tour operator reserves the right to cancel any walk up to 60 days prior to departure if a minimum of 4 walkers are unable to meet for a tour. If the tour operator needs to cancel for any reason, the cost of the walk or any other costs associated with travel to the designated pick up point, overnight accommodation, meals, etc will not be covered by the Onlyluxe Travel and therefore we strongly recommend travel insurance be taken out prior to travel.
Force Majeure
'Force Majeure' means (without restriction) any event which Onlyluxe Travel or its third party providers could not, even with due care, foresee or avoid. Force Majeure covers events such as, but not limited to, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events beyond our control. In the case of Force Majeure Onlyluxe Travel will not accept liability, and reserves the right to change and cancel trips.
Evacuations
In rare circumstances, due to injury or unforeseen illness, the tour operator may need to evacuate you from a remote part of the walk. Helicopter evacuations are expensive and in most cases will be at a cost to the customer.
For Australian residents, under the Australian Government Medicare Act, it is prohibited for any domestic travel insurance product to provide any financial reimbursement with regard to ambulance or air ambulance services. We therefore strongly advise our customers to take specific ambulance cover through their health insurance provider. Evacuation cost will not be covered by the Onlyluxe Travel and therefore it is also strongly recommended that our customers take out travel insurance to cover (amongst other things) the costs associated with evacuation.
Travel Insurance
In view of the heavy cancellation penalties applied to cancelled reservations in certain circumstances, we strongly recommends suitable travel insurance be purchased at the time the holding deposit is paid. We recommend insurance cover that covers any loss which may be suffered due to cancellation. We also strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance against loss of baggage and medical expenses.
