Adelaide Hills Winery Tours

The Adelaide Hills begin at the city’s eastern edge. Hahndorf is about 30 minutes up the South Eastern Freeway, and the regional wine association counts over 90 wine labels and 50 cellar doors in a band of hills about 70 kilometres long. That is close enough for a day trip without a hotel change, and spread out enough that the tour you pick decides which cellar doors you actually see.

Most tours from Adelaide fall into one of four shapes: a guided small-group day with tastings and lunch included, a hop-on hop-off bus that loops the cellar doors around Hahndorf, a private car for your own party, and combination days that pair Hahndorf with the Barossa or McLaren Vale. Prices on this site are September 2026 “from” figures per person, and the live price is always on the booking page.

What the Hills pour

The Hills are cool-climate country. Vineyards sit above 300 metres, the highest at 600–650 metres around Piccadilly and Summertown, and Bureau of Meteorology averages put summer afternoons at Mount Lofty about 5 °C cooler than in the city. That coolness is why the region is known for Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, which together cover about two-thirds of its vineyards, and for traditional-method sparkling made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Hahndorf Hill has made a name for Grüner Veltliner, and several producers bottle a lighter, peppery cool-climate Shiraz. Our wine tasting page explains flights, fees and bookings.

The guided day most people book

The Hills & Hahndorf Hideaway has the most reviews of any tour on this site that spends the whole day in the Hills: 4.8 from 205 on Viator, from $175 per person. Groups are capped at eight. A driver collects you from an Adelaide city hotel a little before 9 am, and the eight-hour day takes in Mount Lofty Summit, Beerenberg’s farm shop, a tasting at The Lane Vineyard, Melba’s Chocolate Factory, Woodside cheese, a two-course German lunch with a beer or wine in Hahndorf, an hour on Main Street and a last tasting at Sidewood.

Two things to know before you book it. The day mixes two cellar doors with food stops, so it suits people who want the Hills as much as the wine. And its listing says all sales are final: there is no refund if you cancel. Our breakdown of the tour lists every stop.

Choosing your own cellar doors

If the point of the day is wine, the hop-on hop-off wine tour gets you to more of it for less money: from $71 per person if you join in Hahndorf, or about $79 with the city pickup (A$100 and A$110 on the supplier’s schedule), rated 4.8 from 155 reviews. The bus leaves the Stamford Plaza on North Terrace at 10 am and loops a circuit of 8–10 wineries and venues around Hahndorf roughly once an hour. You get off at up to four and are back in town at about 5 pm. The fare covers the bus only, so budget for tasting fees at each stop (flights at the cellar doors we checked run from about A$10 to A$45) and for lunch. It has free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Our hop-on hop-off review works out the all-in cost.

A private car, or an e-bike

For a couple or a small group, a private tour lets you pick the cellar doors and the pace. The private wine tour run by Shane of Buckley Estate is rated 5.0 from 78 reviews, takes up to four people, covers the Hills or McLaren Vale, and costs less per head as the party grows. Tastings and lunch are extra. Private wine tours compares it with a per-car option and a luxury day that includes both.

The Hahndorf food and wine e-bike tour is the active version: five hours on electric bikes between a wine flight at Shaw + Smith and a tasting at The Lane, with a cheese board and strawberry picking at Beerenberg in season. It is capped at eight riders and rated 5.0 from 59 reviews.

Hahndorf, and lunch

Almost every tour stops in Hahndorf. Settlers from Prussia who arrived on the ship Zebra in December 1838 founded the village in 1839, and its Main Street is now a State Heritage Area lined with pubs, cafés and a few cellar doors. If a long lunch and time on Main Street matter more than a row of tastings, Discover Hahndorf (4.9 from 74 reviews, from $114) builds the day around a gourmet lunch at The Haus and about two hours of free time. Hahndorf wine tours and wine tours with lunch go further.

Hills, Barossa or McLaren Vale?

The Barossa is about an hour north and known for old-vine Shiraz; McLaren Vale is 40–45 minutes south, near the coast, and known for Grenache and Shiraz. The Hills are the closest of the three and the one to choose for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sparkling. If you want two regions in one day, Hahndorf & Barossa and Hahndorf & McLaren Vale both do it. See Adelaide Hills vs Barossa and Adelaide Hills vs McLaren Vale.

Before you go

• Tastings are for adults 18 and over, and the Hideaway and the private tour set 18 as the minimum age.
• Book cellar doors ahead at weekends: several say bookings are essential or strongly recommended.
• Mount Lofty Summit sits in Cleland National Park, which closes on catastrophic fire danger days and may close on extreme ones, so summer itineraries can change on the day.
• If you drive, South Australia’s limit is 0.05 BAC for full licence holders and zero for learner and provisional drivers. Most visitors doing a full tasting day take a tour.

Still deciding? Our guide to which Adelaide Hills wine tour is right for you compares all eight tours in one table, and the best time to visit covers vintage, autumn colour and winter. When you are ready, check availability.