Best Adelaide Hills Wineries

For a first visit, start with Shaw + Smith in Balhannah and The Lane Vineyard near Hahndorf, then add one cellar door for the style you like most: Deviation Road or Petaluma for sparkling, Hahndorf Hill for Grüner Veltliner, Tapanappa for Chardonnay and Ashton Hills for Pinot Noir. If you would like someone else to handle the driving, the Hahndorf Food & Wine E-Bike Tour covers the first two in five hours, from $189 per person with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, per the booking page.

Prices on this page are September 2026 “from” figures in US dollars per person; the live price is on the booking page. Cellar door fees are quoted in Australian dollars.

What the Adelaide Hills does best

The Adelaide Hills is a cool-climate region in a narrow band about 70 km long, with over 90 wine labels and 50 cellar doors. Vineyards sit above 300 m, the highest at 600 to 650 m, and the daytime temperature at the higher sites runs about 5 °C below Adelaide’s.

That cool air shapes the wines. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir cover about two-thirds of the vineyard area, sparkling is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the coolest spots, and Shiraz ripens on the warmer sites.

A few rules apply at almost every cellar door:

• Standard flights cost about A$10 to A$45, with premium experiences above A$100.
• Do not count on the fee coming off a bottle purchase. Deviation Road says outright that its flights are not redeemable on purchase.
• Book ahead, especially at weekends, and check opening days early in the week.
• You must be 18 to taste in South Australia.

Hahndorf and nearby

The Lane Vineyard

The Lane sits on Ravenswood Lane just outside Hahndorf, on a 40-hectare estate with views over vines, lawns and gardens. The cellar door opens daily from 10am to 5pm, and the restaurant Thursday to Monday for lunch. The Gathering Experience is its signature tasting, with blending sessions and an Elevated Tasting Flight also on offer. Tours that visit: the e-bike tour starts and finishes here with a tasting, and the Hills & Hahndorf Hideaway includes a 45-minute tasting.

Sidewood Estate

Sidewood is a family-owned winery founded in 2004, and its cellar door, restaurant and cidery on River Road in Hahndorf opened in 2020. It is open daily 11am to 5pm, with self-guided flights from about A$20 to A$45. Tours that visit: the Hideaway, the Hahndorf & Hills Wine and/or Gin Tour, the Adelaide Hills Divine Wine Tour and Sip & Scenic. It is also reachable by bus from the city.

Hahndorf Hill Winery

Larry Jacobs and Marc Dobson bought Hahndorf Hill on Pain Road in 2002 and planted Austrian varieties including Grüner Veltliner, Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt. James Halliday wrote that Hahndorf Hill “writes the book on Gruner Veltliner”. The cellar door opens Monday to Saturday from 10am and Sundays from 11am, and ChocoVino pairs the wines with fine chocolate (A$32 per person for groups of 9 to 14). No set tour on this site lists it, so visit on a private tour or on the 7 km walking loop from Hahndorf that also takes in Sidewood.

Balhannah and Woodside

Shaw + Smith

Cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW founded Shaw + Smith in 1989, and the tasting room is on Jones Road, Balhannah. The Classic Flight is A$25 for five wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, M3 Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz), the Single Vineyard flight A$40 and the two-hour Balhannah Tour A$140 with cheese pairings. It opens daily 11am to 5pm, last flights 4:20pm, and bookings are strongly encouraged at weekends. Tours that visit: the e-bike tour includes a flight here, it is a fixed stop on the private Adelaide Hills Luxury Wine Tour, and one hop-on hop-off rider reported tasting here.

Nepenthe

Nepenthe’s cellar door is also on Jones Road, Balhannah, open Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 5pm, and reservations are recommended. Its Pinnacle, Altitude and Elevation ranges cover Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. Tours that visit: the Divine Wine Tour, and the Hideaway names Nepenthe as an alternative stop.

Bird in Hand

Bird in Hand was established in 1997 on a former dairy farm on Pfeiffer Road, Woodside, and now has the LVN Restaurant and a kitchen garden. The cellar door opens daily 11am to 5pm, and flights run about A$20 to A$40 with bookings essential. No set tour on this site lists it, so it suits a private day.

Petaluma

Petaluma’s cellar door is at 254 Pfeiffer Road, Woodside, and it is currently open Saturday and Sunday only, 11am to 4:30pm, while weekday renovation works run. Croser vintage sparkling is its signature wine. You can book a hosted tasting here: Expressions of Chardonnay with a platter for two (a new listing), Croser sparkling with a platter, or a vineyard horse ride and tasting, rated 5.0 from 10 GetYourGuide reviews.

Lenswood and Lobethal

Golding Wines

Darren Golding founded Golding Wines with his parents in 1995, and tastings are held in a historic sandstone barn in the Lenswood subregion, on the edge of Lobethal. The tasting room opens daily from 11am, the Ginkgo Restaurant from 11:30am, and bookings are essential. Flights start from about A$10. Tours that visit: the Hahndorf & Hills Wine and/or Gin Tour and the Divine Wine Tour.

Pike & Joyce

Pike & Joyce brings together the Pike winemaking family from Clare and the Joyce family, fifth-generation horticulturists, on a 25-hectare vineyard planted on former apple and pear orchards in Lenswood. The tasting room opens daily 11am to 4pm, and structured tastings are by booking. The Divine Wine Tour’s itinerary also mentions a visit here.

Piccadilly Valley, Ashton and Longwood

Tapanappa

Brian Croser AO and family run Tapanappa on Spring Gully Road, Piccadilly, open daily 11am to 4pm. Its Tiers Vineyard, planted in 1979, was the first vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley since the 19th century, and the Tiers Chardonnay is the one to try. Tours that visit: the self-guided e-bike wine tour with lunch can end at Tapanappa or Deviation Road for a sparkling tasting and a cheese platter.

Ashton Hills

Stephen George established Ashton Hills in 1982, and the winery describes it as long regarded as the benchmark for Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. It is on Tregarthen Road, Ashton, and the cellar door is listed as open Friday to Monday. A guest on the private Adelaide Hills Wine Region Tour singled it out for Pinot Noir.

Deviation Road

Kate and Hamish Laurie run Deviation Road on Scott Creek Road, Longwood, where they farm Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for méthode traditionnelle sparkling; Kate trained in Champagne. Flights are four pours, the cellar door opens daily 10am to 5pm, and online bookings are capped at eight on weekend afternoons. Tours that visit: the Luxury Wine Tour and the self-guided e-bike tour.

Visiting on a tour

The e-bike tour is the easiest way to taste at two of these without driving. Bike About caps it at eight per booking, starts at The Lane, and includes a Shaw + Smith wine flight, The Lane tasting, a cheese board at Udder Delights and seasonal strawberry picking at Beerenberg, plus snacks, tea and coffee. Lunch is extra. The operator classifies the ride as easy, it is not for under-18s, and it is rated 5.0 from 59 Viator reviews. See our breakdown.

Other ways in:

• The Hideaway pairs The Lane and Sidewood with lunch in Hahndorf. It is non-refundable. Our breakdown.
• The hop-on hop-off wine tour lets you pick up to four stops from a loop of 8 to 10 venues, with tasting fees paid at each. Our breakdown.
• The private wine tour with Shane Buckley lets you nominate your own cellar doors, which is how to reach Hahndorf Hill or Bird in Hand. Our breakdown.

Whoever drives must stay under 0.05 blood alcohol on a full licence, and at zero on a learner or provisional licence.

Next steps

• Learn how tastings work on Adelaide Hills wine tasting.
• Pair a winery with lunch on wine tours with lunch.
• Build a route with the Adelaide Hills wine tour itinerary.
• Prefer not to drive? Compare the best Adelaide Hills wine tours or read wineries without a car.

Ready to ride between Shaw + Smith and The Lane? Check availability for the e-bike tour.