ACTIVITIES COONAWARRA

Katnook Estate is one of the most esteemed domains in Australia's premier red wine district, Coonawarra. Its vineyards, planted in prime Terra Rossa soil, span 200 hectares in the heart of this comparatively small and remote region in the southeast corner of South Australia. From here come red wines that have contributed to Coonawarra's international reputation and white wines with equally distinctive attributes. Wines produced include both the Riddoch range and that named after the place itself, the prestigious Katnook Estate range.

Highbank's vines are grown without the use of chemical herbicides or insecticides, and have been farmed according to organic principles for more than 25 years. The family vineyards are located only on the highest banks of terra rossa soil, overlaying the cigar shaped limestone ridge of the renowned Coonawarra wine region. Owners Dennis and Bonnie Vice believe, as custodians of the land, that it is their responsibility to farm it carefully, harvesting the fruit gently and nurturing the wines, with as little intervention as possible through a very natural wine making process. If you want to get a taste of the Highbank wines, you need to phone in advance as the cellar door is only open by appointment. And plan to stay a while and soak up the experience at Highbank's romantic vineyard accommodation.

Coonawarra is renowned as one of Australia's finest wine regions and is particularly known for producing world class red wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. There are five wineries along the Coonawarra Wineries Walking Trail and all are open every day of the year, except for Christmas Day and Good Friday. You will be warmly welcomed into each of the cellar doors as you taste some of Australia's finest Cabernet Sauvignon and other varieties. The walking trail is just less than five kilometres. If you allow 20 minutes at each winery, the trail should take approximately three hours to complete. You may wish to factor in a lunch stop at Fodder or pre order a picnic basket from the Coonawarra Store to enjoy on the lawns at one of the wineries. For more information, please see website.

Brand's Laira is the home of Coonawarra's oldest single vineyard Shiraz. Our vineyards are situated in the heart of the legendary 'Terra Rossa' region of Coonawarra. The 'Laira' legend dates back to 1893. In that year, a 28 hectare vineyard was established by Captain Stentiford, who named the property after a square rigged sailing ship trading around the Australian coast and New Zealand. It was believed the Laira carried the vines he first planted in 1893 and to this day, grapes from those original vines continue to go into our premium award winning wines. Come and visit us in our state of the art cellar door where you can taste our award winning wines. Peer into Eric Brand's shed where Brand's Laira wines were originally made for a glimpse of yesteryear.

Hollick Winery and Restaurant is located at Coonawarra. The Hollick family welcomes visitors to its modern cellar door facility. The complex incorporates a restaurant, 'Upstairs at Hollick', which showcases modern Australian cuisine using regional produce. The limestone building features red gum benches and stairs with floor to ceiling windows to allow views overlooking the vineyard and into the barrel shed. An extensive selection of Hollick wines are available for tasting at all times including wines that are exclusive to cellar door. As well as the outstanding wines on offer, visitors can purchase local produce, Hollick merchandise and fine glassware. Restaurant is open for lunch from 12pm to 2.30pm Wednesday to Sunday, and from 6.30pm on Saturdays for dinner.

We welcome you to Blok Estate Cellar Door where you'll feel right at home. Housed in a beautiful old country style homestead in the heart of Coonawarra, take advantage of our crackling fires in winter, or leafy picturesque gardens in summer. You'll want to spend time wandering around our gallery, enjoying a cheese platter from internationally known cheese master or a homemade wine taster's lunch in the cosy dining room or courtyard after tasting our full range of award-winning premium Coonawarra wines. The gallery features regional artists with works ranging from red gum sculpturing to landscape painting and modern styles. Honey, from our extended family is also available for tasting, 'fresh from the hive' - a special treat for the kids or grown-ups with a sweeter tooth. Our goal is to make visiting us and enjoying Blok Estate wines an experience to remember.

The Leconfield Winery and Cellar Door is situated amongst vineyards, four kilometres north of Penola on the main Coonawarra 'Terra Rosa' strip. Built in 1974 by Sydney Hamilton, and now owned by his nephew, Doctor Richard Hamilton, the distinctive Limestone winery building handles the production and contains the entire barrel storage for the company. There is a small and intimate tasting room inside the winery where visitors can sample the wines while watching the winemaking team at work.

Majella makes some of the finest wines in Coonawarra. Famed for our reds, we have also gained a reputation for our wonderful Sparkling Shiraz and more recently for one of Coonawarra's finest Rieslings. By late 1995 we realised that Majella needed a Cellar Door Sales and office facility, so Mount Gambier architect Stephen Herbert was charged with the responsibility of coming up with a concept that looked good, was functional and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Our production level soon reached the stage where our own winemaking facilities were warranted, and enough high tech winemaking equipment was installed to keep us poor for years to come!

The DiGiorgio Family has left no stone unturned in their pursuit of excellence in viticulture at their Lucindale and Coonawarra vineyards in the Limestone Coast, which is highly regarded for their production of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. The family believes that you cannot make great wine from ordinary grapes. The commitment to lower yields and fruit flavours is the secret to the production of their range of wines. The DiGiorgio family had a vision to produce the highest quality wines from their extensive vineyards (140 hectares) and in March 2002 acquired the second oldest winery in Coonawarra. This has provided the family with a wonderful production facility and a centrally located cellar door in Coonawarra. The winery holds enormous importance within the "winescape" of Australia. It has a blend of new and old technology allowing the family to produce premium hand crafted wines.

Bowen Estate is owned and run by the Bowen family. Established in 1972, the first vintage from Bowen Estate was in 1975. Tasting and cellar door sales facilities were opened to the public in 1977.

Our 33 hectares of vineyards are situated on beautiful Terra Rossa soil in Coonawarra. In the vineyard at Bowen Estate, all vines are individually pruned by hand to ensure each vine produces maximum quality. Hand pruning enables us to restrict the crop size, resulting in wines that are fuller in body and have greater depth of colour and longevity.

All Bowen Estate wines are made on site at Coonawarra, using only the estate's grapes. All the varietal wines are one hundred percent true to varietal.

Buses and groups by appointment only.

Associated with the region since 1855, our family established its vineyard on the Coonawarra's Terra Rossa strip in 1975, and produced its first wines under the Balnaves of Coonawarra label in 1990.

Our unique cellar door overlooks a pond, and is surrounded by over 1,000 beautiful rose bushes. Relax on the deck or use our lawns to enjoy a picnic lunch and try our award-winning wines by the glass.

We are committed to 'hands-on' involvement and look forward to sharing our passion with you.