WELCOME TO THE CLARE VALLEY in SA

Escape to the charmingly secluded Clare Valley and disappear into a weekend of intimate discovery. Hide away in a quaint little bed and breakfast or venture out to explore the rolling countryside. You’ll fall in love with the valley’s inviting country pubs and possibly each other all over again. Fall off the map and in love.

• The wider Clare Valley is a region of plains, pastures and valleys, stretching 200kms long and 100kms wide. 
• Located about an hour and a half north of Adelaide, the secluded Clare Valley is a hidden gem bounded by picturesque farmland. The region is made up of over 30 towns and many small villages. Its main industries are tourism, viticulture, cereal crops and merino wool. 
• Jesuit priests planted the region’s first grapes in 1851, just 15 years after European settlers arrived in South Australia. Today, Jesuits are still making sacramental wine at one of Australia’s oldest and most unique wineries, Sevenhill. 
• Wineries date back to the 1850s and international wine judges continue to rate the Rieslings and Shiraz as among the best in the world. Australian wine writer James Halliday said, ‘Unlocking the secrets of the Clare Valley is a pastime open to all who visit this most beautiful part of Australia.’ 
• The Clare Valley has more than 40 cellar doors, and the wineries all sit along a narrow 40km corridor between Auburn and Clare. A bike trail, aptly named the Riesling Trail, follows this corridor as it criss-crosses the Clare Valley through vineyards and wineries, scattered between each town and village. 
• Australia’s first gourmet weekend was held in the Clare Valley in 1984. Thousands still make the pilgrimage to what is known as the ‘heart of Australian Riesling’, the Clare Valley, to celebrate the end of vintage each May. 
• The Clare Valley is home to an emerging gourmet food scene, presenting opportunities to taste the best locally grown produce served in beautiful historic buildings. Resident food-lovers use time-honoured methods to produce everything from grain-fed chicken and organic lamb to chutney and extra virgin olive oils. 
• Mountain bike riders will relish the Mawson Trail, which takes them the length of the Clare Valley. 
• While the Clare Valley is the perfect romantic getaway, Mintaro is a great town to visit with the kids. The Mintaro Maze, made from 800m of conifer hedge, has fountains and giant chess games made from locally quarried slate. 
• The Clare Valley is packed full of markets and fairs, from the Auburn Markets and Clare Valley Food Wine and Art Market, to the Burra Show. 
• The valley’s rich cultural heritage dates back 160 years with historical towns such as Burra, Watervale, Sevenhill and Mintaro being preserved to this day as a tribute to the 19th century copper miners and early settlers. 
• One of the greatest features of the Clare Valley is the large number of intact heritage buildings. Since European settlers arrived in the 1840s to share the land with the Ngadjuri people, a big effort has gone into preserving the region’s history. 
• Copper found in Kapunda in 1838 shaped the early history of the region - within 30 years, Burra’s Monster Mine was the world’s biggest mine. The mine closed in 1877 but the mine’s tunnels have been preserved for visitors to explore. 
  
• Explore conservation parks, see the giant 50,000 year old wombat fossil, stunning native wildflowers and majestic colonial homes such as Martindale Hall. Red Banks Conservation Park is one of Australia’s richest megafauna sites with a natural process of revealing its treasures. 
• This region’s weather is cool to moderate with an average maximum daily temperature of 13°c in winter and 29°c in summer.

Website: http://www.clarevalley.com.au/