The Barossa Valley is an hour from Adelaide, on Peramangk Country. The hills and vineyards are particularly lovely in autumn when they go orange and red. I moved here in 2018 to engage more with food producers. I opened my restaurant, Staġuni, in late 2024.
A lot of German Lutherans settled here in the mid 1800s, fleeing religious persecution. Many Barossa families go back several generations.
The next generation is coming up now. Newer winemakers are adopting more contemporary styles such as biodynamic farming. The big, robust reds that the Barossa is known for still have a place but the next-gen wines tend to be more delicate. Drinking trends have shifted and winemaking here is evolving too.
FoodCasa Carboni: the chocolate bomboloni is my morning favourite. Photograph: Tony Lewis
Artisans of Barossa is a co-op of seven small batch winemakers. Its restaurant, Essen, is a smart model because winery restaurants usually only pour their own bottles. But no one winery makes wines that work with every dish. At Essen, you can choose from many more and the tasting room has more than 100 wines.
I really like the Italian wine bar Casa Carboni, in Angaston. The chef, Matteo, mostly does lunches, with dinners on one Friday each month. The chocolate bomboloni is my morning favourite and the mortadella focaccia for lunch. They run a cooking school too.
Everyone’s well looked after at Vintners Bar & Grill. Photograph: Meaghan Coles
Vintners bar and grill is a Barossa institution for a reason: everyone knows they’ll get well looked after. There’s white table cloths but it’s full of locals so there’s a sense of familiarity. The wine list is phenomenal and the menu is refined but not stuffy. I always order the crispy pigs ears to start.
Fleur Social is a cafe and florist in Nuriootpa. The Canadian co-owner, Ryan, is obsessed with coffee and it’s nice to have modern options like pour-overs and cold brews. The menu is tight with excellent sandwiches, bagels and house-made treats. The flowers are sourced from nearby growers and wrapped in compostable packaging.
My restaurant, Staġuni, is in tiny Marananga. The main road is just a handful of visible houses, Seppeltsfield Road Distillers, wineries such as Two Hands and Greenock Creek Wines, and the historic 1922 Marananga primary school, where we are. We kept the original fireplace, windows, floorboards and a chalk rail from 1952.
I cook Mediterranean-style food influenced by bistros across Europe. My family is Maltese so there’s a big emphasis on sharing. I keep the wine list to one page: it showcases traditional and natural wine making and everything in between. I’ll only grab a dozen or two at a time and, once they’re sold, I’ll replace them with something new.
Nature
About 25 minutes from Angaston is Kaiserstuhl conservation park. The Stringybark hike (one hour loop) is flat and quite easy. The Wallowa hike (two hours one way) takes you to rock outcrops with a panoramic view of the Mount Lofty ranges. There’s more wildlife if there’s water in the creek: kangaroos, Australian ringneck parrots, honeyeaters and, of course, cockatoos and galahs.
Breakfast with the roos at Kaiserstuhl Conservation park, Barossa. Photograph: Matt Nettheim/South Australian Tourism CommissionBarossa Bushgardens, a community project along the North Para river. Photograph: Nathaniel Mason
Barossa Bushgardens is a community project to restore the region’s native vegetation. I walk here with a friend and we’re always stopping to marvel at some new plant flowering. It has grown to include about 200 of the 400 or so endemic plants, some of which had become really rare. Most areas are wheelchair friendly and it has dementia and disability programs.
I walk my dog at the old Cornish copper mine, Kapunda mine. It’s never crowded and very calming. The water in the dam is turquoise and the historical information about the Cornish community is really interesting.
Nightlife
New Wave Wines is a cellar door that does $10 tastings of more contemporary styles and alternative varietals, such as Arneis and Barbera. Sunset is perfect there on the deck or the big lawn.
Find live music and a younger crowd at Barossa Distilling Co. Photograph: Barossa Distilling Co
Barossa Distilling Co. attracts a younger crowd. It’s in the old Penfolds distillery in Nuriootpa and you can see its rare and heritage stills on a tour. There’s occasional live music and Ember Pizza next door specialises in Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked in a traditional wood oven; it can cater to all dietaries.
Wonderground gallery hosts new exhibitions every seven weeks. Photograph: Andy Ellis
A new exhibition featuring both local and interstate artists opens at Wonderground gallery every seven weeks. It’s a hybrid business with Renee de Saxe and Kirsty Kingsley looking after the gallery, while Nick Radford and Luke Edwards are winemakers of labels called Mirus and Wonderground. The openings are always a great night.
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Inspiration
Barossa farmer’s market on Saturdays isn’t ‘for show’ like many regional markets. It’s where locals do their weekly shop for meat, veggies, poultry, bread, honey, fruit, flowers and coffee. There’s a bacon and egg station, venison pies, dumplings, cakes and pastries.
We’re lucky to have a fantastic independent bookshop, the Raven’s Parlour, in Tanunda. It often stocks new cookbooks I’m looking for, so I don’t need to go further afield. The employees know their stuff and give excellent reading tips.
While its new location is being built, Barossa Regional gallery is a pop-up in Barossa museum, housed in the beautiful Tanunda Post Office and Telegraph station building, which dates back to 1866. The exhibitions are a response to the museum’s artefacts, which include more than 100 vintage cameras, a rare traditional black German wedding dress, a Kruger pipe organ and a full-size German wagon. It’s a real rabbit warren of antiques.
The gallery is the custodian of the legendary Barossa cookery book. In 1917, to raise money for South Australian soldiers, Barossa women collated 600 recipes into what was possibly the first Australian cookbook of collected recipes. It has German classics like sour cucumbers, mettwurst (sausage) and streuselkuchen (crumb cake). The book was a roaring success and the 36th edition is being printed soon.
NeighbourhoodTanunda has a buzzy high street. Photograph: Walter Bibikow/Getty Images
I live in the quaint town of Angaston, where the markets are held. The Angaston Heritage Trail is a lovely walk, with historical points as well as parks, little gullies, creeks and bridges you wouldn’t otherwise know about.
Kapunda is a real country town; it doesn’t feel touristy. It’s said to be the most haunted town in Australia and Ghost Crime Tours can explain why. Its history is interwoven with the Cornish community and mining.
Tanunda has a buzzy high street with cafes, restaurants and lots of cellar doors. It’s close to some well-known wineries like Michael Hall Wines, Pindarie and Rockford Wines.
AccommodationThe Station Kapunda is a former railway station turned into an Airbnb for 14 guests. Photograph: Sam Kroepsch/The Station Kapunda
Finding a place to stay in the Barossa is quite expensive – especially the independent hotels. The Station Kapunda ($1,800 a night for 14 guests) is perfect for a big family or a group. It offers private in-house chef dining on the 160-year-old train platform; one of the windows is the original ticket window. There’s an orchard, a lap pool and a herb garden too.
Le Mas ($1,100 a night) is wonderfully fancy and super-unique. It’s based on Provence hospitality and is surrounded by some of the oldest grenache grapes in the world. The owner’s French mother makes the hotel’s jam from roses on the property.
Barossa Pavilions and Glasshouse ($595 a night with wine and breakfast) is an adults-only retreat on a huge property in Lyndoch. It has six self-contained villas and really nice views. Marananga cottages (from $290 a night) are two self-contained bluestone buildings.
ForestrySA manages huts, cottages and campsites in the Mount Lofty Ranges. All unpowered campsites are $7.90 per night for adults: vehicles are $20.30 per night for a maximum of five. Karrawirra-tya-illa campground is in bushland only accessible by foot or bicycle, while Jack’s Paddock is reserved for horseback riders. The most basic hut, Rocky Creek Hut, is $102 per night, while Thomas Hill House sleeps 17 for $250 per night.