Food and Wine | Romance 03 August 2016

Explore the Barossa Valley’s Butcher, Baker and Winemaker Trail

Butchers and bakers and winemakers, oh my! Lose yourself down the Barossa’s yellow brick road to discover more than just the region's rich shiraz wines and palm framed avenue. With this special trail you’ll uncover a bounty of home baked breads, smoked meats, cakes, cheese, noodles, honey, olive oil and more. Naturally, they all go down well when accompanied by a glass (or bottle) of the famous Langmeil Shiraz, or a clean, crisp glass of an acclaimed Eden Valley Riesling. 

That’s right, the Barossa region is made of two valleys - the Barossa and Eden – which are famous throughout the world for producing wines from such notable labels as Penfolds, Henschke, Wolf Blass and Peter Lehmann to name but a few.

With deeply rooted Mediterranean heritage and a climate that mirrors the Med’s own, the Barossa has developed a distinctive regional cuisine offering buoyed by the famous vines and fresh local produce grown in this rich fertile landscape.

The Barossa Valley has an official Butcher, Baker and Winemaker Trail where you pick and choose your stops for a self-drive tour. Depending on whether you have a day or a weekend you’ll be able to squeeze in various farms, stores and cellar doors through the valley to assemble your own gourmet hamper or picnic. Here are a few spots for your DIY trail – whether you pick up the official VIP guide or not.

View outside the D' Arenberg Cube at the Barossa's Valley

Lyndoch Lavender Farm and Café

Think the Barossa is filled with a huge number of different grape varieties? You haven’t seen how many types of lavender there are. At Lyndoch Lavender Farm they grow more than 80 different types, which they use in a range of hand-made home, body and garden products. Drop by the cafe to try delicious lavender scones, sip a steaming cup of lavender tea, or try a scoop of the sweet lavender ice cream (with a sprinkling of lavender coated chocolate on top). The farm shop has everything from lavender chutney to furniture cream to wheat bags.

Lyndoch Lavender Farm and Café at the Barossa Valley

Chateau Tanunda Estate

There are cellar doors around every corner, but some are simply unmissable. Built in 1890 and stunningly restored to its fully working best, Chateau Tanunda is said to be the birthplace of the Barossa with the first vines in the region planted in 1845. Go “behind the velvet ropes” with a VIP tour and tasting, or drop into the cellar door for an express taste test of Chateau Tanunda’s hand-picked, basket-pressed, unfiltered wines.

Wine lovers enjoying their time together while tasting some wines from the Chateau Tanunda Estate and enjoying sunset outside

Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop

An icon on the Australian gastronomy scene, Maggie Beer needs little introduction to any eager foodie or passionate home cook. Her eponymous farm serves up excellent coffee, complemented by the most scrumptious of cakes, savoury pastries and hearty home-style meals. If you’ve somehow skipped lunch, grab a seat by the dam to enjoy a glass of Pheasant Farm Wine and cheese platter with locally made goods and farm fresh produce and conserves. Almost daily there’s an 11am cooking demonstration to book seats for, or you can organise a wine tasting at the farm. Maggie is regularly in residence, so you might even manage a chat with the luminous Aussie food icon herself.

Couple having picnic together by the dam of the Maggie Beers Farm Shop to enjoy a glass of Pheasant Farm Wine and cheese platter with locally made goods and farm fresh produce and conserves.

Barossa Valley Cheese Co

The glorious, musty aroma of artisanal hand-made cheese leads many through the doors of the Barossa Valley Cheese Co where you can taste, try and buy almost 20 distinctive cow and goats’ milk cheese varieties at the cheese cellar. Drop in to enjoy a tasting plate, watch a live stream of the adjoining factory where the cheese making magic happens, and to take home a picnic pack of cheeses, gourmet condiments and crackers. If you have a celebration coming up, consider ordering a Cheese Cake with layers of camembert, brie and washed rind cheeses stacked up high.

Barossa Valley Cheese Company where locals are enjoying their picnic pack of cheeses, gourmet condiments and crackers from the store

There is so much more to experience in the beautiful Barossa region, an easy one-hour drive from Adelaide. The undulating scenery is spectacular and the goodies that can be found along the Butcher, Baker and Winemaker trail showcases some of the best gourmet and artisan produce you will find in Australia.