After the Barossa Marathon: Seppeltsfield

The Route: Tanunda → Seppeltsfield → Maggie Beer's Farm Shop → Mengler Hill → Tanunda Logistics: Short drives between stops. Hire a driver or join a small tour if tasting. Marathon Month: August Duration: Day trip

Tanunda ──(10 mins)──> Seppeltsfield ──(15 mins)──> Maggie Beer's Farm Shop, Nuriootpa
   ▲                                                         │
   └────(15 mins)──── Mengler Hill Lookout ◄──(20 mins)───────┘

The Barossa Marathon runs out and back through the vines north-east of Tanunda in late August. The day after, the valley's western side is waiting, the part the course never reaches, where the Barossa's oldest wine families built their cellars in stone.

August in the Barossa is the heart of winter. Official tourism guidance gives days of 12 to 16°C and nights down to 3 to 6°C. The vines are bare and pruning crews work the rows, the grass between them is bright green after the rain, and cellar doors light their fires. There is no harvest to see, and fewer visitors to share the tasting rooms with.

Distances are short, but the Barossa has almost no public transport. Anyone tasting should book a driver or a small-group tour from Tanunda; the Barossa Visitor Centre on Murray Street can arrange one.

Seppeltsfield

Seppeltsfield Road runs west from Marananga lined on both sides with date palms, about 2,000 of them, planted by the Seppelt family and their workers in the 1920s during hard times. It is the valley's most photographed road, and best seen from the back seat.

The Seppeltsfield estate at the end was founded by Joseph Seppelt, a Silesian settler, in 1851. Its Centennial Cellar holds a barrel of tawny from every vintage since 1878, and visitors can taste a wine from their own birth year, poured from the barrel. Tastings are seated. Book ahead and check prices, which depend on the tasting chosen.

The JamFactory studios on the estate house glassblowers, blacksmiths and other makers working in the old stone buildings. The paths between them are level, with seating outside.

Maggie Beer's Farm Shop

Maggie Beer, the Barossa cook and food writer, built a national business from pheasants, pâté and verjuice made from unripe grapes. Her farm shop, on Pheasant Farm Road near Nuriootpa, overlooks a small dam and sells tastings, preserves and lunch. It is informal, level and a good place to sit for an hour. Check opening hours in winter.

Mengler Hill Lookout

Mengler Hill Lookout, on the road between Tanunda and Angaston, gives the widest view across the valley floor from a platform a few steps from the car park. Beside it, a sculpture park of large stone works by Australian and international artists sits on the slope; the grass is uneven, so admire most of it from the path.

Getting Back

Tanunda is about 15 minutes from Mengler Hill. Winter evenings come early, around six o'clock, and kangaroos are on the country roads at dusk. Let the driver take it slowly.