Clare Valley Girls Getaway: Where to Sip and Stay

I’m always chasing those trips you’re still talking about years later. The kind that revolves around great wine, long lunches and scenery that makes you slow down, whether you planned to or not. I recently spent time exploring Clare Valley in South Australia with a group of friends, balancing wine tastings with relaxed, scenic moments in one of Australia’s top wine regions.

If you and your girlfriends love exceptional food and wine paired with stunning scenery, you’re going to love the Clare Valley; it’s the kind of place where one tasting turns into an entire afternoon and you suddenly don’t feel the need to rush anywhere.

Highlights:

• Wineries worth your time: The cellar doors we loved, what we ordered and what I’d go back for.
• Where to eat between tastings: The long lunches and standout dishes we’re still talking about.
• How we explored the Clare Valley wine region: From cycling the Riesling Trail to why I’d plan it differently next time.

Editor’s Note: The writer was hosted.

Clare Valley Wineries: Where to Go Wine Tasting

Clare Valley is one of South Australia’s top wine regions, best known for its world-class Riesling, relaxed cellar doors and scenic countryside. Since we toured by bus, our driver took us straight to our vineyard tours.

SheBuysTravel Tip: I would recommend renting a car so you can stop along the way, or hiring a driver to skip the stress of navigating on the opposite side of the road.

Kilikanoon Winery: Clare Valley Cellar Door Experience

Kilikanoon Winery operates its cellar door out of a charming 1860s stone cottage. Surrounded by the rolling hills of the Clare Valley, the historic stone building feels effortlessly romantic, with shady verandas and vineyard views. It’s the kind of place where you end up lingering longer than planned, glass in hand, because the view is too good to rush.

Sitting outside under the trees with my friends, tasting wine at a barrel table, felt like the kind of afternoon you wish you could bottle up. The pace was slow, the breeze was warm and comparing notes on the Rieslings became half the fun.

• Where to sit: We opted for an outdoor tasting at one of their wine barrel tables under trees.
• What to Order: Kilikanoon Winery offers four different wine tasting experiences. We chose the Adventurer, which allowed us to each select the six wines we wanted to taste.

SheBuysTravel Tip: I highly recommend you sample a Riesling from different years. You’ll be astounded by how different the two glasses both smell and taste. This experience made me even more curious to sample Riesling wines from different wineries.

Skillogalee Winery and Restaurant: Wine Tasting and Lunch

Skillogalee’s Barrel House offers guided wine tastings of Clare Valley’s signature crisp Rieslings and beautifully balanced reds. They also offer both two-course and three-course lunches, with an optional wine pairing that highlights the estate’s best bottles. The kitchen plates each dish beautifully, but without any fuss. And yes, they taste just as good as they look.

• When to go: Time your visit to enjoy lunch after a wine tasting.
• What to order: We thoroughly enjoyed their three-course lunch with wine pairing.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Be sure to order the crumbed hen egg with watercress and celeriac in a crème fraîche sauce, topped with caviar. It’s divine.

Sevenhill Cellars: Clare Valley’s Oldest Winery

A few miles down the way is our next stop, Sevenhill Cellars, Clare Valley’s oldest winery. Jesuit priests founded Sevenhill in 1851 to produce sacramental wine and today the winery crafts bottles meant to be shared and savoured by a much broader audience.

• What to order: A tasting of five wines from the Premium Ranges.
• What to say: Ask your host a few questions during your tasting. This winery has a fascinating history and the more you engage, the more memorable the experience becomes.
• Don’t miss: Ask to sample their Sacramental wine after your tasting.

SheBuysTravel Tip: While this South Australia travel guide showcases a shorter tour, Tour de Vines also offers multi-day trips. If you want to visit more of the 35 wineries along the 25-mile Riesling Trail, plan to stay in this area longer by booking one of their longer tours.

Where to Eat in Clare Valley: Restaurants Worth Planning Around

The Clare Valley’s food scene surprised us, in the best way possible. Between wine tastings, we found ourselves lingering over long lunches, discovering cozy cellars and enjoying meals that felt elevated without being fussy. If your friends love pairing great wine with memorable dining, this region makes it easy to turn every stop into a delicious experience.

Sevenhill Hotel Wine Cellar Dining Experience

Don’t be confused when you arrive at Sevenhill Hotel and realize it isn’t a hotel at all. Thanks to Australia’s liquor laws, it’s common for restaurants to carry the “hotel” title despite having no rooms. Name aside, Sevenhill Hotel delivers where it matters most: a welcoming bar, a generous dining room and an impressive on-site wine cellar.

• Where to sit: We enjoyed sitting inside the cozy, stone-walled wine cellar. I thought I would be cold sitting down here, but the room is at ambient temperature, not typical wine cellar cold.
• What to order: I recommend ordering the House-Made Chicken Breast Schnitzels. Affectionally known by locals as a ‘Schnitty,’ they’re served with coleslaw and a healthy portion of fries. Bring your appetite because the portions here are generous.

Award-Winning Penobscot Restaurant at Watervale Hotel

Dining at the historic Watervale Hotel’s restaurant, Penobscot, was one of those meals where every course made us pause for a second before eating it and then immediately talk about how good it was. The kitchen puts just as much care into presentation as it does into flavor and you notice it immediately.

The chefs build the menu around seasonal produce sourced directly from Clare Valley. It had that perfect long-lunch energy where every new course sparked conversation and nobody wanted to be the first to suggest leaving.

• Where to sit: There honestly isn’t a bad seat in the house, or outside. The décor at Penobscot is exquisite throughout.
• What to order: We thoroughly enjoyed the five-course lunch with wine pairing.

SheBuysTravel Tip: If, like us, you are enjoying lunch here before cycling back along the Riesling Trail, be sure to fill up your water bottle for the bike ride back.

Riesling Trail Clare Valley: Why You Should Cycle It

If you’re planning to visit multiple wineries, cycling the Riesling Trail just makes sense. It ended up being one of my favourite parts of the trip. Let someone else handle the driving when wine tastings are on the agenda. Book an e-bike tour with Tour De Vines gourmet cycling tours instead. They will pick you up and drop you off at your accommodations.

• What to expect: You’ll cycle nearly seven miles along the Riesling Trail, passing vineyard after vineyard along the way. I found it to be a very easy and incredibly scenic ride.
• What to pack: Tour De Vines has helmets, so all you’ll need to bring is a water bottle with you to stay hydrated during the ride.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Wear comfortable clothing and bring sunglasses—there’s very little shade along parts of the trail and you’ll be in the sun longer than you think. I wore a baseball hat underneath my helmet and I was grateful for the additional cover it provided from the hot sunshine.

Where to Stay in Clare Valley: A Unique Glamping Stay

You won’t find chain hotels in Clare Valley, where everything is quaint and cozy. For the ultimate girlfriends’ getaway, I highly recommend staying at Bukirk Glamping, where they offer both yurts and cabins. We stayed in one of the yurts and it ended up being way more comfortable than expected. It was cozy, quiet and just enough “glamping” without feeling like we were roughing it.

Bukirk Glamping: A Unique Clare Valley Stay

Bukirk Glamping offers an adults-only stay with five glamping tents, called yurts and three luxury cabins. Owned and operated by Alison Meaney, aka ‘Chook,’ Bukirk blends rustic charm with modern amenities. While there is no on-site restaurant, we enjoyed cooking at their outdoor kitchen, complete with microwave, kettle, toaster, BBQ and a pizza oven.

What I loved most was how easy it was to settle in. By the end of the day, we were back at the yurt in cozy layers, chatting outside under the stars and listening to the quiet of the farm around us. One evening, the owner, Alison, gathered us under the stars to show us the Southern Cross constellation. It felt peaceful in a way that’s hard to find.

• The Glamping Yurts: Each yurt includes a queen-sized bed covered with blankets and ample pillows, a sofa and a mini fridge full of treats, including wine for your evening stargazing. Lush rugs cover the floor and an electric fireplace keeps you warm and cozy.

• The Views: On either side of your yurt, circular windows frame endless views of the working farm and its animals. Expect chickens to greet you when you step outside. In the evening, enjoy stargazing outside on your raised patio.

• The Pool: This adults-only property has a swimming pool and lounge chairs for ultimate relaxation on a warm day.

SheBuysTravel Tip: You won’t find the Big Dipper or Cassiopeia in Australia. If you enjoy stargazing, download a star gazer app to your phone so you can search for constellations in the Southern hemisphere. It’s fun to search the sky and find new constellations like the Southern Cross.

Clare Valley Travel Guide: Frequently Asked Questions

Read More

• Drive Australia’s Great Ocean Road: Coastal Curves and Cliffs
• Melbourne Australia: First Timer’s Guide to the Best Things to Do
• Wildest, Most Ambitious Zoo Lodging on the Planet (at least Australia)
• Best Countries to Visit with Kids in 2026