The Clare Valley, two hours north of Adelaide in South Australia, is Australia's Riesling capital — the region James Halliday called "the monarch of Australia's Riesling regions". Wine has been made here since the 1850s, and the numbers confirm the reputation: Riesling is the region's largest white variety by a wide margin, with 3,658 tonnes crushed in 2024 against Shiraz's 1,923 tonnes, in a total crush of 16,498 tonnes. The Clare is small, cool and obsessed with a single grape — exactly the combination that produces world-class wine.
Riesling — Australia's Finest
Clare Valley Riesling is dry, intense and built to age: lime and citrus flavours, electric acidity and a slatey, mineral finish. The mechanism is altitude and continentality. The Clare sits 400–500 metres above sea level, and its inland position means hot days and dramatically cool nights during ripening — temperature swings of 20°C or more. Those cool nights preserve the acidity that makes young Clare Riesling so bracing and lets the best bottles develop honeyed, toasty complexity over 10–20 years. The 2021, 2022 and 2023 vintages were all outstanding — a hat-trick the region's makers still talk about — and 2017 and 2015 were the standouts of the previous cycle.
Shiraz
Clare Shiraz is the region's second act: medium-to-full-bodied with dark plum, pepper and a distinctive regional earthiness. The cool nights keep the alcohol moderate (13.5–14.5 per cent) and the tannins fine, producing a style closer to the Yarra or Eden Valley than the Barossa. The Clare's best Shiraz comes from old vines on the higher, cooler sites, and the region also makes small quantities of outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon. If you only know Clare for Riesling, you are missing half the story.
The Riesling Trail
The 35-kilometre Riesling Trail is the Clare's signature experience: a rail-trail cycling route that runs from Auburn through Clare to Barinia, past cellar doors, historic stone towns and some of the prettiest vineyard scenery in Australia. It is flat, family-friendly and best ridden in stages — hire a bike in Clare, ride to a cellar door, taste, ride on. The trail connects 30-plus wineries, and the Sevenhill cellar door (the region's oldest, founded 1851 by Jesuits) is a mandatory stop. The Clare Gourmet Weekend (May) and Riesling & Roses events are the calendar highlights.
Vintage Years & Value
Clare Riesling is one of Australia's best-value cellaring wines: entry-level bottles at $18–$28 out-age wines three times the price, and the region's top bottlings (Grosset Polish Hill, Jim Barry's Florita) at $40–$60 are legitimate world-class wines. The 2021, 2022 and 2023 vintages form the best three-year run in the region's modern history — buy them now and drink over the next 5–15 years. The 2017 and 2015 vintages are the current drinking sweet spot, fully developed with honey and toast complexity. One caution: Clare's 2024 crush fell 28 per cent on the prior year, so supply of the newest vintage is tighter than usual — good reason to buy the strong 2021–2023 wines while they are still on shelves.
Best Cellar Doors
- Grosset — Jeffrey Grosset's Polish Hill and Springvale Rieslings are Australia's most awarded.
- Jim Barry — The Armagh Shiraz is a cult wine; the cellar door is welcoming and generous.
- Sevenhill Cellars — Historic 1851 cellar; the region's oldest, run by Jesuits.
- Pikes — Approachable, excellent-value Riesling and a friendly hillside setting.
- Wendouree — Cult, old-vine Shiraz and Cabernet; wines of immense concentration (by appointment).
Events & Tips
Visit in autumn (April–May) for the Clare Gourmet Weekend, or in winter when the cellar doors are quiet and the tasting rooms cosy. Riesling is the perfect food wine — pair it with oysters, Asian food, grilled fish or even spicy dishes, where its acidity cuts through. When buying, look for the sub-regional names on the label: the Polish Hill River area makes the most austere, age-worthy Rieslings, while the Clare township area produces the more generous, limey style. Both are superb; they just age differently.
Actionable Steps
- Buy Clare Riesling from 2021–2023 vintages — drink one young, cellar the rest for 5–15 years.
- Ride the Riesling Trail and taste at three cellar doors max per day — quality over quantity.
- Try a Polish Hill River Riesling next to a Clare township Riesling to learn the sub-regional difference.
- Pair Riesling with Asian food and oysters — it is the most food-flexible white wine in Australia.
- Visit mid-week or in winter for face time with the people actually making the wine.