Tasting Australia by Road - Adelaide Hills

Autumn might be the best time to appreciate abundance in the Adelaide Hills. It’s there at every turn: trees laden with apples, vintage just complete, a curl of woodsmoke through the valley as you dine. But not all seasonal rituals are easily seen, and it’s these to be illuminated while traversing the region.  

Your guides are Ochota Barrels’ Amber Ochota and Tasting Australia festival curator Kane Pollard. Join them first on a private 9.6-acre Basket Range farm – base for Ochota Barrels and source of vines, food, flowers and the magic found in each bottle. Explore the barrel shed, sip signature varieties and learn more about a label that emerged from travels chasing wine and surf. A snack from Pollard – culinary director of Place Dining and Tea Tree Gully’s celebrated Topiary – will accompany the tasting. Settle in for a relaxed farm style lunch prepared by Pollard.

Partial to an artisan loaf? Basket Range Baker is the day’s next stop. Shoppers clamour for its range at farmers’ markets in Willunga and the Adelaide Showgrounds (if you know you know), but this journey goes further. Meet owner Felicity Playford for a masterclass covering flour and sourdough, with fresh bread and accompaniments to be served in a converted shearing shed open exclusively for the occasion. 

This full-day adventure will continue to Pomology orchard at Tarrawood, where sustainably grown apple and pear crops are joined by kiwifruit, avocados and cherries. Tour the property with fourth-generation owner Joel Brockhoff, try fruit at its freshest and then enjoy a luscious apple pie for dessert.  

Select your favourite scarf. It’s time to head for the hills, finding the potent blend of immersion and elevation it so elegantly delivers. 
 

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