Experience the best of McLaren Vale

McLaren Vale lies on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, a short drive south of Adelaide, in a shallow valley between the Mount Lofty Ranges and Gulf St Vincent. The district is known for its wine, above all Shiraz and Grenache grown on old vines in warm, dry soils. Cellar doors sit among vineyards and olive groves, and the small town has a main street of cafés, galleries and shops.

The coast is close. Port Willunga has a cliff-backed beach with the stumps of an old jetty running into the water, and Maslin Beach to the north is a long strip of sand under high golden cliffs. Inland, Willunga is a historic town built partly of local slate, surrounded by almond orchards that flower in winter. Further south the Fleurieu coast runs on to Victor Harbor and Cape Jervis, where the ferry crosses to Kangaroo Island.

Lunch here usually means a long table in a winery, and local menus lean on olive oil, cheese, almonds and seafood from the gulf. Autumn brings the grape harvest and golden vines, winter rain turns the hills green, and summer days are warm and dry with a breeze off the sea.