Clare Valley Overview
The Clare Valley is another of the fabulous wine areas South Australia has in abundance.
Clare Valley is famous for its Shiraz and especially its Riesling which is regarded as amongst the very best in the world, ranking alongside the Mosel and Alsace.
South Australia has several areas which have established a world class reputation. For example, the Coonawarra produces some of the worlds finest Cabernet Sauvignon.
Pretty
The Clare Valley was originally settled by English, Irish and Polish immigrants in the mid 1800's and even today there is much evidence of the early influences.
There are quaint churches, buildings and place names such as Polish Hill, Auburn and Armagh.
The Clare Valley is well geared for tourism with many cellar doors, bed and breakfasts, restaurants etc interspersed amongst the pretty vineyards.
Around twenty wineries are nestled within a relatively compact 20km x 10 km area and these are scattered either side of the inter-connecting roads between Clare, Auburn, Watervale, Sevenhill and Mintaro.
Wine Tourism Pioneer
The Clare Valley led the way in developing wine tourism with the now famous 'Gourmet' cultural events which involve outdoor classical concerts, operas etc in beautiful vineyard settings or wine tasting tours combined with fine food and company.
The idea has been often imitated and developed in other wine regions and perhaps the Hunter Valley being the leading exponent of the concept today.
Wine tours also operate from Adelaide as the South Australian capital is only around two hours away.
Famous Names
Well known Clare Valley names include: The Wilson Vineyard, Jim Barry, Taylors, Petaluma, Grosset Polish Hill and Richmond Grove Watervale which are located around the main centres of Auburn, Watervale, Mintaro, Sevenhill and Clare.
Both these winery and town names will be well known to wine lovers throughout the world.
The Clare Valley should certainly be on your wine region tour list as it is easily accessible from Adelaide
. Over several days a visit to the Clare Valley can be combined with tours of The Barossa Valle and Adelaide Hills wine regions.
Clare Valley accommodation
See Clare Valley accommodation for hotels and resorts.
Also see Adelaide accommodation for hotels and resorts in the South Australian Capital city.
Location
The Clare Valley is located in south east South Australia, to the North of Adelaide, and has a Latitude of 33.6 S and a Longitude of 138.8° E.
Driving To The Clare Valley
Some approximate driving times to The Clare Valley:
2Hr From Adelaide (140Km)
11Hrs From Melbourne (900Km) )
16Hrs From Sydney (1400Km) )
See Route and Distance Calculator for more accurate driving times and routes from additional locations.
Driving in the Australian Outback is not recommended for the inexperienced or un-prepared.
Flying To Adelaide:
Adelaide Airport has both international and domestic terminals and is around 6km (4 miles) west of the city. By car, the journey into the city should take approximately 30 minutes depending on traffic conditions.
Taxis, hire cars airport buses are available.
As a guide, the approximate flying time from Adelaide
to Perth is 3.25 hours,
to Sydney 2 hours
to Melbourne 1.25 hours
to Brisbane 4.5 hour
to Cairns 6 hours.
Times do not include travel time to and from airports and adequate time prior to check in etc.
South Australia School & Public Holidays
New Years Day Tue 1st Jan.
Australia Day Mon 28th Jan.
Adelaide Cup Day Mon 10th March
Good Friday 21st March.
Easter Monday 24th March.
Anzac Day Fri 25th April.
Queens Birthday Holiday Mon 9th June.
Labour Day Mon 6th Oct.
Christmas Day Thu 25th Dec.
Boxing Day Holiday Fri 26th Dec.
(End and start school on preceding and next week day (Mon - Fri) respectively)
Easter Holiday 10th April To 26th April.
Winter Holiday 4th July To 19th July.
Spring Holiday 26th Sept To 11th Oct.
Summer Holiday 12nd Dec To Jan 26th
Starts Sunday 5th October
Ends 5th April 2009
Note: Dates for guidance only. Always check with your individual School as variations may occur for individual education authorities or establishments and dates may be subject to change. Always check with relevant State or Territory education department to confirm holiday periods at the commencement of each school year. Not all Public Holidays for individual regions within each state and territory are shown and public holidays falling on weekends are not listed. Not all Public Holidays may be applicable to all employers, organisations etc so always check with your employer, education authority etc which public holidays are applicable.
Clare valley Climate
These figures are for guidance only:
Approximate Max Average Temperature
Deg C/ Deg F
Winter(June-Aug):14 / 57
Spring(Sep-Nov):21 / 69
Summer(Dec-Feb):29 / 84
Autumn(Mar-May):22 / 71
Approximate Average Monthly Rainfall - mm
Winter(June-Aug): 80
Spring(Sep-Nov): 55
Summer(Dec-Feb): 26
Autumn(Mar-May): 49
