DiGiorgio Family Wines

DiGiorgio Family Wines is a family-owned Coonawarra cellar door off the Riddoch Highway, reached down a spotted-gum driveway, and it puts dogs on the guest list explicitly. The draw for dog owners is the space: landscaped lawns and shady cork trees where you can settle in with a build-your-own platter and the dog at your feet.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome on the lawns and under the cork trees, and generally in the outdoor heated room too, which keeps the visit viable in Coonawarra's cooler months. Keep dogs leashed and managed around other guests. Bring your own water bowl to be safe. It is a relaxed, casual setting built for sitting a while rather than a stand-up tasting bar.

Pepsi: pick a spot under the cork trees, order the platter, and let the afternoon go long. This is a lawn-and-platter kind of cellar door.

Worth knowing

The wines are premium Coonawarra reds, particularly cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and cabernet merlot blends, plus cellar-door-only releases. The build-your-own platter of local South Australian produce is the natural pairing and the reason to stay put. The stop also sits on the Coonawarra Wineries Walking Trail and features on the region's dog-friendly circuit, so it anchors a dog-inclusive day rather than being the lone exception.

Getting there and parking

The address is 17273 Riddoch Highway, Coonawarra, entered down the gum-tree driveway or via Memorial Drive, with ample parking directly outside the cellar door. Hours run 10am to 5pm daily, closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday; confirm ahead in peak season and book tastings on busy weekends.

Close by with the dogs

Bellwether Wines and Redman Wines are neighbouring Coonawarra stops, and Raidis Estate Coonawarra just south in Penola is famously pet-welcoming, so a leashed cellar-door crawl is easy to string together. The Coonawarra destination page has the full strip.

Autumn and spring suit the lawn best; in winter the heated outdoor room keeps the dog welcome. Between tastings, the Coonawarra Wineries Walking Trail makes an easy leashed leg-stretch between cellar doors.