Sussex Squire Wines

Sussex Squire Wines is a small, family-owned cellar door at 295 Spring Gully Road in Gillentown, right on Clare's doorstep in the Clare Valley. The tasting room sits on a hill at around 470 metres, looking over the vineyard, and it is genuinely dog-friendly rather than dog-tolerant: the owners run their own dogs on the property, so a well-mannered visitor on a lead fits straight in.

Dogs at Sussex Squire

Dogs on a leash are welcome inside the tasting room as well as around the outdoor areas, which makes this a rare all-weather option in the valley. Resident dogs Bella and Milo are often about, so keep the lead on rather than letting an off-leash greeting develop, and bring your own water bowl since a small family operation cannot always have spares on hand. The room is cosy, so a dog that settles quietly at your feet suits the format best.

Worth knowing

This is a tasting-only venue with no food service, so plan meals elsewhere. Tastings run about 30 to 45 minutes, hosted by owners and winemakers Mark and Skye, through bold, handcrafted single-vineyard reds: shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, malbec, mataro and grenache, with small batches of regional whites like riesling and fiano in the rotation. The $10 tasting fee is redeemable on a bottle purchase. Doors open 11am to 4pm, closed Wednesdays. Walk-ins work for small numbers, but groups of four or more should book ahead because the room caps out at ten.

Max: the tasting room is small and the resident dogs wander through, so a settled dog on a short lead is the whole trick here.

Getting there and parking

Spring Gully Road heads out of Clare into quiet, scenic hill country; the cellar door is a few minutes from town with free on-site parking and a wheelchair-accessible entrance. The road itself is a pleasant leash-on walk before or after a tasting.

Pair it with

Build a Clare loop with Shut the Gate Wines and Tim Adams Wines in Clare, or Mitchell Wines down at Penwortham.

More options are on the South Australia wineries guide and the Gillentown destinations page.