Charles Melton Wines

Charles Melton Wines is a premium, family-owned cellar door at 194 Krondorf Road in Krondorf, about five minutes from Tanunda in the Barossa Valley. It is known for pioneering traditional Barossa red blends, and for a tasting room built around a massive communal long table rather than a bar. For dog owners, the scenic lawn and verandah overlooking the vineyards are where you and the dog settle in.

Dogs at Charles Melton

Dogs on a lead are welcome in the outdoor areas: the verandah and the lawn looking over the vines, where you can spread out with a glass and a cheese platter in the warm months. The cosy timber-walled tasting room itself is generally kept for people, and because rules can shift, a quick call ahead saves you standing on the verandah when the weather turns. Water bowls are not reliably on site, so pack your own bowl and water.

Worth knowing

Tastings run seated along the long table in director-style chairs, more like visiting friends than a formal tasting, and the vineyards sit on historic dry-grown Krondorf sites. The lineup leans on full-bodied reds from old bush vines, with the Nine Popes grenache shiraz mataro blend the flagship and the Rose of Virginia a regular favourite. In winter a log fireplace makes the room one of the Barossa's cosier tasting stops. Doors open daily from 10:30am to 4:30pm, and bookings via the website are worth making, with card details held to secure the table rather than charged up front.

Max: grab a verandah seat on a weekday morning, order the cheese platter, and the long-table crowd inside becomes your entertainment.

Getting there and parking

Krondorf Road runs off Barossa Valley Way between Tanunda and Lyndoch; the cellar door is signposted with gravel on-site parking. The quiet country lanes around Krondorf suit a leashed vineyard walk before or after your tasting.

Pair it with

Turkey Flat Vineyards and Rockford Wines at nearby Tanunda keep the reds theme going, and Rehn Bier Brewery makes a change of pace for the afternoon.

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