Wirra Wirra Vineyards

Wirra Wirra's cellar door at the end of Strout Road is one of McLaren Vale's originals: an old ironstone winery with lawns rolling away through mature trees toward the vineyard. Tastings run daily from 10am, the list leans heavily on shiraz and grenache from its own blocks, and the famous bell by the entrance gets rung with more enthusiasm than any brochure would dare suggest.

Dogs at the cellar door

Dog-friendly guides list Wirra Wirra as welcoming dogs across the lawns, gardens and outdoor seating, on a lead at all times, with water bowls usually available. The one clear boundary is the indoor tasting space, where dogs are generally not permitted, so plan the visit around the weather and aim for a lawn table. In practice that is the best seat in the region anyway: order a cheese platter, settle in under the trees, and let the dog stretch out on the grass while the tastings come to you.

Worth knowing

Opening hours are 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am on Sundays. Parking is on site beside the winery, with room to turn a caravan, and the drive from the McLaren Vale township takes only a few minutes. Weekends draw the biggest crowds and the lawns fill with picnic rugs, so a midweek afternoon gives a dog more room to settle. The sticky date pudding and pavlova have their own followings, so leave space beyond the cheese platter.

Make a day of it

The vale rewards a second stop. Hugh Hamilton Wines pours from its own hilltop cellar door a few minutes north, the Sam I Am Cafe does a dependable lunch with dogs welcome out front, and Pizzateca fires its ovens into the evening. When the afternoon cools, the McLaren Vale Hotel keeps a beer garden that works for a last drink with the dog. More options sit in the guide to McLaren Vale and the list of dog friendly wineries in South Australia.