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South Australia (Barossa Valley) |
| Lyndoch | |
| Lyndoch dates back to 1838 when the colony's surveyor-general colonel William Light named it after Lord Lynedoch, with whom he'd fought at the Battle of Barossa in 1811. A draftsman's slip misplaced the "e". Vines and winemaking have played an important role in the local economy since the early days. The first winery appeared in 1839; today, there are many winemaking operations, small. and large. | |
| “A
beautiful place, good land, plenty of grass and its general appearance
open with some patches of wood and many kangaroos,” reported Colonel
William Light in 1837 on first sight of the LYNDOCH area; settled
in 1839, it’s one of the oldest towns in South Australia. Although
vineyards were established from the outset, the primary activity was the
growing of wheat until 1896, when someone had the bright idea of
converting a flour mill into a winery. Today there are ten wineries in the
immediate Lyndoch area, from some of the smallest to one of the largest in
the Barossa, all still family-owned. Kies Estate, a small-scale winery on
Barossa Valley Way, provides tourist information as well as
tastings (daily 10am–4.30pm; tel 08/8524 4110).
Eight kilometres south of Lyndoch, off Yettie Road, is the Whispering Wall, a retaining wall for the Barossa Reservoir; it’s shaped in such a way that a spoken message can be heard plainly on the opposite side 140m away. To the northeast, four kilometres along the Barossa Valley Way, the village of ROWLAND FLAT is dominated by the Orlando Winery complex (Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm), the oldest winery in the valley and home of some of Australia’s best-known wines, sold under the Jacob’s Creek label. Johann Gramp planted the first commercial vines at nearby Jacob’s Creek in 1847, and forty years later his son expanded the winery and moved it to Rowland Flat. Four kilometres north of Rowland Flat, the peaceful Krondorf Road/Hallet Valley area runs east of the Barossa Valley Way, with four charming wineries, each with its own philosophy of wine making and tasting: Krondorf, Rockford, St Hallets and Charles Melton. Behind St Hallets Winery you can watch skilled coopers at work at the Keg Factory, St Hallet Road (Mon–Sat 8am–4.30pm, Sun 10.30am–4.30pm); the huge stainless steel fermentation tanks you’ll see around the valley aren’t suitable for all wines, many of which still need to be aged in wood to impart flavour. Parallel to Krondorf Road to the north, Bethany Road runs east off the Barossa Valley Way to Bethany, the first German settlement in the Barossa. THE WHISPERING WALL |
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| (South of Cockatoo Valley) The whispering Wall is the retaining wall for the Barossa Reservoir. Its shape enables a whispered message at one end to be heard 140 metres away at the other end. It also provides excellent scenic views of the reservoir and barbecue and picnic facilities. | |
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