A relaxed two-day plan taking in cellar doors, heritage villages and a long lunch.
Friday evening
Arrive in Clare and settle in — perhaps at a stone cottage or a winery stay. Wander the main street, pick up provisions from a local providore, and have an early dinner at a town pub or a cellar-door kitchen like Mr Mick.
Saturday
Spend the morning on the Riesling Trail: hire bikes in Clare and ride south toward Sevenhill, stopping at a cellar door or two. Make time for Sevenhill Cellars, where you can tour the historic bluestone winery, church and crypt before tasting the Jesuits' wines.
For lunch, book ahead at Skillogalee in the Skilly Hills — its vine-side restaurant is a Clare institution. Spend the afternoon visiting a couple more cellar doors; Kilikanoon and Pikes are both nearby.
Sunday
Swap wine for history. Drive to the slate village of Mintaro to tour Martindale Hall, the grand Georgian manor of Picnic at Hanging Rock fame, and let the kids loose in the Mintaro Maze. If you have the appetite for one more, the heritage town of Burra and its open-air copper mine make a rewarding detour on the way home.
Throughout, keep things loose — the Clare Valley is at its best when you don't rush it.
