Download the Visitors Centre Guide - McLaren Vale

The area that is known today as the McLarenVale Wine Region was amongst the first to beplanted with vines in South Australia.PioneersJohn Reynell is credited as being the first toestablish a vineyard in the areas south ofAdelaide in 1838 at ‘Reynella’. His efforts weresuccessful and other pioneers joined him. Thearea under vines rapidly expanded and includedplantings by Dr Rawson Penfold whose namehas become synonymous with great Australianred wine. In 1850 George Pitches Manningestablished a vineyard and winery called HopeFarm. This property became Seaview winerywhen it was purchased and operated by friendsHenry Edwards and William Benjamin Chaffey.The area under vines continued to grow. In1861 Dr Alexander Kelly established TintaraVineyard Company on land that is today thetown of McLaren Vale. During one of the earlyperiodic lows that have plagued the industryhe was forced to sell the vineyards to ThomasHardy. This was the start of a long associationbetween the Hardy family name and McLarenVale. Thomas Hardy had been successful onthe goldfields of Victoria and had establishedvineyards along the Torrens River at Adelaide.So great was the success of this pioneerwinemaker, he was able to pay off the Tintaravineyards within the first year of purchase.The names of the early pioneers and theproperties they developed are prominent whenyou tour the McLaren Vale region today.McLaren Vale has a strong sense of the placeit occupies in the history of winemaking inSouth Australia and Australia as a whole. Whenvisiting the region the history is never far away.05