On a Clare day, you can ride your bike forever

THIS year's vintage is barely in the barrel but Carolyne Jasinski is on her bike for a cellar door tour of the Clare Valley Riesling Trail.

MAGPIES welcome the day as the sun rises over the valley. The rays peek through the gum trees, spreading a soft glow throughout the Clare Valley.

Already, early risers are on the Riesling Trail.

Some backpackers, staying in the caravan park, are cycling hard. They're off to Auburn, 25km away, and are keen to reach the end of the trail, then turn for some leisurely wine-tasting on the way back.

What a start to the day, sipping coffee on the veranda of Brice Hill Country Lodge, watching the day slowly unfold as a stream of people pass by.

We soon join the throng, mounting our hired bikes.

Pedal power. It's a cheap, clean and practical way to enjoy the Clare Valley's wineries.

The Riesling Trail follows the old railway line from Clare to Auburn, passing through Sevenhill, Penwortham, Watervale and Leasingham. It takes about two hours to complete on bike and, unlike the road that goes over hill and dale, the trail cuts through and offers a gentle course.

Twenty minutes along the trail, we take our first detour to Sevenhill Cellars and St Aloysius Church.

A walking tour with Brother John May puts the history of Sevenhill and the Clare Valley in perspective.

Sevenhill is the oldest of more than 40 wineries in the valley. Jesuit priests settled here in 1848 and began producing sacramental wine.

Now the winery has more than 70ha of vines and produces red, white, fortified and altar wine for Australian and overseas markets.

Entering the crypt beneath the church, the resting place for 41 Jesuits, we admire the dedication of the settlers, who left their homelands to spread the Christian faith.

Back on the trail, other riders leave to tackle slightly more strenuous loops to some out-of-the-way wineries, the Spring Gully Lookout and Polish Hill Valley.

Cellar-door visits can keep you busy for days. But there's much more to the area than wine-tasting. It's worth the drive just to soak up some of SA's early heritage at Mintaro and Martindale Hall.

And you can always stop for a meal at one of the many restaurants or pubs, or take a gourmet picnic hamper from London Hill to Spring Gully Conservation Park.

More: Clare Valley Tourism, [phone]