Bellwether Wines, Coonawarra review: This hidden gem is the perfect stop halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide

In the heart of the Coonwarra wine region, Bellwether marks the halfway point between Melbourne and Adelaide, making it an excellent point to break up the journey.

• by Kylie McLaughlin

Drop by: Coonawarra

Wine and travel writer Winsor Dobbin presents the first in a fortnightly series of 30 guides to Australia and New Zealand's leading wine regions.

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Coonawarra - Places to See

<b>Coonawarra</b> <br> <b>Centre of the wine growing South East region</b> <br> Located 381 km from Adelaide, Coonawarra is one of Australia's (and South Australia's) most grape growing and wine producing areas. Along the road from Coonawarra to Penola (a distance of only 7 km) there are a total of 21 wineries. [The two entries on <a href= "SAPenola.shtml">Penola</a> and Coonawarra are designed so that if you are heading south from Coonawarra the wineries are in the order you will experience them and if you are heading north from Penola they are in correct order].This is the result of an extraordinary situation where there are beautiful red soils (terra rossa) stretching 14 km and lying on top of limestone. The town's name, although no one is exactly sure, seems to derive from an Aboriginal word meaning 'wild honeysuckle'.

Coonawarra - Fast Facts

<b>Coonawarra</b> <br> <b>Centre of the wine growing South East region</b> <br> Located 381 km from Adelaide, Coonawarra is one of Australia's (and South Australia's) most grape growing and wine producing areas. Along the road from Coonawarra to Penola (a distance of only 7 km) there are a total of 21 wineries. [The two entries on <a href= "SAPenola.shtml">Penola</a> and Coonawarra are designed so that if you are heading south from Coonawarra the wineries are in the order you will experience them and if you are heading north from Penola they are in correct order].This is the result of an extraordinary situation where there are beautiful red soils (terra rossa) stretching 14 km and lying on top of limestone. The town's name, although no one is exactly sure, seems to derive from an Aboriginal word meaning 'wild honeysuckle'.