Skillogalee Winery: A Clare Valley Icon Reimagined
You think you’re just stopping by for a glass of Riesling? Cute. What you’re stepping into is a gutsy Clare Valley legend, The Skillogalee Winery, and this time, the legend’s had one hell of a glow-up.
If Skilly were a person (back in the day), he’d be that seasoned local, leaning on a post, boots dusty, stories deep, and always ready to pour you something good. A bit rugged, sure. But underneath the grit? A whole lot of heart. This land in the famous Clare Valley, has been worked hard, loved fiercely, and now, it’s stepping into a new chapter with the same spirit, just with a sharper edge.
The new Barrel House doesn’t try to outshine its past, it builds on it. It’s steel and timber, solar and sky. It’s high ceilings and vineyard views. It’s for the curious, the hungry, the lovers of life and long lunches. Weddings will toast here. Wines will age here. And stories, old and new, will echo through these walls. It’s damn fine.
The Skilly History: Built by Hand, Held by Heart
The Skillogalee Winery story doesn’t start with wine. It starts with a miner’s cottage from the 1850s, a rough little thing in the Clare Valley hills, surrounded by gums and silence. For more than a century, it stood there watching the seasons roll in, until a couple from Adelaide came wandering in.
Enter the Georges: No Guts. No Glory
It was the early 1970s when Spencer and Margaret George found Skilly. No investors. No brand strategy. Just two dreamers, a lot of elbow grease, and a hillside full of potential.
What did they plant? Grapes! And over the next two or three years, the early varieties reared their pretty heads: Riesling, Shiraz, Grenache, and a little grape called Crouchen (now better known as Clare Riesling). It was the beginning of something big… even if it didn’t feel like it yet.
They didn’t just raise a vineyard, they raised a family in it. The Georges had four children, and they rolled up their sleeves and nurtured their vines, often with a kid slung on one hip and another chasing chickens in the grass. School runs blended into bottling days. Birthdays were held under gum trees. Dinner was whatever grew, caught, or came from a neighbour.
It was wild, joyful, and full of chaos but always anchored by something real. Love. Land. And a belief that something beautiful could grow slowly and stubbornly in this place.
That spirit stuck. And as the decades rolled on, other families arrived, each one picking up the baton.
Meet the Palmers: No Experience. 19% Interest. All Heart.
In 1989, Dave and Di Palmer (an economist and a history teacher), made a decision that could only be called reckless… or brilliant, depending on who’s telling the story. Living in Canberra, they caught wind that their friends were selling Skillogalee, and wild thoughts sparked.
They had always liked Skilly’s story…built by John Trestrail, from Trevarrick in Cornwall, who married the daughter of the family who owned it. To stop John from taking her too far away, her family gave him 50 acres to farm on. The rest is history. He built the cottage. His wife gave birth to 17 kids, but the irony? He was a lay Methodist preacher who used to preach the evils of alcohol! Go figure.
With no winemaking experience, a fierce sense of adventure, and a bank loan at a whopping 19% interest (yes, nineteen percent), the Palmers bought Skillogalee. Wildly unqualified? Absolutely. Wildly determined? You can say that again. It was part madness, part magic, and 100% heart.
Over the next 30 years, they grew Skillogalee into a beloved icon, where the wine flowed as freely as the friendships they built.
Enter the Clausons: A New Chapter Begins
Simon Clausen didn’t step in to flip a brand. He stepped in because it meant something. Skillogalee Winery was stitched into his childhood. His parents had a property nearby, and Skilly was the place of long lunches, sun-drenched vines, and golden memories for him and his sister, the kind of place that gets under your skin, and stays. So when the opportunity came to take it on, it wasn’t just about wine or food.
He felt the weight of the name. Of the valley. Of the people who built it. And he took that seriously.
Simon also had a vision, not for reinvention, but for revival. A careful lift and meticulous restoration to honour what had come before, and to shape what comes next. And so the new Barrel House was built – for celebrations, for stories, for moments that matter. Simply wonderful.
He called in the best local legends like top winemaker Kerri Thompson and viticulturist Brendan “Smiley” Pudney. And he backed hardworking chefs Dan Moss, and Rinchen Lama to create food that felt like home, but with a fresh take on hearty, nostalgic classics. This includes a changing weekly three-course lunch highlighting local and estate-grown produce.
Additionally, their Portfolio Wine Tasting Experience is available daily, offering a guided journey through nine exceptional selections from Skillogalee’s dry-grown estate vineyards.
Simon is proud to protect Skilly’s legacy while nudging it forward with care and vision, and with a deep respect for what, and who, came before.
Skillogalee Winery isn’t just back. It’s rising, with greater purpose, and with heart.
And if Skilly were that same bloke today? He’s still got dust on his boots, but he’s swapped the flannel for something sharper. The stories run deeper, the pour’s just as generous, and the heart? Still beating strong. Only now, the tables have a little more sheen and are a bit more industrial, for you to pull up a chair.
Travellarks is proud to list Skillogalee Winery accommodation, a true Clare Valley original, reimagined. Find your Clare Valley accommodation right here.
