In 1856, Hugh Reilly a shoemaker from Ireland arrived in the tiny township of Mintaro, in the Clare Valley. Over the next 10 years, Hugh converted the stone barn that had been his home into a cottage. Reilly's Cottage served as the local Cobbler's Shop in the centre of the bustling town, which had boomed with the discovery of slate in the area. Almost 140 years later, the cottage has been restored to its former glory by distant relatives of Hugh, the Ardill family, and once again it is a hive of activity, and home to Reilly's Wines.

In 1993, we started from humble beginnings where the first vintages of wines were processed on the front porch of the Cottage. What started as a passionate hobby for our Chief Winemaker Justin Ardill soon became a thriving business due to his commitment to consistently produce premium quality wines. The winery has steadily grown over the years, quickly outstripping the capacity of the cottage, and production was moved to a state-of-the-art facility in nearby Leasingham in 2000.

The Clare Valley is famed for its Rieslings, Shiraz and Cabernets - what differentiates the Clare from many other Australian wine regions are the dry, hot summer days and cool, crisp nights which contribute to the intensity of the flavours in Clare Valley fruit. The Reilly's Wines philosophy is to produce low volumes of premium, hand-made wines from this unique fruit. Our wines are very enjoyable in their early years and will richly reward those with patience, showing their best with 5-10 years maturation in the bottle.

Reilly's Cottage is now our Cellar Door where you can sample our crisp, clean Rieslings and our big, bold reds. Our cellar door operates from 10am until 5pm, 7 days a week, and is open every day except Christmas Day. Adjacent to the cellar door tasting area, there is Reilly's Restaurant serving Northern Italian influenced cuisine. We also offer accommodation at Reilly's Country Retreat, just behind our cellar door.