Escape to Eden: Fernfield's Boutique Wine Experience
26 Jun 2026Hidden among the rolling hills of Eden Valley, Bec and Scott Barr love introducing visitors to their home and winery in the serene high country of the Barossa.
Since taking over Fernfield Wines 12 years ago, the husband-and-wife team have focused on adding value to the cellar door, vineyards and wines that hero the Eden Valley terroir.
The couple continue to diversify the Fernfield experience, offering wine blending experiences, niche single batch wines and more recently, a bottling line for customised wedding and special event wines.
Bec says it was immediately apparent they had found something special in the small 170-year-old stone cottage that was the birthplace of Eden Valley.
“This was the first building in Eden Valley built in 1865 by William Lillecrapp, and the town was built eight years later. He was the founder of Eden Valley and Bryce, the founder of Fernfield Wines, was his great grandson,” says Bec.
The cottage fell into disrepair until the 1980s, when Bryce and his brother David began a careful restoration of what was essentially ruins.
The cottage is now a beautiful cellar door, set against the backdrop of ancient gum trees and Harlequin mini sheep that graze the vineyard.
Bec and Scott incorporate soft pruning and trellising techniques like the Smart-Dyson method to reduce vine vigour and produce wines of exceptional flavour and colour.
Bec says it gives them great versatility in the winery, where they draw on their backgrounds in chemistry and engineering to create “the perfect match of wine and chemistry”.
“This is a great aspect of being a little winery. We love to pick fruit that has particularly worked in the vintage conditions and make a little single batch for customers to enjoy,” says Bec.
They particularly enjoy experimenting with wines like the Spanish varietal Mencia, a relative newcomer that’s perfectly suited to local conditions.
“Mencia has always been part of a blend, but more recently it’s been given the respect of a single variety and shown it can really shine,” says Bec.
It’s one of the reasons Fernfield relies almost entirely on referrals and word of mouth.
“We don’t do food or events – we do wine. We tend to focus on wine enthusiasts – people interested in coming off the beaten track or looking for something a bit different, something new to them"
“We love to tell them about something they’ve not heard of and have a yarn at the cellar door.”
Fernfield is open Friday to Monday 11am and 4pm. Bookings are optional for tastings and required for tours and blending experiences.