In a dim tunnel beneath Adelaide's foothills, we're gaping. The row of oak barrels, stained magenta in places, could be maturing any old grape juice - but they're not.

They happen to hold Penfolds Grange - the shiraz (with a dab of cab sav) widely considered Australia's finest red. And we - seven mere mortals from Adelaide, Sydney and England - are in its presence.

"There's $10 million of wine in this row," says guide Phil Topham, who's showing us around - and under - Penfolds' historic Magill Estate. Suburbia has encroached upon much of the original 1844 holding but five hectares of shiraz vines still enfold the winery, restaurant and bluestone cellars.

Leaving behind the awe-inspiring barrels, we shuffle past the private cellar of Penfolds' chief winemaker, Peter Gago, into an alcove that's a shrine to all things Grange. Under a larger-than-life photograph of Max Schubert, the former chief winemaker who developed Grange, display cabinets cradle every vintage from 1951.

I run an eye over the labels, beginning to end, tracing the evolution. The most dramatic change comes after the 1989 vintage, when Grange Hermitage became just Grange after a ruling that the designation couldn't be attached to wines from outside France's Hermitage appellation.

Our tour includes an above-ground view of the hot and sweaty work of winemaking. As an estate hand cleans out vats, Topham says: "Smell that?" A musty, vegetative aroma hangs heavy in the air. "It smells like vintage - I love it," he says, inhaling deeply.

Back inside the cellar door, Topham splashes whites, reds and dessert wines into our Riedel tasting glasses while throwing around descriptions such as "mushroom" and "lavender", along with a phrase handy for any dinner party. "I think that's a good expression of the style," he says more than once.

Peter Gago says Grange's fame is mostly because "for well over half a century uninterrupted, there hasn't been a bad one released".

"Some are better than others, but even the lesser ones are known to last for decades and decades if correctly cellared," he said. "There's that reliability, that constancy of quality level, the folklore associated with it - parents buy it for their children's 21st. It's part of Australia's DNA almost."

Since I'm here for three days, and because food and wine are synonymous, I ask Gago about his favourite Adelaide eateries, and he nominates Concubine, where "you could be in Shanghai". It's a Chinese restaurant where I'm impressed from the moment I step inside the scarlet lantern-lit interior with its artful arrangements of Oriental teapots, figurines, books and bottles.

Then there's Golden Boy, which opened last year to instant buzz - and although star head chef Nu Suandokmai has moved on, it's heaving when we visit. The waiter tries directing our table towards the tuk-tuk ($48 a head banquet), but we prefer shaping our own feasting destiny.

With paper placemats doubling as the menus, we fire off an epic order of betel leaf with caramelised coconut, prawn, lime, ginger and chilli; kingfish sashimi with green chilli nam jim; egg-net salad of crispy pork, dried prawn, yam and green mango; and roast duck yellow curry with grilled pineapple and Thai basil.

We're so full we can't possibly order desserts such as pandan coconut tapioca or spiced rum pine-lime coconut splice.

We say ciao to Adelaide's restaurants at Pizza e Mozzarella Bar. A two-chamber wood-fired oven dominates ground level (there's also a capacious mezzanine). The oven's hotter side turns out light-as-air pizza, while the cooler side is for dishes such as lamb ribs and pork belly.

After warming up with salumi and buffalo mozzarella, we demolish several pizzas and slurp more wine.

As I head to the airport - a little rounder than when I arrived - my only regret is not reaching North Adelaide's The Lion Hotel, another Gago favourite. "It's got great bars and a great restaurant, very out-there decor, with an open kitchen," he said. "It's a really buzzy place."

Believe me, it's on the list for next time.

The writer travelled courtesy of the South Australian Tourism Commission and Penfolds.

TRIP NOTES

STAYING THERE

Rooms at the Crowne Plaza Adelaide hotel, located in Hindmarsh Square, start from $210 a night. See crowneplazaadelaide.com.au.

EATING THERE

Concubine, 132 Gouger Street, city; see concubine.com.au.

Golden Boy, 309 North Terrace, city; see goldenboyrestaurant.com.

Pizza e Mozzarella Bar, 33b Pirie Street, city; see pizzaemozzarellabar.com.au.

The Lion Hotel, 161 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide; see thelionhotel.com.

SEE + DO

Penfolds' one-hour heritage tour costs $15 a person, 11am and 3pm daily. The super-premium ($55 a person) and great Grange ($150 a person) tours require a minimum of four people.

See penfolds.com.

MORE INFORMATION

southaustralia.com.