Everyone comes to the Clare Valley for the riesling. Fair enough — it's some of the best in the world. But about twenty minutes from the middle of it, on a quiet road in Sevenhill, there's a shed full of copper and steam doing something entirely different.
We're Three Little Birds, and we're the only gin distillery in the Clare Valley. Not a cellar door with a gin on the side. Not a label made somewhere else and poured here. A genuine working Clare Valley distillery, where the ferment bubbles away out the back, the still runs most of the week, and every bottle is filled by hand about ten metres from where you'll be standing.
So if you've been planning a run up the valley and wondering whether a distillery earns a spot on the list — here's exactly what you're walking into.
The Clare Valley's only gin distillery (in the middle of wine country)
Being the only distillery in a region famous for wine is a funny position to be in. It means we've never had to shout over anyone. It also means a lot of people find us by accident — they've had three riesling tastings, someone spots a sign for gin, and half an hour later they're holding a flight and asking what strawberry gum tastes like.
We're at 22 Jeanneret Rd, Sevenhill — one road, three venues, which we'll get to. It's the only place you'll find us. Everything happens here: the fermenting, the distilling, the bottling, the pouring, the pizza. There's no second site, no warehouse somewhere in Adelaide. What you taste in the glass was made in the building behind it.
South Australia has no shortage of good gin. What's rarer is the chance to drink it standing in the room where it was made, under the gum trees that inspired half of what's in it.
What makes the gin different: we start with grain, not someone else's spirit
Here's the thing most people don't know about gin, and it's the single most useful thing you'll learn on a visit.
The overwhelming majority of gin — including plenty of very good gin — starts life as neutral spirit bought in by the tanker. The distiller adds botanicals, redistils it, and bottles the result. That's a legitimate craft and it takes real skill. It's just not the whole job.
We do the whole job. We wrote our own yeast recipe. We ferment our own wash. We distil our own spirit base from grain, and only then do we make gin out of it. Ferment to bottle, under one roof, by hand.
Does it matter in the glass? We think you can taste it — there's a softness and a weight to a spirit you've built yourself that bought-in neutral just doesn't have. But the honest answer is: come and decide for yourself. That's what the flight is for.
Thirteen native botanicals, and none of them are trying to be London
Once we've got our spirit, in go 13 locally sourced Australian native botanicals. Lemon myrtle, strawberry gum, pepperberry, Geraldton wax, coriander — grown here, sourced here, and chosen because they taste like this country rather than because a recipe from 1830s England said so.
We're not trying to make a London Dry. There are people who do that brilliantly and they've had three hundred years of practice. We're trying to make something that tastes like a walk through the bush after rain — bright, resinous, a little peppery, unmistakably Australian.
Only the hearts get bottled
Our still is a 300L copper beauty with six bubbleheads on the column — the part everyone photographs. When she runs, we take cuts every 1000ml and taste through the whole distillation: the sharp early stuff, the sweet spot in the middle, the heavy tail end.
Only the hearts go in the bottle. Everything else is set aside. It's a slow, slightly ruthless way to work — you throw away spirit you could legally sell — but it's the difference between gin that's fine and gin that's worth the drive.
From the first day of fermentation to a bottle on the shelf is 28 days. Every one of those bottles is hand-filled, roughly 100 a week. When we're busy, that's the bottleneck — and we're oddly proud of it.
The spent botanicals go on the compost. The bottles get recycled. Small operation, small footprint, no fuss about it.
What actually happens when you visit
You walk in. Someone says hello. That's roughly the whole ceremony.
There are seats for 100 across the room and outside among the trees, and about 90% of our guests are walk-ins — no booking, no time slot, no minimum spend. If you'd rather lock something in, especially for a bigger group, you can book, but you genuinely don't need to.
Most people start with the flight.
The tasting flight — $25
$25 gets you 20ml each of our Signature, Navy Strength and Bramble, served with tonic or soda so you can taste them neat first and then see what happens when they open up.
It takes about half an hour, which is the average visit — though plenty of people accidentally stay four hours once the pizza oven gets going. Whoever's pouring will talk you through what's in each glass, why the spirit base matters, and which botanical is doing the thing you can't quite name. Ask questions. We like the questions.
About 8 in 10 people who do a flight walk out with a bottle, which we take as the most honest review we get.
Meet the gins
Seven gins, seven personalities. Here's who you're meeting.
Signature Gin — the dependable one. Juniper, orris root, liquorice root, nutmeg, lemon myrtle, strawberry gum, pepperberry, Geraldton wax, coriander, lime peel and vanilla bean. Floral, delicate, gently spiced, and the reason we won our first silver award. If you only try one, try this — it's the whole philosophy in a glass. $80 (700ml) / $30 (200ml)
Navy Strength — the one that means business. Cardamom, cassia, star anise, lavender, ginger, lemon myrtle, pepperberry, coriander, lime and orange peel, all at high proof. Big, warm, aromatic, and completely unbothered by ice. Builds a Negroni that could hold up a bridge. $95 / $40
Bramble — the rascal of the group. Our Signature base with blackberries and lemon zest, and another silver award on the shelf. It's also our runaway bestseller — around 40% of everything we sell — because it's the gin that converts people who "don't really like gin". Deep purple, jammy, tart, dangerously easy. $85 / $30
SG22 Shiraz Gin — the local collaborator. Made with Clare Valley shiraz grapes, because when you're surrounded by some of Australia's best fruit it would be rude not to. Rich, savoury, a bit brooding. $100 / $40
RG23 Riesling Gin — the regional love letter. Clare Valley riesling grapes, and about as Clare Valley as a spirit can get. Crisp, citrusy, lifted. Hand this to a wine drinker and watch them recalculate. $100
Blackbird Coffee Gin — the night owl. Exactly as good in an espresso martini as you're hoping. $85 / $35
Barrel Aged Spiced Gin — the slow one. Rested in brand new white American oak until it softens, deepens and starts behaving more like a whisky than a gin. Sip it neat by a fire and thank us later. $95
A few things worth knowing before you get to the counter: 10% off when you take two or more 700ml bottles, free delivery on orders over $100, and a 200ml mixed three-pack for $90 if you can't choose — which, honestly, most people can't.
Pizza, cocktails and Low & Slow Sundays
We should be upfront about something: half of what happens at our cellar door isn't gin at all.
Three Little Birds Kitchen (3LBK) runs the wood-fired oven, and the pizza has quietly become half our cellar door revenue with a wall of five-star Google reviews to match. People book a table for the gin and stay for the pizza. Some people, we suspect, come only for the pizza and drink the gin out of politeness. We've made peace with it.
Then there are the cocktails — Bramble in a spritz, Blackbird in an espresso martini, Navy Strength in whatever needs backbone — all built with the gin that was made about fifteen metres away.
Low & Slow Sundays on Jeanneret Rd
Every Sunday from midday, we fire up the slow smoker. Smoked pork, butterflied chicken, rich gravies, roast veggies — the kind of Sunday lunch that ruins your plans for the rest of the day in the best way.
It's hosted by the Jeanneret Rd Collective: us, Jeanneret Wines and Clare Valley Brewing. Three venues, one road. Gin, wine and beer within an easy stroll of each other, which makes Jeanneret Rd one of the simplest days out in the region — park once, wander between three cellar doors, eat smoked meat under the gums, argue about which one was the best.
Good gin, good wine, good beer, good smoke — good Sundays. Bring people.
Groups, masterclasses and something with your name on it
If you're bringing a crowd, we can do more than pour.
Gin masterclasses take small groups properly behind the scenes — how the ferment works, what the cuts taste like, why we bother doing it the hard way — with a much deeper tasting than the standard flight. They're a genuinely good corporate day out, and considerably better than another room with a whiteboard.
We also do private labelling — your name, your occasion, our gin — for weddings, milestones and businesses who'd like their client gift to actually get drunk rather than shelved. Give us a call and we'll work it out with you.
Planning your visit to our Clare Valley distillery
Everything you need, in one place.
Where: 22 Jeanneret Rd, Sevenhill, Clare Valley, South Australia — roughly a two-hour drive north of Adelaide, and a few minutes from Sevenhill and Clare themselves. Neighbours on the same road: Jeanneret Wines and Clare Valley Brewing.
Opening hours
- Thursday: 12pm – 5pm
- Friday: 11am – 9pm
- Saturday: 11am – 9pm
- Sunday: 11am – 5pm
Bookings: Not needed — 90% of our guests are walk-ins. Worth booking for groups, masterclasses or a busy Sunday.
Seating: 100, inside and out among the trees.
Getting here: Bring a designated driver, or better, make it a stay. The Riesling Trail, the walking and the pubs are all right there, and the Clare Valley is far too good to do in a hurry.
Get in touch: 0437352645 · drinkgin@threelittlebirdsdistillery.com.au
A note on timing: it's the end of August as we write this, which means spring is about to do its thing — the gums come alive, the afternoons stretch out, and the tables under the trees become the best seats in the valley. Late September through summer is our favourite stretch of the year here. Come while it's still easy to get a table.
Come and find us
We built this place on a pretty simple idea: peace, love and unity, support local, and make gin that everybody can enjoy. Not gin for gin people. Gin for whoever's standing in front of us.
So come up the valley, take the turn onto Jeanneret Rd, grab a flight and a pizza, and let us pour you a story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a distillery in the Clare Valley? Yes — Three Little Birds Distillery in Sevenhill is the Clare Valley's only gin distillery. It's at 22 Jeanneret Rd and is open Thursday to Sunday for tastings, cocktails and wood-fired pizza.
How much is a gin tasting at Three Little Birds? A tasting flight is $25 and includes 20ml each of the Signature, Navy Strength and Bramble gins, served with tonic or soda. It takes around 30 minutes.
Do I need to book a Clare Valley gin tasting? No — around 90% of guests are walk-ins and no booking is required. Bookings are recommended for larger groups, gin masterclasses, or busy Sunday lunches.
What makes Three Little Birds gin different? Rather than buying in neutral spirit, Three Little Birds ferments and distils its own spirit base from grain using its own yeast recipe, then infuses 13 locally sourced Australian native botanicals including lemon myrtle, strawberry gum and pepperberry.
What are Low & Slow Sundays? Every Sunday from midday, Three Little Birds Kitchen runs a slow smoker serving smoked pork, butterflied chicken, gravies and roast veggies, hosted with Jeanneret Wines and Clare Valley Brewing as the Jeanneret Rd Collective.