MEET SIMON BURLEY: THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S MAKERS & MAVERICKS

There are guides who show you the sights, and then there’s Simon Burley – a South Australian native with a knack for unlocking doors most travellers never knew existed. His career has taken him from the gin bars of London to the whisky distilleries of Scotland, and through the vineyards of New South Wales, but it’s back on home soil that Simon has found his true calling: introducing guests to the people and places that shape South Australia’s soul.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the personalities that make a place tick,” Simon shares, leaning back with the easy confidence of someone who knows his patch inside-out. 

“Winemakers, distillers, grape growers, chefs – these are the real storytellers. They carry decades of craft, and when you hear those stories first-hand, the region comes alive in a way no brochure could capture.”

Simon’s little black book is full of these characters – from vignerons tending 150-year-old grenache vines at Henschke, to husband-and-wife duo Toby and Emanuelle Bekkers, who split their winemaking life between McLaren Vale and Provence. “They’re mavericks,” he says fondly. “They’re not just making wine; they’re weaving heritage, climate, and innovation into every bottle.”

Travelling with him means stepping away from the tourist trail and straight into their world…

One day, you might find yourself breaking open a bottle of Adelaide Hills sparkling at a lookout over a 600-million-year-old gorge; the next, ducking through a hidden bookshelf into the Victory Hotel’s secret cellar for a private tasting. There could be an afternoon painting alongside a renowned Indigenous artist in their gallery, or walking century-old vines before tasting the wine they produce.

“It’s the little moments I love,” he says. “Like when someone realises they’re standing in the exact vineyard their glass of shiraz came from – you can see the lightbulb go on.”

He’s quick to point out that his guests are often well-travelled – the kind of people used to business-class flights, fine hotels and exclusive restaurants – but what they don’t always expect is the intimacy of those unscripted encounters. “I once had a group who thought they’d seen it all,” Simon recalls with a grin. “But then we’re driving through the gorge, and a mob of kangaroos just bounds across the road in front of us. It was quiet, golden-lit, and completely unplanned – that’s the magic.”

One of his proudest projects is leading the e-bike wine touring revolution in McLaren Vale… 

On high-spec electric bikes, guests cruise the famed Shiraz Trail at a leisurely 25km/h, with the wind in their hair and vineyards rolling out in every direction. Along the way, they might meet the Grilli family to hear about the Italian heritage behind their Mediterranean-style wines, tour a working winery that’s normally closed to the public, or explore historic ironstone cellars with a glass in hand. Lunch could be a chef-prepared celebration of local produce at a vineyard table, or a visit to an Indigenous art gallery for a creative interlude.

“It’s easy for a tour to claim ‘behind the scenes,’” Simon says, “but I want to actually deliver it. If I tell you you’re meeting the winemaker, I mean the winemaker – not the marketing manager. I want you to hear the story from the person who’s lived it.”

He admits he pushes the boundaries to surprise even the most seasoned travellers. “Sometimes it’s as simple as opening up a space that’s normally locked, or pulling over because I’ve just spotted something – an echidna shuffling along the roadside, a wedge-tailed eagle circling overhead. Those are the moments that remind people why they travel.”

Whether you’re raising a glass in the Adelaide Hills, wandering through candlelit stone vaults, tasting small-batch vintages under the eye of the person who made them, or chatting to a farmer about the year’s olive harvest, an experience with Simon isn’t just a tour – it’s an invitation into South Australia’s living, breathing story.