For many children, that first sip of alter wine at Holy Communion is an introduction to the world of vino. It turns out that priests aren’t popping down to the bottle shop to stock up – there’s a strict protocol of rules involved in producing sacramental wine.

Sevenhill Cellars, in South Australia’s Clare Valley, produces 90 percent of alter wine used in Australia, for a variety of denominations. The operation has been run by Jesuit priests since 1858, who moved into the area to produce alter wine for local parishes and starting producing table wine for the local laymen, as well.

It’s the original natural wine; Catholic church law requires that only grape be used, with no artificial products, sulphurs, colours or tannins (except those derived from grapes).

Brother John May is currently the seventh Jesuit winemaker, and has been inducted into the Clare Valley Wine Hall of Fame.

Want to get closer to God while you drink? It might not be a church, but this place has all the markings of a blessing for wine connoisseurs.

Even if you’re not religious, the property itself is worth a visit. Head in for a tasting of the table wines; the Four Buckets Touriga Shiraz Malbec is silky, full bodied and cracking value at $20, and the St Francis Xavier single-vineyard riesling ($40) is an excellent example of why the Clare Valley is known for the varietal.

The cellar-door also has one of the largest selections of fortified wines in the area, and you can taste the alter wine and buy it, regardless of your religion.

History buff? St Aloysius Church was built in 1875, in Gothic Revival style, complete with an underground crypt that can be accessed from the outside. It’s the final resting place for 41 Jesuits (there’s still space there), but since 1901, only those who die on the property have been buried there. The church still holds a weekly mass, too.