Wineries Near Melbourne

A Product of Melbourne’s Climate

Wineries Near Melbourne. Melbournians love their wines! No doubt about it! Be it big reds, cool climate whites, scintillating bubblies, entertaining dessert wines or compelling, smooth tasting muscats and ports. You’ll find them all in Victoria.

Within a one-to-two-hour drive from Melbourne, there are five principal wine growing regions. Which offer great wine, great food and a range of markets and festivals. These include the Yarra Valley, Macedon Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and Sunbury. If this isn’t enough to appease the tastebuds, throughout the State there are another seventeen districts, with a State total of over 850 wineries, of which 650 open their cellar doors, to the public, across 21 distinct locations.

Cool climate wines can be found in the Yarra Valley, big reds at Rutherglen, and distinctive pinots from the Mornington Peninsula, which has seen an upsurge of boutique wineries within the last three decades, and delivers some very luscious drops from its 30 or so wineries
The Mornington Peninsula wine region can be comfortably reached within 90 minutes. If you take the scenic Beach Road, along the coastline, it will take a little longer, but the views are most enjoyable. The region honours the joy of pinot noir and chardonnay with large scale events which attract international winery representatives from France, Canada, USA, NZ and Australia.

Nature’s Fruit enjoyed within Nature’s Beauty

The area is both historic and picturesque. Most of the wineries offer tastings, many have restaurants, some offer accommodation, and others deliver all three. The region’s wine list is extensive, it also includes a wide range of the following sophisticated styles: sauvignon Blanc, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo, dolcetto and arneis, pinot gris and pinot grigio.

In the opposite direction, a 90 minute drive from is the Geelong wine region, just past the City of Geelong. This area has some 52 wineries and has a range of variable micro-climates which influence the wine’s distinctive strength, depth of colour, bouquet and flavour, for which the area is renowned. The Bellarine Peninsula, for example has a maritime climate, cool bay breezes and open panoramas, whilst Anakie and the Moorabool Valley, situated in the hills and valleys, have a Mediterranean climate; subsequently delivering different styles of wine.

In 2008 the region received significant acknowledgement with 16 of its wineries gaining Victorian award-winning status for their wines including ‘Best Sauvignon Blanc and ‘Best Sweet Table Wine’ and a chardonnay named within a ‘Top 100’ list.

There is so much to see throughout Victoria. The diversity is truly staggering, in types of wineries, the quality of the wines, and the spectacular surroundings in which they are produced. Australian wines have received international acknowledgement. Our wines compete vigorously and successfully with their overseas counterparts, in bottle shops and on supermarkets shelves, across the world, including the USA, UK and Europe. And we have it all on our back doorstep and within a short drive from Melbourne. Cheers!