The 4 Best Wine Weekends to Have in Australia

Good food, good company, a great place to stay and a cellar door waiting to be discovered. What more could you ask for from a few decadent days in some of Australia’s most beautiful regions?

The weekend you’ll want to last forever: Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Fringed by sandy beaches and caressed by gentle sea breezes, the Mornington Peninsula is beloved by sun-seeking Melburnians and the region’s late-blooming wine industry has come of age in recent years. Mineral-rich hot springs fuel a blissfully relaxed vibe across the peninsula, which is blessed with rich volcanic soils and a maritime climate that favours aromatic pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot gris.

Cellar doors: Ten Minutes by Tractor, Polperro

Despite the 1946 Allis-Chalmers tractor on its labels, there’s nothing rustic about Ten Minutes by Tractor’s Main Ridge facility. Taste exquisite pinot noir and chardonnay at the chic cellar door then compare them with benchmark drops from around the globe at onsite wine bar Allis.

Further north in Red Hill, Polperro augments regional mainstays with left-field options including a floral pinot meunier and joven tempranillo.

Where to eat: Pt. Leo Estate

In a sea of fabulous dining options, this triple threat caters to every crowd. Laura offers contemporary fine dining with a subtle Spanish influence (order the creamy Murray cod kokotxa), while woodfired Pt. Leo Restaurant is more casual. For alfresco snacks, choose the airy Wine Terrace beside the Sculpture Garden.

The stay: Peninsula Hot Springs Eco Lodges

Cloud-like beds are just the beginning at this Fingal resort, where in-suite guided meditation, magnesium mist, a private geothermal pool and lighting that matches your circadian rhythm ensure a good night’s rest.

The surprise: Tranquillity & Terroir

Can’t decide between the region’s two main attractions? This tour gives you the best of both worlds. Soak your troubles away at Alba Thermal Springs & Spa before relaxing into a tasting flight and seasonal lunch at the Ten Minutes by Tractor restaurant.

The getaway you didn’t know you needed: Geographe, Western Australia

This sun-kissed spot about two hours south of Perth is stepping out of the Margaret River region’s shadow. Crossed by more than half a dozen rivers that tumble from mountain ridges down to white sand beaches, Geographe makes room for WA mainstays such as cabernet and semillon alongside Mediterranean varietals that thrive in the maritime climate. Its under-the-radar status means you’ll often find winemakers pouring at cellar doors.

Cellar doors: Green Door, Whicher Ridge

A short drive inland from Bunbury, Green Door in Henty gazes out over the Ferguson Valley from its perch high in the Darling Scarp and the winery’s star varietals find their way into everything from amphora-fermented garnacha to tempranillo vermouth.

About twenty minutes’ drive south of Busselton, Whicher Ridge (above) winemaker Cathy Howard pairs her creations with a Sensory Garden of aromatic herbs, flowers and fruit trees.

Where to eat: Busselton Pavillion

This sprawling, nautically themed venue’s imported French rotisserie fuels ex-Vasse Felix chef Brendan Pratt’s menu of elevated pub food – hearty roast chicken rolls, gloriously soft beef tongue skewers with flaky roti – while the onsite wine bar heroes smaller local producers.

The stay: The Timothée Resort

A pool surrounded by green-striped umbrellas and rooms dressed with Mid Century-style furnishings and pastel tones make this retro resort on the fringes of Busselton feel like a Slim Aarons photograph come to life.

The surprise: Underwater art at Busselton Jetty

The Underwater Observatory at the end of Busselton’s 1.8-kilometre-long jetty lets you observe the rich marine ecosystem surrounding the coral- and sponge-encrusted pylons. Bring your togs and you can get a closer look at the new Underwater Sculpture Park – its 13 artworks include a life-sized southern right whale.

The new twist on a classic: Barossa Valley, South Australia

Less than an hour’s drive north of Adelaide, the broad floor of the Barossa Valley is synonymous with full-bodied shiraz, sumptuous fine dining and elegant stays nestled among the vines. Today, a fresh crop of local operators is injecting a hefty dose of creativity into Australia’s most famous wine region, helping to share the good life with a new generation.

Cellar doors: Rieslingfreak, Gibson

Visit the new light-drenched cellar door at Rieslingfreak, just south of Tanunda, where winemaker John Hughes lives up to his label’s name by crafting lean, slatey rieslings alongside sparkling, sweet and fortified expressions.

For a more classic Barossa moment, head north to Light Pass and take a deep dive into bold, complex shiraz at Gibson’s recently renovated cellar door beside a 170-year-old settler’s cottage.

Where to eat: St Hugo

Choose the Garden to Table Experience at this winery restaurant at Rowland Flat. You’ll sip champagne and watch chef Simon Hicks select ingredients from his half-hectare kitchen garden before heading to the glass atrium built over the bones of an 1850s ironstone building for a six-course feast matched with wines.

The stay: Le Mas

Close to Jacob’s Creek in Rowland Flat, this Provençal-style farmhouse provides a touch of old-world luxury with sumptuous silk furnishings, crystal chandeliers and the glass-covered Orangerie, where the region’s most exclusive restaurant treats hotel guests to a four-course nouvelle menu each weekend.

The surprise: Wonderground Gallery

Nowhere is the creative spirit of the new Barossa more evident than at this arts hub on the valley’s western side. Five gallery spaces are rehung every seven weeks, while the sprawling homestead also hosts yoga classes, workshops, picnics and wine tastings.

The one you’ll want to keep to yourself: Tamar Valley and Pipers River, Tasmania

Though Tassie produces less than one per cent of Australia’s wine, the state’s vignerons punch well above their weight when it comes to quality. In the north, boutique wineries in Pipers River craft some of our best sparkling and the pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling vineyards that line the Tamar River yield fruit with a purity to match the clean air blown in by the Roaring Forties.

Cellar doors: Stoney Rise, House of Arras

The angular tasting room at Stoney Rise (above) emerges from the Tamar’s west bank like a contemporary sculpture and the label’s fabulous minimal-intervention wines are every bit as arty – don’t miss the textural skin-contact No Clothes pinot gris.

Cross the river and head east if you’re in the mood for bubbles. At House of Arras, the exclusive 40 Years of Tirage experience includes a vineyard tour and three wonderfully complex museum releases.

Where to eat: Evenfall

One of the state’s youngest labels and some of its oldest vines share this site just outside Launceston, where the restaurant features a who’s who of local farmers, fishers and growers in dishes such as poached rhubarb with cardamom panna cotta and raspberries.

The stay: The Cloud at Sen Vineyard

Floating above an undulating tapestry of grape vines and fields, this minimalist three-bedroom retreat is wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows that bring the outside in. Despite being only 15 minutes’ drive from Launceston airport, it feels like a bucolic hideaway.

The surprise: Bridestowe Estate

Once you’ve mastered the subtle bouquet of Pipers River wines, head east towards the contoured rows of lavender in the shadow of Mount Arthur. Here, you can breathe in the soothing fragrance of more than half a million lavender bushes at this sprawling estate.

SEE ALSO:  10 of the Best Winery Cellar Doors to Visit in Tasmania