Raise your glass to Australia’s best wineries where Old World expertise marries with New World innovation with beautiful results.
From meeting leading winemakers from each region to experiencing some of the country’s most beautiful places through their amazing wines, here are a few of the best wineries in Australia.
1. Boydell’s, NSW
The first-ever cellar door to open in Morpeth is housed in a historic slab hut near to vine-clad slopes on the banks of the Allyn River. Charles Boydell was one of the first to plant vines in the Hunter when he settled on the property in 1826.
The boutique vineyard in East Gresford is now run by Jane Maroulis and her vigneron husband Daniel Maroulis, who craft small-batch boutique wines made from grapes grown on the farm.
The cellar door will showcase these award-winning wines and in Boydell’s restaurant, where chef Sheldon Black oversees a seasonal menu focusing on local produce.
Boydell’s cellar door and restaurant also has a courtyard and log fire and a luxury safari-style glampsite built for two.
2. Tahbilk Winery, Victoria
Wine tourists get a very special welcome when they leave the Tahbilk Winery after an Ultimate Winery Experience tour: a 750ml bottle of their own top drop after participating in a blending workshop.
In terms of quintessential Australian vineyard experiences, this place is up there and it’s all too easy to hang out here for a day: known as tabilk-tabilk ‘place of many waterholes’ in the language of the Daung-Daung-wurrung clans, the carbon-neutral winery comprises 1214 ha of rich river flats with a frontage of 11 km to the Goulburn River and 8 km of backwaters and creeks that spaghetti around the surrounds.
Tahbilk is somewhat of a tucked-away secret: located just 90 minutes from Melbourne on one of the nation’s premium viticultural areas. And, as the gnarled and twisted vines at Tahbik Winery attest, the vineyard and its varietals dates back about 150 years.
3. Hahndorf Hill, South Australia
The hills of Adelaide are indeed alive with the Sound of Music at this winery that celebrates the white wine grape grüner veltliner and blaufrankisch (the red version of this grape), which are grown primarily in Austria.
This part of South Australia was settled in the 19th century by Lutherans and Germans fleeing persecution: it is known for its range of quality cool-climate wines and its distinct European feel.
In addition to its pioneering plantings of Austrian grape varieties, the estate produces wines the region is renowned for such as pinot grigio, shiraz and a fresh and dry rosé.
Conscious travellers will appreciate the vineyard’s environmentally sustainable farming methods, which protects the heritage of the hills.
Book a ChocoVino experience, where you can learn about terroir through chocolate and wine matching.
4. Bay of Fires, Tasmania
Head to the north of Tassie past the Tamar River and east into the Pipers River region to find the Bay of Fires, a winery named after this particularly beautiful swathe of the State’s rugged east coast.
The area was named ‘Bay of Fires‘ in 1773 when the aptly named Captain Tobias Furneaux noticed a number of spot fires dotted along the coast, evidence of occupation of the traditional Indigenous owners of the land.
Fast forward a couple of hundred years and winemaker Penny Jones is one of many breaking down the State’s outdated reputation of insularity: Jones has travelled the world to better understand the lay of the land and her now exceptional winemaking knowledge has resulted in some exceptional pinot noirs being produced on the property.
The winery is now one of Tassie’s headline attractions, prompting patronage from local and international oenophiles.
5. Leeuwin Estate, Western Australia
The cellar door at this family business is theatrically heavy on sandstone and wood, as is the restaurant, and art gallery, which have all been added to the original production facilities, which opened in 1978.
While terroir is said to determine the complexities of a wine and where it’s from, the estate in Margaret River in WA is also defined by its dedication to fine wine, food and art.
As well as producing wines ranked as some of the best in the world, Leeuwin Estate showcases its sense of place by staging world-class events.
It also embraces the arts by linking concerts and Art Series events back to its labels, which feature leading contemporary Australian artists.
Do a few hot laps of the gallery, which includes artworks from Lloyd Rees, Sir Sydney Nolan, John Olsen and Arthur Boyd.
6. Helm Wines, Canberra District
The crisp, cool climate of the Canberra district enables winemakers in the region to craft complex wines of great subtlety and elegance.
A tutored tasting at Helm winery, housed in the original 1888 public school house, is a very intimate experience.
After 22 years of working as a horticulture scientist at the CSIRO, Helm purchased the 15 hectare property in 1973 and set up one of the district’s first wineries with wife Judith.
After his first wine, made in 1977, won first prize at the Forbes Wine Show, Helm figured he was onto a good thing: he is now credited with helping establish the Canberra District Wine Region’s reputation for producing world-class cool-climate wines. To go to the cellar door and find Helm himself there is a beautiful thing.
