7 Long Weekend Holidays for Food & Wine Lovers

Megan Arkinstall discovers seven decadent ways for foodies and wine appreciators to spend a long weekend of pure indulgence.

1. Fresh oysters and champagne for breakfast: Coles Bay, TAS

Imagine standing knee-deep in a stunning wetland sipping champagne and tasting prized Pacific Ocean oysters. Guests at Saffire-Freycinet can opt to don a pair of waders and do just that. Have a go at shucking and gain an understanding of the local ecology. But if oysters aren’t your thing there’s a bevy of other experiences where you can wine and dine – learn the art of winemaking, watch a cooking demonstration or join a mixology cocktail class. And, with contemporary furnishings, generous views, plush bedding, locally-sourced gourmet cuisine and a delicious spa menu, if you just want to hibernate inside for the weekend, we don’t blame you.

Location: Saffire-Freycinet is just over two hours from Hobart. 2532 Coles Bay Road, Coles Bay; 03 6256 7888; saffire-freycinet.com.au

Details: From $1350 per night (oyster farm visit complimentary).

2. From French bubbles to natural springs: Mornington Peninsula, VIC

Cosy evening by the fire at Tussie Mussie (Soul Impressions Photography)

Tussie Mussie is a Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris vineyard with beautiful boutique accommodation hidden up a long driveway flanked by olive trees and vines. Spend two nights in The Old Laundry wrapped in luxe sheets, or by the cosy wood burner, and enjoy the local produce. An iced bottle of French champagne will greet you on arrival, followed by a gourmet breakfast basket each morning, then indulge in a three-course dinner with matching wine at the hatted Lé Patanque French Restaurant. A double pass to the Peninsula Hot Springs will give your palate a rest… for a couple of hours anyway.

Location: Tussie Mussie Vineyard Retreat is located one hour from Melbourne. 206 Bittern-Dromana Road, Merricks North, Victoria; 0408 976 410; boutiqueretreats.com.au

Details: The Le Weekend Package from $1500 per couple.

3. Sauerkraut, chocolate and wine… oh my: Hahndorf, SA

Australia’s oldest living German settlement, Hahndorf, is a quaint village located in the Adelaide Hills. The town retains its German heritage with many historic ‘Fachwerk’ buildings (with traditional German timber frames) lining the main street – one in particular is the 1839 German Arms Hotel; a great spot to feast on German fare and a stein of beer. And for a fully indulgent experience, The Manna of Hahndorf, a boutique hotel right in the heart of the town, offers a package including breakfast, a cheese platter and a ChocoVino experience at Hahndorf Hill Winery, where you match wine to chocolate. An extra hole in the belt is probably a necessity by the end of the weekend.

Location: The Manna of Hahndorf is 35 minutes from Adelaide. 25 Main Street, Hahndorf; 08 8388 1000; themanna.com.au

Details: From $425 per couple for two-night accommodation package with breakfast, cheese platter and ChocoVino experience. For information on the German Arms Hotel visit germanarmshotel.com.au

4. Pub grub like no other: Dunkeld, VIC

Fresh produce from the Royal Mail Hotel kitchen's garden. — Fresh produce from the Royal Mail Hotel kitchen’s garden.fsei

The Royal Mail Hotel is not your average country pub – this one wears three well-deserved hats. The award-winning tasting plates should definitely have you rethinking pub food. To truly appreciate the first-class cuisine – which is created from local organic produce collected straight from the kitchen garden – the hotel offers a ‘Dine and Unwind’ package that includes a tour of the garden with accommodation, handcrafted chocolate, dinner for two with matching wine, breakfast and a late check-out. And to work it all off, you can explore the many walking trails leading to the nearby Grampians National Park.

Location: The Royal Mail Hotel is 3.5 hours from Melbourne. 98 Parker Street, Dunkeld; 03 5577 2241; royalmail.com.au

Details: Dine and Unwind Package from $945 per couple.

5. Have your own private whisky tasting: Margaret River, WA

The Grove is a winery, distillery, brewery and accommodation all in one. Located in the beautiful Margaret River region, the three simple and self-contained accommodation options come with private jacuzzis and gas log fires; a great option for a get-together with a group of friends. Why not add a private whisky tasting to your stay… set up in the Whisky Room, you will be expertly guided through the one-hour tasting of The Grove’s own whisky and a single malt selected by the The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Finish off with a freshly roasted coffee – you may need it.

Location: The Grove is three hours from Perth. Corner Metricup and Carter Roads, Wilyabrup, Margaret River; 08 9755 7458; thegrovevineyard.com.au

Details: From $780 for three nights. Private whisky tasting is $110 per person.

6. Follow the Strange Bird: Granite Belt, Qld

Autumn strikes the Strange Bird winetasting trail, Granite Belt, Queensland.

For wine tasting with a difference, take the Strange Bird trail in the Granite Belt boutique wine region. The trail is dedicated to alternative grape varieties like Petit Verdot, Viognier and Barbera. To be considered ‘alternative’, a variety must not represent any more than one per cent of the total bearing vines in Australia, according to the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, so you know these drops are pretty unique. Located near three of the wineries on the trail (Tobin Wines, Ballandean Estate and Golden Grove) is Azjure Studio Retreat; modern, self-catered accommodation with a beautiful backdrop.

Location: Azjure Studio Retreat is three hours from Brisbane. 165 Sundown Road, Ballandean; azjure.com.au

Details: Azjure Studio Apartments from $320 per night. For information on the wine trail visit granitebeltwinecountry.com.au

7. Hold a dinner party to remember : Bowral, NSW

Part dinner, part cooking school at Seidler House, Bowral.str

Always wanted to throw a dinner party but not so sure about the actual cooking part? No worries – the Blue Bowl Brown Sugar Cooking School in Bowral offers experiences where you host a dinner party, and they teach you and your guests how to cook each course. They will help you design a menu and will bring the ingredients and equipment to your chosen venue. As for the venue, we suggest booking out the Seidler House for a weekend: this divine award-winning home overlooks the gorges of Wingecarribee River – but more importantly, boasts a large kitchen and a huge entertaining area with fireplace. Perfect for entertaining.

Location: Seidler House is 1.5 hours from Sydney. contemporaryhotels.com.au/southern-highlands/seidlerhouse

Details: Seidler House from $1500 per night (maximum eight people). Blue Bowl Brown Sugar Dinner Party Cooking Lesson from $160 per person for cooking class (6-12 people, available Saturdays); 0414 855 087; bluebowl.com.au

The charm of Mildura is hidden in plain sight along the Sturt Highway. The capital of Tropical North Victoria is in a league of its own.

From the moment you arrive in Mildura , the warm air and palm trees invite you to slow down. While most Australians might drive right past it, Mildura is full of surprises. Here you’ll spend one day witnessing over 50,000 years of First Nations history in a UNESCO-listed National Park, and the next dining in a hatted restaurant after wandering through 12,500 fireflies as the outback sunset bursts to life above. From roadside fruit stalls and family-run wineries to houseboats and galleries, it’s time to explore Mildura.

Feast Street, at the heart of Langtree Avenue in Mildura. — Taste, wander and be surprised in Mildura.

Taste Mildura’s produce

It makes sense to start your trip by addressing the most important question: where to eat. In the beating heart of Australia’s food bowl, sample the local produce directly from the source. And then, of course, experience it through the menu of a hatted chef. Or sandwiched between pillowy slices of Nonna’s ciabatta.

Rows of orchards and olive groves invite you to spend the day traipsing from farm to farm. Taste olives propagated from Calabrian trees brought over in the 40s, oranges picked right from the tree and squeezed into juice and spoons full of honey . Bring the holiday back to your kitchen by stocking your pantry at roadside produce stalls, or calling into the ‘silver shed ’ (Sunraysia’s gourmand Mecca).

Thanks to the warm, balmy air and fertile soils, the wineries dotted along these hills produce award-winning local wines. Like Chalmers , a family-run, innovative winery dedicated to making their wines as sustainable as possible. And picturesque Trentham Estate offers views of the snaking Murray River as you sample their vintages.

Venture beyond the gnarled shadows of olive groves and fragrant rows of blossoming fruit trees and you’ll find an otherworldly side to Mildura. With Discover Mildura as your guide, visit Murray River Salt’s Mars-like stacks. The naturally pink salt is formed from an ancient inland sea and evaporated entirely by the sun to create one of the region’s most iconic exports.

Start your day with just-squeezed sunshine.

Hatted dining & Italian history

Mildura is home to a proud community of Calabrians and Sicilians. This, paired with the exceptional local produce, means that you can find paninos on par with those in Italy. The Italian is a Paninoteca serving up made-to-order, hefty, authentic Sicilian paninos. Nonna Rosa’s pork meatballs, slowly cooked in tomato ragu and served in a crusty, fluffy roll topped with gratings of Grana Padano cheese and salsa verde, will call you back to Mildura for the rest of your days.

To find hatted dining in Mildura, simply follow the staircase down into the basement of the historic Mildura Grand Hotel to find Stefano’s . Following the muscle memory and instinct of his Italian roots, he delivers on the principle of ‘cucina povera’. That is, the Italian cooking ideology that turns simple, local ingredients into magic.

Things to do in Mildura include dining at the acclaimed Stefano’s, where simple local ingredients are transformed into Italian culinary magic beneath the historic Grand Hotel. — Bite into Mildura’s Italian heritage.

Discover a thriving culture scene

The city is alive with culture. Whether it’s painted on the town’s walls, told in ancient yarns, or waiting for you in a gallery.

The Mildura Arts Centre was Australia’s first regional art gallery. Behind the walls of Rio Vista Historic House, you’ll find a lineup of ever-changing exhibitions. The gallery’s wall space pays tribute to the art and songlines of local First Nations People, the region’s awe-inspiring landscapes and more. Outside, on the gallery’s lawn, find 12 contemporary sculptures in the Sculpture Park.

Mildura’s streetscapes are a punch of colour. Swirling strokes of paint blend the winding artery of the Murray River, red dirt and local characters into a story you can see with your own eyes, thanks to the Mildura City Heart’s Mural Art Project . Pick up a copy of the Murals of Mildura guide from the Visitor Information Centre.

Follow the border of NSW and Victoria on a map and you’ll see it hugs the curves of a tiny island on the Murray. That’s Lock Island, where, as the sun and moon trade places, the island comes alive as darkness falls. The island is dotted with 12,500 firefly lights that lead you on a meandering path through the outback sunset. The installation is known as Trail of Lights and was created by the same visionary who dreamt up Field of Light at Uluṟu, Bruce Munro.

Things to do in Mildura include exploring its rich cultural scene. From vibrant street art and ancient stories to exhibitions at the Mildura Arts Centre, Australia’s first regional gallery. — Find culture around every corner.

Wonder at ancient landscapes

The landscapes of Mildura feel almost transcendental. The skyline bursts to life with reds, pinks, and deep, sparkly night skies.

The nature will leave you in awe. See hues of pink water changing with the weather at Pink Lakes inside Victoria’s largest national park, Murray Sunset National Oark. Cast a line into Ouyen Lake. Watch the sunset against 70-metre tall red cliffs that reflect the setting sun. Or get the heart racing and sandboard down the Perry Sandhills dunes, formed 40,000 years ago at the end of an ice age.

Just don’t leave without following the twists and turns of the Murray. Stroll or ride along the Shared River Front Path, or jump onboard a boat for a scenic ride.

Your itinerary will be incomplete without a visit to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park . Head out with an Indigenous ranger to witness ancient campsites and footprints, before standing in awe of ancient civilisation near the discovery site of Mungo Man—Australia’s oldest human skeleton at 42,000 years old.

Mungo National Park at night is a vast, silent landscape where ancient dunes glow under moonlight and stars blanket the sky in breathtaking clarity. — Walk in the footsteps of ancient civilisation.

Meet your home away from home

On equal par with planning your meals and adventures, is finding the perfect place to relax at the end of each day.

Sleep inside a Palm Springs postcard at Kar-Rama . A sleek boutique hotel complete with a butterfly shaped, sun-soaked pool. Here you’re staying right in the heart of Mildura but you’ll feel worlds away. Or if you really wish to connect with nature, a night glamping under the stars at Outback Almonds will have you spellbound.

When in Mildura it’s only right to stay on one of the Murray River’s iconic houseboats . Wake up each day to the calm waters of the Murray lapping outside your window. Enjoy days full of river swims, fishing and exploring. All boats are solar-powered and can be self-skippered or moored along the river.

A solar-powered houseboat on the Murray River in Mildura. — Stay and play on the Murray in a solar houseboat.

Start planning the perfect getaway at mildura.com .

7 sumptuous long weekend escapes for food and wine lovers