30 October 2023
10 mins Read
You’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to choose between family time and wine time on your next holiday. Here is a round-up of the best wineries and cellar doors keep the little ones entertained while you’re otherwise occupied.
Address: 1180 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Main Ridge
This cool-climate vineyard serves some of the best afternoon views in the Mornington Peninsula. Come for the all-day tapas menu and stay for the sparkling, pinot grigio, chardonnay, rose, pinot noir and shiraz. A hops paddock has recently been planted, so expect to see locally-brewed beer added to the Green Olive repertoire in the near future.
Shopping is also on the agenda here, with olives, oils, chutneys, relishes, jams, sauces and natural body products available, all made from produce harvested at the farm. You can also partake in a cooking class, food and wine experience, picnic or sustainable farm tour.
Parents will love: the tasting paddle with four wines including a side of olives.
Kids will love: the expansive veggie patch and adjoining farm complete with a Shetland pony, chickens, sheep and resident ducks. There’s also an in-ground, Olympic-sized trampoline you’ll probably have to pry them off.
Green Olive serves some of the best views in the Mornington Peninsula
Address: 33 Shoreham Rd, Red Hill South
Although Montalto’s cool-climate wines are no less than exceptional, those who make the journey are rewarded with more than a drink. This is a true wine-lover’s playground; where you can (and should) dine at the much-lauded restaurant, which has been awarded 16 Good Food Chef’s Hats since opening in 2002. You should also make time to stroll the onsite olive grove and sculpture garden, and take a behind-the-scenes winery tour.
Parents will love: the private picnic experience. There are 10 secluded spots on the property that you can reserve for two to eight people, with beautifully-set tables and a menu starring local produce.
Kids will love: the one-kilometre sculpture trail that cuts through grassy lawns, vines and wetlands. There are more than 30 permanent sculptures that feature along the self-guided walk and if you visit between February and August you’ll see the annual Montalto Sculpture Prize Exhibition of Finalists in addition to the permanent collection.
Meander the Montalto Wines sculpture trail
Address: 80 Vine Rd, Bayindeen
The Mount Langi Ghiran vineyard is truly unique in that it has vines planted across 70 hectares of land and is one of the most isolated vineyards in Australia. The raw elements of climate, soil and vine combine to create the ‘Old Block,’ which produces one of the most distinctive and distinguished wines in the country, the Langi Shiraz.
A selection of local cheese and charcuterie produce is available to enjoy with a glass of your favourite wine, or allow the vineyard to curate a matched flight to your taste.
Parents will love: the $10 picnic idyll experience. Spend the day enjoying a picnic feast (BYO or purchased onsite), magnificent views and sensational wine amongst the vines. Select your favourite wine by the glass or purchase a bottle to enjoy together.
Kids will love: The hectares of vines to explore on foot or the expansive property via bicycle.
The Mount Langi Ghiran vineyard is truly unique
Address: 747 Granite Belt Dr, Cottonvale
Soaring ceilings, roaring fires and a brilliant cellar door – that’s just par for the course at Heritage Estate. Described as an ‘outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity’. Heritage Estate is recognised with a RED-five-star winery rating, placing it in the top eight percent of wineries in Australia.
Parents will love: the winery’s Gourmet Lunch, Nips&Nosh Food-Wine-Vine Experience. Dine on five chef-prepared dishes, which could include fresh blue swimmer crab on squid ink pasta or a kangaroo tail beef and reef dish, paired with 10 five-star wines. The winery’s sommelier and chef will also give a joint talk on why these flavours work well together.
Kids will love: the Pianola – it’s played by almost every kid who walks through the door. A Pianola is an old style piano that you peddle with your feet.
Address: 29 Burleigh St, Langhorne Creek
Kimbolton Wines is located just under an hour’s drive from Adelaide and its idyllic surrounds and top-notch drops affirm its claim to being one of the best family-friendly wineries in the region. The architecturally-designed cellar door is made from re-purposed shopping containers, modern ply and recycled timber and is nestled snuggly among gum trees.
Visit to enjoy a carefully curated selection of seasonal wine and cheese flights, showcasing four local artisan cheeses, meticulously paired to suit four of the Kimbolton wines.
Parents will love: the rooftop deck with views across Langhorne Creek’s vineyards.
Kids will love: tasting their way through a cheese and cordial flight, served in pint-sized plates with a set of colouring pencils and activity sheet.
Kimbolton Wines tasting platter
Address: 215 Douglas Gully Rd, McLaren Flat
You know you’ve hit the parent jackpot when a winery comes complete with an onsite wildlife sanctuary. Woodstock Wines are as sturdy as the stocks they were named after; the team here have been committed to bottling the essence of their regional home since 1973.
The casual dining restaurant – called Coterie Wine Bar & Kitchen – serves family-friendly pizza, grazing platters and share plates, as well as Mediterranean-inspired wine to satiate the grown-ups
Parents will love: the Stocks Tasting Room breaks down the barriers of your traditional cellar door experience. Built for banter and wine tasting, wrapped in history, but both modern and comfortable.
Kids will love: spotting the long-nosed potoroos, brush-tailed bettongs, red-necked wallabies, swamp wallabies, Tamar wallabies, emus and the kangaroos – and bottle-feeding the ‘roos on weekends. They might even catch a glimpse of rehabilitated koalas which are released on site by conservationists.
Meet the locals at Woodstock Wines
Address: 109-111 Murray St, Tanunda
Z WINE is seriously dedicated to making some of Barossa Valley’s best wine. The owners, Janelle and Kristen Zerk, are fifth-generation Barossans and the only sister duo in the Barossa Valley who produce, own and operate their business. Their ancestors were one of the pioneering families of Barossa Valley back in 1846 and are also the inspiration behind the name – the Z is for Zerk.
Their new cellar door and wine bar on the main street of Tanunda is popular with locals and visitors alike, offering regional produce and live music to accompany the selection of distinct wines.
Parents will love: the urban setting and convenience of plonking yourself at a winery right in the centre of town.
Kids will love: tucking into their own tasting plank featuring local produce (smoked fritz and fairy bread on Apex Bakery bread) served with juice, milk and water.
Kids will love tucking into their own tasting plank
Address: 61 Thornton Rd, Yallingup
The picturesque grounds of Aravina Estate set the scene for a feast of the senses. The winery plays host to the cellar door and restaurant, a homewares and produce shop plus a surfing gallery.
Relax and let one of the experienced staff guide you through the award-winning range of wines. Choose from a structured tasting or a five-course degustation lunch.
Parents will love: the covered outdoor dining terrace. It offers the perfect opportunity to enjoy the expansive vineyards set among natural bushland.
Kids will love: the WA Surf Museum and Gallery. This is the first and only official collection of surfing memorabilia in Western Australia, ideally located in one of the nation’s most iconic surfing spots.
Aravina Estate plays host to the WA surf museum
Address: 70 Glenarty Rd, Karridale
Glenarty Road has been in the family for five generations. The little patch of land has been through quite the evolution over the years; from native bushland to a sheep farm, then a vineyard with a farm shop, a cellar door and one of the Top 20 best casual dining restaurants in Western Australia.
This place embodies the very essence of Margaret River hospitality; welcoming a plethora of different age groups who need multiple vibes fulfilled. Tables here are set under the shade of the surrounding trees with working vegetable patches in sight – providing the ingredients for the meal set on the plate before you.
Parents will love: the Sunday lunch at Glenarty Road’s is considered a local favourite.
Kids will love: the junior farm feast – a three-course meal made to inspire the next generation of farmers. Kids will indulge in a farm-to-table feast that reflects wholesome and honest flavours.
Glenarty Road encapsulates the Margaret River energy
Address: 179 Gillards Rd, Pokolbin
Scarborough Wine Co. is a family-owned heavy-hitter loved for its range of exceptional wines and effusive hospitality. Here, winemaking is a way of life; the family turned out their first vintage in 1987 from the garage, where the cellar door still stands today.
Come sample each of the Scarborough Wine Co. wines – including semillon, verdelho, vermentino, chardonnay, pinot noir, shiraz – under the guidance of the very knowledgeable cellar door staff.
Parents will love: the complimentary cheese plate with your wine tasting.
Kids will love: the dedicated kids’ zone, equipped with hoola hoops, skipping ropes, Jenga and more.
Come sample each of the Scarborough Wine Co. wines
Address: 1034 The Escort Way, Orange
In a wine region where altitude is everything, Heifer Station enjoys a nice balance of elevation and sunshine; the perfect conditions for producing cool climate wines starring chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot gris, merlot and shiraz.
Heifer Station Wines runs its cellar door out of an old woolshed. It’s a proud family business and one that plays a big role in the local community.
Parents will love: the annual drought-relief lunch called Feast for Farmers. A Day on the Green is also held on the property.
Kids will love: the onsite petting zoo and farm that’s home to a small herd of alpacas, highland cattle, goats and Tilly the mini Shetland pony.
Make friends at Heifer Station
Address: Milligans Rd, Wauchope
Nestled in a picturesque valley, surrounded by towering eucalyptus trees, rolling countryside and acres of vines, Bago Maze and Winery is an ideal spot to sit and take in the Port Macquarie scenery.
Enjoy a wine tasting and then relax with a glass of wine, coffee or indulge in a cheese/meat platter offering local produce from around the region. Follow it up with an adventure into the Bago Maze.
Parents will love: the selection of chocolates from Baba Lila, manufactured onsite at Bago Maze and winery.
Kids will love: the two kilometres of pathways and bridges within one of the world’s largest hedge mazes.
Follow up your wine adventure with a visit into the Bago Maze
Address: 11 W Bay Rd, Rowella
Holm Oak Vineyards has a real point of difference from other wineries in the Tamar Valley. This small boutique winery located just outside of Launceston is known for producing arneis – a wine made from an Italian white grape that is native to the Piedmont Region. Holm Oak is the only winery in the state to grow this vine, so be sure to sample a glass… or two.
Parents will love: the seclusion. From the moment you pull into the driveway you’ll feel like you have discovered your own secret winery.
Kids will love: Pinot the Pig. Kids can grab a bag of apples and feed him while they’re there.
Pinot the pig enjoying his apples
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