Australia’s 12 best places to curl up with mulled wine this winter

Melissa Mason Melissa Mason
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Rich, warm and full of spice, a glass of mulled wine on a chilly winter’s day in Australia can really hit the spot.

Finding mulled wine in Australia can be a difficult process. While our European counterparts are well across the comforting winter beverage and brew batches in nearly every pub and bar, it’s a little more challenging to stumble upon Down Under.

However, if you know where to look, there are plenty of great places doling out the winter drink during the cooler months – sometimes complete with a fireplace to enjoy it in front of.

A blend of red wine, wintery spices like star anise and cardamom, sliced fruit and occasionally a spirit like brandy or rum, mulled wine can also be found on menus as ‘Glühwein’, which roughly translates from German to “smouldering wine".

Below is a guide to some of the best pubs and bars around Australia currently serving mulled wine.

1. The Doss House, Sydney NSW

If you want to be transported back to the 1840s while you enjoy your mulled wine, head to Sydney’s The Doss House. This historic venue in The Rocks features sandstone walls, dim lighting and deep lounges you can sink into.

a dimly lit interior at The Doss House, Sydney NSW
Nab a spot in the dimly lit lounge of The Doss House. (Image: Alana Dimou)

Beyond mulled wine, The Doss House is also known for its extensive whiskey offering, which is definitely worth checking out if you’re a connoisseur.

the bar counter at The Doss House, Sydney NSW
Get cosy at the bar. (Image: Alana Dimou)

Address: 77/79 George St, Sydney NSW

Phone: 0457 880 180

2. Arcadia, Redfern NSW

This popular neighbourhood bar in Redfern has all the cosiness you crave in a winter catch-up spot, with rustic interiors and a really welcoming energy. Arcadia also serves up a mean Glühwein, which you can enjoy until each day’s batch runs out.

Be sure to try one of their gourmet toasties if you’re a bit peckish, too – they’re pretty famous for them!

Address: 7 Cope St, Redfern NSW

Phone: (02) 8068 4470

3. Frisk Small Bar, Northbridge WA

If you love gin and are heading to Perth, you have to check out Frisk Small Bar. With over 200 types on offer, you’re bound to discover a new favourite.

Known for their creative cocktail specials, a recent addition was ‘mullscato’, a fun take on mulled wine featuring moscato, pineapple juice, and vanilla liqueur alongside the mysterious “secret herbs and spices".

a glass of mulled wine with a snack at Frisk Small Bar
Frisk Small Bar’s mulled wine is a unique take on the classic cocktail.

Address: 103 Francis St, Northbridge WA

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4. Old Canberra Inn, Lyneham ACT

Built in 1857, the Old Canberra Inn has remained a popular drinking hole in Australia’s capital, thanks to a family-friendly atmosphere and great live music.

This is one of those rare Australian pubs where you can sip mulled wine while also curling up in front of a crackling fire, which is really how it should be done.

Address: 195 Mouat St, Lyneham ACT

Phone: (02) 6134 6000

5. Mjolner

If a Viking/Norse-inspired restaurant wasn’t serving up delicious warm alcoholic beverages, we’d be pretty concerned! Thankfully, Mjolner is definitely a spot in Melbourne (and Sydney) where you can access a type of take on mulled wine that we felt demanded inclusion simply because it’s so theatrical.

Order the ‘Blazing Glogg’ and prepare for a fiery scene as Martell VS cognac and spiced port are set alight before being poured into a goblet. Finished with cranberry, juniper and a chai teabag, this fun cocktail has all the same comforting flavours as mulled wine.

Address: 106 Hardware St, Melbourne Vic

6. Milk The Cow, Melbourne Vic

Like the sound of a late-night cheese bar? That’s what you’ll find at Melbourne’s Milk The Cow – and a delicious glass of Glühwein during winter. The quaintest of mulled wine presentations, Milk The Cow’s warming winter drink comes served in a teacup with a stick of cinnamon on the side.

cheese display at Milk The Cow, Melbourne Vic
Choose from over 180 different cheeses at Milk The Cow.

Address: 157 Fitzroy St, St Kilda Vic and 323 Lygon St, Carlton Vic

Phone: 03 9537 2228

7. ReWine, Melbourne Vic

Melbourne is the place to visit if you’re after mulled wine – we found it hard to choose which venues to include in this list! ReWine made the cut because they take their mulled wine really seriously – you can even find a recipe online if you’re interested in replicating their delicious drop at home.

Part wine bar, part wine shop, the low-impact, zero-waste-focused venue also allows you to pick up a bottle of vino straight from the barrel here – and then return with your empty vessel for a refill.

Person holding cup of mulled wine from ReWine
ReWine take their mulled wine really seriously.

Address: 43 Rose St Fitzroy, 522 Lygon St, Brunswick East and 460 Queen St, Melbourne Vic

Phone: 1300 727 186

8. The Carrington, Katoomba NSW

The opulent, historic Carrington Hotel in Katoomba is a jewel in the Blue Mountains’ crown – and it’s also one spot you’ll find mulled wine on the menu. Head down to Champagne Charlie’s Cocktail Bar, settle into a fireside couch and sip on a generous pour of spiced, warmed wine.

the mulled wine lounge at The Carrington, Katoomba NSW
Sip warmed wine on the couch at The Carrington.

Address: 15-47 Katoomba St, Katoomba NSW

Phone: (02) 4782 1111

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9. The Howling Owl, Adelaide SA

You might not always find mulled wine on the menu at The Howling Owl, but what you will find during the chilly months is a selection of warming winter drinks.

Try the hot buttered rum, served in a teacup sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, or the delicious hot apple toddy, a blend of apple juice, spice syrup and gin – served hot, of course.

Address: 10 Vaughan Place, Adelaide SA

Phone: 0416 025 550

10. The Haus Hahndorf, SA

The historic German town of Hahndorf is naturally a great place to find Glühwein, and if you’re spending a weekend there, it’s worth heading to The Haus.

Firstly, because they’ll provide you with a steaming hot cup of the beverage, complete with fresh apple and orange garnishes, but also because the food is great – using local produce, you’ll find a mix of German dishes such as the trio of wurst, as well as lighter fare like the nourish bowl.

a hand holding a mug of mulled wine from The Haus Hahndorf
Get cosy this winter with a mug of traditional mulled wine from The Haus Hahndorf. (Image: Meaghan Coles)

Address: 38A Main St, Hahndorf SA

Phone: (08) 8388 7555

11. Welcome To Thornbury, Brisbane Qld

Welcome To Thornbury is the Brisbane bar with the party to end all parties every June – a ‘mulled wine and hot cheese’ party. Think dripping, melted cheese toasties and warming spiced wine, all day long.

Aside from the annual party, the venue also boasts a huge beer garden, ever-changing food trucks and plenty of other fun events like a chicken nugget festival and garlic bread festival.

Address: 520 High St, Northcote Qld

Phone: (03) 9020 7940

12. The End, Brisbane Qld

Established in 2011 inside an old video store, The End is where everyone in Brisbane should go for warming winter drinks.

Alongside their carefully brewed mulled wine, you’ll find other chilly-night cocktails such as the spiked hot chocolate (chilli chocolate, Blanco tequila, cacao liqueur and coconut cream) and the boozy Biscoff, a take on the famous biscuit featuring dark coconut rum and wattleseed liqueur.

Address: 73 Vulture St, West End Qld

Melissa Mason
Melissa Mason is a freelance journalist who loves road tripping and car snacks. Previously holding Editor roles at ELLE, marie claire, Broadsheet and Pedestrian.TV, she now writes travel and lifestyle content for a wealth of Australian titles like SMH, Mamamia and Urban List, as well as copywriting for international brands. Outside of writing, she loves walks with her dog Ted, a great Sunday afternoon with friends, and op shopping. If she could be anywhere right now it would be lounging on a hammock at a tropical resort with a great romantic fantasy book.
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This scenic Victorian region is the perfect antidote to city life

    Craig Tansley Craig Tansley
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    Video credit: Visit Victoria/Tourism Australia

    The Grampians just might be the ultimate antidote for the metropolis, writes one returning Aussie ready to disconnect from the modern world and reconnect to the Great outdoors.

    There are no kangaroos back in Chicago: they’re all here in the Grampians/Gariwerd. In the heart of the Grampians National Park’s main gateway town, Halls Gap, pods of eastern greys are eating grass beside my parked rental car beneath the stars. Next morning, when I see the backyard of my rented villa on the edge of town for the first time, there are kangaroos feeding beside a slow-moving creek, lined with river red gums.

    Five hundred metres up the road, 50 or so of them are eating by the side of the road in a paddock. I pull over to watch and spot three emus. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos fly overhead towards the tall green mountains just beyond town.

    ‘Kee-ow, keee-oww’… their calls fuse with the maniacal cackle of a kookaburra (or 10). Gawd, how I’ve missed the sound of them. Far above, a wedge-tailed eagle watches, and there you go: the ‘great birds of Australia’ trifecta, all half a kay from the town limits.

    Exchanging city chaos for country calm

    kangaroos near Halls Gap, Grampians National Park
    The park is renowned for its significant diversity of native fauna species. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

    I’ve come to the Grampians to disconnect, but the bush offers a connection of its own. This isn’t just any bush, mind you. The Grampians National Park is iconic for many reasons, mostly for its striking sandstone mountains – five ridges run north to south, with abrupt, orange slopes which tumble right into Halls Gap – and for the fact there’s 20,000 years of traditional rock art. Across these mountains there are more than 200 recorded sites to see, created by the Djab Wurrung, Jardwadjali and Gunditjmara peoples. It’s just like our outback… but three hours from Melbourne.

    I’ve come here for a chance at renewal after the chaos of my life in America’s third-largest city, Chicago, where I live for now, at the whim of a relative’s cancer journey. Flying into Melbourne’s airport, it only takes an hour’s drive to feel far away from any concept of suburbia. When I arrive in Halls Gap two hours later, the restaurant I’m eating at clears out entirely by 7:45pm; Chicago already feels a lifetime ago.

    The trails and treasures of the Grampians

    sunrise at Grampians National Park /Gariwerd
    Grampians National Park /Gariwerd covers almost 2000 square kilometres. (Image: Ben Savage)

    Though the national park covers almost 2000 square kilometres, its best-known landmarks are remarkably easy to access. From my carpark here, among the cockatoos and kangaroos on the fringe of Halls Gap, it only takes 60 seconds’ driving time before I’m winding my way up a steep road through rainforest, deep into the mountains.

    Then it’s five minutes more to a carpark that serves as a trailhead for a hike to one of the park’s best vantage points, The Pinnacles. I walk for an hour or so, reacquainting myself with the smells and the sounds of the Aussie bush, before I reach it: a sheer cliff’s edge lookout 500 metres up above Halls Gap.

    walking through a cave, Hollow Mountain
    Overlooking the vast Grampians landscape from Hollow Mountain. (Image: Robert Blackburn)

    There are hikes and there are lookouts and waterfalls all across this part of the park near town. Some are a short stroll from a carpark; others involve long, arduous hikes through forest. The longest is the Grampians Peaks Trail, Victoria’s newest and longest iconic walk, which runs 160 kilometres – the entire length of Grampians National Park.

    Local activities operator Absolute Outdoors shows me glimpses of the trail. The company’s owner, Adrian Manikas, says it’s the best walk he’s done in Australia. He says he’s worked in national parks across the world, but this was the one he wanted to bring his children up in.

    “There’s something about the Grampians,” he says, as he leads me up a path to where there’s wooden platforms for tents, beside a hut looking straight out across western Victoria from a kilometre up in the sky (these are part of the guided hiking options for the trail). “There are things out here that you won’t see anywhere else in Australia.” Last summer, 80 per cent of the park was damaged by bushfire, but Manikas shows me its regrowth, and tells me of the manic effort put in by volunteers from town – with firefighters from all over Australia – to help save Halls Gap.

    wildflowers in Grampians National Park
    Spot wildflowers. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    We drive back down to Halls Gap at dusk to abseil down a mountain under the stars, a few minutes’ walk off the main road into town. We have headlamps, but a full moon is enough to light my way down. It takes blind faith to walk backwards down a mountain into a black void, though the upside is I can’t see the extent of my descent.

    Grampians National Park at sunset
    Grampians National Park at sunset. (Image: Wine Australian)

    The stargazing is ruined by the moon, of course, but you should see how its glow lights up the orange of the sandstone, like in a theme park. When I’m done, I stand on a rocky plateau drinking hot chocolate and listening to the Aussie animals who prefer nighttime. I can see the streets of Halls Gap off in the distance on this Friday night. The restaurants may stay open until 8pm tonight.

    What else is on offer in The Grampians?

    a boat travelling along the Wimmera River inDimboola
    Travelling along the Wimmera River in Dimboola. (Image: Chris McConville)

    You’ll find all sorts of adventures out here – from rock climbing to canoeing to hiking – but there’s more to the Grampians than a couple of thousand square kilometres of trees and mountains. Halls Gap may be known to most people, but what of Pomonal, and Dimboola, and Horsham? Here in the shadow of those big sandstone mountains there are towns and communities most of us don’t know to visit.

    And who knew that the Grampians is home to Victoria’s most underrated wine region? My disconnection this morning comes not in a forest, but in the tasting rooms and winery restaurants of the district. Like Pomonal Estate, barely 10 minutes’ drive east of Halls Gap, where UK-born chef Dean Sibthorp prepares a locally caught barramundi with lentil, pumpkin and finger lime in a restaurant beside the vines at the base of the Grampians. Husband-and-wife team Pep and Adam Atchison tell me stories as they pour their prize wines (shiraz is the hero in these parts).

    dining at Pomonal Estate
    Dine in a restaurant beside vines at Pomonal Estate. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Three minutes’ drive back down the road, long-time mates Hadyn Black and Darcy Naunton run an eclectic cellar door out of a corrugated iron shed, near downtown Pomonal. The Christmas before last, half the houses in Pomonal burnt down in a bushfire, but these locals are a resilient lot.

    The fires also didn’t stop the construction of the first art centre in Australia dedicated to environmental art in a nature-based precinct a little further down the road (that’s Wama – the National Centre for Environmental Arts), which opened in July. And some of the world’s oldest and rarest grape vines have survived 160 years at Best’s Wines, outside the heritage town of Great Western. There’s plantings here from the year 1868, and there’s wines stored in century-old barrels within 150-year-old tunnels beneath the tasting room. On the other side of town, Seppelt Wines’ roots go back to 1865. They’re both only a 30-minute drive from Halls Gap.

    Salingers of Great Western
    Great Western is a charming heritage town. (Image: Griffin Simm)

    There’s more to explore yet; I drive through tiny historic towns that barely make the map. Still part of the Grampians, they’re as pretty as the mountains behind them: full of late 19th-century/early 20th-century post offices, government offices and bank buildings, converted now to all manner of bric-a-brac stores and cafes.

    The Imaginarium is one, in quirky Dimboola, where I sleep in the manager’s residence of an old National Australia Bank after a gourmet dinner at the local golf club, run by noted chef and teacher, Cat Clarke – a pioneer of modern Indigenous Australian cooking. Just south, I spend an entire afternoon at a winery, Norton Estate Wines, set on rolling calico-coloured hills that make me think of Tuscany, chit-chatting with owners Chris and Sam Spence.

    Being here takes me back two decades, when I lived here for a time. It had all seemed as foreign as if I’d driven to another planet back then (from Sydney/Warrane), but there seemed something inherently and immediately good about this place, like I’d lived here before.

    And it’s the Australian small-town familiarity of the Grampians that offers me connection back to my own country. Even in the better-known Halls Gap, Liz from Kerrie’s Creations knows I like my lattes with soy milk and one sugar. And while I never do get the name of the lady at the local Ampol station, I sure know a lot about her life.

    Kookaburras on a tree
    Kookaburras are one of some 230 bird species. (Image: Darren Donlen)

    You can be a local here in a day; how good is that? In Chicago, I don’t even know who my neighbour is. Though each day at dusk – when the kangaroos gather outside my villa, and the kookaburras and the black cockatoos shout out loud before settling in to sleep – I prefer the quieter connection I get out there in the bush, beneath these orange mountains.

    A traveller’s checklist

    Staying there

    Sleep beside the wildlife on the edge of Halls Gap at Serenity.

    Playing there

    abseiling down Hollow Mountain
    Hollow Mountain is a popular abseiling site.

    Go abseiling under the stars or join a guided hike with Absolute Outdoors. Visit Wama, Australia’s first environmental art centre. Check out Dimboola’s eccentric Imaginarium.

    Eating there

    steak, naan bread and beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap
    Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap serves a great steak on naan bread.

    Eat world-class cuisine at Pomonal Estate. Dine and stay at much-revered icon Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld. The ‘steak on naan’ at Halls Gap brewhouse Paper Scissors Rock, can’t be beat.

    Dunkeld Arboretum in Grampians National Park
    The serene Dunkeld Arboretum.

    For Halls Gap’s best breakfasts head to Livefast Cafe. Sip local wines at Great Western’s historic wineries, Best’s Wines, Seppelt Wines and Norton Estate Wines.

    two glasses of beer at Paper Scissors Rock in Halls Gap
    Sink a cold one at Paper Scissors Rock.