Threaded with vines and well-stocked with exceptional wines, Mudgee is an oenophile’s dream.

Hemmed by gently rolling rural beauty and shouldered by a proliferation of hills, Mudgee is, geographically speaking, a nest. This unique location has given rise to one of Australia’s oldest and most esteemed wine regions with conditions that dovetail fortuitously with the making of fantastic cool-climate wines.

With vines first planted here in the 1800s, Mudgee has contributed meaningfully to Australia’s much-celebrated wine identity. Vineyards here are typically blessed with sweeping panoramas, where grapes dominate the foreground – angled to greet the plentiful sunshine, and relishing icy frosts, low rainfall and minimal humidity.

It’s little wonder then that Mudgee and her surrounds are home to more than 35 cellar doors and 44 grape varieties. It’s enough to overwhelm even the most conscientious holiday planner. And while all these wineries are excellent in their own ways, in the interest of providing a useful edit, consider this your essential guide to Mudgee for all types of wine lovers.

Bunnamagoo Estate Wines

The Paspaley family (yes, that Paspaley family) own this beautiful and award-winning winery. Already known for their cool-climate wines after their first location near Bathurst.

Head to the cellar door to enjoy a guided tasting experience through the range of whites, rosés and reds, or BYO blanket and snacks to enjoy a picnic on the lawn with your favourite bottle of Bunnamagoo wine (although beer and soft drinks are also available to buy, if you have a group of mixed ages and interests).

Best for: Picnics and views
Address: 603 Henry Lawson Drive, Mudgee

Logan Wines

Long referred to as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Mudgee’s Wine Region, Logan’s award-winning Tasting Room has been wowing visitors for more than a decade. Winemaker Peter Logan is inspired by the character of rich and fruity Australian wines, as well as the balance and structure of Old World varieties. His philosophy and resounding product represent a hybrid of these two styles. Taste fresh Australian flavours that embody the finesse of the European style across the five ranges.

All grapes are grown in the NSW Central Ranges (Mudgee and Orange) and served in an architecturally designed space that features a wide expansive deck. Sit back and devour a local produce platter for a blissful start to the weekend. We also recommend the long-lunch sitting, it’s the best way to sit back, feast and soak up the flavours of Mudgee.

Best for: Tastings on the deck
Address: 1320 Castlereagh Hwy, Apple Tree Flat

First Ridge

First Ridge provides much by way of Italian sensibility. Uniquely housed within two adjoining shipping containers, the ambience is warm and open. Stop here for varietals that go beyond your standard pinot grigio and sangiovese (though they do those, too). Fiano, vermentino and barbera encompass rich varietal flavours, while the new Alira Prosecco is perfectly vibrant, made from grapes grown on the single-source vineyard overlooking the Cudgegong River valley.

Best for: La vita bella
Address: 577 Burrundulla Road, Mudgee

The Cellar by Gilbert

After six generations of winemaking in Australia, the Gilbert family first opened The Cellar by Gilbert in 2016. The charming sandstone building now serves as an unconventional cellar door experience.

Guests are given the chance to enjoy award-winning wines and share plates made from locally sourced and home-grown produce in a relaxed, wine bar-like environment.

For a match made in heaven, duck next door to find the indulgent and highly addictive High Valley Cheese Co. tasting room. Visitors to the cellar door can taste current- and museum-release wines by sixth-generation winemaker Will Gilbert and his father, Simon, a dynamic duo who have created a modern and inviting cellar door experience on the edge of town.

Best for: Wine bar vibes
Address: 137 Ulan Road, Mudgee

Gooree Park

Renowned for its unique blend of viticulture and thoroughbred breeding, Gooree Park is the perfect spot for wine and equine lovers alike. The estate boasts the largest vineyard in the Mudgee district, and for $10 you can spend 45 minutes at their new cellar door sampling six of their drops from their collection of sparkling wines, premium wines, core range, and sweet and fortified wines. These are to be enjoyed while taking in the peaceful surrounds of the Thoroughbred Horse Stud.

Best for: Wine tasting with views of champion thoroughbreds.
Address: 1544 Castlereagh Hwy, Galambine

Robert Stein winery and vineyard

Talented third-generation winemaker Jacob Stein produces some sensational wines. Brought out from Germany by the Macarthur family (of sheep-breeding fame) in 1838, his grandfather Johann Stein carried with him the first cuttings of Rhine riesling to survive on. Now, visitors can visit the vineyard to sample the award-winning wines; the half dry riesling is popular.

Alternatively, pair a drop with your meal at the adjoining Pipeclay Pumphouse Restaurant. Views overlooking the vineyard, farm and valley teach a lesson in regional opulence.

Next door, there’s even a motorcycle museum if you’re a lover of vintage rides. Founder Robert Stein was an avid motorcyclist and would ride to work along a then-dirt Parramatta Road on his 1928 Douglas. Browse Robert’s collection of motorcycles, rare collectables and photographs.

Best for: Staying for lunch
Address: 62 Quarry Lane, Mudgee

De Beaurepaire Wines

A slight, 40-minute detour will see you arrive in the picturesque town of Rylstone. Seek out the family-owned, single-estate producer, De Beaurepaire Wines. These cool-climate, French-style varieties are rarely found in the wild – unless Australia’s best restaurants are a regular fixture of your social calendar.

Vineyard site selection was driven by finding a ‘terroir’ similar to the De Beaurepaire homeland in Burgundy: over 300 kilometres from the coast with cool, continental climates, and limestone-enriched, shallow alkaline soils. Fifty-three hectares produce sparkling, whites, rosé, red and dessert wines, best enjoyed seated on one of the picturesque lawns overlooking some 100,000+ vines.

Best for: French-inspired drops
Address: 182 Cudgegong Road, Rylstone

Pieter Van Gent Winery

Picture a space filled with muted lighting, church pew seating, suspended gilded wine bottles, dotted barrique and puncheon barrels, and you’ll get a feel for how unique Pieter Van Gent Winery is.

Venture downstairs beneath the cobwebbed barrels in the cask hall to witness how technology and tradition meet to create magic in a bottle – it’s here that the grape starts to transition into wine.

From Wednesday to Sunday, the cellar door does a special chocolate and wine pairing with locally made pralines. And make sure you try the Mudgee Pipeclay white port, it is smooth and fruity, and served over ice in warm weather.

Best for: Marvelling at the alchemy of winemaking
Address: 141 Black Springs Road, Eurunderee

Lowe Family Wine Co.

You’ll be hard-pressed to meet a person who loves Mudgee (and winemaking) more than David Lowe. Lowe is married to renowned chef Kim Currie, and together they produce small-batch, organic variants that are some of the regions best. The property is also home to an event space called the Pavilion.

Each bottle of wine is a direct reflection of how the grapes are grown – unirrigated or trellised, each wine speaking distinctly of the individual terroir, vintage and region. Seek out the Gentleman’s Daughter, a sparkling wine of distinction, after seven years on lees it’s beautifully complex. The Lowe cellar door is open daily for wine tastings and regional platters.

Best for: Letting the afternoon unravel
Address: 327 Tinja Lane, Mudgee

Moothi Estate

Moothi – named after the Koori word for Mudgee – was purchased by Phil and Susan Moore in 1995. They took one look at the northwest-facing slopes filled with brown clay and limestone soil and knew it was the one.

The family-run Moothi Estate is now looked after by the Moore’s daughter Jessica Chrcek and her partner, Jay. It also holds the title of the highest cellar door in Mudgee, offering 180-degree views of the neighbouring mountain range. Cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, merlot, chardonnay, semillon, riesling, viognier and pinot gris are all served by the glass and bottle.

You can also pick up an array of cheese plates, gourmet tasting platters, local olive oils, handmade jewellery and more at the excellent providore on the estate.

Best for: Taking in the lofty vistas as you sip
Address: 85 Rocky Waterhole Road, Mudgee

Burnbrae Wines

Husband and wife team, Andy and Trine Gay, are all about relishing moments of good wine and food shared with friends. Taking over Trine’s historic family winery in 2014, they pooled their wine industry expertise to build Burnbrae into a welcoming place to sit, sip and chat – just as they like to do themselves.

Come to Burnbrae, which embodies its Celtic meaning of ‘a field sloping down to a stream’, and pair a wine-tasting with an antipasto platter as you move through the estate’s wines, or if you’re more the beer type, try Burnbrae’s own 548 Lager. If you happen to be in town on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday afternoon, book in for the ‘Lazy Pizza Afternoon’, where you can unfurl on the lawn with friends over a bottle or two.

Best for: Afternoons of pizza and vino
Address: 548 Hill End Road, Mudgee

Craigmoor Estate Wines

This is where it all began. Craigmoor, which unravels round the banks of Pipeclay Creek, is bestowed the meaningful title of the oldest winery and vineyard in Mudgee. Established in 1858 and now owned by the Oatley winemaking dynasty, there are five wine portfolios nested under the Craigmoor name to discover.

Taste six of them on a 50-minute tasting at the cellar door, or choose your favourite and unwind in the sun as you soak in the vine-threaded rural beauty. There’s also a wine museum on the property, and should you fancy a picnic, you can do so in the grounds hemming the Craigmoor Cricket Oval.

Best for: Leaning into legacy
Address: Craigmoor Road, Mudgee

Burrundulla

In places like Mudgee, family lines are easily followed back into the depths of history. With an uninterrupted ownership of Burrundulla since 1814, the Cox family may just have wine coursing through their veins. Fourth-generation Ted Cox is the latest patriarch in the 200-plus-year procession of viticulturalists and is himself a deeply passionate winemaker. While Burrundulla’s rosés are highly awarded, Ted has a soft spot for his trophy-winning 2018 shiraz. Taste the modern iterations that two centuries of winemaking have informed at the cellar door seven days a week and stay to tuck into a wine-friendly menu at the onsite cafe Our Chow.

Best for: Brunch with a glass of rosé
Address: 234 Castlereagh Highway, Mudgee

Rosby Wines and Gallery

Encompassing an ethos of low-impact viticulture, Rosby Wines began as 15 acres of hand-tended cabernet sauvignon and shiraz grapes in 1995. Today, the wines are still small-scale, high-quality and designed to age beautifully, but more varietals have slowly been added to the mix, such as rosé, riesling, chardonnay and sangiovese.

An experience at the elegant and design-led cellar door is also enhanced by a stroll through the excellently curated art gallery featuring Australian artists, while in the grounds you’ll be treated to a collection of sculptural works. Owner Kay Norton-Knight is herself a talented artist, which has driven a visual creativity to be so perfectly intertwined with her husband and vigneron, Gerald’s, winemaking.

Best for: Wine with a side of art
Address: 122 Strikes Lane, Eurunderee

Yeates Wines

As one of Mudgee’s oldest and most famous vineyards, Mountain Blue, the Yeates family had their work cut out for them when they purchased the property from former owners, Fosters in 2010. The property was also once well-known as Rosemount, whose flagship wine ‘Mountain Blue’, had a cult following.

Today, the grapes that once made this famous drop can only be found in Yeates Wines reserve blend. Under the stewardship of the Yeates family, the vineyard now produces well-considered small-batch wines, which you can sip at the sleek cellar door onsite.

Opt for a full flight of eight wines and follow it up with a charcuterie platter by the fire or, to linger longer, book into one of the luxe accommodation options, Gate House or Vine Loft, on the property.

Best for: Heritage mixed with luxury
Address: 138 Craigmoor Road, Mudgee

Vinifera Wines

This award-winning certified organic vineyard is all about Spanish varietals, from tempranillo to garanacha and graciano, so prime your palate for terroir-driven vintages poured at the cellar door. Tastings are available four days a week and may be paired with a grazing platter to round out a flight of five wines.

On Sundays book in for a High Cheese experience, where you can nibble your way through a selection of local cheeses, charcuterie and fruits and a glass of wine of your choice.

Best for: Spanish-style wines
Address: 194 Henry Lawson Drive, Bombira

Naked Lady Wines

Relishing the cool climate in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, the cabernet and chardonnay grapes at this picturesque vineyard find their way into Naked Lady’s award-winning collectables. This Rylstone cellar door is open five days a week and you can complement a tasting of their five drops with a lunch platter or pizza.

You can even stay upstairs from the cellar door in a two-bedroom apartment with sweeping Wollemi National Park views. And if you’re wondering about the label’s moniker, no, it’s not named after the female form, but rather the Amaryllis belladonna – an African bulb that flowers before autumn.

Best for: Cool clime wines
Address: 2222 Bylong Valley Way, Rylstone

Skimstone Wines

Mudgee-grown fruit is finessed into brilliant drops by a French winemaker at Skimstone. Focussing on French and Italian varietals, you might find a new favourite chardonnay, sangiovese or barbera here, where the philosophy is centred on a collaboration with Mother Nature and respect for the environment to produce wines that are balanced, detailed and pure.

Taste the fruits of that partnership with a cellar door experience that may entail a wine flight, or enjoying a drink by the glass or bottle. It’s a beautiful spot to watch the sun slip away as you nibble cheese and crackers and discuss the merits of each drop.

Best for: Sundowners
Address: 1307 Castlereagh Highway, Apple Tree Flat

Heslop Wines

The Heslop family’s approach to winemaking is one that treads lightly. Hand-picking and pruning, basket pressing and gentle crushing techniques, as well as solar-powered and sustainable equipment all culminate in a catalogue of minimal intervention wines.

Using traditional blends to make innovative styles, you can savour the literal fruits of these eco-conscious labours – such as Bob Heslop’s first wine under his own label the award-winning Touriga Nacional and his son Liam’s equally awarded Mr Rascals – at the cottage tasting room (also award-winning) for just $10 from Friday to Sunday.

Best for: A light touch
Address: 112 Craigmoor Road, Mudgee

10’s Estate

This organic winery has both a vineyard and orchard on its property, so as well as enjoying tastings of their shiraz, semillion, cabernet and chardonnay, you can pick-your-own cherries, figs and citrus. It’s year-round family fun with something to pluck from the trees no matter the season. Once you’ve had your fill of fruit, relax in the orchard with a bottle of wine and a cheese platter or sample the drops on a guided tasting.

Best for: Bringing the kids along
Address: 157 Craigmoor Road, Eurunderee

791 Estate

Small and boutique, 791 Estate offers a warm welcome, which you may embellish with snacks or lunch for an afternoon of wine appreciation. Think house-smoked salmon boards or fresh prawn rolls to match with your varietal of choice, be it riesling, merlot, rose, or even a sparkling chardonnay.

What’s in the bottle comes from Brendan, who was 2022’s Co-Viticulturalist of the Year at the Mudgee Wine Show, so expect good things. Things get busy, so bookings are encouraged.

Best for: A chilled tasting
Address: 791 Ulan Road, Mudgee