hero media

8 memorable Mudgee wine tours that offer more than just transport

Make the most of your visit to the vineyards around Mudgee with the following wine tours and experiences.

With its viticultural history stretching back to 1858, the Mudgee wine region, built around buttery chardonnays, robust shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, is according to the Mudgee Wine Association, also branching out and creating ‘new’ Australian styles of riesling, barbera, sangiovese, tempranillo, vermentino and pinot grigio.

Squeeze every drop out of your weekend getaway by taking up these top Mudgee wine tours and experiences.

1. Learn from the experts at Mudgee Wine & Country Tours

girls having fun during Mudgee Wine & Country Tours
Hop between six cellar doors on a full-day tour and enjoy a long lunch.

Take the guesswork out of planning your perfect weekend in Mudgee wine country by leaving your itinerary up to the experts at Mudgee Tourist Bus.

Indulge your oenophilia by booking a full-day wine tour with the family-run company that has six Mudgee cellar doors on the list as well as a long lunch in a vineyard.

After picking you up from your accommodation, your knowledgeable guide will teach you wine-tasting terms and their meaning, wine-tasting etiquette, and what makes the fertile Mudgee wine country so magical.

2. Cycle your way around Mudgee

Cycle the scenic vineyards with Tour De Vines.
Cycle the scenic vineyards with Tour De Vines.

Meander around Mudgee by bike by following a one-day self-guided tour with Tour de Vines or take it up a few notches with a Cycling Mudgee package that includes three different tiers of accommodation: Local, Comfy and Luxury.

There are more than 35 cellar doors in and around Mudgee and the self-guided and group cycling tours mapped out for you are designed to take in some of this stunning terroir. Best of all: if your tyre is flat or you have over-indulged at Logan’s Wines, the Tour De Vines team are on hand to pick you up.

The easy, self-guided cycling tour on quiet country back roads will steer you around some of Mudgee’s lesser-known wineries and cellar doors and on to a wine bar said to be Australia’s oldest.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

3. Time your visit to coincide with Flavours of Mudgee

performers at Flavours of Mudgee.
elebrate the culinary traditions of the region with Flavours of Mudgee.

Mudgee, located just three-and-a-half hours’ northwest of Sydney, is the first Australian wine region to be known for organic wine thanks to pioneering work done at Botobolar Wine. That’s one of many reasons for conscious travellers to celebrate the region, which was first established as a wine-growing area by a German viticulturist named Roth in the 1830s.

Although it’s best known for its robust red wines, Mudgee is also known for its food and the best of the region’s bounty can be enjoyed at Mudgee’s signature event, Flavours of Mudgee.

4. Visit Mudgee’s original vineyard

Lowe Wines Mudgee cellar door
There is always a new reason to revisit Lowe Family Wines Co. (Image: Destination NSW)

There’s a lot to be said for lounging on the lawn at Lowe Family Wine Co. which has become a destination in its own right. This Mudgee mecca is a must-stop during a winery weekender, with the hybrid hub offering everything from twilight tapas to guided farm tours, long dinners under a canopy of vines in the Tunnel of Lowe bush chapel, and garden gigs attracting some of Australia’s best musicians.

Zin House is one of the best places to eat in Mudgee, and the accommodation offered here is also on point, making it one of the most luxurious places to stay in the region too.

5. Tour together with Mudgee Explorer Tours

If you’ve gathered a gaggle of oenophiles and it’s suddenly become all too unwieldy to herd everyone in the same direction, book yourselves onto a tour with Mudgee Explorer Tours. A fully organised tour complete with knowledgeable guides, this is the way to delegate a good time among the vines. With half- and full-day tours and a one-hour orientation tour on offer, you can choose your level of immersion. The full-day stretches over 6.5 hours with visits to five to six wineries, while the half-day checks out three wineries in three hours, both include snacks and drinking water and each stop is pre-booked for you. With a fleet of 8 buses and 10 guides, Mudgee Explorer Tours can accommodate large gatherings, such as hens and bucks parties, as easily as small groups.

Weekly travel news, experiences
insider tips, offers, and more.

6. Get chauffeured around by Mudgee VIP Wine Tours

Mudgee VIP Wine Tours
Learn why the region’s wines are so distinctive with Mudgee VIP Wine Tours.

Wear some comfortable kicks while channelling your favourite Kardashian with Mudgee VIP Wine Tours’ local guide Alyson Scarbrow. Alyson has extensive knowledge of local wines and wineries and loves to share her passion for talking terroir and demonstrating why Mudgee wines are so distinct. Alyson has been in the Mudgee wine industry for 14 years after moving to the region in 2006, where she managed the cellar door at both Petersons Winery and Huntington Estate.

Mudgee VIP Wine Tours will take you to the region’s best wineries, including Logan Wines.

Logan’s Wines is one of five wineries Alyson loops in on her full-day tour and the option to enjoy a tasting experience here is a highlight for keen quaffers as it looks over the terraced vineyards that tumble down to Appletree Flat.

7. Wine and flights with Mudgee Tourist Bus

a helicopter and van for wine tour, Mudgee Tourist Bus
Hop on a wine tour by air or land with the Mudgee Tourist Bus.

If you fancy a wine flight with, well, an actual flight, you can splash out on a wine tour by air. Mudgee Tourist Bus offers a wine tour and scenic flight package that lifts you up and over the countryside for a view that puts the region into beautiful perspective. Included on the eight-hour tour is a half-hour scenic flight and stops at five-to-seven wineries in the region, as well as pick-up and drop-off to your accommodation. You’ll need a minimum of four flyers for lift-off.

8. Choose your own path

Already know which wineries and other Mudgee hotspots you want to visit? Create your own bespoke tour, without needing a designated driver, thanks to Mudgee Rides. Book reliable, on-time transfers for a single event, or book them out for a day of vineyard-hopping.

For more travel tips and expert advice, read our Mudgee travel guide.

Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?

  1. Click here to set Australian Traveller as a preferred source.
  2. Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti has written across print and digital for Australian Traveller and International Traveller for more than a decade and has spent more than two decades finding excuses to eat well and travel far. A prestigious News Corp cadetship launched her career at The Cairns Post, before a stint at The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald gave way to extended wanders through Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, Asia and Europe. Carla was chief sub editor at delicious and has contributed to Good Food, Travel & Luxury, Explore Travel, Escape. While living in London, Carla was on staff at Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times Travel desk and was part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK.
View profile and articles
hero media

Art, wine & fireplaces: 8 reasons Bowral is the ultimate winter getaway

(Credit: Destination NSW)

    Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
    The Southern Highlands earns its title as Australia’s top country town in the cooler months, and it’s worth every minute of the 90-minute drive from Sydney.

    Many Sydneysiders head to the Southern Highlands in spring for the tulips. It’s one of the most stunning spring carnivals in Australia. But the ones in the know come to Bowral in winter.

    The first thing you notice at this time of year is the quality of the light. It catches the tangled limbs of the gums and tints the fields, farms and forests a pretty shade of Granny Smith green. And then, a world-class art museum, an impressive network of walking trails, great shops, cosy restaurants and bars and luxury accommodation take centre stage, making Bowral a place you want to linger as the mercury drops.

    Just 90 minutes south of Sydney, a Bowral winter getaway is the coolcation city folk desperately need. Here are eight reasons to pack a good coat and head for the Southern Highlands.

    1. Check in

    aerial of Ardour Milton Park Bowral in winter
    Check in to the gorgeous Ardour Milton Park Bowral. (Credit: Destination NSW)

    Ardour Milton Park Bowral rises like a hologram in the hazy green light as you turn onto Horderns Road. A $10 million refurbishment of the grand 1910 estate was completed in early 2026, and the beautifully restored hotel now includes 44 guest rooms washed in sage green, cobalt blue and dusty blush. The dining room at Horderns Restaurant continues with a botanical theme – earthy banquettes, floral touches throughout – and a menu that moves with the seasons.

    After enjoying slow-braised Cowra lamb and a second glass of red, move to the Polo Bar, which has a fireplace and views across the estate gardens. Build a grazing board from the dedicated Charcuterie Room and take it outside while the light lasts. If the sky clouds over, use this as your cue to enjoy a next-level spa experience at Èliva.

    2. Hunt for treasure

    couple exploring Dirty Janes bowral
    Find vintage treasures in Dirty Janes. (Credit: Destination NSW)

    Winter is the perfect season to lose an afternoon inside Dirty Janes Bowral. Over 1600 square metres of covered space houses 90 individual sellers of everything from mid-century furniture to industrial lighting, antique silverware, vintage clothing and objects whose previous lives you can only imagine. Enjoy a bit of off-the-cuff banter with your fellow fossickers in between searching for that must-have military jacket or vintage silk scarf.

    Around the corner, find the Instagram-famous front door of FoundAntiques, though the real finds are deeper inside. Bring cash, wear comfortable shoes and leave some room in the boot.

    kids posing with donald bradman statue in bowral's The Bradman Museum
    Learn about an Aussie legend at The Bradman Museum. (Credit: Destination NSW)

    Ngununggula – meaning ’belonging’ in the language of the Gundungurra First Nations people – is the region’s first dedicated regional gallery, housed inside the sustainably transformed old dairy building at historic Retford Park. The onsite White Cottage Gallery and restored grounds of the former Fairfax estate reward a slow wander. Find a spot to sit in the courtyard filled with rivulets of winter light and enjoy the plaintive call of a currawong carrying across the heritage-listed grounds. It’s one of the best things to do in Bowral.

    Add Bowral Honey Farm for a hands-on harvest experience, then continue into town to the Milk Factory Gallery to admire eclectic works by local artists in a converted industrial space. The Bradman Museum also knocks it out of the park. Australia’s largest dedicated cricket museum sits beside the heritage-listed Bradman Oval, where a young Sir Donald Bradman first picked up a bat.

    4. A taste of France

    table spread at Lucette bowral
    Enjoy a taste of France at Lucette.

    For a taste of France without the airfare, husband-and-wife team Julien and Romy Besnard – of long-loved Franquette Crêperie – have opened Lucette, a French cafe-bistro with Paris-born chef Guillaume Dubois at the helm. Dubois brings serious pedigree from Michelin-starred kitchens in France and Sydney’s former two-hatted Monopole, and it shows. Start your day with pastries for breakfast and bookend it with boeuf bourguignon for dinner. The chocolate mousse, freckled with Guerande Salt, is the kind of dish that will make you feel smug about the decision to drive south. Join the Sydneysiders dressed in charcoal coats, boots and black tights who’ve already worked this out; the whole scene is worthy of splicing it into an Instagram reel.

    Francophiles should also be across Julien’s Bowral Brasserie – led by Frenchman Julien Viel, who also found his way to the Southern Highlands and stayed.

    5. Indulge in a tipple

    Centennial Vineyards bowral in winter
    Spend time amongst the local vines. (Credit: Destination NSW)

    The drive to Centennial Vineyards passes through a beautiful woodland idyll, the countryside a fuzz of green all around. Inside the Barrel Room, a tasting flight of cool-climate pinot noir, chardonnay and reserve shiraz viognier flaunts how well the Southern Highlands does winter.

    This is a region that takes its cool-climate wines seriously, and the pinot noir is one of the stars – a gentle, easy-drinking style with red cherry aromas. Follow your tutored cellar door tasting with another glass of wine in the Terrace Bar, which overlooks the vineyard and manicured grounds.

    6. Blend your own gin

    Millsheds Distillery & Bar
    Pop into Millsheds Distillery & Bar. (Credit: Mattia Panunzio)

    Millsheds Distillery & Bar is somewhat of a local secret. The award-winning small-batch operation produces gin, vodka and liqueurs using Australian botanicals and has picked up silver medals at both the London Spirits Competition and International Wine & Spirit Competition. Beyond the tasting paddle, the hands-on blending masterclass – where you design and leave with two bottles of your own custom gin – is the experience to book, while the terrace bar that wraps around the courtyard is a fine place to settle in afterwards.

    7. Go for a walk at dawn

    Switch your phone off sleep mode and set your alarm to early. Mt Gibraltar rises to 864 metres just east of Bowral’s main street and offers the best views in town. You will pass a raggle-taggle bunch of hikers on the way up to the summit, all making the same quiet pilgrimage into the crisp high-altitude air. On a clear morning, the bony ridges of the ranges come into sharp relief against the light. The return loop takes roughly 90 minutes. A flat white in Bowral tastes considerably better after completing one of the scenic walking trails.

    8. Cosy up by the fireplace

    Aspinalls Whisky Bar & Lounge at the Berida Hotel
    Get cosy in the Berida Hotel’s whiskey bar.

    A cosy bar is the perfect complement to winter in Bowral, and there are a few worth committing to. Aspinalls Whisky Bar & Lounge at the Berida Hotel is built for long, languorous evenings. Take a seat beside the fireplace laden with gnarled logs and work your way through a few whiskies and bar bites like Rangers Valley beef tartare, or salt cod and potato croquettes.

    At Hickory’s within Peppers Craigieburn, well-dressed waiters in denim and leather move quietly between tables, and the cosy fireplace in the adjoining guest lounge attracts an Escape to the Country crowd.

    Start planning your Bowral escape at visitsouthernhighlands.com.au.