Watch the Youtube video here.
Most people don’t realise that Geelong is one of Australia’s great wine capitols, but let us tell you it really is. There is just so much and so diverse a range of great wine & magical wine experiences to be had all around Geelong – both in the more touristed Bellarine as well as some exceptional experiences to the West. From the Maritime conditions of the Bellarine Peninsula to the warmer inland region, you will find masterful executions of all kinds of different wine styles and varieties. A Wine Hunting paradise!
Within a two-hour radius of Melbourne, no other region has such a diversity of great wine to offer. When you do visit the Geelong region, here are our favourite wineries.
Scotchmans Hill is the best all-around winery out on the Bellarine Peninsula. Scotchmans is notable because they craft such a wide range of flawless wines. Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, sparkling – all exceptional. It is highly unusual to find such polish and class across such a wide range of varietals. You cannot miss Scotchman’s Hill. The place is regularly recognised as one of Australia’s best wineries.
Set in an artists’ commune that used to be an old paper mill, Provenance Wines is easily one of Victoria’s coolest cellar doors and we absolutely love their multi-regional approach to winemaking. Provenance sources its fruit from vineyards around Victoria, so you’ll be able to see first-hand the differences between say a Ballarat Shiraz vs a Geelong Shiraz. It’s like a Victorian wine tour all in one stop. An incredible experience (and a fabulous place to show off).
Clyde Park is one of Australia’s top 10 Pinot Noir producers. The place makes wines with surgical precision, which really pays with Pinot. And with 5 or 6 different Pinots Noirs sourced from different blocks around the property, and each made in slightly different styles, you can really explore all the nuance that the magical Pinot Noir variety has to offer. You don’t know Australian Pinot Noir if you haven’t tried Clyde Park!
Pondalowie Vineyards – While it may seem odd at first blush to find a Bendigo winery in Geelong, it’s really beside the point when you realise these are world class wines. With wines of this stature, it doesn’t really matter where the fruit comes from. Here, you’ll find big, polished, juicy wines that maximally tick the satisfaction box. And winemaker/owner, Dom, is as friendly as they come.
Curlewis Winery is a beautiful boutique winery that makes exquisitely expressive wines. Really, only tiny wineries of great dedication can make wines like these – very rarely seen. Their Pinot Noir and Syrah are shockingly nuanced and alive with the flavours of their native earth. “Stratospheric” would be the right adjective …
And finally, if you’re making a weekend of it and looking for a few more great stops, we can also highly recommend Blakes Estate, Brown Magpie, and McGlashan Estate.
Like Curlewis, Blakes is only a tiny winery, but they crack out some incredible Pinot Noir. Brown Magpie, by contrast, boast inland Geelong’s widest range of wines, all very well made – best way to quickly understand the inland Geelong region. And finally, back on the Bellarine, McGlahan’s offers a tight range of highly polished wines and a great experience overall.
Stay across all our adventures:
Previous
Next