The Best Wineries in Victoria

Victoria is a top destination for wine touring and tasting. I share my experiences at some of the best wineries in Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula. I only had one week to tour all of Australian wine country and had to pick the best ones on a time crunch.

A quick intro—

Hi 👋 I'm Rijnard. I'm a credentialed Certified Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers) and a Certified Specialist of Wine. My day job is programming, and I earned my PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019.

Getting into wine changed how I spend my free time, and I want to make your wine experiences more valuable. I hope this article will lead you to authentic life-long memories with people and places.

I spent two days touring Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula and visited eight wineries. If you only have a couple of days, these are among the best wineries worth spending your time on. If you have more time, don't miss my recommendations for the wineries I would visit if I had more time!

Table of Contents

• Mornington Peninsula
• Yabby Lake
• Ten Minutes by Tractor
• Montalto
• Merricks
• Yarra Valley
• Yarra Yering
• Domaine Chandon
• Oakridge
• Rochford
• Boat O'Craigo

Mornington Peninsula

An underrated region, considering you hear so much about Yarra Valley, Barossa, and other regions in Australia. Delicious wines, especially for cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Nori. Don't skip Mornington, I ended up liking it more than Yarray Valley for the charming scenery and warm hospitality.

Yabby Lake

One of the earliest wineries to open in Mornington, making it a great first stop. Feel free to just show up and walk in. You'll find cool climate styles here, and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were my favorite on the tasting menu. I had a knowledgable somm guide me, and learned that the peninsula can be affected by severe storms that affect a given vintage. Overall a great experience, and tranquil in the morning too. $6 USD tasting menu for 5 wines.

Ten Minutes by Tractor

Also Affectionately known as 10X, this was an amazing tasting experience filled with delicious Chardonnays. Open for walk-in, and tasting menus run $8 to $15 USD. There are at least two tasting options, and the premium lineup was some seriously good wines. If memory serves, only one or two barrels are made of some of these wines. You'll have a difficult time finding them away from here. So: if you end up making the trip, don't hesitate to buy what you love. One of my favorite interactions with a somm, who wasn't shy about making snide comments about certain grape varietals. Also, I think Ten Minutes by Tractor is one of the best wineries in the region for lunch, thanks to an astonishing wine list. Maybe consider making it your lunch stop.

Montalto

Montalto was of my favorites for tasting Pinot Noir. No need to book ahead here, they do walk-ins. There is top-notch quality here for a big variety of grapes, so if you like variety you can't go wrong visiting Montalto I did a standard tasting for $10 USD, but the sommelier was very generous and gave me two or three times as many wines to try, making this the most generous winery I visited in Mornington! For the price, you should consider grabbing a bottle of Pennon Hill Chardonnay (approximately $24 USD retail).

Merricks

Okay, so this isn't a winery, but if you visiting Mornington people will tell you about Merricks, and not to skip it. It's a charming restaurant, wine store, and cafeteria (I got me some cheesecake to go). This is another great idea for a lunch stop. Note it can get busy, so plan ahead! Find out more about the Merricks Store here.

Yarra Valley

Yarra Valley is world famous and one of the best tasting destinations in Victoria. I only had about a day, and so chose the two best wineries in Yarra Valley that I just had to visit: Yarra Yering and Oakridge. I visited three other wineries spontaneously, and was pleasantly surprised by them! Look out for Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and Shirazes.

Yarra Yering

Yarra Yering is a highly rated winery and famous for top-selling red blends (Dry Red Wine No. 1 and No. 2). I booked head for a special Yarra Yering tasting for their latest release. I believe they also do walk-ins, so check ahead of time! The wine quality is certainly higher than most and the reputation deserved. The Chardonnay is something special. I have to be honest though, that the prices on these bottles are not for the faint of heart! Yarra Yering is perhaps most appealing to the patient collector who will age their bottles for maximum pleasure.

Domaine Chandon

An extension of Moët & Chandon, if you like bubbly you can't skip it. This was one of my impromptu visits thanks to taking the Hop It Red Route. Feel free to walk in (and order at the bar, which I missed!). There is also a premium tasting available (plan and book ahead for that) and a store with all sorts of things. An interesting interior and overall pretty winery.

Oakridge

A must-do winery on my list and notable for premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnays. Again, a famous Australian winery with a deserved reputation. A very professional setting overlooking the vineyards and well-equipped sommeliers made this visit especially enjoyable. The Henk Vineyard Chardonnay was my pick. After this tasting, I thought The Mornington Peninsula Chardonnays were more lean, and dare I say, elegant.

Rochford

A spontaneous visit and they wowed me with their Toolangi F Block Chardonnay. This wine easily competed with the likes of Yarra Yering and Oakridge. Granted, it has a price to match! But this winery wasn't on my radar because it's marketed more as an entertainment venue. Make no mistake, they make serious wines if you reach for their top-shelf offerings. I had a very talented, easy-going, and good-natured somm guide me here.

Boat O'Craigo

With the tasting room perched on top of a hill, you apparently have a chance of seeing kangaroos (I saw them here for the first time in Australia!). There are a lot of options to try here, so if you're one for variety make a stop. I generally preferred the red wines here over the white wines. You'll find charming scenery here, a solid tasting experience, and yummy chocolate for sale as well.

Melbourne

If you're visiting Victoria, chances are you might be staying around Melbourne. The picks above are some of the best wineries in Melbourne, or close to it. For Melbourne wine bars, my favorites include Handpicked Cellars and the Melbourne Cellar Door South Wharf. The former is more modern, with a specially curated wine list. Perfect for aficionados. On the South Wharf you'll find a more warm and casual setting (though busy on weekends), offering a variety of great quality wines from all over Australia.

I hope this helped you enjoy happy touring! I want to hear from you and your experience. I'm human and you can talk to me on instagram / twitter / e-mail.