Victoria - Mornington's vineyards open by appointment only
Mark Smith
Pinot Gris barrel at Ocean Eight Vineyard and Winery, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria [©Ocean Eight]
Victorians have been heading south into the Mornington Peninsula for more than a century, but wine-growers have been heading there for only 35 years - time enough to take in new varieties and developments in viticulture; precious little to find out what works best and where.
Today, the region is a patchwork quilt of almost 200 individual vineyard sites. Some sprawl luxuriantly across the landscape around Moorooduc and Teurong in the north. Many more are tucked away out of sight on either side of the peninsula’s main ridge.
No matter where you travel, you’re never far from a good glass of wine. This part of Victoria boasts more vineyard cellar doors per kilometre of tar and gravel than any other winegrowing region in Australia.
Small players, big reputations
Large companies are noticeably absent along the wine trail. Even mid-sized players find it hard to balance the competing demands of running a successful hand-tended vineyard and selling wine at the cellar door. Fewer than half of the region’s wineries open each day to the public. Mornington Peninsula’s Vignerons Association can provide an up-to-date list at the click of a mouse (see links below for more information. Many small players have big reputations. Take time to ring and arrange an appointment. You won’t seem so surprised when you find that the hands that poured your glass also grew the grapes and made the wine.
Need more variety in your varieties?
There’s more to Mornington than simply pinot noir and chardonnay. The region nowadays is the largest producer of pinot gris in Australia. Besides, there’s an alphabet soup of lesser varieties to try, from arneis, aligote and albariño to verduzzo and viognier among the region’s whites. Warm and well-protected sites produce wonderfully spicy shiraz and Mediterranean-inspired sangiovese, nebbiolo and tempranillo. Pinotphiles will find warmer sites scattered across the north of the peninsula produce relatively deep and tannic wines, showing plenty of rich berry and plum fruit.Cooler, more elevated sites are exposed to the vagaries of wind and rain. Pinots here are lighter and more fragrant than their sheltered cousins. Expect cherry and raspberry fruit notes with fine-grained tannins and lingering acidity.
Adding craft to nature’s art
Great wine is made in the vineyard. Peninsula vignerons strive for perfection in their premium wines. The best examples show purity of fruit expression, great persistence of flavour, and trueness to grape variety and style – an elusive quality that European makers refer to as ‘typicity.’ Most producers adopt a minimalist approach to winemaking, preferring only subtle interventions to preserve fruit quality and enhance the uniqueness of its cool climate origin.
Six picks… Open only by appointment
Roughly 20 percent of Peninsula wineries only open by appointment, or restrict cellar door sales to the region’s annual Winter Wine Weekend (Queen’s Birthday Weekend).
The Local Collection
Dunns Creek Estate, Point Leo Road Vineyard and Whinstone Estate are examples of winemakers that combine obsession with uniqueness of expression. None have cellar door sales but all are represented at 'The Local Collection', together with Buckley Run, Ocean Eight, and Perry Lane. Drop by this casual Red Hill gallery restaurant and taste up to 20 wines from its six supporting vineyards. Just look for Freda, a 1926 Morris truck emblazoned with the Dunns Creek logo. If you believe variety is the spice of life, explore Dunns Creek Estate’s Arneis, Barbera, Lagrein, Muscadet de Melon and Tempranillo. The vineyard’s Barbera boasts a gold medal track record. The Local Collection is located at 1175 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Red Hill. Melways Ref 190 D7. Ph (03) 5989 2538.
Elgee Park
Elgee Park is the oldest vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula. Its cellar door is traditionally open on just one day of the year, the Sunday of the Queen's Birthday weekend in June. This year the pioneering Baillieu Myer opened Elgee Park for the last time to the public. Six hours of trading reflecting on 35 years of proud history.
Hurley Vineyard
Located on the site of an historic farm, established in the 1870s by the original Hurley family. Famous in the past for high quality produce and now making exemplary pinot noir.
Kooyong
Pinot noir and chardonnay specialist making waves on the peninsula’s winemaking scene, an extraordinary achievement given the exalted status of its sibling vineyard, Port Phillip Estate. The latter produces outstanding syrah, pinot noir, chardonnay, and top-notch sauvignon blanc. Tastings and sales are at Port Phillip Estate. The extended Kooyong range now includes pinot gris and viognier.
Prancing Horse Estate
Rated by James Halliday as one of the top 10 new wineries in Australia in 2007. Currently in conversion from organic to biodynamic viticulture. While the name pays homage to Italian thoroughbreds of the mechanical kind, the vineyard’s owners have their sights fixed on Burgundy. Top ranked, stylish chardonnay and pinot noir. Eye-catching vineyard sculpture the “Wild One” a feature in real-life and on the wine’s labels.
Yabby Lake Vineyard
Medium-sized by Peninsula standards but gaining cult status nonetheless. Pinot noir and chardonnay the biggest fish in the lake, with distinctive and complex pinot gris a bonus. Wines to date made by dynamic duo of Tod Dexter (ex-Stonier) and Larry McKenna (The Escarpment, New Zealand). The pinot noir is rich, full-bodied and multi-layered.
Scroll down for addresses, maps and contact details.
Regions
- Melbourne Surrounds (VIC)
- Mornington Peninsula (VIC)
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How to plan your tasting tour of the Mornington Peninsula and make the most of a day with some the regions best small, but quality-driven winemakers.
Ocean Eight Vineyard and Winery, tucked away in Shoreham, is a hidden gem on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. The elegant property set into the hillside is owned ... read more
Dunns Creek Estate is one of the latest vineyards on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. Dunns Creek Estate is a 25 acre rural holding on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula ... read more
Prancing Horse Estate
Prancing Horse Estate, located at Red Hill South on the Mornington Peninsula. The vineyard has five acres of premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir hand-crafted by renowned ... read more
Yabby Lake Vineyard was established in 1998 on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, with the long-term goal of producing benchmark wines from the Burgundian varieties ... read more
Hurley VineyardHurley Vineyard are specialists of Pinot Noir vignerons in Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Their first release was the Hurley Vineyard ... read more
The Kooyong vineyard and winery are located at Tuerong (110 Hunts Rd) on the northern end of the Mornington Peninsula, 80km south of Melbourne, Victoria but the ... read more
Elgee Park is the oldest vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula. The picturesque property is situated at the end of Wallaces Road, Merricks North, approximately 80 ... read more
Whinstone Estate, in Red Hill, Mornington Peninsula, specialize in cool climate wines produced with minimum chemical use from a single vineyard. read more
The Local Collection at Noel's Gallery RestaurantThe Local Collection is now known as Noel's Gallery and Restaurant. This is also an 'umbrella' venue for five small, artisan local wine labels of the Mornington ... read more
Point Leo Road VineyardThe Point Leo Road Vineyard was established in the spring of 1996, and is family owned and operated. Located on the southern slopes of the Mornington Peninsula in ... read more
The Mornington Peninsula, less than an hour's drive south-east of Melbourne, Victoria, now hosts 175 small-scale vineyards and more than 50 cellar doors offering ... read more
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