The Best Yarra Valley Wineries (2024)

From dark horses to well-established industry players, and plenty more in between, plot your own escape to wine country with this guide to the best Yarra Valley wineries, winery hotels, and winery restaurants.

With more than 80 cool climate wineries to its name, plus some 60 cellar doors, even those who visit the Yarra Valley on the regular are practically guaranteed to find something new on their next trip.

The glut of great wineries also ensures there’s plenty of choice. Oenophiles will find family-run wineries with some serious credentials; bon vivants can lounge around in aesthetically pleasing cellar doors from international names with sparkling wine on tap; fun-seeking neophiles can uncover experimental newcomers, and daytrippers looking for a side of history and heritage with their rosé won’t be left wanting.

aerial shot of Yarra Valley, Australian Wine Tour Company — Yarra Valley is home to vibrant and scenic vineyards. (Image: Australian Wine Tour Company)

Victoria’s first wine-growing district is also awash with great winery restaurants – many boasting dramatic valley views – plus a smattering of smart winery hotels, so there’s really little reason not to hole up here for an entire weekend.

Read on for details of the best Yarra Valley wineries.

The best Yarra Valley wineries

At less than an hour’s drive from Melbourne, the Yarra Valley’s proximity to the city is a definite calling card.

But this bucolic region, all mist-shrouded, undulating and verdant, promises plenty more than just convenience: it’s home to a raft of award-winning wineries that range from rustic and family-run to chic and internationally known.

While pinot noir and chardonnay are the valley’s key varietals, producers are harvesting more beyond, from shiraz and cab sav to méthode traditionnelle sparkling and riesling.

vineyard at Yering Station — The region is famed for producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. (Image: Yering Station)

Domaine Chandon

Sparkling wine lovers should make a beeline for this Yarra Valley winery brought to you by the bigwigs from LVMH.

Going strong since 1986, the Australian outpost of famous French champagne house Moët & Chandon, is impeccably styled.

Following a facelift in 2017, Domaine Chandon features a palette of dusky pinks and muted sage alongside spotted gum timber flooring, a dark marble tasting bench, and a kinetic sculpture suspended above aged leather banquette seating. Stop by for a tasting or linger over a long lunch in the French-inspired house restaurant.

Garden Spritz, Domaine Chandon — Taste the exceptional citrusy goodness of handcrafted chardonnay. (Image: Domaine Chandon)

Helen & Joey Estate

When all you want is a down-to-earth cellar door experience without any pomp and ceremony or bells and whistles, Helen & Joey Estate should be the destination you thumb into Google Maps.

Helen and Joeys estate — Helen & Joeys Estate boasts picturesque grounds.(Image: Hugh Davidson)

The wine is the protagonist at this relaxed, family-owned winery, but the sunsets also play a starring role. Pull up a pew on the sizable, string-light festooned deck and admire the sea of vines that cascades down the hill as you sip on a glass of fruit-forward estate cab sav.

Jayden Ong Winery & Cellar Bar

A bit of a Yarra Valley wildcard, this Healesville newcomer is shaking up the well-established scene with a mould-breaking cellar door in an industrial estate, offering punters willing to forego valley views a number of interesting and organic, lo-fi wines instead.

Open since January 2021, Jayden Ong is a triple threat of good wine, good food, and good vibes.

Outside of its roller doors sit picnic tables with frilly parasols, perfect for sundowners, while inside the cavernous warehouse space you’ll find a moody interior, all dim lighting and dark walls juxtaposed with colourful floral arrangements.

signature wine, Jayden Ong — Try Jayden Ong’s signature wine. (Image: Jayden Ong)

Seville Estate

Named ‘Winery of the Year’ at the 2019 Halliday Wine Companion Awards (James Halliday himself called the 2015, ’16 and ’17 vintages an “absolutely dazzling array of great wines"), true wine enthusiasts should earmark this hilltop locale for future visits.

A lo-fi philosophy guides the winery’s four ranges, allowing for the purest expressions of the winery’s fruit, with all the wines fermented using indigenous yeasts.

The winery’s cellar door is only open on weekends between 11am and 4pm, or otherwise by appointment.

Chardonnay, Seville Estate — A glass of Chardonnay will lighten up your mood. (Image: Seville Estate)

Hubert Estate

Once an unassuming tin shed of a cellar door that was little-known outside of Australia’s wine cognoscenti and the occasional tour bus group, Hubert Estate is now a local landmark winery thanks to a $13 million redevelopment.

Two modernist buildings occupy the site: one housing restaurant Quarters, which spotlights food cooked over charcoal and in a woodfired oven, the other built for events. But the estate’s piece de resistance is a sweeping two-storey building that merges with the landscape: a long sliver of concrete tucked into the terrain and shrouded by a grass roof that houses a semi-subterranean Indigenous art gallery and a cellar door/wine shop.

Watch this space, as an 80-room hotel with a spa and upscale restaurant is proposed to open onsite in the near-future too…

meal at Hubert Estate — A mouthwatering meal to satisfy your palate. (Image: Hubert Estate)

Panton Hill Winery

Those who relish off-the-beaten-track discoveries will fall for this little pearler. Just on the cusp of greater Melbourne, hidden away down a leafy gravel track, you’ll find Panton Hill Winery .

Comprised of a cluster of buildings that look as if they could have been plucked straight from the shores of Southern Europe and planted in hilly regional Vic – think rustic-looking sandstone buildings with gargoyles and heavy, weather-beaten timber doors – the venue is quite unlike any other you’ll find in the region.

Not just a pretty face, this Yarra Valley winery took home the medal for ‘Best Small Cellar Door’ in Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine’s 2022 awards.

wine sample, Panton Hill — Sample wine from Panton Hill. (Image: Panton Hill)

Coombe Yarra Valley

Reputation precedes this Yarra Valley winery, which is steeped in heritage.

Formerly a 60-acre dairy farm, the feted late opera singer Dame Nellie Melba once called this estate home. Today, Coombe Cottage is still the private residence of Melba’s family and can be viewed on a tour, as can the estate’s sprawling manicured gardens.

But the jewel in the crown of the estate is, naturally, the wine. Rock up to the cellar door and try the estate-grown single vineyard wines (or a nip of Melba Gin), or graze away the afternoon on Coombe Yarra Valley’s garden terrace while dabbling in a wine flight and a charcuterie and cheese platter.

wines at Coombe — Coombe features world-class wines with exceptional taste. (Image: Coombe)

Yarra Valley wineries with restaurants

Given its Italian heritage, the Yarra Valley has long had an affinity towards pasta and pizza, with solid options for both still in strong supply (hello Zonzo and De Bortoli ).

Following the continental theme, many of the region’s wineries dabble in platters, should you be in the mood for picky bits shared among friends.

Italian aside, you’ll find plenty of Yarra Valley winery restaurants heroing Modern Australian cuisine – many featuring show-stopping vistas over this hilly green pocket blessed with bountiful good looks. Note that most of the Yarra Valley’s wineries are only for lunch.

Levantine Hill

On the flashier end of the scale, it would be remiss not to highlight this well-established winery, where guests often drop in by helicopter for lunch. While Levantine Hill’s stark design is striking, there’s ample substance to match the style.

Those dining at the winery restaurant will savour refined, Levant-leaning dishes, dreamed up to harmonise seamlessly with the estate’s top-tier wines. Think barramundi paired with olive jam and a glass of aromatic Mélange Traditionnel white, or a venison carpaccio with lemon myrtle mayonnaise accompanied by a fruit-forward sparkling rosé.

A tip: dine between Monday and Thursday for a quieter experience and a chance to sample the restaurant’s wares at a cheaper price point (there’s a surcharge and more expensive set menu on weekends).

Yering Station

Victoria’s first vineyard, established in 1838, Yering Station is the Yarra Valley’s grand dame.

Awarded a 5 red star rating by the illustrious Halliday Wine Companion, Yering Station is a popular spot for day trippers and wine enthusiasts alike. Beyond the cellar door, the restaurant and its Modern Australian set menu lunch beckon.

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Yering Station — Yering Station offers top drops. (Image: Yering Station)

Sample dishes such as semolina gnocchi with mushroom, cabbage and pecorino, or eye fillet with horseradish, beetroot and pumpkin while looking through double-height floor-to-ceiling windows onto the green landscape that spills out in front of you for miles. Walk off the rich pickings with a stroll around the winery’s gardens.

garden in front of Yering Station — Stroll along Yering Station’s well-manicured gardens. (Image: Yering Station)

Yarra Valley winery accommodation

While the region is swimming in great wineries and winery restaurants, big-name hotels of the same high standard are much less prolific in these parts. Instead, much of the mid-range accommodation in the Yarra Valley is still under the dominion of the holiday rental market.

The following hotels, however, are located in the thick of the action and deliver amenities aplenty as well as beautiful views, some overlooking the vines.

Reém Hotel

This hotly anticipated Gruyere newcomer is just the breath of fresh air the Yarra Valley was crying out for. A boutique hotel, open since early 2024, Re’em sits on the 200-acre Helen and Joey Estate. Each of its 16 rooms overlook the gentle slopes of the surrounding countryside, and the winery’s ornamental lake, with some offering a private patio and others a balcony.

Re'em Hotel Yarra Valley — Each of the 16 room overlooks the vineyard.

All of Re’em’s suites promise lashings of natural light and a mellow palette of neutrals, as well as a freestanding bathtub, and a king-sized bed.

Re'em Restaurant Yarra Valley — Book a table at the onsite restaurant for Chinese meets modern Australian fare.

The Farmhouse at Meletos

The Farmhouse at Meletos promises 23 individually designed rooms that feature a carefully curated collection of worldly textiles and vintage furniture.

With its grand fireplaces and panelled window shutters, there’s an inviting warmth and a rustic yet elegant simplicity to this boutique, adults-only hotel, that harks back to provincial France or rural Tuscany. Best of all, vast vineyard views are on offer here too.

outdoor dining, The Farmhouse at Meletos — Dine beside a picturesque landscape. (Image: The Farmhouse at Meletos)

Yarra Valley Lodge

You’ll find almost everything under one roof at Yarra Valley Lodge , on the southern edge of the region.

The 120-hectare estate is home to two 18-hole championship golf courses (including one originally designed by Jack Nicklaus), as well as a restaurant, a bar, walking trails, and a day spa with an indoor swimming pool, gym, sauna and a tennis court.

Bella Restaurant Yarra Valley Lodge — Onsite Bella Restaurant showcases the freshest local, farm-to-table ingredients.

Regardless of whether you opt for a standard room or a suite, each and every guest room at this four-star hotel opens directly out onto a garden terrace or private balcony – perfect for drinking in that fresh country air.

Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley

One of the few Yarra Valley accommodations within the grounds of a winery, Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley is a resort-style hotel with a solid collection of amenities to its name.

You’ll find a schmick new endota spa, open since August 2022, a smart-casual Mod Oz restaurant that welcomed its first guests at the end of 2021, plus a heated indoor swimming pool, a steam room and gym, complimentary wine tasting at the cellar door for all guests, and nearly seven acres of vineyards to gaze out over.

The Deluxe Spa Suites are the pick of the bunch here room-wise, featuring valley views, a private balcony, and a sophisticated neutral palette with navy flourishes. Wheelchair-accessible rooms are also available.

The vineyards at Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley — Balgownie Estate has nearly seven acres of vineyards to gaze out over. (Image: Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley)

Top winery tours in the Yarra Valley

Given that the focus of most visits to The Valley is to sample the fruits of local winemakers’ labour, it’s little surprise that touring is one of the most enjoyable ways to explore.

You’ll have your own designated driver who just so happens to know the Yarra Valley inside out, meaning minimal planning and maximum fun.

The Yarra Valley Touring Company

If you’re looking for a Yarra Valley winery tour that dials up the luxury factor a little, then try The Yarra Valley Touring Company’s Decadent AF Tour (their description, not ours).

Aside from visiting three of the region’s standout wineries, guests are treated to something of a progressive lunch that includes a farmhouse cheese tasting at the Yarra Valley Dairy, a glass of bubbly and half a dozen oysters between two at Domaine Chandon, and a three-course meal plus wine tasting at Dominique Portet winery.

To polish it all off, you’ll end up at regional icon Four Pillars for a gin flight. Bliss.

lush greenery at Yarra Valley — Yarra Valley boasts some of Australia’s most iconic wineries. (Image: The Yarra Valley Touring Company)

Australian Wine Tour Company

If the cost of a winery tour in the Yarra Valley has previously put you off, then sign up for the Australian Wine Tour Company ’s satisfyingly economical jaunt that rings in for $175.

The trip takes in a cross-section of four different wineries and includes an a la carte lunch at Balgownie Estate with a glass of wine to boot.

At most, you’ll be rubbing shoulders with 23 other daytrippers, though typically tour numbers average between 12 and 20.

lush winery landscape, Australian Wine Tour Company — Stroll along Yarra Valley’s lush wineries. (Image: Australian Wine Tour Company)

Discover the top things to do in the Yarra Valley.

Wind through fern tunnels, stop for a wine in a tram bar, or chase giant murals across the wheatbelt. These drives and rides prove Victoria’s best stories are found off the straight and narrow.

There’s something unmistakably Australian about a road trip: car packed, playlist on, landscapes shifting. Travelling down the highway toward Healesville, in Victoria’s Yarra Valley , the mountains rise, flanking me on both sides. I feel its embrace, a silent invitation to explore what lies beyond.

Moss-covered embankments rise on either side, and towering mountain ash trees form a green tunnel overhead. Road signs warn of wombats and cyclists but with giant ferns lining the roadside, the landscape feels prehistoric, as if a dinosaur might suddenly emerge. This, the Black Spur , is one of my favourite road trips.

The Black Spur

Location: Yarra Ranges
Duration: 30 kilometres / 30 minutes

The Black Spur is short compared to other Victorian road trips, just 30 kilometres, stretching from Healesville to Narbethong. But what it lacks in distance, it makes up for in scenery. Just outside Healesville, Maroondah Dam offers bushwalks and scenic views. However, if pressed for time, Selover’s Lookout is an easy roadside stop offering uninterrupted views of the dam.

In Narbethong, close to the Marysville’s snowfield, is the Black Spur Inn , a charming double-storey brick hotel that’s been welcoming travellers since 1863. Here, diners cosy up by the roaring fire or gaze through the floor-to-ceiling windows, imagining horse-drawn coaches carrying hopeful gold seekers to the eastern goldfields.

Victoria’s Silo Art Trail

Location: Various towns across the Wimmera Mallee region
Duration: More than 200 kilometres / 4–5 hours but best over a minimum of three days

What began as a way to draw travellers back into town bypassed by highways – places such as Nullawil, Sea Lake and Patchewollock – has grown into a celebrated outdoor art movement. The Silo Art Trail now includes 23 silos, each transformed with large-scale mural portraits sharing local stories, celebrating community heroes, Indigenous history, farming life, or regional identity.

The Nullawil silo, for example, is a portrait of a local farmer in a chequered flannelette shirt alongside his loyal kelpie, painted by artist Sam Bates (AKA Smug). And the silos at Albacutya in the Grampians, painted by artist Kitt Bennett, depict her joyful memories of growing up in the countryside. Many of the murals sit right in the heart of small towns, such as Rochester and St Arnaud , making them perfect spots to pause for a country pub meal or something sweet from a local bakery.

Metung to Mallacoota

Location: Gippsland
Duration: Approximately 220 kilometres / 4 hours

The Gippsland Lakes are a much-loved holiday spot in Victoria, but road-tripping further east reveals much more. Begin in Metung and time your visit with the monthly farmers’ market, or simply linger over lunch on the lawn of the Metung Hotel. Twenty minutes away is Lakes Entrance , where you can watch the fishing boats return with their catch.

Lakes Entrance. (Image: Visit Victoria/Iluminaire Pictures)

Continue to Marlo, where the Snowy River spills into the sea, and Cape Conran for its many beaches and walks. If needing to stretch your legs, Croajingolong National Park is home to the historic Point Hicks Lighthouse and the Wilderness Coast Walk. Birdwatching and rainforest trails near Bemm River are worth a pit stop before arriving in Mallacoota, where the forest meets the sea.

Great Ocean Road

Location: South-west Victoria, from Torquay to Allansford
Duration: Approximately 250 kilometres / 4–5 hours but best over a minimum of three days

Victoria’s most famous road trip delivers it all: world-class surf breaks, rainforest walks, clifftop lookouts and wildlife encounters. The journey begins in Torquay, the state’s surf capital, then hugs the coast past Anglesea and Lorne to Apollo Bay, before curving inland through the lush rainforest of the Otways. Stop at Cape Otway Lightstation or take to the treetops at Otway Fly.

Between Cape Otway and Port Campbell lies the most photographed stretch – seven of the Twelve Apostles still standing, alongside the golden cliffs of Loch Ard Gorge. Further west, Warrnambool is a winter whale-watching hotspot, before the road winds to Port Fairy, a charming fishing village of whalers’ cottages, walking trails and offshore seal colonies further along the coast.

Bellarine Taste Trail

Terindah Estate. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

Location: Bellarine Peninsula
Duration: Approximately 80 kilometres / 2–3 hours

The Bellarine Taste Trail is a feast for the senses, winding through coastal towns, past boutique wineries and artisan producers. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style trail – simply grab a map and build your own delicious journey.

You might wander historic, seafront Queenscliff, sip wine in a converted tram bar at Terindah Estate , sample a locally distilled whisky at The Whiskery in Drydale or pick up a jar of honey at Wattle Grove in Wallington. Seafood lovers can head to Portarlington, famous for its mussels. Eat them fresh at local restaurants or head out on the water with Portarlington Mussel Tours.

O’Keefe Rail Trail – Bendigo to Heathcote

Pink Cliffs Reserve in Heathcote can be seen on the O’Keefe Rail Trail. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

Location: Central Victoria
Duration: Approximately 50 kilometres / 4 hours cycling

Travellers first journeyed between Heathcote and Bendigo in 1888, when the railway line was built to link the towns. Trains stopped running in 1956, but today the route has a new life as the O’Keefe Rail Trail . The path is mostly level for easy riding, and along the way you’ll cycle past bushland, waterways and reserves. There are plenty of places to picnic, birdwatch, and if you’re lucky, spot a platypus.

The trail is well supported with water stations, bike repair points, shelters, and signage. Axedale makes a great halfway stop, with the pretty Campaspe River Reserve for a rest and local cafes for refuelling. Begin in Heathcote, known for its wineries and cafes, or in Bendigo, which is easily reached by train from Melbourne/Naarm. Shorter sections, such as Heathcote to Axedale, are also popular.

Goldfields Track – Ballarat to Bendigo

Location: Central Victoria
Duration: Approximately 210 kilometres / 2–3 days cycling

The Goldfields Track traces a route once so rich in gold it made Melbourne one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Starting at Mt Buninyong, south of Ballarat, the trail leads mountain cyclists and walkers north through Creswick, Daylesford and Castlemaine before finishing in Bendigo. Along the way, you’ll encounter granite outcrops, eucalypt forests, rolling farmland and remnants of the region’s mining past.

As it passes through the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung and Wadawurrung people, the track shares gold rush history and Indigenous stories brought to life by interpretive signs. Walk or ride the full trail or choose from one of its three distinct sections. With cosy stays, cafes and pubs, it’s easy to mix wilderness with comfort.

The essential guide to Yarra Valley wineries