Itinerary - Top Mornington tastings
Lou Johnson
Will and Lucy, famous wine dogs, at Barmah Park vineyard, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria [©Craig McGill 2007, Wine Dogs Australia]
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If you only have a single day to sample the fruits of the Mornington Peninsula, then this itinerary will give you a day out to remember.
Check below for special offers available only to VisitVineyards.com Members - these will make your visits to partner wineries and restaurants all the more amazing. Find out more about VisitVineyards.com Membership here.
Stop 1 - wine tasting
Look out for the red tractor as you come down the Moorooduc Highway at the very start of the Mornington Peninsula. The landmark is Barmah Park, a small family-run vineyard and cellar door that has been making late harvest Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, White Pinot, Pinot Noir, Cherry Dessert Wine and Cabernet made from grapes grown on the property since 2003.
Not one, but two famous wine dogs welcome visitors to Barmah Park (and if you're a VisitVineyards.com Member, they will accompany you on a vineyard walk with a complimentary glass of wine) and the cafe is open for breakfast, making it a perfect start to a day out touring and tasting ... read more.
Open: Monday - Friday 10am- 5pm, and Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 9am - 5pm
945 Moorooduc Highway
Moorooduc
Tel 03 5978 8049
VisitVineyards.com links:
Stop 2 - wine tasting
Open by appointment only, it's well worth making a call and coming in to see Michael Aylward. A young and passionate winemaker, he runs his cellar door by appointment so he can personally give people a tour of the magestic stable buildings that have been transformed into a winery.
Grapes are grown on a number of sites around the peninsula to make the small volumes of high quality Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir each year ... read more.
Open by appointment
271 Tucks Road
Shoreham
Tel 03 5989 6471
VisitVineyards.com links:
- Ocean Eight
- View Ocean Eight's Member offer here
- Read about winemaker Mike Aylward's passion for pinot noir
Stop 3 - wine tasting and lunch
Salix and Willow Creek
Pop into the cellar door at Willow Creek for a quick tasting and a tapas style lunch at the Salix Cafe, or, if you have the time, head into the Salix dining room and sink into one of the glorious chairs for a long lunch looking over the vines.
Salix won the award for best restaurant in a winery at the 2008 Victorian Restaurant and Catering Awards. Chef Bernard McCarthy says the beauty of working in the region is the absolute access to prime quality produce and the relaxing pace they are able to offer diners. Open seven days for lunch and for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, you won't be rushed at Salix. Great for lunch, or swap the itinerary around and end your day here ... read more.
166 Balnarring Road
Merricks
Tel 03 5989 7448
VisitVineyards.com links:
- Salix Restaurant
- View Salix Restaurant's Member offer here
- Willow Creek
- View Willow Creek's Member offer here
Stop 4 - wine tasting
Pull up a stool and get comfortable because ex-chemist turned winemaker George Mihaly is a great storyteller and a passionate wine lover. Open the first weekend of the month and public holidays (including a long weekend leading up to the Melbourne Cup), George will entice you into a tasting experience of a flight of his wines matched with fine food created by his chef wife and vineyard manager, Ruth.
The vineyard is working towards a zero carbon footprint and the solar array as you drive in gets its own set of tourists. Make sure you ask George about his quest to make his patch a better place, the health benefits of wine, and the butterflies you get when you taste something truely remarkable ... read more.
You must try:
- The magical 2008 Pinot Gris, while you still can.
Open: 12 noon - 5pm, the first weekend of the month
26 Merricks Road, Merricks
Tel: 03 5989 9000
VisitVineyards.com links:
Stop 5 - wine tasting
From one of the youngest at Ocean Eight, to the oldest commercial vineyard on the Peninsula. Nat White is the grand-daddy of Peninsula winemaking and the story of how he and his wife Rosalie became interested in wine and started their three hectare vineyard is full of romance and a delightful way to end a day of tastings.
The property was originally planted out in lemons, and local orchardists laughed when Nat and Rosalie carted their shovels through their orchards to plant vines. Nat's laughing now, with his 2006 Half Acre Pinot Noir groaning under the weight of its awards ... read more.
You must try:
- The 2006 Half Acre Pinot Noir is something very special indeed.
Open daily for tasting and sales 12pm - 4pm midweek and 12pm - 5pm weekends.
80 William Road
Main Ridge
Tel 03 5989 2686
VisitVineyards.com links:
Stop 6 - chocolate
Mornington Peninsula Chocolates
You have to stop at the chocolate atelier - it is sacrilege to drive past and not pop in for some chocolate sampling. Mornington Peninsula Chocolates came home from the Royal Melbourne Show this year with the champion award for chocolate, the winning number was their Strawberries and Cream creation, which is just amazing.
For $2 will can have a chocolate tasting experience (free for VisitVineyards.com Members), just enough to need more. Thankfully, $20 sends you home with a delicious mixed selection. For bakers and hard core dark chocolate lovers, the origins range of cocoa from around the world is a must. I'm going back for the honey ganache and more of their new mango and passionfruit creation very soon ...read more.
Open Thursday - Sunday, 12 noon - 5pm
3494 Frankston-Flinders Road
Merricks
Tel 03 5989 8490
VisitVineyards.com links:
Regions
- Melbourne Surrounds (VIC)
- Mornington Peninsula (VIC)
Receive a complimentary bottle of Tulum Cabernet Sauvignon and a 10% discount when VisitVineyards.com members purchase any case of Tulum wine.
Exclusive to VisitVineyards.com members, the winemaker at Ocean Eight invites you to join him in a select small group tasting.
Season dinners with a tempting array of local and seasonal produce at the award winning Salix restaurant.
One of the first wineries on the Mornington Peninsula, discover Main Ridge Estate with an exclusive tour.
Willow Creek offers VisitVineyards.com members the exclusive opportunity to join a new release barrel tasting morning with Winemaker Geraldine McFaul on the morning of February 22nd 2009.
Book into an exclusive tutored tasting with matched tasting plate.
Take famous wine dogs, Will and Lucy, for a walk, whilst sipping on a complimentary glass of Barmah Park wine.
On VisitMorningtonVineyards.com, you can check out over 100 fabulous new experiences in Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.
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