Victoria wineries and breweries

I am not much of a drinker and do not normally drink much wine. However, during my stay in Melbourne with my friend, she took me to some wineries in Bellarine area west of Melbourne. It was a great day out and I have to admit that the wines that I tasted were absolutely gorgeous. Apparently Bellarine is not a particularly well known wine region and has only started making its name in the recent years but they have clearly been able to produce some excellent beverages already.

As it was a day out with my friend’s husband’s family, we met up with the group in Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong. There is a location in Geelong as well as in Freemantle in Western Australia. We did not attend the brewery tour but each had a glass of beer from the Little Creatures Canteen. Mine was a white ale from White Rabbit selection. The location was an old industrial warehouse environment and therefore really popular following the current trends.

We moved on with our itinerary and after a lovely picnic on the riverfront, managed to make it to two wineries before closing time.

The first one was called Oakdene winery and caught some attention with some interesting design elements. Who wouldn’t want to drink wine in a sideways upside down house, ha?! The wine was lovely – I only tasted some whites because I am not a great fan of red wine – but it was close to closing time so the poor bloke who was left alone to do the tastings had to run between different tables of people, trying to accommodate everyone. He also kept reminding people that the place was closing soon which was not the most welcoming behaviour but there was still a lot of people tasting wine and making purchases so they probably have to start packing up at some point.

From Oakdene we moved on to visit Jack Rabbit winery but as we got there realised that there was a wedding going on so the whole place was closed for a private function. No wine there then! I can see why the couple had decided to have their wedding in that particular location because it offered some absolutely smashing views over the bay and you could see Melbourne city in the distance. My friend told me later that vineyard weddings are popular in this part of Australia because similarly to Canada, venues do not require a wedding licence in this country.

Because at that point it was already close to five o’clock, we decided to drive around and see if there were any wineries still open. We found a place called Bennett’s that was an open air old barnyard that had been converted into an amazing venue offering nice views on the grape fields. The guy who was serving us was really knowledgeable (he must have been the owner). We got to taste some beautiful white and red wines from different varieties and my friend’s extended family (the wine people!) were very impressed and bought several bottles. I actually started to identify the differences between the different wines but mostly just enjoyed the friendly environment.

On our way back to Melbourne, it was suggested that we pop into a couple of breweries on the outskirts of the city. We visited Two Birds brewery and also tried to go into Hop Nation brewery but both venues were extremely busy (it was Saturday night). Due to me and my friend being vegetarians, it was difficult to have dinner in these places because all the snacks that were offered included meat. We decided to say our goodbyes and leave as it had been a long day. To finish off the night, we stopped to have a veggie burger from Mr Burger food truck and it was delicious.

I have to say that although wine tasting can be fun, I do not think I will be turning into a massive wine lover in Australia. This morning having my morning coffee, I could not think of a better beverage than a creamy homemade latte.