Image courtesy Tourism Australia.

This vast wine region is one of Australia’s prettiest. Rural and diverse, vineyards and fruit orchards grow alongside produce farms and ranches raising sheep and cattle. This cool-climate wine region is close to the ocean and benefits from sea breezes that drift up the river valley and across the landscape.

The Yarra Valley’s close proximity to Melbourne in the southeastern state of Victoria helps to fuel its tourism, making it one of the most popular and well-known wine regions in Victoria. Just a 30-minute drive from the city, visitors can easily make a day trip to the Yarra, taking in three to four wineries and a lunch stop.

The Valley was Victoria’s first planted wine region. Today, it is home to 150 wineries, and over 90 cellar doors are open for tasting.

Wines of Yarra Valley

The Yarra Valley has earned a reputation as Australia’s cool-climate darling, producing bright Chardonnays and elegant Pinot Noirs. The valley also produces distinctive yet understated Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Innovative winemakers also produce other varieties such as Tempranillo, Grenache Blanc, and Chenin Blanc. Wine lovers can even find elegant sparkling wines and robust GSMs.

The Yarra Valley has two main soil types: grey sedimentary soils in northern Lower Yarra and red volcanic soils in southern Upper Yarra. The grey sedimentary soils are lower in nutrients, which forces the vines to work harder yet produce higher-quality grapes. However, both soil types are slightly acidic and drain well, creating an overall positive growing environment. Rainfall across most sites and years is generally sufficient to support the vines without requiring irrigation.

History of Yarra Valley

What is known today as the Yarra Valley is the traditional land of Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people. The earliest plantings in Yarra Valley date back to 1838 on a site named Yering, the Wurundjeri word for the area. When Scottish-born Ryrie brothers moved to the area to set up a cattle farm, they also established a vineyard with Pinot Noir and Chasselas Blanc grapes. They sold their site in the 1850s to a Swiss immigrant named Paul de Castella who increased the vineyard substantially. After changing hands several times, it was purchased in 1996 by the Rathbone family who established the now iconic Yering Station.

The Yarra Valley’s population and infrastructure expanded significantly in the 1860s and 1870s, along with wine production. During that time, Paul de Castella and another Swiss immigrant, Frederic Guillame de Pury, exported their wines to European markets, where they won awards and brought recognition to the Yarra Valley. The valley survived Australia’s economic depression and phylloxera, which destroyed vineyards in other parts of the country. But when Australians’ preference changed to sweet, fortified wines, traditional wine production ceased in the valley in 1921.

Then in 1963, the valley’s grape-growing renaissance began when Reg and Bertina Egan planted their first vines on the Wantirna Estate. The late 1960s and early 1970s brought expansion to the wine industry in the region. In the beginning, early grape growers planted Cabernet Sauvignon. But as the Yarra Valley was more suited to cool-climate wines, grape growers pivoted toward Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The early 2000s attracted notable winemakers Steve Webber of De Bortoli, Steve Flamsteed of Giant Steps, and David Bicknell of Oakridge to the area. Their goal was to let the diverse terroir of Yarra Valley reflect in the wines by matching grape varieties to site. While Chardonnay and Pinot Noir did well in the valley’s cool climate, these innovative winemakers also produced leaner versions of Cabernet, Shiraz, and Merlot, as well as Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, and Marsanne.

Today the Yarra Valley supports 150 wineries, and over 90 cellar doors.

Travel Logistics

Melbourne has two major airports, Melbourne and Avalon, but the closest one to Yarra Valley is the Melbourne (MEL) Airport. Be sure to look for the airport code MEL when booking. For those arriving internationally, connecting through Melbourne Airport is necessary. Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Rex (a smaller, regional airline) fly into Melbourne Airport.

These airlines provide top-notch service, a range of flight options, and comfortable seating arrangements. You can get updates on flight deals as they arise with Kayak.

You can also take a train from Sydney’s Central Station to Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station on the NSW TrainLink.

For public transportation, Public Transport Victoria has regular trains that travel to Lilydale Station. From there, catch a McKenzies bus to either Yarra Glen or Healesville.

Alternatively, booking a tour or renting a car offers the ideal mode of transportation.

Wine Tours in Yarra Valley and Unique Tasting Experiences

From Melbourne

Australian Wine Tour Company

Australian Wine Tour Company picks up from various locations in the Melbourne CBD starting at 9:15 for a full-day tour. The tour includes stops at Greenstone Vineyards, Yering Farm Wines, Soumah, and Balgownie Estate, plus lunch.

Chillout Travel Tours

This full-day tour departs from 54 Russell Street in Melbourne’s CBD at 9:30 am. It includes wine tasting at the legendary Domaine Chandon, De Bortoli, and Yering Farm, plus a two-course lunch and a glass of wine at Soumah.

Dancing Kangaroo Tours

Dancing Kangaroo offers pickup at the Arts Centre Melbourne at 8:45 am. It includes a full-day tour with tastings at three hand-picked wineries, a two-course lunch with wine at a scenic winery, a visit to a local brewery, and ends with a visit to the Chocolate and Ice Cream Factory.

Vinetrekker Wine Tours

This full-day tour offers pickup from several hotels in Melbourne’s CBD starting at 8:30 am. It combines Australian wildlife with Yarra Valley wine. It begins with a stop at Healesville Sanctuary to see kangaroos, koalas, and emus. It also includes lunch and wine tasting at Yering Station and wine and cheese tasting at De Bortoli Winery.

Hop It

This hop-on-hop-off bus service departs from Melbourne starting at 10:10 am. It allows visitors to craft their own itinerary including stops at wineries, museums, galleries, and distilleries. Guests pay for their own wine tasting fees and lunch. The bus circles the route every hour.

Wineries to Visit in Yarra Valley

Chandon Australia

727 Maroondah Highway, Coldstream

+61 3 9738 9200

What Guests Like About It: Breathtaking views of the Yarra Ranges, Chef’s Table set menu at its onsite restaurant

The sparkling wines at Chandon Australia are complex, expressive, and reflect their terroir. This place sparkles in the French style of Methode Traditionelle. Established in 1986, this winery offers a tasting bar, restaurant, lounge bar, retail boutique, and the country’s largest range of sparkling wines. Architecturally, a formal, classic-designed building houses the modern-looking tasting room décor inside.

Cellar door and restaurant open daily from 11:00 am – 4:30 pm. Guided tasting is $22 AUD per person, Immersive winemaking experience is $85 per person, Premium Private Tasting is $90 per person. Reservations recommended.

Cold Stream Hills Winery

29 Maddens Lane, Coldstream

+61 3 5960 7000

What Guests Like About It: Intimate tasting room with inside seating, dog friendly

Founded in 1985 by renowned Australian wine writer James Halliday and his wife Suzanne, Cold Stream Hills has shaped winemaking in Yarra Valley for 40 years by maintaining consistent quality in its cool-climate wines. With prime views of the Yarra Valley, the cellar door offers tastings of single-vineyard and reserve Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. The winery also produces Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and sparkling wine.

Open Thursday and Monday, from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sunday and Saturday from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The tasting fee is $15 AUD per person and includes six to eight single-vineyard and reserve wines. Walk-ins are welcome. For groups of seven or more, bookings are required.

De Bortoli

58 Pinnacle Lane, Dixons Creek

+61 3 5965 2271

What Guests Like About It: An opportunity to taste the “Noble One,” wine and cheese tasting experience

De Bortoli, as the name implies, reflects the family-owned winery’s Italian heritage and, by reputation, the quality of its estate-grown wines. With over 90 years of winemaking experience and striving for a sustainable future, this winery knows that great wine begins in the vineyard. Durif, Tempranillo, and Shiraz tastings are offered daily at the cellar door. The winery also produces white wines like Chardonnay and the award-winning “Noble One,” a sweet botrytis semillon.

Delicious lunches and dinners are available at De Bartoli’s “Locale” restaurant. Cellar door and restaurant are open daily from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Classic guided tasting is free with the option to add a cheese or charcuterie board. Bubbly Experience, Luxury Picnic, and Wine Blending Adventure start at $55 AUD per person. Reservations are encouraged.

Giant Steps

314 Maroondah Highway, Healesville

+61 3 5962 6111

What Guests Like About It: Single vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs

First planted in 1997, Giant Steps makes four single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Its new tasting room with a contemporary design provides an inviting space to taste wine.

Recently awarded the Halliday Winery of the Year for 2025, the winery offers four (4) different tasting options, ranging from $15 AUD to $55 per person. Acquired in 2020 by US-based Jackson Family Wines, Giant Steps also makes wine under the Innocent Bystander label.

Open daily from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm. Reservations are recommended but walk-ins are welcome.

Innocent Bystander

316-334 Maroondah Highway, Healesville

+61 3 5999 9222

What Guests Like About It: Casual, relaxed wine tasting with food items designed to match or pair wines and food

Innocent Bystander is loaded. It is an urban cellar door with a vineyard, restaurant, café, and a bar all wrapped into one location. Wood-fired artisan pizzas are featured but the restaurant offers a comprehensive menu of snacks, bites, small and large entrees.

The winery makes a wide range of white, Rosé, red and sparkling wines under five different labels, ranging from Pinot Gris to Cabernet Sauvignon

Open Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, 11:00 am to late Thursday through Monday. Standing tastings start at $5.00 AUD per person; guided tastings are seated in the wine lounge and cost $10.00 per person. Bookings are recommended.

Oak Ridge

864 Maroondah Highway, Coldstream

+61 3 9738 9900

What Guests Like About It: Single vineyard wines, vineyard and mountain views

Oak Ridge has one of the most stunning vistas in the whole valley and offers wine tasting from a large, modern tasting room and restaurant. The wines range from whites to reds and sweet to dry, appealing to various palates. Its 2023 Vineyard Series Hazeldene Pinot Noir was awarded the James Halliday Wine of Show 2024. The winery’s award-winning restaurant also makes an excellent stop for lunch in the valley.

Open daily from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Classic Tasting is $15 per person, Top Rated Flight is $40 per person, 864 Single Block Flight is $50 per person. Bookings are essential for the latter two tastings, but walk-ins are welcome for the Classic Tasting.

Pimpernel Winery

6 Hill Road, Coldstream

+61 4 0813 4662

What Guests Like About It: Personalized attention from the winery owners and staff

Pimpernel Winery was founded by the husband-and-wife team, Mark and Fiona Horrigan.  The winery features site-specific wines from cool-climate varietals. The tasting room feels like a cozy living room, and one of the owners can often be found behind the tasting bar. For a more personal experience, this winery is the one you’ll likely talk directly with the winemaker and winery owners.

Open Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Groups of eight or more are typically seated upstairs in a separate tasting room for a guided wine tasting. Estate tastings of six wines cost $15 AUD per person. Premium tasting of six wines costs $30 per person.

Punt Road Wines

10 St. Hubert’s Road, Coldstream

+61 3 9739 0666

What Guests Like About It: Browsing the Picnic Pantry, dog-friendly, lawn games

Punt Road Wines is a historic estate dating back to the 1860s. Today, it is owned by the third and fourth generations of the Napoleone family. The winery produces cool-climate wines grown exclusively on its 60-hectare vineyard.

Guests can create their own tasting experience by browsing in the Picnic Pantry by filling a basket with local cheeses and charcuterie to enjoy in the Marquee Bar with wines by the glass. Other winetasting options include the Classic Wine Flight of five estate wines for $10 AUD per person. The Food and Wine Experience (two-person minimum) includes a curated tasting of five wines carefully matched to two flights of local and international cheese, charcuterie, and other tasty morsels for $55 per person. The winery also produces wines under the Airlie Bank label.

Open daily from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Reservations advised.

Soumah

18 Hexham Road, Gruyere

+61 3 5962 4716

What Guests Like About It: Overnight accommodations and on-site restaurant

Soumah of Yarra Valley has historically produced a compelling mix of classic French varieties and some from Northern Italy, such as Nebbiolo, Barbera, Brachetto, and Marzemino. The winery boasts lovely views and a top-notch restaurant. It also offers on-site accommodations ranging from two-person studios to a four-bedroom house if you want to spend the night “in a vineyard.”

The cellar door is open daily from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Lunch is offered from 11:00 – 4:00 pm. The winery features three tasting options: Classic wine tasting with bench seating for $15 AUD per person, Piccolo Tasting of five wines and small bites while seated in the Premium Wine Room for $35 per person, and a Premium Wine Experience with an in-depth, seated tasting of reserved and limited release wines for $48 per person. Bookings required for 10 or more people.

Tarra Warra Estate

311 Healesville – Yarra Glen Road, Healesville

+61 3 5957 3511

What Guests Like About It: The subterranean cellar door, onsite restaurant

The Tarra Warra Estate vineyards were first planted in 1983. To this day, the winery still makes impressive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A curved stone entrance reveals the way to the winery’s subterranean cellar door. The winery offers in-depth premium wine tasting and guides guests through vintage conditions, characteristics, altitudes, soils, and clones for each wine tasted.

The onsite restaurant features a seasonal menu prepared by Yarra Valley native Maxwell Parlas.

Open daily from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Two types of tastings are available: an Estate Tasting which includes five wines for $20 AUD per person and a Premium Tasting of six wines for $40 per person. Bookings are highly recommended.

Yering Farm Wines

19-21 St. Huberts Road, Yering

+61 3 9739 0461

What Guests Like About It: A peaceful, pastoral setting and friendly, down-to-earth staff

Established in 1989, this family-owned and operated business is a small, single-estate winery and orchard that consistently produces a distinct and highly respected collection of wines and cider. The rustic cellar door is housed in a classic farmhouse model of wooden coziness and comfort. At Yering Farm, visitors can enjoy a glass of wine in front of the fireplace, sit on the verandah, and take in the majestic, sweeping views of the vineyard and valley beyond. The emphasis at this small estate is on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

A luxurious, self-contained farmhouse known as “The George,” is available for rent and is within walking distance of the cellar door. Open Thursday through Sunday.

Yarra Yering

4 Briarty Road, Gruyere

+61 3 5964 9267

What Guests Like About It: History of the winery, age ability of its wines

Yarra Yering is one of the oldest and most beautiful vineyards in the Yarra Valley. It was established in 1969 by Dr Bailey Carrodus and helped to revitalize the Yarra Valley for commercial wine production after WWII. Yarra Yering has a quaint, farmhouse-style tasting room, housed in the former house of Dr. Carrodus.

The wines produced here have the ability to age for years and the Yering team is not afraid to showcase their cellared wines to guests! Yarra Yering is a can’t miss for Yarra Valley.

Open daily from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. The Portfolio Tasting of 8 wines is $50 AUD per person. The Icons Tasting Experience showcases three vintages of the iconic Dry Red Wine No. 1 and Dry Red Wine No. 2 and costs $250 per person (minimum two people). Bookings recommended.

Where to Eat

Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery

35 Old Healesville Road, Yarra Glen

+61 3 9730 2777

Visitors to Yarra Valley love to stop at this popular chocolate and ice cream shop at the end of their winetasting day. But Yarra Valley Chocolaterie also offers an all-day café menu with brunch, lunch, and stone baked pizza for those seeking a delicious meal. Open 9:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Fiori Trattoria at Soumah

18 Hexham Road, Gruyere

+61 3 5962 4716

Soumah’s on-site restaurant, Fiori Trattoria, features northern Italian-inspired cuisine including wood-fired pizza, hearty pasta entrees, and decadent desserts. The menu offers recommended wine pairings for each dish. Open daily from 11:30 am – 4:00 pm.

No. 7 Healesville

7 Lilydale Road, Healesville

+61 3 5962 1402

No. 7 Healesville features modern Australian cuisine. It offers an a la carte menu and a Feed Me Menu priced at $80 AUD per person. Dishes change seasonally. Open Thursday – Sunday from 12:00 pm – 9:30 pm.

Where to Stay in Yarra Valley

Chateau Yering Hotel

42 Melba Highway, Yering

+61 3 9237 333

Chateau Yering Hotel, a stunning heritage property from 1854, offers five-star accommodations on a 250-acre estate. From here, guests can explore villages, fruit farms, vineyards, and the region’s stunning scenery. The on-site café is open daily for breakfast and lunch, and its elegant fine-dining restaurant opens daily for dinner.

Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley

1309 Melba Highway, Yarra Glen

+61 3 9730 0700

Balgownie Estate offers 70 luxury suites overlooking the scenic Yarra Valley. Its onsite restaurant, 1309 at Balgownie, overlooks the adjacent vineyards of the Balgownie Estate Winery. Next door, guests can enjoy wine tasting at the cellar door. The estate also features a day spa for those seeking rest and rejuvenation in the Yarra Valley wine region.

Yering Gorge Cottages

215 Victoria Road, Yering

+61 3 9739 0110

This property features 13 self-contained one, two, and four-bedroom luxury apartments. The apartments overlook the Eastern Golf Club, where guests can watch grazing kangaroos.

What to Pack

When visiting the Yarra Valley Wine Region, it is important to pack appropriately for the weather conditions. Visitors should pack light, breathable clothing such as cotton or linen for daytime visits during the summer and a hat to protect themselves from the sun. Sunglasses, sunscreen, and comfortable walking shoes are also essential. Summertime temperatures can average between 75- and 80-degrees F during the day. February, January, then March are the months with the least amount of rain. The temperature drops in the Spring and Fall evenings, and visitors should pack a light sweater or jacket to keep themselves warm.

Visitors should pack layers of clothing, warm jackets, and scarves in winter to stay warm. Wintertime temperatures typically reach a high of no more than 58 degrees F during the day. Comfortable walking shoes are still essential.

The Yarra Valley Wine Region is a casual destination, and there is no need to dress formally. Visitors can wear casual, comfortable clothing, particularly when visiting the wineries and cellar doors.

Peruse the Winetraveler Shop for trendy casual vineyard-hopping apparel, ideal for exploring the vineyards and indulging in the region’s famous wines.

Other Attractions in Yarra Valley

Four Pillars Gin Distillery

A stop at the Four Pillars Gin Distillery in the heart of Healesville is a can’t miss. Locals often frequent their sprawling tasting room. Guests can enjoy a flight of four gins with or without a matched Fever Tree tonic on the side. As a bonus, an educated ambassador demonstrates the unique botanicals used to brew each gin.

The Healesville Sanctuary

Visit the Healesville Sanctuary to get up close to some of Australia’s wildlife. It houses emus, kangaroos, koalas, and various native birds and reptiles. Guests can explore nine different tracks to view Australian wildlife in native settings. Zoos Victoria runs the sanctuary, which is on a mission to fight wildlife extinction.

Puffing Billy Railway

Enjoy the fresh air of the Dandedong Ranges aboard this beloved, open-air train. This century-old steam train travels through the rainforest, farmland, and rolling hills. The train operates daily from Belgrave to Lakeside and Lakeside to Gembrook Friday through Sunday. Bookings are essential, and tickets can be purchased online.

Frequently Asked Questions About Yarra Valley Wineries