Why Victoria is Australia’s best under the radar wine region
There’s a lot to be said for the energising effects of a countryside escape – and here on Australia’s Mornington Peninsula, the potential for spirit-lifting is off the scale. From my hotel room’s veranda, I’m gazing across neat rows of fruit-heavy vines fringed by eucalypt and pinewoods, all ablaze in the evening’s golden glow. As if that wasn’t lovely enough, a couple of wallabies just bounced past and I can hear a kookaburra cackling in the distance.
It’s for magical moments like this that people are drawn to Mornington Peninsula, a particularly pretty region of rolling hills and sandy shores 90 minutes from Melbourne. Comparable with New York and the Hamptons, the area’s combination of natural beauty and easy access by car or train proves irresistible to well-heeled urbanites, who flock here for weekends and holidays.
But recent years have seen the peninsula develop a reputation for something other than posh weekend breaks. My vineyard view provides a clue, as does the chilled glass of chardonnay I’m drinking – because it’s the area’s world-class wines that are pushing it into the spotlight.
There may be higher-profile wine regions Down Under, but here in the state of Victoria there are more wineries than anywhere else in the country. Among them, Mornington Peninsula’s have garnered particular attention for their premium pinot noirs and chardonnays. As a result, it’s starting to outshine better-known, more established wine regions, making this the rising star of Australia’s viniculture scene.
As well as crafting great vintages, many wineries have opened fine-dining restaurants and “cellar door” tasting rooms, making local produce more accessible in the process. Jackalope, the hotel where I’m staying, is a perfect example. Opened in 2017, it’s credited with putting the peninsula on the map thanks to cutting-edge design in a countryside setting. Beyond 42 good-sized rooms decorated in ivory and charcoal grey, it’s home to Rare Hare, a cellar door serving small plates (miso eggplant, kangaroo tartare) with ingredients from nearby farms, all washed down with own-label Willow Creek wines.
Willow Creek is one of around 200 wineries on the peninsula, which range from commercial estates to independent vintners doing everything by hand. Among the most celebrated is Montalto, whose Ultimate Pinot Lovers Experience promises to shed light on why local wines are so special. It’s only a short hop from Jackalope, so I swing by for next morning’s tour.
Starting at the main winery, we meet Montalto’s head vintner, Simon, his hands stained purple with juice. It’s the last week in March – harvest time – and we step past pallets of just-picked grapes to where barrels of this year’s vintage are bubbling away as their contents ferment. “It’s been a Goldilocks year,” he says as he scoops out a sample. “Not too hot, not too cold: ideal conditions for wine.” The bumper crop has been in the barrel for less than a week, and, tasting it, he beams with delight. He can already tell it’s going to be a good year.
We sample various barrels spanning different years and production methods, giving us a clearer impression of how wine-making comes together. Simon explains how slight variations in climate, elevation and soil type all influence the grapes and thus the finished product’s flavour profile. The area’s diversity of microclimates – a mix of uplands and lowland plains, flanked by seawater and cooled by bay breezes – is key to the peninsula’s more elegant wines.
To see for ourselves, we’re led down sun-dappled country lanes to a block of vines swathed in netting to protect the fruit from plundering cockatoos. Here we sip a single-estate pinot whose grapes grew on these very vines, relishing its black cherry notes and generous tannin structure. Our next vineyard is on higher ground, where we savour the site’s lighter, more perfumed pinot. Despite being the exact same varietal, it’s quite distinct from the previous wine, underscoring how each terroir expresses itself differently in the glass.
The tour rounds off at Montalto’s restaurant with a six-course lunch (accompanied by matching wines, naturally). Again, it’s all about local ingredients, with garden-fresh salads picked that morning. The backdrop of vineyards, forest and fields seen through folded-back windows makes them taste all the better.
After lunch, on a stroll through the grounds, I’m feeling profoundly contented. Could it be that the leafy scenery has lifted my spirits, or am I just a bit sozzled? Either way, this countryside escape has certainly worked its magic.
Travel essentials
Getting there
Austravel can package two nights at Jackalope into an eight-night fly-drive from £2,219pp, including flights to Melbourne and car hire.
Staying there
Doubles at Jackalope from A$650 (£365), B&B.
More information
Montalto’s wine tour with lunch costs A$500pp (£282).
