Seppelt

Massive, massive winery. Towering rows of stainless steel vats act like a colossal proclamation of this place's productive powers. Inside, the cellar door is large and equipped for bus loads. A lot of wines here and it's worth surveying the range for a moment in order to select the varieties and price range most suitable for your tastes. Of course, the Shiraz was a stand out. Do the premium tasting for a fee and try some truly remarkable Shiraz.

Bests

This place is old. Very old. The cellar door/barn tries to reflect this and I couldn't help thinking it was contrived for show but it was probably all genuine. There were lots of wines on show and as usual in this region (as well as Pyrenees, Heathcote and Bendigo) the whites taste okay, nice even, but are then overwhelmed by the reds, specifically Shiraz. However, the Rieslings were excellent. The Pinot Noir was good here and the Pinot Noir Meunier blend is one I like, although I've had better. The Shiraz was good value. Unfortunately, the premium stuff was not available for tasting which is always a downer. I really appreciate wineries that offer the really good stuff for tasting, even if I have to pay a tasting fee and even if this cannot be reimbursed with a purchase. However, I have tasted the Bin 0 Shiraz before at a wine show in Melbourne and it was fantastic. The sweet stuff here is very good also. An assortment of delicious muscats, fortified and tokay await the sweet tooth.

Taltarni

I've seen this label around so was expecting a large establishment and this was certainly the case. Lots of buildings for functions etc. However, we were lucky to be the only ones there which always leads to a more pleasant experience as you have the full attention of the host. There are a lot of wines to try here. The reds were very good of course, including a heady Heathcote Shiraz, and a good value, rich Cabernet. But they all lead to one of the nicest Cabernet-Shiraz blends I've tasted.

Dalwhinnie

A gem. One of those rare wine visits that has everything. As you drive up alongside old, gnarled vines, carefully pruned, you enter a significant ampitheatre of large dimensions and peaceful, remote beauty. The cellar door is modest but bright, overlooking some of the vine covered slopes. The slopes here are gentle and in all directions and must provide a joyous home for fine vines. There were three ranges on offer and regardless of your snobbiness, I encourage you to try to drink now range, as it will impress for what it is. But move on and you know you've come to a special wine place. If you handle it pay the $5 and taste the single estate Shiraz's. They are each distinct and divine (and priced accordingly). I can dream of a day...

Warrenmang

Nice drive off the main roads, this winery boasts lovely views and seclusion. The cellar door is rustic and charming and if you ask about the underground tunnel behind the counter the host may lead you through to the winery and give you a tour. The volumes are big here but the quality is high. The drink now stuff is not totally simple; really pleasant and easy as you'd expect but with a light richness. There are lots of wines produced here but not all were on tasting when we were there. The showcase wines were all lovely. The Grand Pyrenees, a delicate but robust blend shows off the regions reds. The Estate Shiraz is deep and heavy with spice. The Black Puma is an even more premium Shiraz not on tasting and beyond my wallet but reports are good. The Torchia is a blend, not only of varietals but of vintages over ten years. Not on tasting this did tempt me and I'll open on a suitable occassion. Lunches and dinner menus look lovely. A lot to like here.

Summerfield

I'd read good things, recent five star rating and all that, but I could've find a wine I really liked. The site is average, being off site away from the vines on a main road with no views. The Reserves were okay but not even close to worth the price.Wholly unimpressed.

Redbank

Quite a nice site with places to sit outside and in if you need it. They serve delicate tapas of small proportions, nice for a snack but expensive if you need to fill up. The wines were unimpressive until ...Sally's Paddock. I realised then that all the others were produced simply to blend and refine to produce a consistently high quality big red blend. They probably bottle the others individually just to meet the demands of the visitor and of course make some extra cash. But make no mistake, this is a one wine winery. And it's a very, very good wine. I need more to fully understand it. Not cheap, but not ludicrous.

Mount Avoca

What a lovely site to enjoy wine! Food also available and would be a lovely place to sit and watch the day pass. The cellar door is light and comfortable and the host friendly and hospitable. The range has some good whites but the reds are really what you come for. Both the Cabernet and Shiraz are full but with delicacy and offer a good value example of the region. The Reserves of each are naturally more complex and longer and very enjoyable indeed. Some very interesting oddities also, including Frizzante, essentially a lightly alcoholic grape juice you could drink with breakfast and a sparkling Shiraz which wasn't my cup of tea but my wife liked it. There were some other sparklings, a wooded Sav Blanc that was impressive and an excellent Viognier. I'll go back to try the Tempranillo when they have more of it!

Blue Pyrenees

Big, established, high volume place. Lovely buildings and gardens as you walk up to the large cellar door that also sells food on weekends. I was very disappointed with the wine. Having written that, there were lots of sparklings that I didn't try, maybe they were good. There was also an assortment of desserts. This place had the feel of a tourist stop over, maybe some of their premium wine, not available to me and you is good, who knows?

Red Hill Estate

Another big venue with lovely introductory gardens and what looked like a lovely restaurant which looked over the vines to Western Port beyond. A truly wonderful view. The cellar door is a large, modernised shed with a wall of produce for sale as well as other walls of Art. I thought it was a little higgledy-piggledy, bits of this and bits of that, but what do I know? Wine serving was pleasant and so was the wine. Chardonnays - good, Pinot Noirs - very good. There was an entry level version of each, then a cellar door only version, then the upper versions. I liked the drink now stuff. There was an abundance of Pinot Noirs on offer in boxes at the centre of the shed from different years, different levels and in various combinations. The one on tasting was okay but I wanted to try more. To do so I would've had to spend almost $200 buying a mixed sixpack which was a little frustrating. I'll have to keep an eye on this place and hopefully they do tasting days so I can really get to know and compare their Pinot Noirs, without having to actually buy them all!

Crittenden Estate

I could tell as I was driving up that this was a serious venue with a large carpark. So as usual with these sort of places I was already wondering whether the wines stacked up, how much focus was left on the wines and cellar door and how it would rate as a venue. You have to walk a bit from the car park to the cellar door and although there are vines to look at, it's always nicer if you are forced to walk through pretty gardens, along a cared-for path rather than across a slab of concrete. I know, I'm picky. Anyway, I opened the glass door to the large cellar door and peeked into the restaurant area on my way to the restroom. Looked nice, weeping willow views, nice lawns, that sort of thing. Back to the cellar door I noticed lots of produce on offer and had time to investigate a little and wonder if all these wines with different labels were part of this place's repertoire. And indeed they were. The tasting list had no less than five sections under different labels, all with whites and reds. I was confused. I asked the lady how tastings are done here and she said to pick the ones I liked. I wanted to point out that I don't yet know which ones I like! Since there was no order to them I found this disconcerting and I'm sure the average punter would to. I prefer to be led through the process by the all-knowledgeable counter hand. I didn't want to do any work. I had it explained, as I showed my discomfort, that there's a grown-in-Mornington label (Crittenden Estate), a Spanish grape label (Los Hermanos), an experimental label (Pinocchio), a drink now label (Geppetto) and another label that is from Europe. Well I pointed to this and that and tasted some wine. I probably tried half of what was on offer and this was probably just as well. My favourites were the Tempranillo and the Homenaje a Cataluna (both from the Los Hermanos label). There were others that were good as well but to be honest the whole experience was so confusing that I just left it at these two.

Seville Hill

Up the road from Whispering Hills, this is another gem of the Seville area of the Yarra Valley. You drive in along the vines and end up on top of a hill with a lovely view of the surrounds. A dedicated, modern cellar door sits up there and you enter ready for a taste of this area's siginificant produce.There is an extensive range; the usual whites and reds but also some interesting exotic varieties. The Sav Blanc was a little different to others and worth another try. The Chardonnays are very good. The Shiraz also. Of the reds I liked the Sangiovese the best, although the Tempranillo was sold out. To be honest I need to go back there to try them all again - there were so many!