Yarra Valley Wine Region

Melbourne'S Nearest Wine Region, An Hour From The City, Known For Cool Climate Pinot Noir And Chardonnay And For A Sparkling House Founded By A French Champagne Maker, With A Wildlife Sanctuary And Hot Air Ballooning Sharing The Same Valley · Healesville, Victoria

The Yarra Valley is Melbourne's nearest wine region, about an hour north-east of the city, running from Yarra Glen through Healesville to Coldstream along the Maroondah Highway. It is Victoria's oldest wine district and now its best known for cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with dozens of cellar doors ranging from small family sheds to large estates with restaurants attached. One winery here was founded by a French Champagne house and makes some of the country's most respected sparkling wine using the traditional method. The valley shares its ground with other things worth a stop: a well-known wildlife sanctuary at Healesville with Tasmanian devils and platypus, and hot air balloon flights that lift off before dawn and drift over the vines as the sun comes up. It is a day-trip region for most visitors rather than somewhere people base a whole holiday, best done by hired car, a wine tour van, or a cycling day between a handful of cellar doors, since public transport through the valley is limited and the wineries are spread along back roads rather than clustered together.

The wine valley an hour north-east of Melbourne, running from Yarra Glen through Healesville to Coldstream, Healesville, Victoria, Australia

Most cellar doors open daily, roughly 10am or 11am to 4pm or 5pm, though some of the smaller family operations open weekends only or by appointment on weekdays, so it pays to check ahead rather than assume every door is open on a Tuesday. The wildlife sanctuary at Healesville runs daily, generally 9am to 5pm, with keeper talks through the day. Hot air balloon flights depend entirely on dawn weather and are frequently cancelled or rescheduled at short notice for wind or fog, with the decision usually made only hours before the flight. There is no train through the valley itself; the nearest station is at Lilydale, with the wineries a drive beyond it.

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