TOAST OF THE TOWN

THE Bellarine Peninsula is famous for its coolclimate wines and there is no shortage of venues to sample all the varietals. If wine is not your go, there’s breweries and a gin and whiskey distillery. Most of the following places serve amazing food and entertainment, too.

CURLEWIS WINERY

Specialising in Burgundian-style pinot noirs and chardonnays and Rhone-style shiraz. (curlewiswinery.com.au)

SCOTCHMANS HILL

A producer of premium cool maritime climate wines, Scotchmans Hill has been a leading local winery for more than 30 years. (scotchmans.com. au)

FLYING BRICK

Sit outside and order a tasting paddle of ciders. Great food, too. (flyingbrickciderco.com.au)

MCGLASHAN WALLINGTON ESTATE

Boutique winery specialising in chardonnay, shiraz, pinot noir and pinot grigio. You can stay the night overlooking the vineyards. (mcglashans. com.au)

OAKDENE

Boutique, family-owned vineyard featuring a cellar door, restaurant, cafe, accommodation and gardens. (oakdene.com.au)

YES SAID THE SEAL

Refined maritime-climate wines. Award-winning winemaker Darren Burke is in his element. (yessaidtheseal.com.au)

BELLARINE ESTATE

Produces a total of 14 wines each year – eight of these are under the Bellarine Estate label using fruit exclusively from Bellarine Estate’s vines. (www.bellarineestate.com.au)

JACK RABBIT

Enjoy a diverse staple of sophisticated cool- climate wines with unrivalled views across the bay to Geelong, the You Yangs and Melbourne. (jackrabbitvineyard.com.au)

TERINDAH ESTATE

Sweeping bay views, indoor and outdoor dining and ‘glamping’. (www.terindahestate.com)

BAIE WINES

Small batch winery on the Bellarine Peninsula that produces award-winning wines harvested from its Curlewis vineyard. (baiewines.com.au)

BASIL’S FARM

Shiraz, chardonnay and pinot noir, as well as olive oil and a great cafe. (basilsfarm.com.au)

LEURA PARK ESTATE

The 150 acres of vineyards are predominantly hand-picked to produce wines that are 100 per cent estate grown. (leuraparkestate.com.au)

BENNETT’S ON BELLARINE

The 100-year-old milking shed is the rustic foundation of the cellar door set next to the vineyard which was planted in 1995. (bennettsonbellarine.com)

QUEENSCLIFF’S BREWHOUSE

Mmmmmm...beer. More than 400 beers to choose from, but don’t leave without trying the Queenscliff craft beer in the on-site microbrewery. (queenscliffbrewhouse.com.au)

ONEDAY ESTATE

A range of delightful wines for all tastes, including sparkling cuvee, sparkling riesling, dry and offdry riesling, dry and off-dry rose, pinot noir and shiraz. (onedayestate.com.au)

WAYAWU ESTATE

Enjoy locally-grown wines with a picnic basket or a grazing platter. (wayawuestate.com.au)

KISAAN ESTATE

Family-run vineyard nestled behind the sand dunes at 13th Beach. (kisaanestate.com.au)

MARCUS HILL VINEYARD

Making wine in a manner which is sympathetic to the site and area - produces elegant, delicate and feminine wines. (marcushillvineyard.com.au)

BELLARINE DISTILLERY

Opened in 2015 this whiskery also produces gin and has a popular cafe. (bellarinedistillery.com. au)

LETHBRIDGE

Discover the recently opened Bellarine Cellar Door of Lethbridge Wines, located at the picturesque Hat Rock Vineyard. (lethbridgewines. com)

BANKS ROAD

Enjoy all the current release Banks Road vintages in the relaxed setting of the Banks Road Cellar Door & Cafe. (banksroad.com.au)

BREWICOLO

Family-operated. Some seriously good thirstquenching brews await at this Ocean Grove brewery (brewicolo.com)