Bendigo winery reviews
Check out wineries in the Bendigo wine region, independently reviewed by wine writers Ben Canaider and Ralph Kyte-Powell.
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This pioneering vineyard began the renaissance of Bendigo as a wine region when established in 1969. It remains a regional leader, a substantial enterprise with its own museum of viticulture, an audio-visual room, a smart
café and luxury accommodation. The wines generally comprise robust, generously constructed shiraz and cabernet sauvignon of great style, body and longevity,
and a superb chardonnay.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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Big Hill is more than a vineyard. It also houses a smart café and function centre, and the views across the well-treed hills and valleys to Mount Alexander are lovely. The cellar door offers a range of typically robust regional
reds with deep, dark shiraz a speciality. Its easy to find, just off the Calder Highway and only 13km from Bendigo.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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A recent tasting of all the past vintages of Black Jack shiraz showed the age-worthiness and refined style of these smartly labelled wines. The pleasantly rustic winery nestles among forested ranges in old orchard country at Harcourt, making it a picturesque place to discover these tasty reds. Dont ignore the very good second label, Chortles Edge, either. Incidentally, the winery is named
after an adventurous black American sailor who jumped ship to join the gold rush in these parts 150 years ago.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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Harcourt is the heart of Victorias apple country, so its not surprising that Bress makes an excellent country-style cider courtesy of dynamic proprietor/ international winemaker Adam Marks. Table wines here are outstanding, and
the smart cellar door can offer spit-roasts and a wood-fired pizza oven for functions. Its child-friendly with chooks and a biodynamic vegie garden to look at, all in a beautiful landscape with Mount Alexander as a backdrop.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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Just off the main road in the forest south of Bendigo, Chateau Leamon has been a going concern for a lot longer than most in the region. As a result, its top red wines come from mature vines and show plenty of depth and
richness. Reserve shiraz is a worthy flagship. Flavoursome riesling also features here, and its very reasonably priced. This is a friendly, understated place. Affable proprietor Ian Leamon is happy to chat, and his dogs are real softies.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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Victoria has lots of vineyards in quiet out of the way places, which is one of the things that make vineyard touring so rewarding. Langanook is such a place, an isolated pocket handkerchief of vines in the bush, and an even more isolated, solar-powered winery up a rocky bush track. Its worth the journey for great views south across the hills of central Victoria, for Matt Hunters friendly hospitality, and not least for the good, typically regional reds he makes.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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Backing on to the tranquil forest of a national park, Lynnevale occupies a peaceful landscape. Award-winning red wines come from the vineyard block in front of the cellar door, and hosted B&B accommodation is available. Bendigo Winery Tours are based here too a great, no-fuss way to visit the vineyards of the region.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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Wes Vine's careful, thoughtful wine making lets the lovely fruit qualities of his wines speak intelligently and rewardingly. The spicy, minerally chardonnay shows some class; and the pinot noir is a velvety, gently tannic and earthy wine with an enjoyable yet not insubstantial weight and texture. Shiraz and cabernet are also quite fine. Not to be missed.
Ben Canaider
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It's an oasis in the bush west of Bendigo, and the perfect place to taste Passing Clouds popular wines. Reds are the stars; shiraz, Angel Blend cabernet sauvignon and Graeme's Blend shiraz-cabernet all have plenty of savoury, minty regional personality as well as intense berry flavours. They cellar well too.
Ralph Kyte-Powell
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Sandhurst Ridge produces an emphatic array of varietal wines in the heart of Victoria's best wine-growing region: lantana-like sauvignon blanc, and regional shiraz are full flavoured and cry out for food.
Ben Canaider
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The multi-talented Peter Cumming sells high-quality and excellently priced wines. The crisp, cashewy chardonnay and pleasantly strident sauvignon blanc will wow white wine drinkers; and the ripe, peppery and aniseedy shiraz and finely tannined, vanilla cabernet sauvignon will do ditto for red lovers.
Ben Canaider
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