Planning an Australian Wine Tour

Australia is another wonderful destination for those who are planning to go on a wine tour because there are a lot of large corporate vineyards as well as smaller boutique wineries here that are popular to tourists. Wine tasting and purchasing are enjoyed by tourists who visit Australia. Aside from that, you can also take the opportunity to sample local produce such as cheese, jams, sauces, and olives. They also offer guided winery tours for international guests.

Going on a wine tour in Australia can be a rewarding experience. However, some tourists can feel intimidated because they do not know what to expect, or they feel that they do not have much knowledge about wine. If you do not want to feel this way when you go for an Australian wine tour, we will help you in planning for you to get the most from Australia’s wine regions.

Decide on Which Wine Region to Visit

Just like the United States, Australia is very big and wine is grown in several of its regions. Australia is known to have six states namely, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. You can go on a wine tour in five of those states. Well, only if you have a lot of time. Therefore, it’s a more practical idea to settle on a wine-growing region with many wineries you are interested in visiting.

Here are some of the top Australian wine regions to give you an idea.

  • Sydney: There are a few big wine tour destinations within a short drive from Sydney. One of the best is the Hunter Valley wine tours. There is also a lesser known wine holiday destination which is the Mudgee wine region. It is only three hours away from Sydney.
  • Western Australia: There are two primary wine regions in Western Australia which are Margaret River and Swan Valley. Margaret River also has luxury hotel properties and top-notch restaurants. Swan Valley on the other hand is popular and much closer to Perth which is easy to go to on a day trip wine tasting weekend.
  • Adelaide South Australia: Adelaide is known as a city on water. It is the capital of South Australia. One of the most popular Australian wine region can be found here which is the Barossa Valley. There are also some top notch wineries in the Adelaide Hills. The wine regions in Adelaide, together, was named one of the Great Wine Capitals of the World.
  • Victoria: One well-known Australian wine region in Victoria is the Yarra Valley. It is an easy day trip from Melbourne. But there are also lesser-known wine regions here that are great for wine lovers who want to explore more.
  • Tamar Valley in Tasmania: This is regarded as one of the best Wine Routes of the World. Its wine route stretches over 170 kilometers with about 30 wineries. That’s really a lot of wineries you can pick from classy ones to rustic ones.

Choose Which Wineries to Visit

Once you’ve chosen the region where you’ll go wine touring, you should also pick the wineries that you want to visit there. It’s kind of tempting to choose those that are popular especially if it’s your first time. However, a lot of large wineries can get very crowded particularly during peak season.

If you do not want to deal with the crowd or wait in long lines for wine tasting, you can also choose to visit smaller boutique wineries. They can offer you a more personal and leisurely wine tasting experience.

If you find it challenging to decide among the wineries, wine tours can help you with that as well. There are some companies in Australia that run bus tours to nearby wine areas. They will allow you to enjoy cellar-door tastings without worrying about driving home. Most of these tours will enable you to visit three to six wineries plus a local restaurant for lunch.

If you will be coming in a large group, you have a privilege to customize your wine tour to ensure that you visit your wineries of choice. You can also visit other tourist attractions in the local area.

The Best Time to Visit

Wine regions in Australia can be visited all year round. But the best time we can recommend you to visit the five diverse wine regions are in the months of October and November. It’s because many wineries, especially in regions near Melbourne, hold annual festivals during these months. One of those festivals is Geelong’s “Toast to the Coast”.

Learn More and Enjoy Your Experience

Majority of the Australian wineries offer free public tastings. This is also your opportunity to speak to the winemakers and learn more about the different varieties they offer. You don’t need to worry that you’ll feel intimidated because Australians are generally friendly.

Also, cellar door staff in their wineries are trained to accommodate tourists, meaning, they will see to it that you’ll have a pleasurable wine tasting experience. If you have questions and suggestions in mind, they will be glad to answer and listen to you.

Going on an Australian wine tour is certainly one of the major bucket list goals of wine lovers out there. We hope the information we shared will guide you in planning your Australian wine tour.