The Yarra Valley is a wine-growing area with many wineries, near Melbourne in Victoria. One advantage of the valley is that it is literally on Melbourne’s doorstep.

From the center of the city, you can be there in approximately an hour, simply by driving down the Eastern Freeway and the Maroondah Highway, which runs through the middle of the valley.

The wineries are clearly signposted, and many of them are directly accessible from the highway.

Cities

• Yarra Glen
• Healesville
• Warburton

Get around

• Great cycling country all around the Yarra Valley; catch the train to Hurstbridge then climb up to Kinglake via St.Andrews (great Saturday market) then along the ridge to Toolangi; down to Healsville for lunch. Great food at Healsville; fine coffee at Yarra Glen.
• Or try the mountain bike routes through Smiths Gully (fine coffee and cake at the store)and Sugarloaf areas; or climb up past Mt Everard to Kinglake (steep in places) and then down into Dixons Creek and then onto Yarra Glen.

Things to do

• Hot air balloon flights
• Vineyard hopping
• Browse the Yarra Glen Sunday market, one of the local farmer’s markets or the Healesville carBoot markets behind the main street shops first Sunday of each month.
• Play Golf at one of the quality courses
• Lilydale Airfield offers light plane sightseeing trips, flying experience, and flying lessons.
• Nearby Coldstream Airfield, operated by the Royal Victorian Aero Club, offers similar services.
• Take a ride on the Yarra Valley Tourist Railway from Healesville
• Have a BBQ at Sugarloaf Reservoir
• Visit the world famous Healesville Sanctuary where you can see kangaroos, platypus, emus and more close up.

Wineries and Vineyards

• Helen’s Hill Winery: A Family owned vineyard producing exceptional, award winning Chardonnay and fine Pinot Noir. Sample their wines in a Cellar Door that attaches itself via massive glass panes overlooking the Barrel Room. The wines are excellent value and high quality. Onsite is also a superb restaurant with one of the best views over the entrance to the Yarra Valley. Kid friendly, too.
• Tokar Estate: further along Maroondah Highway towards Healesville is this Spanish-inspired complex which features an excellent restaurant that regularly hosts Gourmet and Degustation events. The wine is fruit driven and the show piece Syrah Reserve and Aria have to be tasted. Friendly and inviting, this is one of the better Valley destinations.
• Whispering Hills: on the Warburton Side of the Valley has a quaint Cellar Door to a vineyard which produces a tantalising Reisling amongst it’s range of wines. Grown above the township of Seville, it’s rich soils are spring-fed and produce lively wines. Coffee Shop attached and friendly folk, open on weekends and extended opening during holiday periods. A favourite during the area’s ShedFest events.

Stay safe

Crime in Yarra Valley is almost non-existent, but care should still be taken such as lock your car doors and make sure that valuables inside the car are not visible to outside. If you follow these precaution, everything should be fine and your day would be an enjoyable one.

Since you are likely to be on a wine tasting tour, it is advisable to be aware of how high your B.A.C (Blood Alcohol Content) if you are driving. The legal limit is 0.05%. Police regularly set up check points around Yarra Valley to test the motorists’ alcohol level (often referred by locals and police alike as the “Booze Bus” due to the use of a police bus to detain the drivers over the B.A.C limit), make sure you are not over the limit, otherwise the police would issue you a large fine and ban you from driving in Australia if you are a foreigner.

When driving, be careful of wildlife during sunset as this is the time when animals like kangaroos tend to be active during this period.