> > by Cheryl Menagh
Our Top Wine Destination articles are covering some of the best wine areas in AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND. Here we discover the delights of the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.
The Mornington Peninsula is home to some of the most visually arresting landscape and although only an hour's drive from Melbourne, it seems a world away. With its gorgeous rolling hills of vines, olive groves and historic country house retreats, the Peninsula has an air quite reminiscent of Tuscany or Spain.
Yet it is right next to some of the angriest coastline in the world where massive waves straight from Bass Strait crash onto wild, white empty beaches. While the bottom of the Peninsula and the east face the open ocean, the Mornington’s western coast lies within the sheltered waters of Port Philip Bay. It’s home to some of Victoria’s best known seaside resort towns, Portsea and Sorrento, designed by mother nature for long lazy days of sunbathing and swimming. What the Mornington Peninsula offers couples is an amazing choice: wine tasting at some of Australia’s most underrated wineries, or a chance to soak up some of the state’s celebrated beach culture.
Often overshadowed by the Yarra Valley and other well-known Victorian wine producing areas, the Mornington Peninsula perhaps offers more for couples than any other wine area. With over 50 cellar doors, along with restaurants and cafes offering local, fresh produce and set in beautifully landscaped gardens and on terraces overlooking the vines, a wine-tasting can often stretch into lunch or dinner, and then into an overnight stay in a luxurious suite. Try boating off Sorrento where wild dolphins and seals swim and play or perhaps a round of golf is more your style. Mornington's 18 courses have some of the world's best natural golfing terrain - but the green fees are decidedly Australian. And after any exercise have a long, tender massage beside the sea at the 17 hectare Peninsula Hot Springs and a soak in the site’s mineral pools.
Retiring for the evening - Hidden along Mornington's hinterland roads are European-style country retreats, intimate hotels, cottages and charming B&Bs. The coastal accommodation includes beachside luxury in contemporary suites, limestone-and-lace B&Bs and heritage hotels – all with a bonus of fresh sea breezes.
But back to the wine ... sniff, sip and sample your way around Mornington Peninsula's many boutique cellar doors. You'll taste different styles as you cruise the compact region. Climate, topography, land and soil structure create distinct micro-climates around the hinterland villages of Red Hill, Main Ridge and Moorooduc, and Merricks, Balnarring and Dromana on the coast. Passionate peninsula vintners who grow their own fruit will tell you all about the famed regional pinot noir and the cool-climate chardonnay, and let you in on the secrets of the newer regional varietals, including pinot grigio, pinot gris, viogner and shiraz.
The Mornington Peninsula is romance personified, the fun is in discovering this for yourself.
Nearest Highway: Nepean Highway
Nearest Airport: Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne
MORE THAN WINE!
Fine wine is always a magnet for fine food and the use of fresh, local produce often inspires great food. The Montalto Restaurant is one restaurant that is much more than somewhere to eat. This includes their own expansive herb and vegetable garden, fruit & nut orchard and berry garden to which chefs make daily visits, harvesting the best of the garden for use in the restaurant. As part of the regional dining experience, the wine list is not limited to the estate wines, but also offers selections from highly regarded Mornington Peninsula, Australian and international wineries.With 30 acres of vines producing Montalto Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Rosé, which have all received critical and popular acclaim, their wine is definitely worth sampling either at the restaurant or the intimate rammed earth cellar. Their olive grove with beautiful mature trees are the source of their divine extra virgin olive oil. The owners desire to combine their passion for the arts with their love of nature and growth that was the birth for the Montalto sculpture collection.- an outdoor gallery where the yearly winners of the Montalto Sculpture Prize are showcased.
Just down the way on Red Hill Shoreham Road is the Ashcombe Maze and Lavender Gardens. Breathe in the fresh country air while wandering through the 25 acres of whimsical gardens following meandering creeks, ponds and pathways. After a morning tea in their cafe of the most scrumptious, light and fluffy scones should supply enough energy to attempt the Hedge Maze. This sculptured piece of living art is the oldest and largest hedge maze in Australia, and getting lost amongst the three-metre high, two-metre thick cypress hedges is half the fun.
Or perhaps a walk in a more wild and natural environment? Choose a windswept cliff-top, a quiet beach or a bush-clad path or head for historic Point Nepean where you'll find all three. The most famous feature is the 25,000 hectares of national parks, Point Nepean was closed to the public for more than 100 years. It's now open for everyone's enjoyment, and you can follow the cycle- and-pedestrian road to the extensive wartime military installations right at the tip of Point Nepean.
A relaxing way to wind down from all the walking is a visit to the nearby Peninsula Hot Springs. Natural thermal mineral waters flow into the pools and private baths providing the idyllic setting for relaxation and rejuvenation. Peninsula Hot Springs makes it possible to bathe in the naturally healing waters of mineral rich thermal pools. Entering the bathing area is like stepping into another world, a sanctuary where the mind and body are calmed by the steam, the sound of running water and the casual banter of bathers. If that is not enough, then choose from any number of spa treatments and massages available.