Visitors to Melbourne come here to see the beautiful tourist spots of Mornington Peninsula. Mornington Peninsula is full of enjoyable places and the best place for hoteling. If you are here to enjoy your tour, the hardest thing is to decide which winery near me is the best option. There are hundreds of wineries and lunch restaurants in Mornington Peninsula.
The climate of Mornington and the lush fertile land create the best environment for the vineyards. This area is the most popular area for wineries and it has been famous since the 19th century. People visit Mornington in huge numbers every year and it contributes over $1.5 billion in Australian tourism revenue.
There are two famous beaches in Mornington Peninsula. One of them is Western Port bay and another is Port Phillip bay. There are more than 250 vineyards, 70 wineries, and 50 cellar doors all over Mornington Peninsula. If you are planning to go to Mornington Peninsula, you must visit the following wineries.
In this article, I will tell you about the top 10 wineries on the Morning Peninsula and you will love this winery tour Mornington Peninsula. Mornington Peninsula is the hottest place to visit in Australia and the beach views are awesome there. This is the most attractive place to visit in Melbourne because it is between the rolling and coastal hills. You can always come here for a visit whether it is cool weather or summer. Let’s start discussing the details of Wineries and lunch restaurants in Mornington Peninsula.
Top 10 Best Wineries Mornington Peninsula
Montalto
There are many reasons to stay at Montalto and have lunch in this beautiful vineyard Mornington Peninsula. There are beautiful dining restaurants, wood-fired pizza ovens, and fine sitting tables. These things enhance the beauty of this place. If you want to experience the best visit here, you should book a private picnic in the hotter months.
Montalto produces premium cool climate wine on Mornington Peninsula, and beautiful region with more than 200 vineyards, rolling hills, orchards, and historic mansions. When you visit Montalto, you not only get wine but also get a warm welcome, beautiful ambiance, relaxed architecture, intimate cellar doors, and many more. It also got an award for the best winery tourism destination from Gourmet traveler magazine.
There are more than 10 private spots where you can enjoy your private parties. These spots are for 2 to 8 people with beautiful sitting tables. Montalto gives you an opportunity to see the making process of wines behind the scenes. If you are excited to see how wine is made, you can visit there and see the entire process.
Pt Leo Estate
The owner of Pt Leo Estate has invested more than $50 million in the 125 hectares in recent years to enhance this place for the production of wine. The owner added a fantastic sculpture park overlooking Western Port bay. This place has beautiful cellar doors, an attractive park, and amazing accommodations for the people who visit here especially to enjoy the beauty of Mornington Peninsula.
It has three types of menus and all the dishes they made are so delicious and have a great taste. They produce local Mornington Peninsula food while using Australian ingredients. It encapsulates rolling vineyards and ocean views and creates a breathtaking scene of Phillip Island and Western Port.
It has a beautiful private sculpture park that evolves 16 acres of outdoor gallery houses. You will see the amazing world-class art and exceptional work of Australian artists such as Dean Bowen, Deborah Halpern, Bruce Armstrong, and many more.
There are many other breathtaking places to visit in Pt Leo Estate. You should have plenty of time if you want to really enjoy its beauty and beautiful sculpture.
Merricks General Wine Store
It was established in 1922 by the Joyner family and before this, this place was a post office. It has changed its forms and enhanced its features with time. In this house, they organized art exhibitions where people exhibit their art from nearby and all over Australia.
The gentle cool weather and shelter create a perfect environment for production of wine. The rich loamy soil and the protected undulating environment, combined with precise viticulture, yield exceptional fruit and excellent wines.
Merricks General Wine Store can be seen on the road trip from Melbourne to Mornington Peninsula. This store has a collection of wines from Elgee park and Baillieu Vineyards. It also has some samples of friends’ and neighbors’ wines to make your trip enjoyable. You should stop here at this store specially to get the amazing collection of wines.
Jackalope
Every winery in Melbourne has a unique art collection of beautiful sculptures. Similarly, Jackalope has an amazing rain room that merges special art, nature, and technology. It describes the deep relationship between nature and the environment.
It has been a permanent part of the Jackalope Art Collection for a long time. Jackalope is a creative and artistic space where it showcases real art and exhibitions. It has brought the rain room to represent the beautiful art of Australia all over the world.
When they launched their new luxury accommodation, they won so many awards for this beautiful accommodation. It has also been awarded by the Conde-Nast and they add Jackalope to their hot list.
If you want to enjoy the real essence of this place, you should spend one or two nights here to see the actual beauty of Jackalope. You can enjoy a day spa, eateries, and many different types of wines from there. The finest dining of Jackalope is Doot Doot Doot and you can also choose Rare Hare Wine for a casual drink.
Ten Minutes by Tractor
Ten Minutes by Tractor is a winery located on Mornington Peninsula and was established 40 years ago. The winery and great vineyards are enhanced from time to time and now they are one of the greatest vineyards in Mornington Peninsula. It was established in 1997 with three families and all the families have their own way of production. They all have a unique style of making wine, soil, slopes, altitude, winds, and many more unique characteristics.
They openly invite you to the place where they work and stay. They will show you how they make the wines and you will enjoy their food as well. They treat you very well when you especially go there for private trips and tours.
They always take suggestions from their visitors and try to improve the quality of food and wines. They take customers’ reviews each year and make better strategies to give a better customer experience.
A great Australian Wine Writer Sean Mitchell says,
“I am going to go out on a limb with this wine: this is the best Mornington Peninsula pinot noir I have tasted to date.”
This restaurant has the top quality wine and it has won many awards as well. You can also talk to the workers there who make the wine and discuss how they change their practice to make better quality wine. If you don’t have time to eat a meal, you can try the sample wine from the cellar door that opened in 2020.
Foxeys Hangout
Foxeys Hangout has been established by the two brothers Micheal Lee and Tony Lee. They have been exceptional in their work for a couple of decades. They are making the best wine in Mornington Peninsula and it has become the restaurant as well where people stay and enjoy their meals and wine.
Both brothers made their first vineyard in the 1990s and it gave the most captivating view of Merrick North; it was established near the iconic Peninsula road junction. They have a variety of menus and some seasonal food as well. You can go there and order the food you like and enjoy your trip. Their wine is compulsory with the food and you have to try this combination to enjoy your meal.
If you want a red hill winery tour, you must visit Foxeys Hangout for this purpose. If you go there and want some time to spend, you have to taste the food by Tony Lee. He is a qualified chef and makes delicious food for his customers.
The place is so charming and relaxing and you surely get enough peace for a while. You can enjoy your food on the beautiful dining and can see the view outside from the deck in summer.
Paringa Estate
The owner tasted the first wine in 1980 and then he ordered it to make a restaurant in 1983. He has no idea that Mornington Peninsula can produce such quality wine in the coming years. In 1984, he began planting his ten-acre property with the vine. He has planted this vineyard in the warmest part of the Mornington Peninsula where he can produce the wine easily.
Paringa Estate offers its customers to be a member of their restaurant and take huge discount offers on buying dozen or above. You can customize your parties with the Paringa Estate and their chefs will guide you through the process of winemaking.
Paringa Estate won two awards in 2019 and 2020 by Good Food Guide. It has to be your first priority when you want to eat your lunch and want to have a meal. They produce local food, seasonal food, and many other menus according to the customer’s needs and requirements. You can enjoy your meal while having an amazing view outside the restaurant. Both the restaurant and cellar door have huge glass windows and you can easily enjoy the breathtaking view of rolling and red hill wineries.
Polperro
Polperro is located on the 25 acres property of Red Hill, the heart of Mornington Peninsula. It was established in 2014 and offers a unique style of dining and accommodation that attracts tourists. It also has a cellar door that showcases the beauty of this place.
This cellar door is an intimate space featuring the wine production by the owner. He has more than 20 years of experience in winemaking in Australia and internationally. He takes care of the balance of the ingredients that are used in winemaking and produces a sustainable wine.
Polperro is a premium restaurant having a single vineyard and has expertise in pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot gris. It has the best accommodation in Mornington Peninsula and the cellar door gives you a breathtaking view. You can relax and enjoy your meal at this beautiful place.
Many Little Bar & Winery
There are many bars and wineries in Red Hill village that can confuse you which one you should choose for enjoyment. It is technically not a winery but it is a combination of bar, cellar door, and restaurant. You can enjoy your trips and tours with your friends in Many Little Bar & Winery if you want to get breathtaking places in one spot.
We sit outside considering an excellent gumtree neglecting a carpark where trees line the skyline and you’d be unable to trust you’re in the essence of the Mornington Landmass. Inside is another story; its distinct, current elements don’t be guaranteed to mean the food, however most would agree the gourmet expert has a certain je ne sais quoi while plating up curry.
Main Ridge Estate
Main Ridge Estate is owned by a family and established in 1975. There is a vineyard at a high altitude on Red Hill, Mornington Peninsula. They especially make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for their cellar door guests to enjoy the warm hospitality.
The owner specially decided to make wine from the grapes onsite so that there is a limited barrel of wines. If you want to get a different taste, you can taste at their cellar door and have some lunch with the fresh wine and see the view of the sundeck. If you are visiting in the winter, you can sit beside the fire where wine is made.
Conclusive Thoughts
When it is about the top Mornington Peninsula wineries, there are many wineries that come to your mind but the above mentioned are the top choices for the residents of Australia and tourists. If you come to Melbourne for the first time and want to really enjoy your vacations, Mornington Peninsula is the most attractive place for enjoyment because it has a wide range of vineyards and Red Hills. It also has some famous beaches such as Western Port bay and Phillip Island. The tourists stay in this region because there are breathtaking hotels and wineries in this area.
In the above section of this article, I have elaborated you the most famous winery and lunch restaurants in Mornington Peninsula. There is no sequence of the wineries and you can visit at first whatever you like the most. There is liberty of enjoying lunch at these places and the live winemaking process as well. Chefs tell you all the details of the winemaking and you can also ask them the entire process to give some extra knowledge about winemaking.
There are hundreds of cellar doors and vineyards in this area that give you the exceptional view that can make your mood happy during your trip. Some of the restaurants have glass doors and you can see the beautiful view of vineyards from your dining table. Moreover, they also have a combination of nature, art, and technology to enhance the beauty of those places.
After reading this article, I hope you are able to enjoy the exceptional tour of Mornington Peninsula. When anyone wants to come to Australia, he should read this article to get more knowledge about tourism and places. If you want to make your trip easily, you can choose Go taxis for your entire journey in Mornington Peninsula. They will provide you with the amazing taxi services and guides in Mornington.
