Exploring wineries on the Bass Coast Victoria

21 Apr Exploring wineries on the Bass Coast Victoria

A fun weekend to get out of Melbourne and go on an adventure can be a trip to the Bass Coast. It takes about two hours to get there from Melbourne and if you can’t find accommodation on Phillip Island there are lots of little towns around to explore the region.

We stayed at Corinella and although it is a tiny town on the way to Phillip Island, it is a beautiful spot for a weekend away. They have an excellent cafe called the Fig and Bay and lots of nice walking tracks along some very pretty parts of the coastline.

My favourite part of our trip was our afternoon exploring the area’s cheese and wine. We started at Bassine Speciality Cheeses. They have the most delicious of treats. Try the Tzatziki or the soft Camembert – delicious. And perfect for taking around the different wineries in the area.

Is there actually anything better than spending an afternoon tasting wines with a few friends? We started at Bass River Winery and although our host was not very talkative or forthcoming with a story about how they came into wine or the stories behind the grapes, we tried a delicious Riesling and an incredible Pinot Noir as well as some incredible dessert wine or Limoncello.

The next winery we visited was Gurdies Winery, overlooking the coast and the beautiful vistas of vines. They generously took us through a taste of their white and red wines and it was an amazing range of flavours on our palettes. We loved the Shiraz and the Cabernet Sauvignon.

We were so lucky though because one of our party started chatting to the 76-year-old owner, Dick and he recommended another winery on the way to Loch. We stopped there and it was the piece de resistance. So amazing. Their wine was a lush and rich experience in what is so amazing about the cellar door experience in Australia. Interesting hosts, delicious flavours and an amazing quaffing area outside where we sat with a view of the vines to sit with a glass of our favourite wine, listening to blues. It was definitely a community affair. I think quite a few of the local families were there to drink, break bread and soak up the atmosphere.

And so after my first adventure visiting wineries for an afternoon, I would implore you to do this one day. There is a special kind of bliss, cruising home through the countryside with the windows down and funky music on the stereo. Filled to the brim with some of the best quality wine we have ever tasted. And a much better appreciation of local culture.