Five Victorian Cellar Doors Worth a Wine-Country Road Trip

You don’t have to leave Melbourne to taste great local wine, blessed as our city is with urban wineries like Noisy Ritual and CBD cellar doors like Handpicked. But when it comes to a truly captivating wine experience, nothing can really replace the feeling of shaking off the suburbs and heading for proper wine country.

Tasting wine at the vineyard where it was grown – ideally in a beautiful cellar door, accompanied by a well-matched meal – is an experience that’s hard to top, and definitely worthy of a weekend trip. We’ve lined up five of our favourite wineries within easy EV driving distance of the city, that pair perfectly with BYD’s luxurious five-seater Sealion 7.

With its sandy beaches, craggy cliffs and undulating hills, the Mornington Peninsula is a Melbourne daytripper’s dream. The region is packed with great wineries, but Rare Hare at LL Vineyard consistently tops the list.

Here, vineyards planted in 1989 grow some of Mornington’s very best pinot noir and chardonnay, which you’ll certainly want to try at the cellar door. If you’re tempted to make this stop a full weekender, you’ll find a home for the night at Jackalope. The luxury hotel offers vineyard-view suites, farm-to-table diner Doot Doot Doot and experimental cocktail bar Flaggerdoot, situated in the Edwardian-era McCormick House. Plus, there are EV charging stations on-site so you can recharge your car while you’re there.

There are countless wineries in the Yarra Valley, from approachable and easy options to serious, high-end luxury. Levantine Hill is definitely the latter. Here, master winemaker Paul Bridgeman makes premium quality wines to rival peers in Burgundy and Bordeaux – like his Katherine’s Paddock chardonnay and Colleen’s Paddock pinot noir.

But Levantine isn’t just about wine. The grand architecture of the winery, restaurant and cellar door is worth the visit alone, with its massive curved roof and endless floor-to-ceiling windows for those vineyard views. Settle in with a matched selection of caviar, oysters and the estate’s sparkling rosé.

Though it might attract less attention than the other side of the bay, the Bellarine Peninsula’s wine scene is as sharply focused and high-quality as anywhere else in Australia. Just 20 minutes from Geelong, Scotchmans Hill has been flying the flag for the Bellarine longer than almost any other winery, producing refined wines that thrive on the region’s cool climate. A visit to the cottage cellar door is a must to try the winery’s flagship pinot noir.

With V2L technology, the BYD Sealion 7 is equipped to power small appliances on the go – chill a bottle or two of take-homes in a portable fridge for road-trip picnicking. Or, if time allows, book a long lunch at the on-site restaurant where eclectic, Italian-influenced dishes are served alongside panoramic views of the vineyard and Port Phillip Bay.

There’s a stretch of the Yarra Valley’s Maroondah Highway that has put more than its fair share of wineries on the map – Rochford, Levantine Hill, Dominique Portet and Chandon are all within the same short drive. But few can compete with the pedigree of neighbouring Oakridge, a winery that at various times has been judged Australia’s best by Halliday Wine Companion, and is home to a restaurant led by rising stars Matt Stone and Jo Barrett.

Our advice? Make a beeline for the cellar door before heading to the vineyard-view restaurant. The winery’s flagship 864 range of pinot noir, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and syrah show off the power and refinement of Yarra Valley wine. In the restaurant, new chef Daniel Snooks produces changing menus dictated by the kitchen garden. With on-site EV chargers, Oakridge makes a worthy centrepiece for your BYD Yarra road trip.

The King Valley is a special slice of wine country that suits more than just a daytrip, if you can swing it. Historically, the region has been home to a large community of Italian migrants, meaning there is a focus on Italian wines like pinot grigio, sangiovese and prosecco – all of which you’ll find at Chrismont.

Head to the cellar door to try the winery’s iconic prosecco. But don’t sleep on the lesser-known varieties like arneis (a dry Italian white) and the bold red wine aglianico. As you’d expect, the restaurant is skewed towards the region’s signature Italian flavours. If you’re visiting, keep in mind that neighbour Dal Zotto also has a Type 2 EV charger, which is ideal if you’re planning on further exploring the mountainous King Valley’s glut of wine and cheese producers.

The all-electric BYD SEALION 7 provides power, performance and planet-friendly driving. With cutting-edge EV tech, a spacious interior and the ultra-safe Blade Battery, the SEALION 7 is ready for school runs, road trips and everything in between.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with BYD.