If there is anything good that has come out of COVID, it's that most businesses (our wineries included) have updated their website stores, ensuring local product can be delivered all over the country.
If you haven’t tried some of our cool climate wineries, it’s no fault of your own. Our producers are known and respected for quality over quantity, and for that reason, they are hard to find in your local bottle shop. To help you experience the taste of our cool varieties and feel confident in your choices, we have enlisted the help of wine expert Patrick Eckel, aka the ‘Wine Reviewer’, to give you his hot tips for producers and wine.
6 of the Best Wine Producers in the Macedon Ranges
Patrick: It is difficult to choose the quality wines from our region, which grows every year. The six I have chosen, I recommend for varying reasons, and experience, knowledge, results, history and variety all play a role in my recommendations.
Domaine Epis
If there was ever a case of ‘wine being made in the vineyard and not in the winery’, Domaine Epis is an example of that. I use the word ‘meticulous’ in describing both their viticulture and winemaking approach. The results are exceptional.
Bindi
Bindi is a consistently great producer of pinot noir and chardonnay that are known for their longevity and class. If you get the chance to meet the owner and winemaker Michael Dhillon, he is welcoming, informative and generous with his time.
Cobaw Ridge
One of the earliest wineries in the region, planted on a site that most thought couldn’t grow grapes. They are certified biodynamic and in addition to producing pinot noir and chardonnay, are known for a decidedly cool-climate shiraz and lagrein.
Hanging Rock Winery
The acclaimed producer of some of the finest sparkling wines in Victoria, they also do some top-end pinot noir and chardonnay, sourced from their estate vineyard in Newham. With a vineyard also in Heathcote, they produce a low yielding Shiraz that has been made for the last 30 years.
Wilimee
Experienced winemaker Ben Ranken and family are breathing life back into an old vineyard and in doing so, creating some incredibly exciting pinot noir and chardonnay.
Lyons Will
Similar to Wilimee, Lyons Will is a newcomer to the Macedon Ranges with existing plantings of pinot noir and chardonnay and the recent addition of gamay and riesling. The first couple of vintages of their pinot noir and chardonnay are elegant, with a distinct sense of place.
6 Wines you must try
Patrick: It would be somewhat hard to go wrong, but a few standouts, by variety, from the Macedon Ranges producers would be:
- Chardonnay from Bindi
- Sparkling from Hanging Rock Winery
- Pinot noir from Domaine Epis
- Lagrein from Cobaw Ridge
- Riesling from Zig Zag Rd
- Gewürztraminer from Midhill Vineyard
Featured Image: Midhill Vineyard
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