Wine Adventurer’s Guide to Lancefield

For wine adventurers, the journey of discovery is just as important as finding a new and distinctive vineyard, a little off the beaten track. Around the historical towns of Lancefield and Romsey, many small family-owned wineries are growing outstanding cool climate wines, of quality and distinction, that can generally be sampled only at cellar doors, or within the Macedon Ranges region.

So, what does a wine adventure to this boutique wine region look like? The first step is to book some accommodation, and with most cellar doors open on the weekend, a Friday and Saturday booking would be best. Right in the heart of Lancefield, is the newly refurbished The Lancefield. Proprietors Danielle and Peter moved to the motel in December 2019 with a vision to create 20 individual and different rooms, each with their own charm. Their Lancefield Home Bar has been recently renovated and offers a friendly and relaxed environment in which to unwind. They proudly showcase wines from our local vineyards, which will get you started.

With a new day ahead, those who like morning exercise before embarking on a day’s activities will love the Lancefield Romsey Federation Trail. This 15.9km trail is a dedicated granite path for cyclists and pedestrians. While you may not wish to complete the whole track, a short walk from the Lancefield township will bring you to expanses of rolling farmland and breathtaking country vistas. The ever-changing topography lies at the heart of the appeal of the Macedon Ranges. As you rise and fall, twist and turn, there is always something new to see and discover.

On the fourth Saturday of each month, the heritage streetscape of Lancefield comes alive with the Lancefield and District Farmers’ Market. This accredited farmers’ market is held under the shady trees, along the plantation strip of the main street, from 9am. Featuring up to 65 stalls, (depending on the season) it’s a wonderful place to meet local producers and stock up on vegetables, fruit, honey, cheeses, meats, preserves, bread, seedlings and other off-farm produce. The Lancefield Farmers’ Market is also attended by two family-owned wineries Midhill and Lane’s End. They produce medal-winning wines yet don’t have a cellar door, so it a special place to sample their vintages.

On other days, explore the heritage vista of the main street of Lancefield while pausing at key food outlets to warm up your palate for wine tastings. For a truly traditional, old fashioned bakery, visit The Lancefield Bakery. All bread and cakes are prepared and baked on-site in a 140 year-old wood fired Scotch oven. They make all their bread using traditional techniques and have a range of speciality bread that sells out every day. Don’t go past their uber-fresh chocolate lamingtons; just perfect for a mid-morning pit stop.

Now it’s time to map out your off-road winery adventure. The Macedon Ranges Vignerons Association (MRVA) have prepared a TASTE Macedon Ranges Wine Map that can be downloaded from their website. Using a numbering system, all wineries are positioned on the map with their opening hours, wine style and contact details. Lancefield and Romsey are amongst the coldest growing areas in Australia, which means pinot noir and chardonnay thrive here; however, the diversity of this small region is expansive with sparkling, riesling, gerwűrztraminer, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris and gamay well represented

Don’t be fooled to think that we’re a flash in the pan wine growing spot. Vineyards have been in this area for more than 150 years, although it’s only been the last 60 years that we have taken viticulture seriously. Pioneers Granite Hills, also our most awarded winery, should be the top of your list. If it’s a fresh take, Lyons Will, Cobaw Ridge and Willimee have ‘Young Guns’ at the reins. And for high quality consistent vintages, year on year, Curly Flat is the place to go.

I’m Jenni from Parkside Winery at Lancefield. Our winery and cellar door are located in the grounds surrounding the historic Parkside farm homestead built in 1890. We specialise in producing sparkling, chardonnay, pinot noir and sauvignon blanc wines. With just 3.5 acres under vine, the majority of our small batch, limited release vintages are sold through our cellar door and membership, not out in national retail. Sparkling wine is our passion and in 2020 both our 2015 Vintage Chardonnay Pinot Noir Sparkling and 2014 Vintage Rosé Sparkling were awarded Silver Medals at the Australia and New Zealand Boutique Wine Show in Sydney.

If you’re a wine adventurer, come exploring the Lancefield and Romsey wineries this autumn and experience some truly unique and distinctive wines crafted by our small, family-owned vineyards. We’re waiting with (socially distanced) open arms to welcome you.

Photography and styling at Parkside Estate Winery: Lifeinlight.co