The best wineries in the Yarra Valley

Credit to its extraordinary pinot noir and next-level winemaking brilliance, this winery was crowned Australia's best in the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Awards. Healesville cellar door and restaurant Giant Steps is named after saxophonist John Coltrane's 1960 album of the same name. Owner Phil Sexton, a massive jazz fan, named his wines in the jazz musician's honour. The winery is a large space split up into a wine bar and dining area towards the front, and an open kitchen and barrel hall in the back. The barrel hall is where you can taste the single-vineyard wines Giant Steps is known for, such as winemaker Steve Flamsteed's chardonnays, which have set the benchmark for the Yarra Valley region. 

TarraWarra Estate has become one of the region's must-see destinations. Built on a hill, the winery's stunning contemporary architecture houses a cellar door, art gallery and restaurant that sits among the estate's vineyard. Visit the cellar door where, for $20 a person, guests can sample eight wines from the range. Chef Joel Alderdice heads up the winery's restaurant, which uses produce from the kitchen garden and local farms. Don't forget to visit the TarraWarra Museum of Art before you leave to see art by contemporary Australian artists. 

Hubert Estate is the love child of the Ryan Hospitality Group (The Prince, Mitchelton Winery, Nagambie Brewery and Distillery) and one of the Yarra Valley's longest-standing producers, St Hubert's. A recent redesign of the winery and cellar door has transformed the stunning site into a dual-level estate. The reimagining of the venue is thanks to notable architectural and interior design studio, Cera Stribley. Hubert Estate now encompasses a modern Australian and Euro-inspired restaurant (Quarters), event space (Harriett), cellar door and boutique wine store (Notes).

Don't miss: it's also home to Hubert Gallery of Art, which boasts a diverse selection of Indigenous Australia art.

Oakridge Wines is a family-owned winery in Yarra Valley that is gaining renown for its restaurant. The kitchen, which is headed by chef Aaron Brodie, produces dishes highlighting produce from the kitchen garden and local growers. Guests can enjoy a meal matched with a selection of wines exclusive to the Oakridge restaurant (which was our Restaurant of the Year in 2019), or simply take in the view of the stunning vineyard – tastings overlook a pretty gorgeous vista.

There is a large cellar door and tasting room inside Helen and Joey Estate, but if the weather is good, the best seats in the house are outside on the terrace, overlooking the vines and gently rolling hills. If the winery isn't slammed, you might get lucky enough to be able to work your way through the wines on tasting in this spot. If you'd like to nosh as you sip, you can also get snacks and charcuterie, and you can of course buy a bottle or two to enjoy in your primo location – plus a few to take home.

Don't miss:

Yarra Yering isn't just one of the oldest and most stunning vineyards in the Yarra Valley, it's also one of the most esteemed producers of the region. “Achieving ‘Winery of the Year Australia’ status for the second time is a testament to winemaker Sarah Crowe’s exceptional talent, the hard work of the vineyard team led by Andrew George, and the consistent outstanding calibre of wines that Yarra Yering deliver year after year,” said the Real Review's principal wine writer Huon Hooke in 2024, in reference to Yarra Yering's excellent track record. “Several of Yarra Yering’s wines separated them from the pack, including its Carrodus Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, which achieved a jaw-dropping 99 points, its stellar 2022 Chardonnay and its famous Dry Red Wine No 1 Cabernet Blend.” 

The winery uses fruit from all over Victoria to make a cracking range of cool-climate wines, from the entry-level, fruit-forward True Colours range through the White Label, Black Label and premium Signature Series drops. There are the traditional Yarra Valley pinot noir and chardonnay varietals here (including a spectacular malolactic fermentation chardy), as well as gorgeous cabernet sauvignons, which is a varietal with a long history in the Yarra Valley.

Mark and Fiona Horrigan, who run Pimpernel, take their winemaking seriously, and their drops reflect the characteristics of the grapes. They are also serious about terroir – so serious, in fact, that Mark's mother pocketed a couple of limestones from a pinot noir vineyard in Burgandy. When they returned to Australia, Mark had the stones analysed and subsequently buried more than 250 tonnes of similar crushed limestone in his own vineyard. The pinot noir grapes that grow above it produce some of the best pinot the Yarra Valley has to offer. Fruit is picked by hand, and little is done to it to interfere with the natural fermentation process. 

Though the Dominique Portet winery was only founded in 2000, it's the project of a ninth-generation winemaker from Bordeaux. The Dominique Portet winery in the rolling hills of Yarra Valley offers a cellar door open daily, and the restaurant serves country-style lunches (think snack platters, cheese, charcuterie and even snails) ideal for a post-wine tasting meal. Taste the Fontaine rosé, one that’s an exceptional berry-driven summery blend of merlot, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, and a steal at $26 a bottle.

Tasting your way around the Yarra Valley is hungry work, and there will come a time in your day when you need to fill your stomach with something more substantial than wine tastings. When that time comes, you should kindly ask your deso to point the car in the direction of Many Hands Winery, a small producer that excels at both wine and Italian food. Tastings cost $10 here, redeemable against a bottle (and you are quite likely to want to buy at least one to bring home). You can also drink a bottle or two while you get amongst wood-fired pizzas, garlic prawns, an antipasto platter or other Italian snacks and meals.

This winery, restaurant and wedding venue is a picturesque spot in the Yarra Valley to try some great wine and tuck into a couple of wood-fired pizzas. With exciting seasonal wine releases, fun drinks like the ever-popular 'Zoncello', collabs and an annual program of events, Zonzo feels modern and fun but it doesn't sacrifice on quality. You won't regret stopping here on a wine-tasting tour.