Touring the Pinot Coast: two days

9.30am

Check out of your Melbourne hotel, pick up your rental car and follow the M1 over the city’s famous West Gate Bridge. You’re bound for Geelong, Victoria’s second largest city, and a gateway to the Pinot Coast.

11.00am

Pull into Provenance Wines, a winery built into a beautifully restored bluestone paper mill on the banks of the Barwon River – voted Best Cellar Door with Food for the Geelong Region by Gourmet Traveller in 2020. Watch wine being made from the cellar door and pair your wine flight with perfectly matched bite-sized seasonal snacks.

12.00pm

Jump back in your car and drive 20 minutes to Clyde Park Vineyard. The bistro, which spills out onto a sun-drenched terrace with views of Geelong’s Moorabool Valley, is a great spot for lunch. Order a wood-fired pizza and a glass of single block pinot noir and settle in.

2.00pm

Head for Point Lonsdale and the boutique Lon Retreat – your home for the night. It's about an hour from Clyde Park Vineyard, so you’ll have plenty of time when you arrive to book in for a spa treatment. Try a soothing facial, detoxifying body wrap or a long soak in the mineral-water-fed spas for total relaxation.

6.00pm

Drive back into Geelong and enjoy a pre-dinner drink at Geelong Cellar Door. Wines here are almost exclusively from local producers, so you can sample an array of cool-climate pinot noir in one stop.

7.30pm

Walk less than 10 minutes to La Cachette Bistrot, a hatted fine diner and finalist for the Good Food Guide Regional Restaurant of the Year 2024, hidden down Steampacket Place near the waterfront. Savour a three-course menu of French cuisine that champions local and seasonal ingredients. Elegant Felix is a brilliant option for knock-out modern French dining, too.

7.00am

Wake to the sound of crashing waves at nearby Point Lonsdale back beach. The sand is only a short stroll from Lon Retreat if you fancy an early walk in the fresh sea air. For a leisurely morning, order fresh eggs, bacon and other breakfast goodies to your room.

8.30am

Check out of Lon Retreat and drive 15 minutes to Sea All Dolphin Swims at Queenscliff. Spend the morning on a sightseeing tour spotting birdlife, dolphins and seals within the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park. In warmer months, snorkel in some of Australia’s most biodiverse waters, and swim with dolphins and seals.

1.00pm

Make your way to Jack Rabbit for lunch – a 20-minute drive from Queenscliff. Dine at House of Jack Rabbit on the likes of local cider-battered gummy shark with fries and lemon aioli or house-smoked seafood platters. Or try upmarket Jack Rabbit Restaurant, which is in the business of smoked salmon with beetroot, treacle labneh, black lentils and preserved lemon , or confit duck with carrot and ginger puree and nashi pear. At either option, pair with a glass of the estate’s pinot noir.

3.00pm

Head next door to Terindah Estate for a wine tasting in the stunning cellar door, or order a glass of pinot noir to enjoy on the picturesque deck.

3.45pm

From here, either make your way back to Melbourne for dinner in one of the city's world-class restaurants, or continue on to the Mornington Peninsula where you can connect with our four-day Pinot Coast itinerary.

Continuing on? We're so glad. Allow 30 minutes from Terindah Estate to drive to the Queenscliff car ferry terminal. Ferries leave every hour on the hour, but vehicles must be checked in 40 minutes prior to departure time. It’s then a spectacular 40 minutes across the bay to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. Keep an eye out for dolphins.

6.00pm

Drive from the Sorrento ferry terminal to Lancemore Lindenderry Red Hill and check in to your room. Refreshed by Melbourne design studio Hecker Guthrie, the luxurious country-house hotel features exquisite gardens, vineyards and a cellar door, plus guest lounges with open fireplaces.

7.30pm

Dinner time. The restaurant at Lindenderry offers both à la carte and tasting menu options. Savour dishes in the style of Koo Wee Rup asparagus with baba ganoush, parsley and paperbark, or a kaffir lime meringue-based Eton mess with eucalyptus sorbet, vanilla custard and finger lime.