Heathcote Wine Tasting – Savour award-winning wines and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere

Heathcote is drawing more and more attention as a wine region and creating excitement in the industry regarding the quality of wine it’s now producing.  So, you want to learn more about the Heathcote region and taste some great Heathcote wines?  A great idea and we can already promise you now, that you will be in for a treat.  So the next question - what’s the best way to taste and explore the various wines and varieties of the region?   We have a few tips to help you find what you’re after.

You can either visit the region, or keep your ear to the ground and be in the right place when the region comes to visit you!  Let’s take a look at both options.

In Melbourne
In the past, the opportunity to taste great Heathcote wines has been limited.  Federation Square used to have a Heathcote regional wine tasting event, but that is not being continued.  The odd winery has small tastings of a handful of wines, but usually by invitation. 

But it’s now going to get easier, with the upcoming launch of the Heathcote Wine Club, which will be hosting a series of events for the public and its club members in Melbourne, including meet the winemaker tasting events, themed wine tasting events such as cheese and wine, blending your own wine, new varieties of the region, etc.  Keep your eyes out, it promises to be fun and different. 

Visiting the Region

Unwind from the hustle and bustle of the city, enjoy our warm hospitality and take advantage of as few or as many Heathcote Wine Tastings as you can squeeze in a weekend or even a day trip. Keep in mind that there are over 70 wineries in the region to choose from, but only around 15 to 20 are open on any given weekend and about half that on a weekday. 

If you want to get a truly good overview, you need to allot your time wisely to make the most of your Heathcote Wine Tasting experience.  After all, a Heathcote Wine tasting is supposed to be a relaxing affair to indulge and to enjoy. 

During your planning, just keep in mind that most of your Heathcote Wine Tasting will take place in boutique wineries with limited opening hours, and that while some wineries have established cellar doors, most in the region don’t.  If you want to go straight to the source to see where your favourite bottle is made and meet the people who work so hard and with so much passion, then it pays to call ahead and make an appointment.

On the other hand, to taste a wide variety and to discover Heathcote’s true gems from all over the region, there’s no need to spend most of the day driving up and down the country-side.

If you are wanting a guided tasting tour of the region under the one roof, independent expert advice on the wines or wineries, or a place to compare and buy mixed wines and varieties of the region all in one place, then the Heathcote Wine Hub is the perfect place for you.

Located in the centre of town, it’s not only the largest cellar door in Heathcote, but it also offers one of the most impressive Heathcote wine tastings – every day of the week.  There are 24 wines on taste every day and a range of about 200 wines from most of the producers throughout the region.  If you are looking for diversity and a way to see at one glance what the region has to offer, then here is the right place, with over 20 different varieties from the region. 

Not only will you be able to taste great wines, but you’ll hear all about the winemakers and the individual styles of wine they produce. You will find out which vintages were good for which wines, be told about the different soil types in Heathcote and see - or better yet taste - the distinction between the north and south wines of the region. On a first name basis with pretty much all winemakers in the region, the people at the wine hub have the insight and behind the scenes knowledge to guide you through the best the region has to offer.

You can also sit back with a tasting platter or vignerons board made from some of the finest local produce, by the open fire or outside in the lovely rear courtyard.  Also a provedore and café, you can get heaps of local produce – cheeses, cured meats, olives, olive oils, chutneys, etc, and some of the best coffee in town.

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Shiraz Wine in Australia - Heathcote is turning heads

It was said to have been Scottish immigrant James Bushy, often called the “Father of Australian viticulture” who, in 1832 returned with vine clippings from Europe and introduced today’s most celebrated Australian grape to the continent. Shiraz, or by its name in France, its country of origin, Syrah is a dark-skinned grape variety that produces excellent Shiraz wine Australia, appreciated for their rich blend of flavour combinations and balanced tannins. In moderate climates they tend to create wines with blackberry and peppery notes, while in hot climates, fruitier and spicier notes of liquorice, anis and earthy tastes are more predominant.

While Australian Shiraz wines on the whole already receive worldwide attention, in recent years, the small region of Heathcote in central Victoria seems to have inconspicuously developed into much of a talking point. Maybe it has to do with the fact that is has been blessed with a few advantages such as its famous Cambrian soil, or maybe it’s a result of the determination and passion of its winemakers that blend the best of the traditional wine making techniques with new ideas and drive to continually improve.

Mt. Camel Range, which stretches all the way from Corop in the north to Tooborac in the south certainly has a strong influence on the climate and the soil of the region. With an average of 8.5 sunshine hours per day, annual rainfall of only 578 mm and prevailing south-to-south-east winds, the growing season is warm and dry with relatively even temperature ranges. The much talked about red soil is yet another aspect of the virtues that the hillside vineyards have to offer and enables them to produce wines of depth and complexity, while maintaining elegance.  Numerous different and oftentimes confusing studies from experts are available about the geology and origin of landscapes and soils of the Heathcote soil, but one factor seems to be constant. The Cambrian earth, developed over millions of years, is a superb support for the making of Heathcote wines and turns them into great examples of what Shiraz Wines in Australia stand for.

In last year’s much-noticed Gourmet Traveller article “Red Hot Heathcote”, Nick Bulleid
wonders aloud why Heathcote has been overlooked for so long as a distinctive wine region, considering that the region produces such impressive red wines with great depths of flavour. He however also observed with great pleasure that the “Buzz” about Heathcote was still on, and ponders at length about the influence the dark red soil has on it all. Mildly acidic, but with a strong alkaline sub soil and good water holding capacity, he asks just how much of an influential role does it play on the characteristics of many of the Heathcote wines.

All in all, to the delight of the Heathcote wine makers, the article is full of praise for the Heathcote Shiraz and its combination of richness and elegance. Nick’s write up, based on a wine tasting comprising himself and five other panel members, remarks a consistency among Heathcote wines with tastes that have considerably improved since their last visit in 2007. He commented about the professionalism among the producers, and highlighted the panel’s favourites, including wines with rich, intense aromas with dark berries, dried spices and cedar.

Heathcote is indeed turning heads among the Shiraz Wine Australia and all signs are pointing to us only being at the beginning of Heathcote’s rise in popularity.

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