A French winery in the Yarra Valley, complete with accent-clad staff, a nice variety of wine and…read morefull lunch menu. The winery is petite especially on a busy weekend, so you will be snuggled up at the tasting bar or browsing their cute gift shop. With limited seating indoors and outside, it's intimate so groups need to book ahead. There is a cosy and rustic feel, family owned. The wines are good but can easily jump to pricey selections. The food was phenomenal. I was impressed with the menu and everyone from my dining party enjoyed their dishes, from lamb roast, pork belly salad and beef ribs. Even the French fries were good, as they should be! Excellent portion sizes. It's a beautiful stop on a sunny, summer day and a break from the bigger wineries. You will enjoy their personal touch and ambiance.

Lovely winery in a beautiful setting. The wine maker is 10th generation (French heritage) and their…read morewines are very nice, although only a small selection is available to taste. The lady who took us through the wine tasting and 'cellar tour' was very knowledgable and gave us plenty of tips on how to actually TASTE our wine properly. There is also a cafe for a small bite to eat or a coffee to perk you up during your winery tour.

The Carlton United Brewery Tour gives you insight into how your favourite beers are made. On the…read moretour you get a brief rundown of the beer making process and get to see the process in action, from brewing to bottling it is all completed here at the Carlton United Brewery. You can ask questions as well. The tour itself last 45 minutes and takes you into the brewery to see the action...or lack thereof. The tours run Monday to Friday and some Saturday mornings, and I choose a Friday afternoon to take the tour. The brewery was pretty much deserted, save for a few maintenance workers, you see depending on the demand the staff can shut up shop Friday's. So the only action our large tour group witnessed was bottling, which was frantic and fast! The best part of the tour naturally was the beer tasting back at the Brew House (see prior review for Brew House itself) where we each got to chose four 100ml tastings from the range of 10 options at the bar. They ranged from the good -Cascade, VB and Carlton Dry to the bad - Fosters and Pear Cinder. The tour seems rather rushed and given the lack of brewing action was rather lackluster however I took my Dad for his birthday and he enjoyed it. It was his first brewery tour and loved learning about the process and of course the samples. I have spent many hours on such tours and this tour was not up to scratch. Carlton United has the potential to be a great tourism destination and brand opportunity but an both accounts this the experience fails. The tour goes through the motions without flare. I would give the tour two stars in itself, but then they give you beer, so it can't really be all bad!

The team on the CUB tour were friendly and helpful and we did have a good time. We were running…read morelate and had forgotten we needed enclosed shoes, which seemed to really annoy one of the male staff members. Thankfully there was a lovely lady that was more than happy to help us out. We picked up the tour probably 2 - 5 mins behind and the lovely guide brought us up to speed without missing a beat. When comparing the tour with others such as XXXX and the Bundaberg tour, I felt a bit disappointed. The guide was funny and quirky which made the tour interesting and time passed quickly. After the tasting we decided to have lunch and ordered a few beers to go with the meal. The beers were very well priced, however not all beers on offer were available because they don't stock everything in the fridges?!?! Arh, aren't we at a brewery? No cold beer?!?! Isn't there a joke about that? The meal was VERY slow to come out. It was tasty but nothing to write home about. I certainly wouldn't rush back, having said that we did have a good day.

Game of Rhones is a fantastic idea and hopefully continues for years to come. The format is proven…read morewith similar events such as Pinotpalooza, but it is enhanced with a funky theme being embraced by the producers. Medieval dress up party meets wine, what's not to like? There were about 175 wines on offer, which I made a valiant effort to sample the bulk of. To be honest, the only flaw with this format is that after about two hours, you have done a decent number on your palate, rendering most things to taste largely like each other. The app was a little clunky, but the direct ordering function was ingenious. Due to being financially challenged at the time, I could not take advantage of this wonderful feature. My one suggestion would be that a wider selection of food could have been good, especially if it were Game of Thrones inspired. Bowl of brown, anyone? Next time, I'm going to go in costume. In fact, I think it should be compulsory. I will also award a prize (may or may not consist of a handshake) to any winemaker who makes a Game of Thrones inspired label/branding.

I like drinking wine. So much so that I will vow never to miss one of these events from Dan and the…read morecrew at bottle shop concepts again. While I'm not a massive GoT fan i do appreciate a good dress up party and this did not disappoint, there were dragons and scantily clad queens and kings. For me though the 175 wines from the Rhone Valley stole the show. I think I may have tasted about 30% of what was on offer and ended up putting about $300 worth in my shopping cart that can be delivered to your door by the the lovely team at Prince Wine Stores. This in itself is what all other wine shows should be benchmarked on. Well done to everyone involved!!

An unusual venue for a distillery but what a find. Once inside you are transported (no pun…read moreintended) away from Essendon airport to a world passionate about the craft of Whisky. Try the tasting flight for a great experience with a group of friends. Not a whisky drinker I can say the experience was fun, educational and friendly. The whisky aficionados amongst us (read: Whisky snobs) were 'unecpectedly impressed".

https://www.patientwolfgin.com/…read more Quality/Quantity - What a great find. Known for their gin and cocktails. Atmosphere - Beautiful new business...? Well the place looks brand new. See pictures. Open Wednesday to Sunday, see picture. Website hours read Thursday through Sunday. So call on Wednesday to confirm if you are going. Also available: Table bookings - Flight and food pairing, starting at $40 AUD. Gin Master class $50pp. Spritz Master class $60pp. Bottomless gin package $75pp (2 hour limit). Also available for events and functions. Service - Good, but way too early to drink. I wanted to come back later in the day. Too bad we never made it back. Price - See pictures or website. Owner Comment - Congrats to Matt & Dave, founders. Wishing you both the best.

We thoroughly enjoyed this family owned winery. Our tasting included an unoaked Chardonnay, a dry…read morerose, Shiraz, Pinot noir, Cabernet and a merlot. All we're great on their own. We were surprised and especially fond of the Chardonnay but my favorite was the cab. The owners were a delight and so friendly. Put this winery on your list for a laid back, entertaining and enjoyable wine tasting experience.

I've done the majority of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and, man, could the KY distilleries learn a…read morething or two from Starward about presentation! Starward is an easy 30 minute walk from the Yarra Promenade into a warehouse district reminiscent of Lexington, KY. It is set in a very spacious warehouse that allows for guests to see the stills while enjoying a drink at the bar. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays they offer a quick 50 minute tour of the distillery that includes a tasting of the Solera and Wine Cask whiskies for 10 AUD/person. Their whiskies are very unique and do not feel to just be an imitation of the peaty Scottish liquors. If you do not want to tour (or if you are convinced you need to try more drinks post tour), there is a bar with ample seating area. I'd suggest ordering their Tenth Anniversary whisky neat; it is very clean and tasty. Based off you preference from the tastings, you can pick from a good variety of mixed drinks. For Wine Cask fans, I would suggest their Brunswick Fizz which has the Wine Cask, vermouth, lemon, syrup, and egg white. Solera fans should try the Battle for NOLA which is a combination of their Solera, absinthe, and bitters. If you've met your maximum of whisky, they offer gin and some local beer and wine. The employees are all very kind and great conversationalists. If coming in the middle of the day, there are a few little cafes in the area that are open through lunch. Starward does offer some meat and cheese plates. Otherwise, plan to eat before heading over to the area. I cannot wait from them to break into the US market! Until now, stock up on some bottles for your trip home.

Wow, what a beautiful venue... outdoor concerts.... Weddings...etc…read more. We enjoyed our wine tasting....prior to Rochford winery our sommelier worked 12 years in Napa... he pointed out the difference in each wine... very helpful... Our excursion also included lunch... I had the pasta dish.. it was so delicious with lots of wonderful flavors... A great bus ride through the countryside of Melbourne.

This was a stop on a wine tour I was a part of…read more Wine flavored gin?? YES PLEASE! The gin was good, but a lot of people within my tour agreed we needed tonic water, which they gladly gave us. Not only did we taste wine flavored gin, but we also had an entire wine tasting as well as lunch. I had salmon and the most delicious in-house made bread. I would definitely return here!