King Valley Wineries
Milawa sits a short drive south-east of Wangaratta, at the mouth of the King Valley. From there the valley follows the King River south through Oxley and Whitfield to Cheshunt, at the foot of the Alpine National Park, roughly three hours north-east of Melbourne. This is Australia's home of Italian wine styles and the region that produced the first premium Australian Prosecco. Nearly all of the King Valley cellar doors sit along the one road, affectionately known as Prosecco Road, so the best wineries in the King Valley can be strung together without much driving between stops. Moreover, the valley itself is worth the trip, a green stretch of river, vines and mountains that gets better the further south you go.
King Valley wineries to visit
Brown Brothers
244 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Road, Milawa.
Cellar door open daily 9am to 5pm.
The Brown family has been making wine on this site since 1889 and is now one of the most popular family wineries in the country, famed for their Prosecco and sparkling. There's also a hatted restaurant led by executive chef Bodee Price, serving lunch Thursday to Monday from a seasonal set menu built around the kitchen garden. Guests in the Balcony Sunset Suite at Lancemore Milawa look west across the historic Brown Brothers vineyard, which makes the walk over for a tasting a short one.
Wood Park Wines
17 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Road, Milawa (inside the Milawa Cheese complex).
Cellar door open daily 10am to 5pm.
Wood Park pours inside the Milawa Cheese complex, open seven days, so a tasting slots in alongside cheese and bread from the neighbours. Winemaker John Stokes covers the King Valley classics, Prosecco, Pinot Gris, Sangiovese and Cabernet, and keeps a few less common varieties on the list for anyone who wants to taste beyond the obvious.
Sam Miranda
1019 Snow Road, Oxley.
Cellar door open daily 10am to 5pm.
The Miranda family has been making wine since 1939, and the Oxley cellar door is set underground, which keeps it cool through summer. Tastings run daily, with short flights for anyone passing through and longer ones for a proper sit-down. The restaurant opens daily for lunch and draws on an organic produce garden on site, so booking ahead is worth the trouble. Dogs are welcome in the outdoor areas.
John Gehrig Wines
80 Gehrigs Lane, Oxley.
Cellar door open daily 10am to 5pm (10am to 3pm Wednesday and Thursday).
A small family tasting room in Oxley, on the King River, making wine since 1976. The focus is cool-climate reds and whites, tastings are free, and the room is relaxed enough that you can take your time over the list. The family's roots are in Rutherglen, going back to 1860, so the fortifieds are a serious part of the range, with muscat and tawny alongside a well-regarded Riesling. This is another pet friendly venue, with dogs welcomed.
Dal Zotto
4861 Wangaratta-Whitfield Road, Whitfield.
Cellar door open daily 10am to 5pm.
Dal Zotto planted Prosecco in the King Valley in 1999, the first in the country to do so commercially. Founder Otto Dal Zotto was born in Valdobbiadene, in the Italian heartland of the style. Our hot tip on one to try is the Col Fondo, Prosecco made the way Italian farmers once did it, unfiltered and left on its lees, so it is cloudy, savoury and nothing like the supermarket version. Tastings are split two ways, one covering reds and whites, the other built around the Prosecco range, and bookings are recommended.
Pizzini
175 King Valley Road, Whitfield.
Cellar door open daily 10am to 5pm.
Italian varieties are the whole point at 175 King Valley Road, Whitfield. The Pizzini family came from Trentino, planted their first vines here in 1978 and put the first wine under their own label out in 1994; it is now one of the King Valley names you are most likely to find on a bottle shop shelf anywhere in the country. Sangiovese and Nebbiolo lead the list, with plenty of company. The cellar door opens daily, and seated tastings run about 45 minutes, so book rather than drop in. Cheese and salumi plates are available to eat in the grounds, there's a cooking school on site, and pets on leads are welcome.
La Cantina
54 Honeys Lane, Whitfield.
Cellar door open daily 10am to 5pm.
The Corsini family, now into its third generation, makes preservative-free and vegan-friendly wines from estate fruit. The label started as "Gino's Vino", the house wine Gino Corsini made on the family tobacco farm, and it only went on sale after guests at his daughter's 1992 wedding asked where they could get it. The stone cellar door he built in 1997 is where you taste it now. The cellar door opens seven days with complimentary tastings, and you can build your own platter with Milawa cheese to go alongside.
Chrismont
251 Upper King River Road, Cheshunt.
Cellar door open daily 10am to 5pm.
Chrismont sits high above the valley floor, looking across to the Black Ranges. The restaurant runs Friday to Tuesday from noon, though it's worth checking current days before you drive up. The list is where the emerging varieties are: Fiano, Arneis, Aglianico and Sagrantino, alongside Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Barbera and Sangiovese.
Lindenderry Estate at Lancemore Milawa
223 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Road, Milawa.
Poured by the glass at Merlot Restaurant Bar.
Not a cellar door in the usual sense, but worth a place on the list: Lindenderry Estate is Lancemore's own label, made by Barney Flanders with a 5-star Halliday winery rating, from fruit grown at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula and the Macedon Ranges.
The dedicated cellar door is at Lancemore Lindenderry Red Hill on weekends. At Milawa you taste by the glass at Merlot or on The Terrace, and bottles are available through the Lancemore online shop.
Several stops on this list are a 30 to 45 minute drive up the valley, so sort out a designated driver or book a tour before you go.
What wine is the King Valley known for?
Prosecco comes first in any answer about what the region is known for. The King Valley made Australia's first premium Prosecco, and the style still shapes the place. Sangiovese follows, with the valley leading the country for that grape, and Italian varieties fill out most cellar door lists. Vineyards sit between 155 and 860 metres, and that altitude spread explains the breadth of what grows here.
Where to stay for a King Valley wine trip
Lancemore Milawa sits at 223 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Road, at the mouth of the valley. Brown Brothers is across the road. Wood Park and the Milawa Cheese Company are a few minutes away, and the Whitfield and Cheshunt cellar doors are all reached by the one road south. You drive out, you taste, you come back.
The hotel has 40 rooms and took the 2023 AHEAD Award for Best Hotel Renovation. There's a pool, guest lounges with open fires for the colder months, and The Terrace, which looks out over the resident Merlot vines towards Mt Buffalo.
Merlot Restaurant Bar handles dinner Monday to Saturday and breakfast every day, with bookings essential for dinner. Sommelier Jacquie Lewis oversees a wine list that leans local, so you can keep tasting King Valley bottles after the cellar doors have closed.
The Explore King Valley package is built around this kind of trip for anyone who'd rather have the pieces put together already.
For how to round out your trip outside of wine, see 48 Hours in Gourmet Milawa.
