It’s time to curate your rural dream, roll up your sleeves and marvel over your tannin-stained fingertips.
Have you ever dreamed of opening your own cellar-door or small batch winery, or perhaps you are well-versed in the art and looking for a commercial-scale upgrade?
Step into your new life, and master the art of making fine wine – be it in South Australia’s McLaren Vale, Victoria’s Beechworth, Tasmania’s Huon Valley, or Western Australia’s Margaret River, to name a few.
There’s plenty of opportunity to get outside, take in the fresh air and enjoy the rolling hills, with many wineries on the market across the nation. Here are a handpicked few to start your shortlist.
Jones Road Winery, Moorooduc
Set across 5.2 hectares of gently rolling hills off the beaten track on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the decision to reinvigorate the award-winning winery, complete with its converted piggery-turned restaurant/cellar-door, is all yours. An orchard also awaits, with two separate driveways to the home and restaurant to ensure privacy is paramount. Countless opportunities exist with council permits ready to transform your reality into a retail outlet, a brewery, distillery, nursery/cafe or wedding venue, or just sit back and relax.
Brook Eden Vineyard, Lebrina
Set on gentle rolling slopes, this award-winning family-owned vineyard in northern Tasmania produces elegant cool-climate wines including riesling, chardonnay, pinot rose, pinot noir and pinot gris. There’s plenty of room to expand across its 30 hectares, with two adjoining titles also up for grabs. Improvements could include running the property with an organic focus, a rebuild of the original cottage, new cellar door offerings, a commercial kitchen and water storage.
McLaren Flat, McLaren Vale
Up for grabs for the first time in 80 years, this 4.5-hectare property in South Australia’s McLaren Vale wine region offers 360-degree views. With shiraz at your fingertips in a two-hectares vineyard just 45 minutes from Adelaide’s CBD, there’s an opportunity to go large and create your own label, or even larger and start a commercial-scale business. Stamp your mark on your new home with a renovation, and let your dreams roll in.
Hay Shed Hill Wines, Margaret River
This is a two-in-one opportunity to get your hands on an enterprise with incredible wineries and farmland, including Western Australia’s largest stand-alone vineyard, Hay Shed Hill . The winery, given five stars by James Halliday, is located in Margaret River’s Wilyabrup Valley, only five kilometres from the Indian Ocean. There are seven vineyards all up, plus farms and winemaking facilities, spread across Margaret River and The Great Southern wine region.
Ridgeview Estate, Hunter Valley
Potential brims in this family-owned estate in the Hunter Valley region of NSW, an area agents describe as resembling Tuscany in Italy. The Ridgeview Estate, started by Darren and Tracey Scott in 2000, is an award-winning winery spanning 13.4 hectares and producing varietals including shiraz, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, pinot gris, verdelho, sangiovese, merlot and chambourcin. All up, the sale includes about 53 hectares of land across two titles – the second spans 40.5 hectares – and has income streams that include a restaurant, cellar door, tourist accommodation, weddings and corporate functions, with potential to expand.
Star Lane Winery, Beechworth
In one of the nation’s most diverse wine regions, between Wodonga and Beechworth in Victoria, family-owned and operated Star Lane Winery has earned a reputation for producing high-quality wines. The property covers 18.9 hectares, with shiraz, chardonnay and merlot growing across four hectares of vineyards, with a dam and access to spring water. This unique landholding includes an architect-designed cellar door, and a renovated home surrounded by landscaped gardens.
Cradoc, Huon Valley
This contemporary winery located 50 kilometres south of Hobart, Tasmania, is nestled on the banks of the Huon River among the natural beauty of the Huon Valley wine region. Take advantage of the cool climate along with its cellar door, a state-of-the-art bottling facility, and a climate-controlled hall for 300 barrels. There are five freehold titles with 9.3 hectares of vineyard dedicated to pinot noir and chardonnay, irrigated by a 90-metre-deep bore.
Rowland Flat, Barossa Valley
With views over rolling hills and historic vineyards, 82 Church Road, Rowland Flat, is located on a major tourist route in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. The 10.2-hectare vineyard features shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot grapes, and comes with an optional contract to a local winery. The property, with a newly renovated home and a massive shed with a conference room, would also suit large-tourist-group accommodation. It has sustainability credibility with 80,000 litres of rainwater capacity.
