Wine is at the heart of everything at Balgownie. Elegant cool climate wines from the Yarra Valley and deeply complex and distinguished cellaring styles from the old vines growing in the original Balgownie Bendigo vineyards are available to enjoy in our Restaurant, Bar, and for tasting and purchase in our Cellar Door.
Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley is home to 17 acres of vineyards – about 50-50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – plus modern guest rooms and suite accommodation, brand new Restaurant 1309 @ Balgownie, and a new day spa in the works for 2022.
Support a local wine-making business with over 50-years of history, taste and purchase from our extensive boutique range from our Yarra Valley and Bendigo vineyards.
Balgownie wine club memberships/subscriptions are also available with a generous range of Balgownie benefits. It’s so easy to join online via your desktop, tablet, or right from your mobile phone.
Email Wine Club if you need a hand getting started here.
Cellar Door
Public Holiday hours may vary.
Sunday – Thursday
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tastings available 10:30 AM – 4:00 PM)
Friday – Saturday
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tastings available 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM)
Balgownie Yarra Valley Cellar Door
We recommend booking ahead for your wine tasting.
Group bookings welcome. Contact us to check availability.
1309 Melba Hwy, Yarra Glen VIC 3775
(enter via Gulf Rd)
Wine tasting fee for for walk in and restaurant guests. Check in-house for the current tasting menu and pricing.
In-house guests and wine club members enjoy complimentary wine tasting.
Meet our inhouse celebrity winemaker Tony Winspear, who has been nurturing Balgownie Estate grapevines from bud to bottle since 1994 and looks after our legendary Bendigo Winery and Yarra Valley vineyards to this day.
Tony’s Balgownie career began as a vineyard and cellar hand using traditional, handmade and time-honoured winemaking skills; vines were hand pruned, hand harvested, vats hand plunged, and skins basket pressed.
He worked his way up the ranks to Assistant Winemaker in 2005 whilst studying winemaking at Charles Sturt University. He became Head Winemaker for Balgownie in June 2012.
Throughout his career, Tony has helped produce premium fruit at other Central Victorian vineyards including Mt Ida Vineyard in Heathcote (a dry grown vineyard neighbouring Georgia’s Paddock at Jasper Hill) and numerous vineyards around the Bendigo district.
Tony is a hands-on winemaker, and very much at home in the cellar using traditional low intervention techniques. He is driven to continue traditional winemaking approaches in curating a true Balgownie cellaring style, all the while striving for balance and approachability and embracing innovation and sustainability.
Under Tony’s leadership, Balgownie produces elegant cool climate wines from the Yarra Valley and deeply complex and distinguished cellaring styles from the old vines growing in the original Bendigo vineyards.
The Estate has also celebrated numerous awards and accolades including 9 trophies and 31 gold medals at Australian Wine Shows.
The Balgownie Yarra Valley vineyards were planted in 2003. Tony produced the first Balgownie Yarra Valley Estate Chardonnay and Estate Pinot Noir vintages in 2013 when the vines had achieved maturity. The Estate Yarra Valley Pinot Noir Chardonnay wines are lovely examples of cool climate winemaking.
In 2015 Tony introduced light, low alcohol styles such as the Nouveau Syrah and the incredibly popular Balgownie Rose.
2021 and 2022 saw the release of a new Balgownie-Macedon sourced wine range including two traditional method Sparkling’s, a stylish Pinot Noir and a beautiful, fine Chardonnay.
James Halliday Wine Companion 2021 awarded Balgownie Estate a highly sought-after 5-Red-Star Winery rating (a truly humbling experience for Tony and Balgownie Estate).
A collection of highly rated premium single vineyard and Estate wines featured in the 2021 edition including; 2017 Centre Block (95PT), Railway Block (95PT) and Rock Block Shiraz (96PT), Cabernet Sauvignon (95PT) and 2012 Estate Chardonnay (96PT).
The Balgownie Wines brand continues to grow, with greater market reach than ever before and Tony’s remarkable vision, dedication, and traditional low intervention winemaking, are testament to its success.
Balgownie Estate Bendigo is the birthplace of Balgownie wine, now with a 30-hectare vineyard situated on a gentle slope overlooking Myer’s Creek at Maiden Gully just 15 minutes drive from the centre of the city of Bendigo.
A remarkable combination of alluvial clay soils and optimal climate (long warm summer days and cool overnight temperatures during the ripening months) make superb growing conditions for producing Balgownie’s intense and age-worthy wines (in particular, red wines).
Stuart Anderson who was a local pharmacist and a winemaker with a passion for classic French wine, planted the first vines at Balgownie Estate Bendigo in 1969. Before that time, it had been more than 80 years since a vineyard had been planted in the Bendigo district.
Inspired by Dr Max Lake of Hunter Valley fame (Lake’s Folly – Australia’s first boutique winery), Anderson initially planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz in 1969 with the first vintage in 1972. These 2 varieties along with Chardonnay are the mainstays of the vineyard today. Other sections were dedicated to Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Viognier and Sangiovese vines. Merlot, Viognier, and Sangiovese have already produced several classic and highly sought-after vintages.
Anderson and Balgownie Bendigo became pioneers of commercial winemaking, influencing a rapid expansion of winegrowing in Victoria’s central goldfields region and emerging as a serious red wine producer in the 1970’s. The Balgownie wine profile established was rich savoury flavours rather than simple fruity ones, with moderate alcohol and intelligent use of oak. The result was range of wines with a rare combination of vibrancy, genuine sense of honesty, and capacity to develop in the cellar.
In 1999 brothers and passionate wine lovers Des and Rod Forrester heard the rumour that Balgownie Estate was to be offered for sale. Digging out a couple of prized bottles of Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Rod’s cellar, they found themselves hatching a plan to buy the vineyard and the winery in Bendigo. The Forrester brothers and their long-term family friend Bill Freeman submitted a tender that same day, and with little to-ing and fro-ing the vineyard was theirs.
Excited by the potential to restore an iconic Victorian brand, the Forrester family set about refurbishing Balgownie Bendigo’s vineyards and winery. They planted additional vineyards including the first Sangiovese vines, and modernised their winery operations. A climate controlled barrel room and new stainless steel tanks with refrigeration were added just in time for the 2001 vintage. The improvements proved vital to the quality and aging ability of Balgownie wines.
In 2002 the Forrester’s purchased the Yarra Valley site. The Yarra Valley vineyards were planted in 2003 and included both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir which are the two varieties best suited to the cool climate region. Construction of a cellar door, restaurant, conference centre, 70 spa suite apartments and a state-of-the-art day spa followed – the first stage of the development completed and open to the public in December 2005.
In 2013 winemaker Tony Winspear was excited to discover that the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards had matured and were producing fruit that was of such exceptional quality, that it could be used to produce Estate grade wines for the very first time. The 2013 Estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir both proved to be extraordinary wines with complexity and a depth of flavour. In fact the 2013 Balgownie Black Label Pinot was awarded the trophy for best Pinot Noir at the 2014 Winewise Awards for boutique producers.
In June 2016, Balgownie was sold to Hang Tai Yue Group Holdings Ltd a Hong Kong public listed company who remain the owners of Balgownie today.
In 2020, in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, a terrible fire swept through the Yarra Valley Restaurant and Cellar Door (25th June). Balgownie Estate vowed to rebuild and construction spanned 2021. An innovative Eatery/Cellar Door out of a grand marquee operated in place of a tennis court throughout construction to offset business interruptions. Finally a new world class building featuring reception, restaurant and bar, cellar door and event facilities was welcomed in December 2021 (official public opening will be in 2022 TBA).
In 2021, Balgownie Estate Bendigo carried out renovations of its own, introducing a brand new dedicated Cellar Door space and extending its restaurant and Cellar Door deck frontage, now supporting the property’s on-site restaurant, glamping and homestead accommodation, and growing demand to experience Balgownie wine at the winery.
In 2022, Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley introduced a new state of the art administration building, and a one of a kind endota spa facility onsite, and room refurbishments are scheduled for 2023.
Winemakers at Balgownie have been loyal and long standing (in over 50 years, there have been just five) – Founder Stuart Anderson, Lindsay Ross, Tobias Ansted, Mark Lane and now Tony Winspear who climbed the ranks from vineyard and cellar hand (1994) to Assistant Winemaker (2005), and finally Chief Winemaker (since 2012).
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Essentials Wine Club
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From water conservation and reuse, power, effluent treatment systems, winery and vineyard initiatives and recycling, Balgownie Estate is committed to operating with the environment top of mind.
Meet our inhouse celebrity winemaker Tony Winspear, who has been nurturing Balgownie Estate grapevines from bud to bottle since 1994 and looks after our legendary Bendigo Winery and Yarra Valley vineyards to this day.
Balgownie Estate Bendigo is the birthplace of Balgownie wine, a 33-hectare vineyard situated on a gentle slope overlooking Myer’s Creek at Maiden Gully.
Subscribe and save when you wine, dine, and stay at Balgownie.
Balgownie has many initiatives in place to ensure we are doing our bit for the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. A healthy environment will enable us to grow the best fruit and make the best wine possible.
Limited Edition Balgownie-Macedon Sparkling wines.
Our decadent and finest quality Shiraz and Cabernet.
Cleansing and refreshing with aromas of pears and honey, combined with hints of fresh bread and yeast character. A perfect wine before a meal or on any occasion.
Huon Hooke says the palate is full-bodied and laden with tannin, but the wine is concentrated and deep, and everything is in superb balance. Long, long carry and a touch of elegance. A striking shiraz bubbly.
A lively blend of equal parts Cabernet and Shiraz fermented separately and blended together just prior to bottling. Has all the lightness and fresh fruit flavours you would expect including cherry, strawberry and watermelon.
This wine is 30% off while stocks last.
A complex array of aromas including lime, lemon citrus, stone fruit, nougat and cream backed by gentle toasty oak notes. The palate is balanced with an intricate and creamy mouth-feel from the extended aging on lees.
The Chardonnay displays a bouquet of white flowers and citrus alongside grilled peaches and toasty yeast characters.
The Rouge displays hallmark aromas of wild strawberries and red cherries with notes of spice and subtle earthiness.
These new sparkling varieties are extremely limited. Buy now to avoid disappointment. Available for tasting in Cellar Door.
Hand harvested from the best rows of the original 1969 Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon plantings in our Bendigo vineyards.
The 2015 Old Vine Shiraz tannins are extremely fine and persistent and the palate continues on and on.
The 2015 Old Vine Cabernet shows great complexity and concentration of red and black fruits whilst retaining a seamless elegance.
Very limited cases available.
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