Clonakilla, MurrumbatemanCredit: Destination NSW
General Manager David Reist with a glass of red wine in the Clonakilla cellar door in Murrumbateman.
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The Canberra District has sprawling vineyards, award-winning cellar doors, locavore restaurants and a flourishing community of growers, makers and artisans — and it’s less than three hours from Sydney by car.
Highlights:
- Sample cool-climate wines at some of the 30 cellar doors in the region
- Browse for gourmet souvenirs at countless shops and markets
- Dine on fine fare at restaurants like Olleyville, Westering or Grazing
Drink
The Canberra District may be a young wine region (the first vines were planted here in 1971), but it’s grown up fast. The district now has more than 140 vineyards and 30 cellar doors. Your first stop? Make it the acclaimed winery hub of Murrumbateman, 40km north of Canberra. Book a tasting at the cellar door at Clonakilla — its shiraz viognier has been awarded Wine of the Year multiple times by Australia’s leading wine critics. Nearby at Helm Wines, you can sample the vineyard’s rieslings and cabernets in a 19th-century schoolhouse, or visit Shaw Wines and enjoy pours of its cool-climate wines with sweeping views of the hills. At Four Winds Vineyard, you can relax on sprawling lawns with wood-fired pizza and live music, and try the riesling gin, the result of an inspired collaboration with The Canberra Distillery. Step back in time in the heritage-listed village of Gundaroo, where your personalised tasting experience at Gundog Estate’s cellar door is complemented with cheese and charcuterie, and takes place in the estate’s former stables.
Eat
The Canberra District is perfect for food lovers: its towns and villages feature artisan producers, providores, cellar door restaurants and growers markets hawking local specialties like apples, nashi pears, olives, truffles and exotic mushrooms. At the grounds of the family-run Poachers Pantry estate, you can taste what’s in season at The Smokehouse Restaurant. Here, meats are cured and smoked in-house, organic produce is grown in the kitchen garden and wines are made in the surrounding vineyards. Olleyville’s refined menu takes advantage of its Shaw Wines location (the rich 12-hour lamb shoulder is served with jus made from the estate's shiraz). And the decadent grazing boards at Lake George Winery’s Westering restaurant showcase its estate, too: alongside the gourmet cheeses, charcuterie and dips are grapes from its vines and jelly made from red wine. Grazing highlights the region’s wines while serving quality produce (like saltwater barramundi and Black Angus beef) in a historic 1830s inn recognised by the National Trust. Spend a romantic night in Yazzbar, an intimate country bar that offers live music, boutique local wines and a tapas-style menu that makes the most of the local produce. Pick up road-trip snacks in between wines at Clementine Bakery, where the sourdough bread, croissants and pastries often sell out.
Shaw Wines, Murrumbateman Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a glass of wine at Shaw Wines, Murrumbateman.
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Shaw Wines, Murrumbateman Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a glass of wine at Shaw Wines, Murrumbateman.
Poachers Pantry, Springrange Credit: Destination NSW
Food and drink at Poachers Pantry, Springrange.
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Poachers Pantry, Springrange Credit: Destination NSW
Food and drink at Poachers Pantry, Springrange.
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Food lovers will appreciate Canberra District for its gourmet souvenirs: buy bottles of mead, jars of honey, and hand-crafted beeswax candles at Win’s Creek Meadery; find Belgian chocolates that spotlight the region’s produce (Clonakilla muscat, walnuts from the chocolatier’s own tree) at Robyn Rowe Chocolates; or snap up fresh goods from local stallholders (Aunt Jessy’s Cheese, La Barre Olives) at the Murrumbateman Village Market. Get inspired at Suki & Hughes Gallery, which showcases modern Australian art with a focus on glass, ceramics, paintings and paper works. Bring home a treasure from Village Antiques, located in the historic town of Bungendore. Adventure seekers can saddle up for a ride through the countryside with Burnelee Excursions on Horseback. Or head to the pastoral town of Yass to try water sports at Burrinjuck Dam and explore Careys Cave, a spectacular limestone landscape with beautiful rock formations.
Stay
Rest your head at Abode Murrumbateman, a stylish apartment hotel located in the heart of Canberra’s wine country. It has generously equipped rooms, a modern guest lounge and bicycles for hire. Or go for a more immersive experience and settle in at the Tallagandra Hill Cottages, situated on the scenic grounds of a boutique family-owned winery in Gundaroo. You’ll appreciate having accommodation footsteps away, after a day of sampling the vineyard’s viognier and tempranillo with manchego-style cheese and triple-cream brie.
Clonakilla, Murrumbateman Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a bike ride around the Clonakilla Wines vineyard in Murrumbateman.
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Clonakilla, Murrumbateman Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a bike ride around the Clonakilla Wines vineyard in Murrumbateman.
Robyn Rowe Chocolates, Murrumbateman Credit: Destination NSW
Boutique handmade chocolates available for purchase at Robyn Rowe Chocolates, Murrumbateman.
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Robyn Rowe Chocolates, Murrumbateman Credit: Destination NSW
Boutique handmade chocolates available for purchase at Robyn Rowe Chocolates, Murrumbateman.
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Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, CorowaCredit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a visit to Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa.
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Feast on the riches of one of Australia’s most important food bowls on a road trip through the Murray, named after the mighty river that flows through this southwest area of New South Wales. Float down the river on a historic paddlesteamer wine cruise, stop by farm gates to sample incredible fresh produce, and dine at chic restaurants and bars in this unique culinary playground.
Take the back roads for gourmet treats
Head off the beaten path along The Backroads Trail, a 250km driving route that passes through the small pastoral towns of Barham, Moama, Mathoura and Deniliquin on the upper reaches of the Murray River. Sink your teeth into fresh olives, avocados, free-range pork, honey and citrus fruit from farm gates along its loops and trails, and taste the region’s wines at vineyards such as Restdown Wines. While you’re at this winery, venture out along the Restdown Wetland Walk to encounter Aboriginal cooking hearths and an old sheep camp.
Cruise along to The Old School Winery & Meadery in Womboota to pick up wine, pottery and honey mead. Or seek out Ivy Joyce in Barham to indulge in a warm space, offering local produce from farms for a truly paddock to plate experience in the heart of Murray River country. For more snacks and meaty fare such as British-style pork pies and sausages, head to Pacdon Park’s factory shop in Moama.
You can work up an appetite as you build your own itinerary on the theme of food, paddocks and produce, and find suggested routes and maps to Murray River farm gates, at the Echuca Moama Visitor Centre.
Wine and dine along the river
Embark on a wine tour by water in Moama, where the first steamboats made their way up the Murray in 1853. Take a Murray River Paddlesteamers Wharf to Winery Cruise from the town to Morrisons Riverview Winery for a leisurely lunch. Or drive along the river, stopping in at Three Black Sheep for risotto and woodfired pizzas, and tasting crisp dry whites and full-flavoured reds at St Anne’s Vineyards, where you can nibble on a cheese platter overlooking a scenic lake.
Head east along the riverside roads to rest and recharge in the town of Tocumwal, known for its riverside beaches, golf courses, glider flying and iconic Big Murray Cod statue. Start the following day with a solid foundation of breakfast pizza (topped with bacon, eggs and a hash brown) at The Old Bank and indulge in a scoop of ice-cream or sorbet from Tocumwal Ice Creamery – flavours include rocky road, green apple or macadamia. If you’re in town on a Saturday, pick up honey, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, dressings and other condiments made by local producers at the Tocumwal Foreshore Markets.
Continue your odyssey along the river to Corowa, the birthplace of Australian Federation. Immerse in the town’s rich turn-of-the-20th-century colonial heritage as you make your way to the former 1920s flour mill housing Corowa Distilling Co. Here you can book a whisky tasting and behind-the-scenes tour and buy locally made chocolates and sweets from sister shop Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory. Work off an indulgent afternoon with a walk along the river before settling into the stylish Circa 1936 hotel, which is housed in an Art Deco former bank on the main street of Corowa.
Celebrate regional ingredients in Albury
From Corowa, follow the Riverina Highway eastward to the city of Albury, a food, wine and culture hub. Taste how seasonality and locality are expressed at The Proprietor, a former butcher shop turned cafe offering brunch treats such as fruit toast with Beechworth honey and whipped ricotta, and banana waffles with Gundowring vanilla ice-cream. Or try the all-day breakfast offering at Mr Benedict, from cheesy bacon waffle with popcorn chicken to one of its signature eggs benedicts, including one with cider-braised ham hock.
At The River Deck restaurant, local ingredients are celebrated alongside stunning river views, and dishes may include chicken Caesar salad with Milawa eggs or beef brisket braised in coffee by Albury roaster The Brothers Cup. At tiny and elegant Bistro Selle, complement warm Gooramadda olives with a buttery Australian chardonnay and fresh market fish. Yardbird offers a bold-flavoured menu featuring dishes like scorched Albacore tuna, along with meats grilled in a Spanish woodfired oven.
In between meals, stroll along the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk and take in the contemporary artworks by Aboriginal artists that line the Wagirra Trail. Meander through the Murray Art Museum Albury’s contemporary photographic collection, Aboriginal art and works by renowned Australian artist Sir Russell Drysdale. Afterwards, order lunch or dinner at the museum’s excellent Canvas Eatery – try the saltbush lamb rump or one of their Neapolitan-style pizzas.
The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
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The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
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Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
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Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.
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Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.