Helen & Joey Estate upgrade includes boutique hotel, restaurant, wedding space

The massive upgrade of a popular Yarra Valley winery, including a boutique hotel, restaurant and wedding space, is expected to drive a huge more tourists to the region.

Helen and Joey Estate has undergone a huge transformation.

A huge $20m upgrade of a popular Yarra Valley winery is expected to drive thousands of additional tourists to the region.

Helen and Joey Estate in Gruyere – famous for its giant unicorn mascot Bruce – has unveiled a new 16-room boutique hotel overlooking the vineyard, a 100-seat restaurant, and a landscaped outdoor space for weddings and events, collectively known as Re’em.

Fittingly the word Re’em is a Hebrew word that came through in the old King James version of the Bible, and was misinterpreted as meaning unicorn, which is the symbol of the Helen and Joey estate.

Bruce the unicorn at Helen and Joey Estate.

It has been a long journey to transform the Gruyere estate.

Helen and Joey business development and relationships manager Stephen Powell said before current estate owners Helen and Joey bought the property in 2010, the site was a working farm.

The vineyard was on the property, but the previous owners sold the grapes to other wine producers.

When Helen and Joey took over they restored the vineyard to having a focus on estate wines.

An old tractor shed was also converted into a cellar door which opened in 2015.

Mr Powell said Helen had always had a vision to develop the site.

The new restaurant offers largely modern Australian cuisine. Picture: Supplied.

“We really needed a vision that would allow us to make a substantial offering directly to consumers to build our own customer base, and this was our way of doing that,” he said.

Mr Powell said before the expansion, the winery attracted about 30,000 visitors a year and he anticipates their revenue stream will now grow to about three times what it has been.

The new restaurant serves largely modern Australian dishes, featuring regional seasonal produce.

“Our twist is (owners) Helen and Joey moved to Australia in 2010 from China, so we have flavour and technique influences that come from the provinces in China from where they grew up,” he said.

Respected chef and Yarra Valley local Mark Ebels, who previously worked at the Healesville Hotel and Tarrawarra, helped shape the restaurant’s food direction.

A view from the private balcony in one of the room's at the new hotel at Helen and Joey Estate in the Yarra Valley.

The hotel has large luxury suites on the top floor, with guests able to enjoy views of the vineyard and hills while they soak in huge baths.

There are also smaller rooms on the lower level which also offer a luxury experience, along with a private dining room/ micro-meeting area board room with capacity for 12 people.

Re’em will also host the new Helen and Joey Estate Winery Cellar Door.

The state government contributed $3.5m towards the upgrade and Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulos celebrated the opening of the expanded venue.

“The expansion of Helen and Joey Estate will allow visitors to stay longer and explore everything this beautiful region has to offer,” Mr Dimopoulos said.

“The Yarra Valley’s reputation as a world-class food and wine hotspot speaks for itself and this epic tourism operator will now support even more local jobs.”

More than 5.1 million visitors from across Australia visited the Yarra Valley in the 12 months to June 2023, generating more than $900m for the economy.