Getaway gourmets: Food trails show why Victoria has Australia’s finest food, wine and produce

AUSTRALIA’S best food, wine and produce is easily found close to home on Victoria’s gourmet food trails. Take a trip and see why our food trails are the greatest.

Winemaker, Sarah Crowe in the cellar at Yarra Yering winery in Victoria's Yarra Valley. Picture: David Geraghty

VICTORIANS don’t have to travel far to enjoy some of the best food, wine and produce in the world.

Our state is compact, it’s fertile and it boasts and amazing array of foodie experiences within a couple of hours of the city.

It’s so easy to plan a food lovers’ getaway. Here are a few ideas to whet your appetite.

YARRA VALLEY TRAILS

The Yarra Valley is perhaps the home of gourmet food trails in Victoria, with a range of options that covers the region’s best wines, ciders and ales, cheeses, chocolate and other foodstuffs.

Other trails highlight the Yarra Valley’s stunning scenery, vibrant arts community and picturesque picnic spots.

There is even a trail to guide you through the Yarra Valley’s best berry farms, orchards and vegetable farms so that you can create your own foodie experience.

Sip sparkling wines overlooking the vines and the hills at Domaine Chandon, watch craftspeople at work and let the kids play at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery near Yarra Glen, pick your own Christmas cherries at the Cherryhill Orchard in Wandin East or take a wine tour that was hand-picked by industry luminary James Halliday.

The best part? It’s only an hour from Melbourne. Get the details on the Yarra Valley’s best trails here.

BELLARINE TASTE TRAIL

The rolling hills and sea views of the Bellarine Peninsula make for a stunning getaway and one of the best ways to see the peninsula at its best is the Bellarine Taste Trail.

Everything on the trail is just minutes from Geelong.

Jack Rabbit Vineyard on the Bellarine Peninsula. Picture: News Corp Australia

The trail swings by the Bellarine’s wineries, cheesemakers, fresh fish merchants, a la carte restaurants, cafes and providores.

Do yourself a favour and stop by Rolling Pin Pies and Cakes in Ocean Grove or Queenscliff for a Susie’s Seafood Pie — if you can fit one in.

Want to know more? You’ll find all the information you need to plan a Bellarine foodie getaway here.

THE OTWAY HARVEST TRAIL

This trail celebrates the rich farming tradition of the Colac otway region.

You will find wineries and fine eateries on this trail, but there is also a range of farm shops that incorporates some of the area’s premium produce including beef, dairy, berries, garlic and preserves, organic food, cider and wool.

Head to the Moriac Farmstead Dairy at Moriac, west of Geelong, where you can take in the fresh air and relax with local speciality coffee and clean, green food.

You can get saffron right from the source, learn to cook at the Cucina Colac Cookery School, or visit providores that specialise in fresh pasta, local cheeses and smallgoods and gluten-free goodies.

Find all the information on the best gourmet spots in the Otways here.

Explore the fine fare by road or bicycle along the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail in northeastern Victoria. Picture: Tourism North East

MURRAY TO MOUNTAINS RAIL TRAIL

Tour the stunning Ovens Valley on your bike on the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, or follow along by road, on a tour that takes you from Wangaratta to the gorgeous resort town of Bright, with a side trip to the beautifully preserved gold rush town of Beechworth.

This tour puts you in easy reach of the celebrated Rutherglen and King Valley wine regions along with a host of breweries and cideries, great cafes, fine dining and gorgeous scenery in the foothills of some of Victoria’s highest mountains.

There are also two easy road cycles — from Wangaratta to Milawa, where you can taste wines at Brown Brothers and enjoy Milawa Cheese, and from Wahgunyah on the Murray to Rutherglen, where some of Australia’s finest red and fortified wines are produced.

And then there is the Prosecco Road tour, which takes you to the best King Valley vineyards.

A cycling tour of this area on the rail trails includes few hills. It’s family friendly, it’s a great way to explore towns like Myrtleford, Beechworth and Bright and it’s a terrific way to pedal off the calories as you eat your way through the delights of the northeast.

THE DAYLESFORD AND MACEDON TASTY LITTLE TOURING MAP
This stunning getaway allows you to base yourself in the mountain towns of Daylesford, Trentham, Kyneton or Woodend, all little more than an hour from the Melbourne CBD.

The acclaimed Lake House and Farmers Arms Hotel are two of Daylesford’s culinary jewels, but they’re by no means the end of the story.

Bernie Jurcan inspects the latest batch of preserved meats from his family’s business, Istra Smallgoods near Daylesford. Picture News Corp Australia

Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges offers a variety of foodie experiences. You can hunt for truffles at Black Cat Truffles in Wattle Flat, or drop into Istra, just east of Daylesford, for some of Victoria’s best bacons and smallgoods.

The Piper Street Food Company in Kyneton, in the heart of the town’s historic precinct, is a charcuterie that offers cookery classes and picnic packs (picnic at Hanging Rock, about 15km away).

The Holgate Brewery in Woodend has a fine range of house-brewed delights.

The region boasts a bevy of boutique wineries including Cobaw Ridge and the Hanging Rock Winery. For more information check out the Tasty Little Touring Map.

Gourmet food trails can be found all over Victoria. Virtually every region of the state has them. If you’re looking for more ideas, go to: http://www.visitvictoria.com/.

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