Head to the country for wine open spaces

Big houses on large blocks offer a lifestyle change for city-dwellers hankering for room.

145 Edward Road, at Chirnside Park in the Yarra Valley, boasts 8m ceilings.

If you have to ask the price you probably can’t afford one, but there are plenty of rural spreads for sale in wine regions — some with vineyards, some without — and most at a fraction of the price of a luxury mansion in Melbourne’s South Yarra, Sydney’s north shore or Adelaide’s Glenelg.

In South Australia, real estate buyers in the Barossa Valley often look for a vineyard or an opportunity to establish one, says Sotheby’s agent Christine Esau.

The drawcard is the fertile terra rossa soil: much like France’s Champagne region, only wines from grapes grown in that soil can be labelled as terra rossa.

Other buyers are looking for a lifestyle change and appreciate the nearby shops and private schools.

“Views are important — the rolling hills and the like are very pleasing on the eye,” Esau says. “People are looking for good water supply because they worry about drought. So having a dam or reliable water is important.”

Sotheby’s has listed an estate in Yaldara Drive, Lyndoch, in the heart of the Barossa Valley for $2.95 million. It features a four-bedroom mansion and two guesthouses with four suites including private entrances. It has been run as a hotel but a new owner could plant vineyards in the terra rossa soil or graze livestock.

In the NSW township of Mudgee, the Farmer’s Daughter Winery, a few hours from Sydney or Newcastle is on the market for the first time in 50 years with an asking price of $4.5m.

Owner Lance Smith is selling the spread, including a vineyard, homestead and guest cottages on 28ha after building up the business over 17 years. Smith reckons he sells about 2000 bottles of wine, particularly Shiraz, from his cellar door each weekend at $25 a pop.

Apart from the vineyard, the property features a homestead and five separate guest cottages ranging from one to three bedrooms set among the vineyards. Smith says the average occupancy was 68 per cent last year. An average stay costs about $140 a night per couple. The property in the heart of the Mudgee wine country, which has at least 35 cellar doors, is being marketed by John Basa of Sydney’s DJW Property.

In Victoria’s Yarra Valley, on the northeastern fringe of Melbourne, homebuyers are attracted by the region’s wineries and golf courses, as well as the opportunity to buy a luxury home for a fraction of city prices.

Semi-retirees are drawn to the area given they can make the 45-minute commute to the city, says Jellis Craig agent Matthew Lockyer. “It’s not so much to run a winery, when they realise how much work’s involved. It’s probably more enjoying the atmosphere.”

He sees buyers moving from Hawthorn or Canterbury in Melbourne’s prestigious southeast for a tree change, as well as Asian buyers drawn to the wine region.

Large homes with views are in demand, most of which have four or more garage spaces. Up to $2.5m buys a spacious lifestyle property with a tennis court and swimming pool.

Jellis Craig is offering a six-bedroom home on 1.6ha with 360 degree views, 8m ceilings, European appliances and garaging for up to 12 cars at Edward Road, Chirnside Park. Price expectations are more than $7m.

Compared to the top homes in Toorak, the property is “three times the size, and 10 times the land,” Lockyer says.