The other side of the Grampians
Take in mountain views, winery tours and plenty more on a visit to the Victorian region.
What to do in the Northern Grampians.
1 The custodians of the mountains that rise starkly from western Victoria’s volcanic plain call them Gariwerd and they recognise six seasons. In Ballambar (mid-November to late January) there’s an abundance of butterflies, while Petyan is the time for wildflowers. Now it is winter, or Chinnup, known for the presence of cockatoos and fungi. Gariwerd hosts 80 per cent of Victoria’s rock art sites, and Ballambar butterflies abound at the most treasured, Bunjil’s Cave near Stawell, which depicts an eagle (Bunjil) and two dingoes, his helpers. Bunjil was a creator and then protector of the entire natural world, and with his work done he’s now a star in the sky. This small cave’s position is significant, among boulders on a hill with the broad sweep of the Grampians, including the dominant Mt William.
2 The variety of paths and vantage points in the Grampians is without parallel in Victoria, emphasising its other-worldly aura. Some, such as Reed Lookout and Boroka Lookout, plus the various waterfalls, are mere strolls from their respective carparks. Other spots reward effort. Allow half a day at least for the Wonderland Loop from the main village of Halls Gap. It passes the Venus Baths rock pools before climbing up the Grand Canyon, a nifty route through the boulders, to The Pinnacle, surely the grandest view in this half of the state. Return to Halls Gap via a series of paths and stairways down the face of the range. If you really like rock scrambling, immerse yourself, almost literally, in Hollow Mountain.
3 Seppelt Great Western, named for the village that houses this remarkable winery, was the party-starter sparkling wine for generations of Australians. Below Seppelt’s vines sit 3km of tunnels or “drives”, dug by 19th-century gold miners-turned-vignerons Joseph and Henry Best. At times they stored three million bottles (including Malcolm Fraser’s private collection). It was here that the eponymous bubble was “riddled”, a daily quarter-turning of the bottle to dislodge the sediment. While a good range of Seppelt’s riesling, shiraz and sparkling is available to taste, wine is no longer made at Great Western. The stories survive, however, such as the 152 bottles it supposedly took to grant Dame Nellie Melba’s wish to “bathe in champagne”.
4 James Halliday gave a Best’s pinot meunier 99 points in his 2020 Top 100 Wines, eulogising that “like ripples of water lapping the shore, its tapestry of flavours is endlessly complex yet subtle”. Such is the allure of this winery, dating back to 1866 when the afore-mentioned Henry Best, co-founder of Seppelt, established his own vineyard down the road. Best planted so many different grapes, experts still can’t identify them all, but the vineyard rolls out the 39-variety (eight unknown) Concongella Blanc and a similarly mysterious Nursery Block Red. The main range sticks to local classics: shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, riesling and the red pinots, all of which are quartered in Best’s dusty underground haven.
5 This is a land of ancient vines, so even the modernised Grampians Estate produces riesling from 1883-vintage rows, and has an 1878-block shiraz. And, being Great Western, it makes a ripper sparkling shiraz. But winemaker Tom Guthrie, with his eye on the sky, has introduced tempranillo and grenache to the Great Western oeuvre, believing they’re best suited to climate change. Guthrie also has Great Western’s first winery cafe, starring a pie made with his own lamb, plus shiraz ice-cream. Grampians Estate is part of an online ordering scheme, Made the Grampians Way, that curates mixed packs from 19 wineries, including many without cellar doors, so you can re-sample the entire region from home.
6 Until its young vines come online, newcomer Pomonal Estate sources its wine from close neighbour Clarnette & Ludvigsen plus Mt Langi Ghiran. Owner Pep Atchison also sticks close to home for her fabulous lunch platters, featuring a pistachio terrine from Mokepilly in Stawell, four cheeses from Ballarat and Meredith, crackers from Blue Wren, olives from Grampians Range, plus some delights from the estate’s chef Millie, such as a pair of hummuses (garlic and capsicum) and a duck pate so light it could float. The property also has flights for wine, wine/chocolate and cider/beer, the brewer being Pep’s husband, Adam. His stars are a 3.8 per cent Smash Ale – yes, it’s smashing – and a perfectly hopped New England IPA.
7 Anita Evans bought her Pomonal property from a sheep farmer who’d planted berries because he wanted to produce something less energetic. Even though she says the property is too hot and dry for berries, Evans, a trained food scientist, has turned Five Ducks Farm into a cottage industry making jams, marmalades, lemon and passionfruit curds, chutneys, honey and even ice-cream from her own ducks’ eggs. Evans started by going organic but she also “plays swapsies with anyone who wants to move on produce from their garden. We’re at the mercy of our suppliers but in a nice way, so we have to be creative.” For instance, when given some fennel, Anita created a Sicilian chutney to go with cheese.
8 At Red Rock Olives in Pomonal, Rita Bikins is reverential about extra virgin olive oil. She follows organic principles but with a come-what-may approach. Even though she has a map of the grove she bought in 2013, she still doesn’t know every variety growing there, “so we have to let the trees, as well as the different weather conditions, decide what we’re having”. Bikins can identify frantoio, a buttery variety best for baking, while for eating, kalamatas are great but fickle. “One year we have them, the next not so.” Olives have terroir, she says, “so, like the shiraz grape, our oil is peppery due to the soil”. Bikins’s infused oils are popular, while her caramelised fig balsamic is as good on ice-cream as on pumpkin.
9 Dunkeld’s Royal Mail Hotel, in the southern Grampians, has a mortgage on this region’s fine dining, so the northern half stays laid back. The Halls Gap Hotel has broad verandas from which to observe the roos in the paddocks, and those mesmerising mountains. Meanwhile, Flame Brothers in Halls Gap turns up the heat, smoking the region’s high-grade meats to perfection. During my visit, the highly regarded Texas-style beef brisket had sold out, but my pulled pork with barbecue sauce, slaw and potato salad was no second prize, while the verdict on my travel buddy’s smoked mushroom burger was “awesome”. And I’ve not had a better chocolate brownie.
Best beds
10 In the northern Grampians, it’s easy to choose your view. Sleep virtually in the trees at Down Under Log Cabins in Halls Gap, surrounded by vines at Pomonal Estate’s eight-berth Mt Cassel Villa, or luxuriate in the lee of the mountains at the striking one-bedroom villas of Boroka Downs near Pomonal. Like Boroka, nearby Aurora Cottage follows a couples-only philosophy, with three discreet and generous one-bedroom homes tucked at the edge of the bush. You’ll have to drive a careful slalom course through the kangaroos lounging on the entry road, and the emus will pay little heed as they wander past your front door.
Jeremy Bourke was a guest of Visit Grampians.
