48 hours in Rutherglen

Take your lead from the canola fields brilliant in colour that line your route into Rutherglen. Just follow the yellow line. Outside canola season, let the wild, bushranger country terrain be your guide.

This is Ned Kelly country. This is also wine country. Generations of wine families have tended the land developing signature wines celebrated the world over. None more so than the luxuriously sweet muscat and topaque fortifieds. Nowhere on earth can you access such richly concentrated tastebud-arousing flavours like these.

In table wines, old vine durif and shiraz – the region’s most planted and celebrated reds – bring a combination of power and elegance to the glass. The big three Rhône Valley white grapes – marsanne, viognier, roussanne – lap up the Rutherglen warmth.

The road to Rutherglen.

Day 1

Morning
Your HQ for the next 48 hours is the township of Rutherglen. Get to know it. First, some refreshment. Head to Valentine’s Bakehouse on Main Street for a coffee and pastry while you get the lie of the land with maps from the nearby tourism office. 

Accommodation choices are many. Wine lovers opt for the Jones Tiny House at Jones Winery and Vineyard on the edge of vines and close to some of the best local wine and food (including Jones cellar door!). Too tiny? Seek out the beautifully renovated Rutherglen Convent, which boasts some of the best views of Rutherglen’s spectacular sunsets. This summer, a brewery opens on site.

The outdoor terrace at Jones Vineyard.

Afternoon
Your wine adventure starts just down the road at Campbells, home to Bobbie Burns Shiraz and a host of stunning fortifieds. Tastings are free, and back vintages are often available, but the highlight of any visit is a vertical muscat tasting where you can blend your own muscat. Stay for a vineyard platter and a glass of wine on the lawns. For something a little more substantial, make your way to Bonnie Restaurant at All Saints Estate, which is open most days of the week for lunch. The pizzas are highly recommended. 

Time for a tasting with a difference. How about an olive and muscat pairing? Gooramadda Olives grows 11 varieties of olives and while tastings of olives and extra virgin olive oil are available, possibly more enticing for wine enthusiasts is the olive-muscat matching exercise with Morris Wines Classic muscat.

Bonnie Restaurant at All Saints Estate (image credit: Kate Shanasy).

Evening
A change of wine pace? You asked for it, head back towards Rutherglen and Scion. Owner/winemaker Rowly Milhinch brings an alternative look to regional styles including semi-sweet fortifieds like After Dark Durif and an unusual vintage muscat among a host of creative – yes, creative in a good sense – non-mainstream wines.

Indulgence awaits. Not only is grace. bar + eatery on Rutherglen’s Main Street the place for local wines and beer – it boasts 10-plus independent Victorian brews – but Matthieu and Erica Miller also oversee an imaginative menu. Try the muscat gin sour cocktail and leave room for the chocolate and stout pudding.

The cellar door at Scion Wine.

Day 2 

Morning
Caffeine N Machine on Main Street is the place to go for a quick pick-me-up brekkie toastie and coffee. Stay for the vintage motorbike museum, or head straight to Radler E Bike Hire for some leisurely transport across wine country. Tap into the ‘Rutherglen to Wahgunyah’ or ‘Murray to Mountains’ rail trails, or there’s the gourmet-friendly 12.5km Pedal To Produce route (pedaltoproduce.com.au), which takes you to local wineries and food producers.

Alternatively, discover the world of Iberian grape varieties, not to mention the odd special fortified experience, at Stanton & Killeen, a winery with a rich history dating back to 1875. The Iberian Wine Experience ($45 per person) looks at the maker’s love affair with Portuguese grapes, but there are a host of other experiences to explore. 

Enjoy a slow ride through wine country.

Afternoon
Buy a bottle for the road and head for a picnic at the Big Wine Bottle – aka, the town’s old water tower, which is situated on the top of one of the few hills in Rutherglen. But first, some lunch supplies. Stop by Parker’s Pies (try the Rutherglen Red, a personal fave), or Savoy Truffle Co. (grazing platters) – both are located on Main Street.

And talking of pretty settings, one of the most photographed spots for a local tasting or a glass of wine is the Sunday Creek Bridge at Pfeiffer Wines. Reserve a seat, enjoy a glass, take in a Pinot & Picasso art class, an immersive muscat experience, or explore the range of Pfeiffer wines which includes some stunning Aperas.

Thousand Pound Wine Bar.

Evening
The entrepreneurial Brown family, apart from running two of the best local wineries – All Saints Estate and St Leonards – has created some of the region’s most serious food and wine hangouts at All Saints Estate (Bonnie, Kin) and in Rutherglen (Thousand Pound Wine Bar). Thousand Pound is relaxed, friendly and wine-focused with a menu that looks to local ingredients with a strong focus on mod-Oz cuisine. Kin is everything a serious foodie could wish for, matched to a wine list that includes some tempting rarities from the cellar.

In the kitchen at Kin.

Festivals and events

Tastes of Rutherglen
For two days every March, Rutherglen winemakers open their cellar doors for tastings, food and music, masterclasses and special events.

Roam Rutherglen Winery Walkabout
Victoria’s longest-running wine festival is held every King’s Birthday long weekend in June. Coincides with the start of winter and you know what that means – it’s perfect fortified time. 

Rutherglen Wine Show Public Tasting
After the judging at the Rutherglen Wine Show in September each year, the doors are flung open and keen wine enthusiasts can drop in for a tasting of award-winning wines.

Music on the Murray
Hosted by St Leonards Vineyard on the first Saturday of every month with live music, antipasto platters and good wine.

Take-home bottles at Thousand Pound Wine Bar (image credit: Kristoffer Paulsen).

Coming soon

The Victoria Hotel 
Rutherglen’s oldest continuing pub (since 1868) is set to re-open this summer following a multi million-dollar refurbishment including accommodation, restaurant with a former Stokehouse chef at the helm and an outdoor beer garden.

Rutherglen Silo Art Precinct Project 
The new outdoor town centre piece for events, art installations, silo art, markets and more.