Canberra DistrictThe Canberra wine district is around half an hours drive from Canberra, ACT and is home to around 30 cellar doors. While the region takes its name from the nation’s capital, all bar one of the cellar doors are located in the surrounding districts of NSW around Bungedore, Lake George, Murrumbateman and Yass.
The district is considered a cool-climate wine area, but covers a large altitudinal range of 300 to 800 metres, with the lower altitude and more inland regions substantially warmer than the higher altitude areas. This enables production of a wide range of wines from Riesling and Chardonnay to Pinot Noir and Shiraz. The cellar doors are generally smaller, family run operations, providing a more intimate experience. As such, many of the cellar doors are only open on weekends, so be sure to check opening hours before planning your trip. It is also a bit of a drive from Canberra out to the cellar doors in Murrumbateman, so if you can arrange it, you may want to do these on your way into or out of Canberra. Canberra itself, which is around 7 hours from Melbourne and 3 hours from Sydney, is a great base from which to explore this region. In addition to many well regarded restaurants and eating precincts such as Manuka, Kingston, Lonsdale Street and the new Kingston Waterfront, there are a number of great, generally free, attractions to visit including museums, the High Court, Parliament House and the Australian War memorial. And if you feel up to it, a walk around Lake Burley Griffin is a great way to work off some of that food and wine! |