Healesville
Healesville and the Yarra Valley: cellar door tastings from 15 to 30 Australian dollars and winery tours from 55 dollars, at five estates east of Melbourne.
At a glance
- A Yarra Valley town, east of Melbourne
- Cellar door tastings from 15 to 30 Australian dollars at five estates
- Walk-in tastings at Yering Station and Oakridge
- Cool-climate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sparkling wine
- 1culinary experience
Culinary experiences in Healesville
Henry Burrows, CC BY-SA
Map of Healesville
What to taste in Healesville
Chardonnay
The Yarra Valley’s signature white. Oakridge runs a seated Chardonnay Masterclass for 50 Australian dollars.
Pinot Noir
The cool-climate red of the valley, poured at TarraWarra with its single-vineyard Chardonnay.
Sparkling wine
Yering Station’s Yarrabank range is its sparkling label.
Healesville is a country town of the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne. Five estates are compared in this guide: a cellar door tasting costs 15 to 30 Australian dollars per adult, and a guided winery tour from 55 dollars. The cellar door, a winery’s own tasting room, is the usual way in, and two of the five welcome walk-ins.
Victoria’s oldest wine region
The regional winemakers’ association, Wine Yarra Valley, dates the valley’s wine to 1838, when the Scottish-born Ryrie brothers planted the first vines on the land now called Yering Station.
- 1847: the Ryries make the Yarra Valley’s first wine, labelled “Chateau Yering”.
- 1930s: the economic depression stops production.
- Late 1960s: the valley is replanted.
Yering Station’s cellar door is housed in the estate’s original winery building, from about 1859.
The valley in figures
| Grape | Share of the crush |
|---|---|
| Pinot Noir | 41% |
| Chardonnay | 27% |
| Shiraz | 9% |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | 6% |
| Pinot Gris | 6% |
Wine Yarra Valley counts 2,536 hectares of vines and 126 grape growers, with a mean January temperature of 18.5 °C (Wine Victoria figures, 2021).
Cellar doors around Healesville
- Coldstream: Oakridge Wines at 864 and Dominique Portet at 870-872 Maroondah Highway.
- Yering: Yering Station, 38 Melba Highway.
- Elsewhere in the valley: TarraWarra Estate and Levantine Hill.
What the cellar doors charge
- 15 Australian dollars: five wines at Yering Station, Oakridge or Dominique Portet.
- 20 dollars: TarraWarra’s Estate Tasting, redeemed with a bottle purchase.
- From 30 dollars: Levantine Hill’s bar-style flight with a wine expert.
- Tours: Dominique Portet’s Estate Tour & Tasting, 55 dollars, Wednesday to Sunday. Levantine Hill’s winemaking experience, from 495 dollars (2026).
Before you go
- Arriving: Melbourne Airport, north-west of Melbourne, is the gateway.
- Getting around: a car, with a driver who skips the tastings. The Maroondah Highway links Coldstream and Healesville.
- Alcohol: the minimum legal age to buy alcohol in Australia is 18.
- Seasons: reversed from the northern hemisphere. In Australia the harvest falls between January and April.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a wine tasting in the Yarra Valley?
15 to 30 Australian dollars per adult at the five estates compared in this guide (2026).
Is Healesville a good base for the Yarra Valley?
Yes, it is a Yarra Valley town. Oakridge and Dominique Portet are on the Maroondah Highway at Coldstream, on the way from Melbourne.
Which airport is closest to the Yarra Valley?
Melbourne Airport.