Among the vines Its rich surrounds mean Canberra has more than 30 cellar doors within an hour’s drive of the city. And the wine region’s youth means having a winemaker jump off the tractor to talk you through a tasting is all in a day’s play.
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Award winners M U R R U M B AT E M A N
Clonakilla
› Take home: The 2017 shiraz viognier, the region’s highest-rated wine in the Halliday Wine Companion 2020. › Cellar door: 11am-4pm on weekdays; 10am-5pm on weekends.
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LAKE GEORGE
M U R R U M B AT E M A N
Lake George Winery
Helm Wines
↓ Run by Anthony and Sarah McDougall, who took home owner/operator of the year at the 2019 Australian Women in Wine Awards, this winery (left) holds a five-star rating in James Halliday’s current Wine Companion. Go here for shiraz, riesling, pinot noir and tempranillo. → lakegeorgewinery.com.au
↓ A regional hero, it has a five-star rating in the Halliday Wine Companion 2020. Tastings of its prized cabernet sauvignon and riesling take place in the National Trustlisted 1888 Toual public schoolhouse, where Ken Helm often regales visitors with tales from his nearly 50 years in winemaking. → helmwines.com.au
› Take home: The exceptionally intense and vibrant Giannoula riesling. › Cellar door: 10am-5pm Thursday to Sunday.
› Take home: The premium riesling 2018, which received a 96-point Halliday rating. › Cellar door: 10am-4pm Thursday to Monday.
Lean Timms, Patrick Stevenson, Sarah-Jane Edis, Andrew Taylor
↓ You can’t say Canberra wine region without thinking Clonakilla. This was the first commercial winery here and almost half a century on, it remains an iconic producer of handcrafted, regionally distinctive wines. → clonakilla.com.au