I recently attended a walkabout wine tasting of the wines from the state of Victoria, which is in the southeastern corner of Australia. Its capital city is Melbourne, where the Australian Open is held in January, kicking off the first of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments. Within Victoria there are 21 wine regions that range from cooler climates, for producing sparkling wine, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, to regions with warmer climates for Cabernet and Shiraz as well as fortified wines.
Below are some of the wines I thought were quite good at the tasting. I started the tasting by going through white wines, then tasted Pinot Noirs and a few lighter-bodied reds, and finally tasted a couple of Shiraz/Syrah. My taste buds were worn out as I tasted the Shiraz/Syrah, so there will not be many of these wines listed below. I put the region within the state of Victoria in brackets after the name of the wine to see if there are certain regions I prefer.
My Favourite Wines From Victoria, Australia
Indigo Beechworth Chardonnay 2025 (Beechworth) – Medium intensity, toasty nose. Dry, lean and soft, with a lighter body. Medium acidity. Toasty apples. Medium length with sweet spices and some bitterness on the finish. 
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Chalmers Vermentino 2025 (Victoria) – Pale lemon colour. Fresh stone fruit and floral aromas. Dry, medium body with bright acidity. Fresh stone fruit and some minerality. Yum.
Pizzini Arneis 2025 (King Valley) – A light lemon colour. Light floral nose. Dry, medium body with a lean mouthfeel. Bright acidity leaves a light acidic prickle in your mouth. Capsicum on the palate. –
Bidja Chardonnay 2024 (King Valley) – A First Nations Winery. This wine has a medium lemon colour. Toast and tropical fruit aromas. Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth mouthfeel, but also has an acidic edge. Toast and fresh tropical fruit flavours. Medium-plus length, finishing with tart fruit and some pepperiness. –
Bass Phillip Old Vines Premium Chardonnay 2024 (Gippsland) – A deeper lemon colour. Deep, rich buttery, tropical fruit nose. Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth, thicker mouthfeel. Medium-intensity flavours of toast, oak, and tropical fruit. Medium acidity.
Bass Phillip Old Vines Premium Pinot Noir 2024 (Gippsland) – A medium-intensity dull garnet in colour. Nice aromas of vanilla, butterscotch, and red fruit. Dry, medium body with a smooth mouthfeel. Red fruit, red cherries, along with some capsicum, sweet spices, and pepperiness. –
Bass River Pinot Noir 2025 (Gippsland) – A light, translucent garnet colour. Light, fresh aromas of vanilla, sweet spices, and red cherries. This wine is dry, medium-bodied with a smooth, soft mouthfeel. Red fruits, along with hints of capsicum and nutmeg, plus some pepperiness on the palate. –
ALKIMI Marsanne 2024 (Yarra Valley) – Medium lemon colour. Light toast and butterscotch aromas. Dry, medium body with a thicker mouthfeel. Nice texture. Toast and butterscotch on the palate. Stronger oakiness on the finish.
Dominique Portet Brut Rose (Yarra Valley) – The only sparkling wine I tasted at this event. It had many medium-sized bubbles when poured. Light toast and strawberry aromas. Dry with medium-sized mouthfilling bubbles in your mouth. High acidity. Strawberries and cherries with a touch of pepperiness. Tart finish. –
Gippsland Wine Pinot Noir 2024 (Gippsland) – A light, translucent garnet colour. A toasty, earthy nose. Dry, medium body with soft mouthfeel. Red fruit, raspberries, toast, and a little pepperiness. Medium acidity and tannins.
Shadowfax Pinot Noir 2024 (Macedon Ranges) – A deeper, translucent garnet colour in the glass. Light aromas of red fruit together with a herbaceous edge. Dry, medium body with a round mouthfeel, and an acidic backbone. Juicy red fruits, red berries, and hints of capsicum and sweet spices. Light tannins. –
Wren Estate Marsanne 2024 (Heathcote) – Pale colour and a light peach nose. Dry, medium-plus body with higher acidity leaving an acidic prickle on your tongue. Herbus, citrus, and lime skin flavours. Excitement in a glass.
e’stellar Estate Pinot Noir 2025 (Yarra Valley) – Medium-intensity, translucent garnet colour. Candied red fruit and cherries on the nose. This wine is dry with a medium mouthfeel. Sweet red fruit, red cherries, along with touches of pepperiness and floral on the palate. Medium acidity and tannins. A little bit drying tannins on the finish. –
Punt Road Pinot Noir 2025 (Yarra Valley) – A medium-intensity, translucent garnet colour. Light aromas of red cherries and floral. Dry, medium-minus body with a lean mouthfeel. Crunchy red fruits, floral, and some herbaceousness. An acid-driven wine. Light tannins. Medium length. –
Castagna Genesis Syrah 2025 (Beechworth) – Produces biodynamic wines. This wine has a deep, dull garnet colour in the glass. A meaty, ripe berry fruit nose. Dry, fuller body, with medium acidity and tannins. Meaty and juicy dark fruits and berries on the palate, along with a hint of capsicum. –
Popular Regions
From my tasting notes, it looks like Gippsland and the Yarra Valley regions made the most impression on me. Gippsland covers a large area from the New South Wales/Victoria border along the coast to below Melbourne, then west to the edge of the Great Dividing Range. It has 400 km of cool-climate coastline, the mountain range on the western edge. I read that the region’s strength is in aromatic white wines, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. I highlighted three Pinot Noirs and one Chardonnay.
Yarra Valley, east of Medlbourne, has one of the lowest mean summer temperatures in the Victoria wine region but seems to grow both cooler and warmer climate grapes (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Cabernet Sauvignon). Pinot Noir and a sparkling wine made my tasting notes.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
I checked the tasting booklet that has all the wines listed. Only the Castagna wine has a BC agent (Boutique Wines) so this wine would be available here. None of the other wines have BC wine representation. There are some nice Pinot Noir and white wine options for BC agents.
