When trade with China soured, milk exporter Matthew Joscelyne was forced to find another gig. For years the dairy trader sent milk products to Macau, Hong Kong and China but when this ended he hatched plans to recreate the type of dairy his grandmother built during the Second World War.
He found a shop in the same strip as artisan butcher Ministry of Meat and the excellent Pier St Kitchen. Matthew bought some old counters from Sydney’s Grace Brothers at auction to complement an old shop counter taken from a store in Burra 80 years ago and stored at Matthew’s family’s farm in South Australia.
The walls bear images of the matriarchs who bought Matthew his love of natural food. “I love the look and feel of old dairies we used to have growing up,” he says.
I wanted to bring back that look and those food values. Nothing artificial, nothing added.
Dairy Lane stocks milk, cream, butter and ice cream sourced from small independent dairies in Gippsland and Tasmania. The fresh milk products come from dairy herds and the ice cream is made without any added artificial ingredients. The ice cream is flavoured with top-quality ingredients such as Belgian chocolate and Australian hazelnuts or Tasmanian leatherwood honey and raspberry and made without stabilisers or preservatives.
All fresh milk products are packed in Dromana in beautifully designed, retro-inspired glass bottles. “The aim is to have a home delivery service that operates from Port Melbourne to Portsea,” says Matthew. “And Dromana is a good halfway point.”
The shop opened a few weeks ago and has already attracted many regulars who come for the great quality and the thick, creamy milkshakes.
THE DETAILS
What: Retro dairy next to great butcher and café in Dromana Who: Matthew Joscelyne, former milk exporter turned local dairyman Where: 27 Pier St, Dromana Why: Great Australian-owned dairy products from Jersey herds When: Opened just before Easter, now open 7 days More info:Dairy Lane
We wish to acknowledge the Bunurong people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
The quaint little village of Blackwood is about to become all the more charming with the opening of a new retail offering along the main drag.
The town’s much-loved Martin Street Coffee Roasters has welcomed their new flatmate Adam Kluga of Adam, The Good Baker this week, offering locals and visitors the chance to savour some of regional Victoria’s finest sourdough alongside their morning brew.
Hailing from a Sicilian background, Adam says food and baking have always played a significant role in his life.
‘I spent quite a few years living with my Nonna, so I learnt a lot about preserving and pickling and cooking more generally,’ Adam said. ‘My granddad was a career baker and my Nonna knew a lot about the trade, and that was my first exposure to making fresh bread and making good honest food.’
Having launched his micro-bakery from his humble home in Trentham during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2021, Adam quickly earned the community’s respect and admiration for his wholesome products made with love, passion and integrity.
I’m not trying to do anything flash. I’m just trying to make good, honest food for people to share. There’s no frills.
Having been approached by the Martin Street Coffee team, he said the opportunity presented itself at the right time and it made sense to ‘take the plunge’.
The retail space will initially operate from Martin Street Coffee Roasters on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with Adam also maintaining his wholesale and online orders. Expect indulgent sourdoughs, crispy baguettes, seeded loaves and other European-inspired goods.
‘It’s such a great opportunity and a beautiful space,’ Adam said. ‘The crew have curated such a welcoming, warm environment and I’m really looking forward to settling into the space, utilising a dedicated kitchen and offering people really good bread. It’s really exciting. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit.’
Trading since 2017, Martin Street Coffee Roasters is renowned for serving up carefully roasted, seriously decadent coffee with a big focus on being good to the planet.
The roastery specialises in small-batch roasting using bespoke fluid-bed, air-roasting technology that guarantees a smooth, bold, delicious and never bitter flavour profile and prides itself on choosing beans from family growers using sustainable, eco-friendly methods.
Martin Street Coffee Roasters founder Simon Daniel said his team was thrilled Adam would be operating out of the same premises as the factory door.
‘Adam produces slow-fermented bread products that are next level,’ Simon said. ‘We’ve known him for a reasonable while and have always enjoyed the high quality, crunch, texture, and flavour of his bread.
‘People see us as a destination, a welcoming hub to immerse oneself in the sight, sounds, and aromatics of the coffee production process. Visiting the factory door speaks to a wide range of people, from those sampling or purchasing our products to those making quick stops to stock up on beans and other products.
‘The idea was to support another small, high-quality business to get into an actual retail space. We have a good connection and look forward to the vibe this collaborative concept will bring.’
THE DETAILS:
WHAT: Adam, The Good Baker at Martin Street Coffee Roasters WHERE: 21 Martin Street, Blackwood WHEN: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am until sold out FIND OUT MORE: Adam The Good Baker & Martin Street Coffee Roasters
We wish to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
Words and images by Jay Dillon
Additional images supplied
Like so many makers during the lockdown periods of 2020 and 2021, Jeweller Tim Peel and partner Liz were witness to an astonishing increase of customers who wished to have their collection of gold and gemstones reimagined into one singular piece with significant personal importance.
Many requests came with a personal story of loss and love and often these stories would provide the inspiration for a unique jewellery piece for the owner.
Liz speaks of a time one customer called, who had recently lost her husband. The couple had married 27 years earlier in the month of September and it was her intention to fulfil his desire to celebrate their 30th anniversary with a sapphire. After hearing her story of loss and plans for remembrance, Liz suggested that her husband’s wedding band be the structural base for the sapphire stones.
‘I think a lot of people have shifted from the idea of accumulating a large collection of rings and necklaces and making the decision to bring them all together into a special and unique piece of jewellery that will become an heirloom of sorts’.
Developing a craft
Tim started tinkering with metal in his fathers’ shed as a boy growing up in Yarra Junction. The passion continued through high school, TAFE and onto the completion of a degree at Monash University, ultimately leading to a job at a jewellery store in the CBD. This was the same store that Liz had previously worked at, and through this connection a loving relationship bloomed, culminating in the union of marriage in 1995.
Eventually, the couple moved back to near where Tim grew up, choosing to make the small bustling village of Healesville a home for their young family. The town also became the location for a studio where Tim could continue in his dedication to his craft, creating exquisite custom pieces formed by the personal stories of his customers.
Even as a master jeweller himself, Tim continues to develop his skills by learning from others and studying new and revisiting old jewellery-making techniques. This includes a continued dedication to the skill of stone setting and gemology, a journey that started by studying alongside Australian jewellery legend Rex Steele Merten (the only Australian jeweller to have won four Diamonds International Awards) before he sadly passed away in 2020.
‘People are surprised to learn that even the most accomplished jeweller will send the ring and gemstones elsewhere to be mounted. Setting is considered a separate skill and can take years of dedicated practice to become proficient in’.
From quality comes trust
In recent years, Tim and Liz have noticed a shift in people’s understanding of quality when it comes to jewellery and their customers really benefit from their skill in gemstone selection. The Silvermist benchmark for diamonds is an FG colour and VS clarity, which is not something that is normally available at the jewellery chain stores.
In the industry, we jokingly refer to these diamonds as petrified pixie poo, because they are usually cloudy, murky, translucent at best and often full of inclusions. Once upon a time, these diamonds would have been considered industrial grade.
Due to 20 years of building a relationship with local gemstone suppliers, Tim and Liz have the ability to arrange a viewing for the customer that includes a number of gemstones that they can select from.
‘The dealers that I work with have already done the legwork. They have filtered out the rubbish and are only providing our studio with high-quality stones’.
Reputation built through connection
Since the uplift in customers placing orders online rather than in person, Liz has realised the importance of developing trust with the customer.
‘I like to share photos of our family on holidays and out to dinner amongst images from the studio and of individual jewellery creations. I feel it’s important to show that we are people just like them and they are going to receive the personal service that they might not get from the big jewellery chains’.
Recently, Liz was able to provide an extra level of personal service to a lady whose son was marrying a Vietnamese girl. Liz has first-hand experience, via a Vietnamese brother-in-law, of the custom for the groom’s family to offer gifts to the family of the bride including bespoke jewellery pieces.
Liz encourages all past customers to leave honest reviews, as this is also an important part of building trust with customers who may be placing orders from as far away as Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia.
‘We understand that it can be a big decision for people to commission a jeweller to create a piece that is made with the intention of being passed through the family for generations to come. We are grateful to have a long list of positive reviews that we can direct people to so that they can have that piece of mind’.
THE DETAILS
Who: Silvermist Studio
Where: Healesville
More details: Silvermist Studio
It’s a big call to promise a line-up of never-before-seen stallholders, but if anyone has the confidence and expertise to pull it off, it’s the producers of Hunt Gather Gander, a new series of events, put together by a family who’ve been staging craft markets around Victoria since 1975.
The premise is simple: Gather with friends, have a gander at the entertainment on offer and hunt around for a bargain.
The promise is that there will be live music, kids’ activities, lawn games and a mash-up of stallholders that will include handmade, vintage and secondhand goods, designer and boutique brands, and food and drink.
The idea is that by expanding the exhibitor criteria to facilitate a broader range of retailers, introducing all-day entertainment, and providing picnic tables, the organisers are hoping to invite a younger, curious audience to come and visit and take part in an experience, rather than just wander around some stalls.
The organisers are hoping that by expanding the exhibitor criteria to facilitate a broader range of retailers, introducing all-day entertainment, and providing picnic tables, visitors will enjoy an experience that takes the country market to a whole new level.
With dates locked in for 3 different locations in 2023 – Mornington, Yarra Glen and Werribee – there’s a heavy focus on the uniqueness of each Hunt Gather Gander event. The region itself will dictate the line-up and ambience, by focusing on the best of what the local producers, creators, artists, makers, growers and small businesses have to offer, as well as leaning into the natural surrounds.
The first Hunt Gather Gander is set to take over Mornington Racecourse on Saturday 25th February, with Yarra Glen Racecourse to follow on Saturday 8th April and then a Springtime re-emergence on Saturday, October 28th amongst the grounds of the majestic Werribee Park Mansion.
Entry to the first seaside day out is $10, with parking and kids under 12 free.
And if you’re a local vendor, applications are still open, so get in touch via the details below if you want to be featured as part of this exciting new endeavour.
THE DETAILS
Who: Hunt Gather Gander What: A new series of outdoor shopping and entertainment events When: February, April & October 2023
Where: Various locations around Victoria How much: $10 with kids free More Info: Hunt Gather Gander
We wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
Picture this: rows and rows of straw-tucked vegetable sprouts reaching their way towards the sun. A rusty wheelbarrow bursting with fresh herbs. Fruit trees laden with colourful, plump spheres in a sprawling backyard. All this might sound a little dreamy for an city dweller who, contained to their (approximately) 54 square metre apartment, may aspire only to keep their temperamental peace lily alive.
But wouldn’t it be nice if we knew more? If we could see the possibilities of a functioning, flourishing veggie garden — and better yet, learn the ways of the gardeners that tend to them? Creative Harvest, West Gippsland’s open food garden weekend, is back on 28 and 29 January 2023 to inspire and educate all the hopeful home growers out there, from the beginner to advanced.
The two-day event opens the gates to fifteen private food-producing gardens—from small suburban backyards to large family farms. Creative Harvest is all about sharing gardening know-how and sampling some of the fresh fruit and veg grown by locals. This year, the event’s sixth iteration, 30 local artists and creatives including beekeepers, winemakers, jam makers, jewellers, mosaic makers, painters, printmakers and sculptors, will be dropping by select gardens to share their work.
“Creative Harvest is a celebration of sustainability and community and a showcase for West Gippsland’s creative movers and shakers. We aim to demonstrate how simple it is to start or expand your own thriving food garden – in your kitchen window box, small backyard or on a large lifestyle block,” said Kristy Plumridge, Chair of the Creative Harvest Committee.
And what better timing? Post-pandemic, people are looking to unshackle themselves from the supermarket monopoly and grow their own food. Whether it’s a strawberry or two on a windowsill or a towering tomato plant by the backdoor, any homegrown produce is a step towards self-sufficiency and sustainability. The organisers are expecting their biggest turnout this year, up from the 1000-strong crowd of 2022.
An additional four hands-on workshops will take place across the weekend as well. Visitors can buy tickets to learn skills in hot composting, preserving and fermenting homegrown produce, growing veggies from seed or extracting dye from local flora. If you’re looking for more of an informal education, growers and makers will be milling around all weekend for a yarn.
Enjoy a great weekend in West Gippsland; bring the family, or your friends, or your dog. Just don’t forget to bring a basket for the tasty Gippsland produce you’re bound to discover. Tickets can be purchased online and Single, Family & Senior Weekend Passes are also available.
THE DETAILS WHAT: Creative Harvest WHERE: West Gippsland, multiple locations WHEN: 28 and 29 January 2023 MORE INFO:Creative Harvest
We wish to acknowledge the Bunurong people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
As summer slowly grinds itself into gear and shakes away the droplets of the wettest spring on record, Victorians are beginning to stock up their esky’s with summertime bevvys. Two Heathcote businesses, Shiraz Republic and Cornella Brewery, have teamed up to release a line of fresh, sparkling drinks fit for the occasion.
Located in the Central Victorian region of Heathcote, renowned for it’s fertile Cambrian soil and award-winning reds, Shiraz Republic and Cornella Brewery are neighbouring businesses with old friends at the helm. Spencer Page owns and brews hazy beers at Cornella, while Matt van Run is a winemaker at Shiraz Republic. This season they have joined forces to release three new canned drinks: the New Tinto de Verano Shiraz & Lemon Spritzer, a Skin Contact WhitePet Nat and a Grenache RoséPet Nat.
Lovers of Spanish cocktails will be familiar with Tinto de Verano Shiraz, a shiraz and lemon spritzer that is lighter than its more familiar cousin Sangria. Brewed to 5% and packaged in a can, Shiraz Republic/Cornella Brewery’s brew sits perfectly alongside a seltzer, beer or fizzer for the Australian summer.
Initially made in small batches for the Shiraz Republic Cellar Door, the Tinto de Verano Shiraz & Lemon Spritzer proved such a crowd-pleaser that Page and van Run began packaging the product at their onsite brewery, initially by hand in bottles. Flash forward a few months and they’re shipping slabs across the country.
“It is the perfect drink to go with a sunny afternoon, at a BBQ, festival or anywhere really. At first, it was a challenge to sell to customers, because it’s a bit out of the ordinary, but once customers taste it, they are hooked. Anyone who has travelled to Spain would recognise Tinto as a classic summery Spanish cocktail. It’s a popular drink worldwide, albeit under the guise of several different monikers and regional names,” said Page.
The other pair of beverages, the French Pétillant Naturel’s—which translates to “naturally sparkling”—are additive, preservative and and sulphite light free wines, each with a crisp, tart flavour. The Skin Contact White features yellow muscat, fermented on skins for five days, then fermented to dry and is tart, with notes of pineapple and lemon myrtle. While the Grenache Rosé, pressed directly off the skins and fermented at a controlled temperature until racking into a tank for carbonation, has notes of peach & strawberry with a subtle, delectable funkiness. Both are canned for the ultimate convenience.
Carefully prepared and beautifully designed, these drinks will pair just as well at your backyard barbeque as with a fancy charcuterie board. All are available to purchase online, at the Shiraz Republic Cellar Door, or at select stockists.
THE DETAILS WHAT: New release of canned alcoholic drinks WHERE: Shiraz Republic and Cornella Brewery WHEN: Available now MORE INFO: Shiraz Republic
We wish to acknowledge the Taungurung people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
Mike and Claire Emmett have been providing packaging design and photography services to Victorian small winemakers, brewers and distillers for 20-plus years. Their latest venture sees them take the reins of Barrique Wine Store, an iconic bottle shop in the centre of Healesville.
The proudly-independent boutique shop is set amid Healesville’s cafes and shopping and makes finding that perfect bottle so much easier. With more than 400 bottles of local wines, imported wines, craft beers, and locally distilled as well as imported spirits, you’re just as likely to find a new favourite as you are to finally find that obscure craft beer you just can’t find anywhere else.
What was once an ice cream shop has been transformed into a bottle shop where visitors are encouraged to browse and get inspired by something new. Previous owners Brendon Chandler and Simone Knight took ownership of Barrique, assisting in keeping Victorians in good spirits (no pun intended) during Victoria’s COVID lockdowns.
“They served the locals quite well with the 5km limit and free delivery,” says the new owner of Barrique Wine Store, Mike Emmett who together with partner Claire, has now taken the reins as Brendon begins a new venture with the launch of wine label Ruby K.
Mike, whose been a regular photographer for One Hour Out since its beginnings in 2018 will be using his well-honed skills in photography, publishing and design within the wine industry to become a liaison between wineries, winemakers and wine lovers helping them find the perfect drop by “telling great stories”.
“Not so much the technical side of wine but the stories behind it and why people make wine,” he adds. “Local winemakers have been super supportive, not just because they want their wines on the shelves but I want their wines on the shelves so I can tell their stories.”
The new space, which Mike calls “a wine store with a wine bar feel” also offers an excellent spot for tasting events every Friday, allowing punters to discover something new every time they visit. Friday tasting wines are listed out for the week allowing shoppers to taste them throughout the week so that even if they can’t make a Friday night, they won’t ever need to miss out on the tasting.
Mike and Claire have renovated the shop to create a wine bar atmosphere that’s inviting and encourages patrons to sit and enjoy a drink, all “centred around the Yarra Valley and the people who make amazing wines here.”
You can sit right in the window and have a glass of wine anytime we’re open.
Mike says adding that when the garden renovations at the rear of the shop are complete early next year that space will also be available for tastings and just enjoying a glass of wine in the summer sunshine. With plans to offer locally sourced food also on the menu in partnership with local eateries, it’ll no doubt continue to be a local favourite.
The Details
What: Wine store Where: 260 Maroondah Highway, Healesville When: Now open More Info:Barrique Wine Store
We wish to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
Emme Mac Black Coffee, the brand new coffee label from the family behind rustic Airbnb favourite Dunmore Farm, is blending premium global flavours with a local touch.
When Melbourne couple Bec and Angus Macdougall bought their property Dunmore Farm in the rural town of Molyullah—which they rightly describe as radiating an “immediate sense of relaxation”—they were looking to open a chilled out weekender. Five years later, it’s a full-time, thriving Airbnb, as well as home and office space for their personal and professional projects. And their latest venture—a speciality coffee company named after their two-and-a-half year old daughter Emme—is already proving just as fruitful.
Coffee aficionados and dedicated morning latte drinkers themselves, Bec and Angus have nailed the formula for a premium speciality coffee: ethically and sustainably sourced beans from around the globe, local roasting and packaging in Melbourne to preserve the bean quality and freshness, and a charming lack of pretension. It’s just good produce handled with skill and integrity.
With three slow-roasted Italian style blends already on rotation, as well as three blends of industrially compostable (soon-to-be home compostable!) coffee capsules, customers have plenty of flavour and brewing options to choose from. We spoke to Bec recently who told us their certified organic single-origin roast, Misty Mac, makes for a mean brew on the stovetop or through an espresso machine.
“We’re really lucky here in Australia to have incredible quality coffee and coffee culture, and it’s really great to be a part of that [and] let Emme Mac Black grow into the vision we have for it,” Bec said.
Distributed in restaurants, boutique accommodation, speciality food stores and grocers across Australia, Emme Black Coffee is already garnering significant praise for its smooth, full-bodied flavour and commitment to sustainable practices. You can find their beans at the acclaimed Chauncy Restaurant in Heathcote, local favourite The Kingston Hotel in Richmond, and many more. And if you’re after a bag for your home set-up, you can buy their beans online here.
Guiding coffee on a journey across the globe to some of regional and metropolitan Victoria’s best businesses, all from their humble abode in a Molyullah valley, the Macdougal’s are doing small business with a bang.
THE DETAILS WHAT: Emme Mac Black Coffee WHERE: Operates from Molyullah WHEN: Now MORE INFO:Emme Mac Black Coffee
We wish to acknowledge the Taungurung people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
Western district organic dairy farmer Simon Schultz from Schulz Organic Dairy had kept a promise he made almost a decade ago to ditch glass and plastic and sell his milk to food service in reusable kegs. “When Joost Bakker had zero waste café Silo in the city he asked me to work out a way to get rid of the packaging around milk,” says Simon.
He has teamed up with Tasmanian entrepreneur Edward Crick of The Udder Way who has developed a milk keg system to work in with retailers and food service. The 18-litre kegs are lined with low-density polyethylene and Simon’s team fills the kegs with milk and delivers them to the store or café. They are the same size as a plastic milk crate so they will go in an existing fridge space.
The kegs are connected to a dispensing system that uses compressed air to push the milk out of the kegs and into taps. At Leaf Store in Elwood, the system is up and running. Retail customers bring in their clean milk bottles and fill them with fresh Schultz milk. When the kegs are empty Schultz delivery drivers backload them to the dairy near Timboon where they are washed, sterilised and used again and again. Edward says they have at least an eight-year life span.
The idea came out of frustration that over 500 million single-use plastic milk bottles are used every year and less than half are recycled.
“We have partnered with Schulz Organic Dairy because we share a similar vision and mission. Each of our Kegs eliminates the need for 7,000 single-use plastic bottles.”
In Victoria, Schulz Organic Dairy will be the initial milk supplier to food services and retailers using The Udder Way Keg system. Participating businesses include The Leaf Stores in Hawthorn and Elwood, Into Coffee and CIBI in Collingwood and Rat the Café in Thornbury. Victoria is a latecomer using the Udder Way keg, with a dairy in Tasmania, two in New South Wales and four in New Zealand all using the system.
Located off the M1 between Geelong and the Melbourne CBD, Werribee isn’t often considered a holiday destination in and of itself. But as one of Melbourne’s bay suburbs, the area really does have quite a lot going for it if you only take the time to delve in.
Whether you’re looking for your next romantic escape or thinking of taking the Bay West Driving Trail, here are some of our top recommendations for a getaway well spent in Werribee.
Positioned along Werribee’s foodie precinct and with the site having been owned by Werribee’s Salvalaggio family for four generations, Wolf on Watton offers visitors a true inner-city cafe experience. Having originally operated as a fruit and veg store by the current owner’s great-grandfather, the cafe is always bustling and serves up everything from classic brunch options to indulgent pastas, grazing boards and sweets. With staff that are ready and raring to serve you with genuine hospitality, and a vibrant atmosphere that will have you prepped to face the day, Wolf on Watton really has the WoW factor.
Made on Watton
Situated across the road from Wolf on Watton, Made on Watton is a specially curated retail space that oozes elegance, calm, charm and poise. Founded by Liz Reyes, the space opened up following the success of Wyndham City’s innovative pop-up retail space of the same name. Showcasing a plethora of handmade goods from makers across Werribee and the surrounding regions as well as a selection of other Australian-made products, Made on Watton aims to empower creatives and highlight the breadth of talent that exists within regional Victoria. You’ll find everything from bedding to candles, infused sparkling water to jewellery, artworks to locally-designed clothing. Liz also stocks her very own polymer clay jewels from her label Evergreen Collective – so make sure to check out her beautiful range!
Werribee Park Mansion
The Werribee Park precinct is perhaps one of the areas which the city is best known for. (Apart from the Werribee Open Range Zoo – which also needs to be on your to-do list). The sprawling green Victoria State Rose Garden, with its abounding serenity and lush landscape, make it an idyllic space for a spring picnic, while Lancemore Mansion Hotel is the perfect spa and hotel option for your Werribee getaway.
Then there’s the Mansion itself – an exquisite 60-room Italianate chateau built in the late 19th century by two pioneering Scottish brothers. While the building was taken over by the Catholic Church in the 1920s, it went through an extensive restoration process in the 1970s once it was acquired by the state government, reinstating to its former glory.
As you step into the mansion, you’ll be struck by its opulence and majesty. Take a turn about the drawing room, peek in the library room, soak up the panoramic views of the gardens from the balcony, get a feel for what a real butler’s pantry would’ve felt like, and take a stroll to the farm where the rustic outbuildings lay. You’ll truly feel like a character in your own storybook.
Shadowfax Wines
Also located within the Werribee Park precinct, Shadowfax Wines is the absolute perfect spot to stop off for your lunch (or dinner) break. Established in 1999, the menu boasts the finest selection of food and drink to keep you fuelled for the day, including some incredible entrees, share plates or even a chef’s selection (if you can’t decide) each incorporating an array of fresh vegetables and herbs from the restaurant’s established Kitchen Garden. The drinks list showcases Shadowfax’s current releases and museum wines from the cellar, as well as a selection of premium craft beers and spirits from local Victorian breweries and distillers. There’s even a list of delightful non-alcoholic options to keep us non-drinkers appeased!
K Road Cliffs
Down the road from the Werribee Park precinct, the K Road Cliffs are a breathtaking wall of red by day and an even more impressive hue during dusk and sunset when they change colour with the light.
Take in the view of the Werribee River from the clifftops or soak up the natural surrounds on the floodplains as you admire the impressive backdrop of the You Yangs.
A perfect place for birdwatching, hiking or just a meditative afternoon, the cliffs are most certainly one of the region’s acclaimed natural wonders.
Beachside Beauties
Located just off Port Phillip Bay means there are quite a few spots to check out along the shore during your getaway. The Campbell’s Cove Boathouses should be first on your list. These quaint, vibrant, heritage-listed boatsheds not only make a great photo but provide a rare glimpse into the history of Melbourne’s beach culture – remaining relatively untouched since the 1920s.
(Fun fact: Until 2015, this beach was better known as Melbourne’s closet nudist beach. But don’t fret. It has since closed down).
The Wyndham Harbour also provides a calm space for an afternoon stroll with a beautiful view and some great eateries to boot, while the Point Cook Coastal Park offers a great space to picnic with the family, birdwatching, learn about the wetlands, and enjoy the beach at low tide.
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Down the road from the Werribee Park precinct, the 
Located just off Port Phillip Bay means there are quite a few spots to check out along the shore during your getaway. The 