By the end of the month, three new, and very different, cellar door wine experiences will have opened across Victoria and South Australia.
This includes the grand return of the Burge family to the cellar door venue originally purchased by Helen and Grant Burge in 1978. Next, Willunga 100 has opened The Grenache Room – Australia’s first and only tasting room dedicated to the variety – at its McLaren Vale site. And third, the aptly-named Melbourne Winery is preparing to open in Melbourne’s CBD by the end of the month.
Collectively, the three new cellar door experiences shine a light on three separate trends and opportunities at play in Australia’s wine sector.
For Melbourne Winery, this means bringing wine experiences to a new audience and demographic; following in the likes of DMG Group’s Handpicked Cellar Doors in Sydney and Melbourne, along with Brown Family Wine Group’s plans to deliver urban wine experiences nationwide via Innocent Bystander.
“This is a space where wine isn’t just consumed – it’s experienced.” says Eddie Muto, Founder and Director.
Once launched, the $3 million project is hoping to transform the 126 year old, 550 square metre heritage site into a new epicentre for wine in Victoria’s capital, trading the traditional “farmhouse” cellar door experience for a wine lab, cheese room, oyster bar, rotating art exhibitions, and a wine label self-described as looking “just as at home in your handbag as in your cellar.”
“We’re not here to tell people how to appreciate wine,” a spokesperson for the new venture wrote. “We’re here to create an experience that lets them engage with it in a new way. Wine isn’t just about taste – it’s about the atmosphere, the stories it carries, and the full sensory journey it inspires.”
Melbourne Winery will open at 247 Flinders later this month
At the core of the launch will be a wine portfolio spanning 32 varietals crafted by Head Winemaker Robin Brockett, who is also Chief Winemaker at Bellarine Peninsula winery Scotchmans Hill.
Summarising the venue’s ethos, the team wrote: “Melbourne Winery is about storytelling. Just like art, wine is subjective, everyone experiences it slightly differently. The way you experience wine is completely unique to you, and this space gives you the freedom to discover that.”
This deliberate step away from Australia’s traditional varietal mix is also being reflected in Willunga’s The Grenache Room, which offers an array of single-vineyard selections, limited releases, and tasting room exclusives. According to Wine Australia’s latest Vintage Report, Grenache grew 19 per cent by volume and 13 per cent by value in last year’s harvest, the highest volumes since 2017, bucking overall red wine trends. This presents opportunity for Australian wine to diversify its portfolio mix to cater to changing consumption trends.
“We hope the Grenache Room offers an unparalleled sensory experience,” said David Gleave MW, co-founder of estate. “The tasting spaces have been thoughtfully crafted for events, and for informal yet serious discussions of wine, where the atmosphere encourages contemplation and discovery.”
Willunga 100’s ‘The Grenache Room’
Finally and equally as importantly, the opening of the Corryton Burge Cellar Door in the former home of Grant Burge shines a light on the rich heritage upon which Australian wine has been built, and reinforces the need for these stories to be celebrated by industry. First renovated for tasting room purposes by Helen Burge in 2013 prior to being leased out, it is now once again under Burge family ownership.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming the next chapter of the Corryton Burge story at a space that is so special to us all as a family and is home to cherished memories of my childhood,” said co-founder Trent Burge, son of Helen and Grant Burge and sixth generation Barossan.
“For as long as I can remember I’ve been amongst the vineyards in the Barossa, it’s a special place, and every wine we craft here at Corryton Burge attempts to reflect that and share it with the drinker.”
Marking a continuation of 160 years of Burge family winemaking history, Corryton Burge was launched by siblings Trent and Amelia in 2020 whilst the Grant Burge brand remains part of Accolade Wine’s portfolio. The successful co-existence of the two brands shows the need for both brand approaches in the current wine market, with each achieving success in their respective target markets and channels.
“I have worked in the wine industry for many years, but nothing has made me prouder than building Corryton Burge which encompasses the passion and dedication of the whole Burge family,” Grant Burge said.
“To mark the next chapter in the Burge family winemaking legacy at a location that has played a role in our family upbringing just couldn’t be a better fit – it’s great to be home.”
Corryton Burge’s Barossa Cellar Door
The three new venues have been opened following a spate of closures, including Penfolds’ Barossa Valley Cellar Door and Shingleback’s McLaren Vale Cellar Door, with factors such as a global red winegrape oversupply and reduced global consumption prompting widespread uncertainty and frustration.
In Herron Todd White’s recent Wine & Vineyard Market Overview, Associate Director of Agribusiness (Central & West) Chris Algie said that “buyer confidence remains low” across the board for wine industry sales.
“Vineyard and winery transactions have been down across the key wine regions of Australia, with agents reporting that vineyards and wineries are spending extensive periods on the market,” he said.
“Many across the industry [are] hunkering down and riding through another tough vintage, both seasonally and economically … It is unlikely that demand will return to pre-tariff levels in the near future.”
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