10 must-visit wineries in Mudgee

Craigmoor Wines

Need to know: Open Friday to Monday from 11am – 4pm. Bookings are essential. A 50-minute seated tasting of six wines is $10 per person. 

We start with Mudgee’s oldest winery and vineyard, established in 1858 with the region’s birth. The cellar door is surrounded by gum trees on the banks of Pipeclay Creek, just a five-minute drive from the centre of Mudgee. While here, visit the wine museum and art gallery, and make sure you pre-order a grazing box to enjoy with your wines.  

Logan Wines

Need to know: Open seven days a week from 10am – 5pm. Bookings are highly recommended. A seated 45-minute tasting experience is $10 per person.

The architecturally sublime design of the Logan Wines tasting room is just one of the many reasons to visit this cellar door. Set on a hill overlooking the vines, you can admire the views while you sample what's on offer. Enjoy a locally sourced cheese plate or, on weekends, try Mudgee Catering Co.’s delicious pumpkin and High Valley feta tart or homemade pork and fennel sausage roll.  

First Ridge

Need to know: Open Thursday to Monday 10am – 4pm (5pm on Saturdays). Walk-ins and bookings are accepted.

Winning the title of 'Best Small Cellar Door in Mudgee' not once, but twice, by Gourmet Traveller, stopping in at First Ridge is a must. Housed in two adjoining shipping containers with beautiful west-facing views over the surrounding countryside and epic sunsets, be sure to linger longer to enjoy both the vistas and the Italian varietals the vineyard is known for, including barbera, sangiovese, montelpuciano, vermentino, fiano, pinot grigio and prosecco.

Robert Stein

Need to know: The cellar door and Motorcycle Museum are open seven days a week from 10am – 4.30pm. Bookings are essential. A seated six wine tasting costs $10 per person.  

The Robert Stein Winery and Cellar Door is rated as a Red Five Star Winery by the James Halliday Wine Companion and produces award-winning reds, whites and fortified wines. The cellar door is set in a charming stone cottage, next to a Motorcycle Museum (founder Robert Stein was an avid motorcyclist) and the highly regarded Pipeclay Pumphouse restaurant. 

Lowe Wines

Need to know: Open seven days a week from 10am – 5pm. Bookings are essential. A wine tasting costs $20 per person and includes nine different wines and housemade nibbles. 

For organic and biodynamic wines, head to Lowe’s cellar door and farm, run by husband-and-wife duo David Lowe and Kim Currie. The former produces the small batch wines and the latter heads up the accompanying Zin House – a modern farmhouse restaurant that features ingredients grown in the property’s kitchen gardens, orchards and farmland. You can also stay the night here in the boutique Shed by Zin studio.  

Moothi Estate

Need to know: Open seven days a week from 10am – 4pm (10am – 5pm from Friday to Sunday). Booking recommended. A 60-minute seated wine tasting starts from $8 per person.

Moothi is a Wiradjuri word, meaning ‘nest in the hills’, and you couldn’t describe this family-run cellar door in a better way, with the tasting room and dining area overlooking the vineyard and the Mudgee Valley. It is in fact the highest cellar door in Mudgee and produces cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, merlot, chardonnay, semillon, riesling, viognier and pinot gris. There is also an orchard onsite, and in the summer months, you can pick your own cherries.  

Pieter van Gent Winery

Need to know: Open seven days a week from 10am – 4pm. Walk-ins only. Tasting fees are between $5 and $10. 

Pieter van Gent arrived in Australia from Holland in 1959 and worked as a winemaker at Craigmoor Wines from 1970 – making Australia’s first chardonnay – before setting up his own winery in 1979. His son, Philip has now taken over, and the family winery continues to make excellent chardonnay, as well as white port and a variety of other wines. Bicycle hire and boutique accommodation are also available onsite.  

Burnbrae Wines

Need to know: Open seven days a week from 10am – 4pm. Bookings are recommended for large groups. Wine tasting is $5 per person. 

Burnbrae is a friendly spot, and along with its award-winning wines, is known for its Lazy Pizza Sundays, where they dish up pizza, beer and wine alongside live music. If you visit any other day, order an antipasto platter to accompany the wine. If you want to give your designated driver a break, stay onsite at either the two-bedroom Winemakers Cottage or the three-bedroom Braeside House.  

De Beaurepaire Wines

Need to know: Open Thursday to Monday from 11am – 5pm. Bookings are essential. There are three private guided experiences on offer starting at $20 per person, as well as a self-guided flight of four wines for $12 per person. 

In the picturesque town of Rylstone, 40 minutes southeast of Mudgee, you’ll find De Beaurepaire, producers of single-estate, French-style wines. Vineyard site selection was based on finding a ‘terroir’ similar to the De Beaurepaire homeland in Burgundy, and the family-owned winery now sits on 53 hectares of pretty rolling countryside. Choose from 17 different wines, made using a mixture of old and new world techniques, including sparkling, whites, rosé, red and dessert wines. Expect to be welcomed by wine dogs Scotch and Sascha on arrival.  

Vinifera Wines

Need to know: Open seven days a week. From 11am – 4pm on Sunday to Friday, and from 10am – 5pm on Saturdays. Bookings are essential. A wine tasting costs $10 per person and includes five selections, accompanied by a small nibble of local produce. 

Organic and sustainable winery Vinifera produces Spanish varietals including tempranillo, garnacha and graciano. The family-run vineyard was one of the first in Australia to plant tempranillo. Enjoy a tasting platter of local produce with your wine or visit on a Sunday for the High Cheese – a selection of local cheese, charcuterie, crackers, chutney, fruits and nuts, along with a glass of wine of your choice.