Five wineries near Melbourne with EV chargers
Victoria is not short of wineries happy to welcome visitors, nor voracious vinophiles ready to find them.With the correct responsible driver, wine-tasting tours are plenty of fun but there’s one added attraction for the growing number of electric vehicle owners. Wineries have discovered installing EV charging stations lures wine-loving customers away from the city and gives them a reason to linger longer. Ready to top-up a battery while titillating the tastebuds? Here are five great options.
Feathertop Winery, Porepunkah, Ovens Valley
Sitting bang-on the Great Alpine Road, not far from Bright and Mt Hotham (and an EV-friendly 300km from Melbourne), Feathertop has been producing cool-climate wines since 1988. In terms of grape varieties you’ll find the usual suspects (Shiraz, Pinot, Riesling) but also the less common Savagnin, Tempranillo and Vermentino. You’ll need to book in for a tasting, but EV owners can linger while the two Tesla Destination chargers boost their range. Or if you need longer, stay in one of three gorgeous accommodation options.
Oakridge Wines, Yarra Valley
Oakridge is a big player in the Yarra Valley with a slick tasting room that has lovely vineyard views while the one-hat restaurant invites more hours of tastebud-enticing pleasure. Just 60km from Melbourne CBD, and much closer to eastern suburbs, it has four charging stations including Tesla Destination, Type 2 and three-phase, which are all handy for a top-up. Or make it a stop on your wine-tasting tour and then head to the King Valley and beyond.
Dogrock Winery, Crowlands, Victorian Pyrenees
Yes, Dogrock is a bit out of the way between Ararat and Avoca and about 230km from Melbourne’s CBD. But this family-run Pyrenees winery has serious enviro-cred being completely off-the-grid power-wise but still it offers free, solar-fed, zero-emission Type 2 EV charging. The cellar door is open on weekends (or any time by appointment), the warm and dry climate has led to some cracking reds and owners Allen and Andrea Hart will help top-up your car’s battery as well as its boot.
Ten Minutes by Tractor, Mornington Peninsula
It probably gives an inkling of 10byT’s target market that it includes a pair of Tesla Destination EV chargers and yes, the winery’s flagship restaurant and Main Ridge location are seriously chi-chi. Dig deeper and you’ll discover gems such as Allis Wine Bar with its delicious (and affordable) tasting menu and brilliant wines to sample at the cellar door (the chardies and pinots are among the Mornington Peninsula’s finest. The perfect excuse for a Tesla day out.
Dal Zotto Wines, Whitfield, King Valley
The King Valley’s Italian heritage cannot be better exemplified than by Dal Zotto’s joy in delivering hearty hospitality via its cellar door and trattoria, and wines such as the delicate Prosecco introduced by Otto Dal Zotto himself back in the 1990s. Stop for a sip and a feed and if you’ve travelled the 270km from Melbourne in an EV, top up at one of two Tesla Type 2 charging stations (that can also charge non-Teslas).
Related: Five winery restaurants near Melbourne worth the drive
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