A new behind-the-scenes winery tour in Rutherglen and three new garden tours of Beechworth are giving visitors even more reason to explore Victoria’s High Country.
Behind the Scenes Guided Winery Tours in Rutherglen offer a rare sneak peek into the inner sanctums of four of the region’s wineries - Pfeiffer Wines, Campbell’s Wines, Rutherglen Estates and Cofield Wines. The tours, which are free of charge, are being run once a week at each participating winery. Visitors are taken to areas in the wineries not normally open to the public to meet and discover special insights from their winemakers - including discovering how Sparkling Shiraz is made, the difference between Arneis and Fiano and the journey of the grape from vineyard to bottle as well as experiencing a barrel sampling of current vintages and taking special look at rare Rutherglen fortifieds.
For those who like a dash of history mixed with their horticulture, the new Beechworth Town and Country Walks and Tours, a collection of three different garden-focused tours, offers a perfect introduction to the botanical treasures of one of Australia’s best preserved heritage towns.
Running every Saturday, the Beechworth Public Garden Walk is a stroll through four of the town’s most significant public gardens (the earliest of which dates back to the 1850s) and a chance to learn about their plants and creators.
Available to groups of 20 or more, Beechworth Private Gardens Tour provides an opportunity to see a selection of Beechworth’s famous private gardens. Self-drive, guided coach tours and one to three day itineraries are available.
The Backyard To Farm Gate Productive Gardens Tour (available to groups of 20 or more) offers visitors a chance to see a range of productive gardens in and around Beechworth. On the way visitors will meet and have the chance to sample the produce of passionate cottage-industry as well as larger scale growers who grow for both markets and their own farm gate sales.
For further information:
www.beechworthonline.com.au or call 1300 366 321
www.rutherglenvic.com or call 02 6033 6302
Article courtesy of Tourism Victoria Corporate Website December 2009 issue
