What Can I Do, Food & Wine, Portarlington, Great Ocean Road Region, Victoria, Australia

What can't you do? That would be a shorter list. There are attractions, activities, events and features throughout the region to suit all ages and interest groups. From theme parks for children to adventure sports for adrenaline junkies. From gourmet food and wine experiences to bushwalking through campsites. From a simple dip in the ocean to a luxurious spa retreat. There really is something for everyone.

Things to See & Do

Touring Routes & Tour Operators

Portarlington

For the Love of Grape

For the Love of Grape Wine Tours offers a relaxing and memorable experience to the variety of wineries on offer in the Bellarine, Geelong, Echuca and Yarra Valley areas. Their tours offer the convenience of collection and drop off to all accommodation, homes, train stations and Ferry services. Tours include half day tours that start from $65 per person (inclusion of lunch is at an additional charge) to full day tours. Their suggested full day tours include pamper and wine, full wine day tours (inc lunch) and caters for corporate functions/hen's or bucks groups. All clients have the option of selecting the wineries to visit or tailoring a day tour to suit the interests of their group. They specialise tailoring each tour to suit the needs of every group and ensure the itinerary explores many of the smaller appointment only wineries as well as visiting the more the well known. All tours are inclusive of GST and tasting fees. For all enquiries and bookings please contact your local tour operator Karen Shannon.

Portarlington

Bellarine Taste Trail

The Bellarine Taste Trail is a collection of gourmet delights and foodie experiences all within 20 minutes of each other. The trail twists a scenic path around The Bellarine, taking visitors to vineyards that are receiving some of Australia’s highest accolades for their wine and farms that have changed the local restaurant scene with their amazing produce. There are breweries using innovative techniques for original flavours and bakeries known for amazing wood-fired bread and multi-award winning pies. Several tour companies run charter operations across the Bellarine, so you can truly indulge in all the Bellarine Taste Trail has to offer and let someone else worry about transport and navigation. The Bellarine is bounded by Port Phillip Bay to the North and Bass Strait to the South – as such, the seafood on offer is amazing. Portarlington’s mussels are well known locally and feature in a different dish at virtually every restaurant in the region. Places to eat range from those with stunning water views, or nestled in rolling farmland hills to exquisite and grand historic hotel dining rooms. They all offer their unique take on local fare. For more casual meals, pick up a bounty of local produce from one of the provedores and food stores around the Bellarine and make it yourself – either at home or at your holiday accommodation.

Geelong

More Than A Tour

More than Tour offer their local knowledge will give you the very best opportunity of seeing a range of beautiful native animals in their natural environment. Shorts walks to the scenic attractions, lookouts, beaches and rain forests will be on well-defined tracks and board walks and requires a moderate level of fitness. Their guides will accompany you on all walks and your safety is their priority. Being a boutique tour company they will confirm your pick up point, departure and return times prior to departure. More Than A Tour also offers a Door to Door Service. More Than A Tour can tailor make tours to satisfy your groups desires, including: •Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island two day tours •Great Ocean Road and Grampians two day tours •Tailor made tours also available.

Producers

Geelong

The Food Purveyor

The Food Purveyor brings together a collection of exquisite, regional foods made by incredible artisans and small-scale food and wine producers. Tasty basics to get you started through to luxury treats. Everything is made with quality ingredients that are brought to life by passionate people. Take a journey through the Great Ocean Road region and let The Food Purveyor bring the best food to you. Choose one of our delicious hampers and add in anything that you desire such as wine, a little extra chocolate, some more chutneys, the list is endless. The Food Purveyor hamper can be delivered to your home or holiday accommodation. A perfect start to your holiday or weekend away. All packaged in a beautiful keepsake bag which is perfect for shopping, going to the beach or taking a picnic. For more information on the types of hampers available please visit the website.

Food & Wine

Portarlington

Bellarine Estate

The historic seaside villages of the picturesque Bellarine Peninsula are a pleasant drive down the road from this small vineyard by the highway. Overlooking the vineyard and with views over Corio Bay, Bellarine Estate offers wine tastings from their Bellarine Estate range, as well as their Portarlington Ridge Label. In addition, beer tastings from the Bellarine Brewing Company's micro-brewed range are also available. This is beer with attitude, perfect for the first time beer drinker and loved by the mature palate of a seasoned connoisseur. Established: 1996 Wine Region: Geelong Owners: Liz and Peter Kenny Winemaker: Anthony Brain Open: 7 days 11am - 4pm. Lunch Sat & Sun 11am - 3pm Wines: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz. Wine Prices: $10.00-$36.00 Beers: Pale & Celtic style Ales, Lager, Bitter & Mussel Stout Beer Prices: Bottle $5, 6pack $24.90, case $79.20 Food: Casual Cellar Door lunch menu weekends only Functions: Up to 100 people. Weddings: Up to 100 people.

Drysdale

Drysdale Cheeses

Introducing Drysdale Cheeses, the first commercial goat cheese manufacturer on the Bellarine Peninsula. Registered in December 2005, Drysdale Cheeses concentrates on a range of hand made cheeses, manufactured from the high quality milk from its herd of Saanen goats. The goats live on the Scotchmans Road property in Bellarine, where they are milked daily. Drysdale Cheeses are a registered dairy herd and all of the animals are pure bred. Their diet comprises of pasture, tree cuttings, hay and a goat "muesli", a home recipe. They also love their daily offerings of fruit and vegetable scraps from the fruit shop in Drysdale -especially watermelon!! Extra essential minerals and vitamins are administered via seaweed meal and salt licks. Although Drysdale Cheeses is not certified organic, they follow permaculture farming principles and adopt ethical animal treatment. They do not milk animals that are heavily pregnant and newborn kids will stay with their mums for those first few days of all-important colostrum (first milk). Each doe only kids once every two years, allowing for their optimal health. The milk is then transported back to the cheese making room at Drysdale. The basic method for making cheese requires pasteurisation in this country, although a small group of speciality cheesemakers are working to allow raw milk cheese to be made legal in Australia soon. After pasteurisation, cheesemaking cultures are added to the milk for flavour ripening and then an enzyme (rennet) is added to coagulate the milk, thus producing curds and whey. These cheese making procedures use only vegetarian rennet. Different varieties of cheese will then require different temperatures and different treatments. The cheeses are made in small batches and require careful aging and draining, and so may be unavailable from time to time. Drysdale Cheeses are only available locally, from selected restaurants and providers.

Portarlington

Grand Hotel Portarlington

Established in 1888, the Grand Hotel continues it's tradition of providing warm and friendly hospitality for residents and visitors, operating as a modern, fully serviced hospitality complex. Comprising of a modern large family restaurant with an extensive a la carte menu, two fully serviced bars with plasma screens. The front bar offers TAB and Sportsbet, adjacently located is the Beer Garden which provides a relaxing social environment. A selection of local wines available in our Walk-In Bottle shop. Budget style Accommodation is located on the top floor. A seven metre deep brick lined well, covered by a glass case is a focal point near the dining room bar. The hotel's historic balcony and veranda boasts views to Port Phillip Bay and beyond including Portarlington Pier, a fisherman's haven, where you can purchase fresh mussels harvested from the local bay farms. The Grand is a refreshing stopover on your fishing trip, wine tour or quiet getaway all year round.

Drysdale

Manzanillo Grove

Manzanillo Grove, with over 4500 olive trees and seven different varieties, was established in 1997 in the fertile valleys of the Bellarine Peninsula Victoria near Geelong and is owned and operated by the Kint Family. The Bellarine Peninsula and their Olives in particular have a distinctive flavour that is much sought after by discerning buyers. They pride themselves in producing a fine quality Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is processed on the property. Manzanillo Olive Oil is not heat extracted at any stage of production and therefore is of the highest quality and has a flavour unique from their grove. Manzanillo Grove have won numerous awards which include gold for the oils and olives and grove of the year in 2011 which is the most prestigious award in the olive industry. They have a great farm shop and you can ask to see how it is all made.

Near Portarlington

Mason's Creek Olive Grove

Mason's Creek is a small producer of an exquisite extra virgin olive oil that we think is one of the Bellarine's best-kept secrets. Their dry-grown trees differentiate them from most other growers: the trees are not irrigated, but rely on natural rainfall. They yield less fruit, but Mason's Creek believe the compensation is a concentration of flavour and improved quality. The quality is assured because they have qualified for The Australian Olive Association's Code of Practice certification and have won medals at the National Extra Virgin Olive Oil shows. They manage their 1200 grove in the most environmentally-friendly and sustainable way they can by: - Releasing ladybirds to eat scale - Painting horticultural glue around the trunks to stop ants farming the scale - Not irrigating - relying on natural rainfall - Controlling weeds by mulching instead of poisoning - Applying biological crop nutrition - Applying untreated animal manure

Drysdale

Nalbra Estate Wines

Nalbra Estate Wines is a small boutique vineyard owned by Teresa and Leigh Robinson. The vineyard is perched on Mount Bellarine and has a magnificent view of Port Phillip Bay. It has just over two hectares of vines. The first vines of Shiraz and Pinot Gris were planted in 2001, followed by Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier in 2003. They stress treat the vines and bunch count for quality not quantity. Nalbra Estate Wines received two gold medals at the 2010 Geelong Wines Show and two gold and two silver medals in the 2012 James Holliday Wine Companion plus a 5 star rating. The wine is made with two outstanding wine makers of the region. Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis. Cellar Door is done from the Japanese garden or from our 'love seat' which overlooks the vineyard and the valley below. The wine is all Estate grown and hand picked, no machinery is used. The varieties of wines available are: - Viognier - Sauvignon Blanc Viognier - Shiraz - Shiraz Viognier - Pinot Gris Cellar Door is by appointment only. The winery is very flexible with group and bus.

Packages & Offers

See, Do, Stay & Save

Welcome to goTravlr, your passport to great deals in Geelong, the Bellarine and the Great Ocean Road.

Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant & Villas Winter Warmer Getaway Package

Package for two from $350.00.

Stay & Save at Cumberland Lorne Resort

From $411 for a three night stay.

BIG 4 Beacon Resort Blues Train Package

A unique musical experience! Toe tapping entertainment, a cool drink and a good laugh. Rock your stay in Queenscliff with Blues Train tickets and award winning accommodation at BIG4 Beacon Resort.

Seahaven Village - Taste of The Bellarine $495

Relax at stunning Barwon Heads Friday and Saturday night in a cosy 4.5 star one bedroom spa suite.

Barwon Heads Golf Club Winter Escape

$240 per couple per night

Food & Wine

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Food & Wine

Things to See & Do

Producers

The Food Purveyor

Food & Wine

Bellarine Estate

Drysdale Cheeses

Grand Hotel Portarlington

Manzanillo Grove

Mason's Creek Olive Grove

Nalbra Estate Wines

Where Can I Stay?

What Can I Do?

Where Can I Eat & Drink?

What's On?

Packages & Offers

See, Do, Stay & Save

Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant & Villas Winter Warmer Getaway Package

Stay & Save at Cumberland Lorne Resort

BIG 4 Beacon Resort Blues Train Package

Seahaven Village - Taste of The Bellarine $495

Barwon Heads Golf Club Winter Escape