Great Western brings together underground wine cellars, 19th-century vineyards and a cycling trail connecting three major wineries. This gives a trip a clear focus on wine and history, with several ways to experience them: a guided tour, a self-guided cellar walk or a bike ride.

Wine Cellars and Tastings

Seppelt Wines offers a daily tour of its heritage-listed underground cellars. The Drives comprise three kilometres of tunnels, which can hold up to three million wine bottles. Their length and capacity show two sides of the same facility: its extent underground and the volume it was designed to hold. The underground cellar tour ends with a tasting of Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz. This wine was first made in the early 1890s in the Seppelt cellars in Great Western.

Wineries with a Long History

Best's Great Western was established in 1866 and is one of Australia’s oldest continuously family-owned and operated wineries. Its original vineyards were planted in the 1860s and are among the oldest and rarest pre-phylloxera plantings in the world. The founding year and planting period mark different aspects of its history: 1866 refers to the winery’s establishment, while the 1860s refers to the planting of the original vineyards.

At Best's Stables Cellar Door, visitors can taste wine and then take a self-guided tour of the original underground cellar. Unlike at Seppelt, the self-guided walk here follows the tasting; there, the guided cellar tour is the main focus. Grampians Estate’s Garden Gully Vineyard in Great Western is also among the historic vineyards: it was planted in 1878. Its Shiraz and Riesling vines are among the oldest in Victoria.

Explore Great Western by Bike

The Great Western Wine and Heritage Cycling Trail runs through Great Western and connects three major wineries. Cyclists can immerse themselves in history along the trail between winery visits. This offers a different way to experience the wine and heritage than a single cellar tour. A map in Memorial Park shows the full route and includes information about the town’s history and relevant stops. It thus combines an overview of the route with information about the town’s history.

Event Date and Enjoyment

The Seppelt Great Western Cup will be held again in 2027 on the Saturday of the Australia Day long weekend. If the Cup is the reason for your stay, factor the event date into your plans and check the dates before setting your travel dates. This makes a specific event, rather than wine history alone, the focus of your visit.

For another wine experience, visitors can share a bottle of Sparkling Shiraz and a cheese platter at Grampians Estate’s cellar door. Along with the historic cellars and old vineyards, this gives visitors a choice of different ways to focus their stay in Great Western.

Discover more destinations: Whittlesea, Chirnside Park, St Arnaud, Drouin, Lancefield, Longwood, Walpeup, Warragul

For the main travel overview: Victoria.