Yarra Valley Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night

The Yarra Valley is an hour from Melbourne, which is exactly why so many people drive home after the last tasting when they would rather not. Eight cellar doors across Coldstream, Gruyere, Yarra Glen and Yering let you sleep on the estate instead, from a three-room residence among the vines to a sixteen-room boutique hotel. Every stay below is described in the words of the venue or the business that runs its rooms.

The Short Version

• Eight Yarra Valley wineries have somewhere to sleep on their own estate, from a three-room residence to a guesthouse of 23 rooms.
• Three are in Coldstream, three are in Gruyere, and two are at Yarra Glen and Yering.
• Two let your dog stay the night, Soumah's Villa Sophia and the Badgers Brook bungalow, and one estate's rooms take no bookings for anyone under 14.

Unlike most wine regions, every cellar door below opens seven days, so the booking that matters is the room. Here they are by area.

Coldstream

All 8 are in the free Jedhi app. Mapped, and you can filter for Accommodation anywhere in the country, so the next weekend away starts with a map instead of 8 open tabs. Free on iPhone and Android.

1) Tokar Estate (Coldstream), a three-room residence among the vines

Why it works:

• Their own words: “The Residence at Tokar Estate offers three beautifully spacious rooms with traditional European hospitality set amongst the vineyards”.
• The rooms are the Vineyard View Room and the Library Room, each for two, and the Vigneron Suite for up to four, and “All room rates include breakfast, welcome chocolates and a bottle of Tokar Estate wine.”
• The cellar door opens Monday to Friday, 10.30am to 4pm, and weekends, 10am to 5pm.

It suits a couple or two couples who want the restaurant and cellar door on the same estate rather than a whole house to themselves.

2) Badgers Brook Winery (Coldstream), a bungalow for fifteen

The Badgers Brook bungalow is the big group stay of the valley: “Our spacious bungalow sleeps up to 15 guests across 8 bedrooms”, with “Direct access to Badgers Brook cellar door and tastings.” It is booked through Airbnb, and it is pet friendly: “Bring your furry friends along for the stay.” The cellar door is open daily, 10am to 4pm.

3) Punt Road Wines (Coldstream), a cellar door beside The Farmhouse at Meletos

This is the one where the beds belong to a neighbouring business on the same estate. Punt Road's own site says its “new home sits at the centre of the estate beside Meletos and The Farmhouse accommodation, surrounded by vineyards and orchards.” The Farmhouse at Meletos is “Home to 23 individually designed rooms”, for up to two guests each, and it does not take bookings for anyone under 14. Book the room with Meletos. The Punt Road cellar door is open seven days, 10.30am to 5.30pm.

Gruyere

4) Helen & Joey Estate (Gruyere), a sixteen-room vineyard hotel

The rooms trade as Re'em: “Re’em Yarra Valley offers boutique Yarra Valley vineyard accommodation within Helen & Joey Estate”, with “16 boutique hotel rooms” including the Alicorn Suite with vineyard views. “Guests can stay among the vineyards while enjoying access to a cellar door, hatted restaurant and estate-grown wines.” The cellar door is open seven days, 10am to 5pm.

5) Soumah (Gruyere), a villa for eight and cottages for two

Soumah has three kinds of stay in its vineyard. “Villa Sophia is over 225sqm and offers four-double bedrooms, three with ensuites”, for eight, with “a 2-night minimum stay”. Then there are three Studio-Villette for couples and one larger Grande-Villetta. Villa Sophia is the dog-friendly one: it “has a fully fenced back yard and welcomes a maximum of two dogs”, while “As there is no fencing, we do not allow dogs or pets to any Villette.” The cellar door pours seven days, 10am to 5pm.

6) Yarra Yering (Gruyere), a homestead beside a working winery

The Yarra Yering Homestead “is nestled amongst rolling hills and vineyards with incredible views across the Yarra Valley”. “Bookings can be taken for 2-10 guests with five well-appointed guest rooms, 4 x Queen, 1 x Twin and two bathrooms.” It sits close to the working winery, and they warn that during vintage, around February to April, there may be extra noise and machinery from early morning. The tasting room is open seven days, 10am to 5pm.

Yarra Glen and Yering

7) Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley (Yarra Glen), a resort on the vineyard

Balgownie is the resort-style option. “Accommodation options range from queen rooms to spacious suites overlooking the vineyard.” Rooms run from standard to one and two-bedroom suites, plus accessible rooms. The cellar door is open seven days, 10.30am to 5pm.

8) Yering Farm Wines (Yering), a farmhouse on the grounds

“Owned and operated by the Johns family, The George at Yering is a luxurious self contained farmhouse located on the grounds of Yering Farm Wines in the heart of the Yarra Valley.” It is a whole-house stay for a group or a family. The cellar door is open daily, 10am to 5pm.

The Cheat Code: How to Plan a Yarra Valley Stay Without Driving Home

Every cellar door on this list opens seven days, which is rare. What sells out is the room, and Soumah asks for two nights on weekends.

Book in this order:

• Pick the stay first, then plan the tastings around it. Coldstream, Gruyere and Yarra Glen are close enough that one base covers all of them.
• Match the stay to the group. Couples are best served by Tokar's rooms, a Soumah villette or a Re'em room at Helen & Joey. Eight or more should look at Villa Sophia, the Yarra Yering Homestead, The George at Yering or the Badgers Brook bungalow.
• Make the estate you sleep at the last tasting of the day, so the final stop is the one you can walk home from.

Two things people get wrong:

• Bringing the kids to the wrong place. The Farmhouse at Meletos takes no bookings for anyone under 14.
• Assuming every room at a dog-friendly estate takes dogs. At Soumah, Villa Sophia does and the villettes do not.

Pick the stay, then let the app line up everything around it. Jedhi has the Yarra Valley mapped, cellar door by cellar door, so you can plan the day from the one you wake up at.

More wine-country stays: Hunter Valley Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Margaret River Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Orange Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Granite Belt Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Mornington Peninsula Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Mudgee Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Rutherglen Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night, Dog-Friendly Wineries in Victoria and Victorian Wineries With Caravan Camping, and Barossa Valley Wineries Where You Can Stay the Night.

Bringing the dog? See Dog-Friendly Winery Stays in Australia.