Great Western: Cellars, Vineyards and History

Great Western brings winemaking history to life in tangible places: in Seppelt’s heritage-listed cellar, among long-established vineyards and along a cycling route that connects wineries with the town’s history. Experiences range from a daily guided cellar tour to a self-guided visit and cycling between wineries. There is also a tasting with a cheese platter. When planning your stay, it’s therefore helpful to consider whether you’d most like to focus on cellars, historic vines, food and wine experiences, or a combination of cycling and history.

Underground cellars and a local winemaking tradition

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 bottles of wine. Their length and potential storage capacity give the underground complex an impressive scale. The tour ends with a tasting of Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz. This wine was first made in Seppelt’s Great Western cellars in the early 1890s. The visit therefore brings together a cellar tour and a wine whose history is also closely connected with Great Western.

Best’s: family history and original vineyards

Founded in 1866, Best’s Great Western is one of Australia’s oldest wineries to remain continuously family-owned and operated. Its original vineyards also date back a long way: planted in the 1860s, they are among the world’s oldest and rarest pre-phylloxera vine plantings. These details describe two different historical aspects—the winery’s founding year and the age of its original vines. At the Stables Cellar Door, visitors can taste wine and then explore the original underground cellar on a self-guided tour. This differs from the experience at Seppelt: there, a daily cellar tour leads to a tasting; at Best’s, the self-guided cellar visit follows the wine tasting.

Vineyards and tastings at Grampians Estate

Grampians Estate’s Garden Gully Vineyard was established in Great Western in 1878. Its Shiraz and Riesling vines are among the oldest in Victoria. Together with the Best’s vineyards, Garden Gully offers a way to compare their histories: Best’s original vineyards date from the 1860s, while Garden Gully was established in 1878. This comparison places both vineyards in context without reducing them to a ranking. At the Grampians Estate cellar door, visitors can also share a bottle of Sparkling Shiraz and a cheese platter. This adds a specific food and wine option to the historic vineyards for anyone who would like to enjoy wine and cheese together.

Cycle between wineries

The Great Western Wine and Heritage Cycling Trail runs through Great Western and connects three major wineries. Cyclists can immerse themselves in history as they visit wineries along the way. This offers a different focus from a single cellar tour: the trail connects cycling and local history across visits to several wineries. A map in Memorial Park shows the entire route and includes information about the town’s history and relevant points of interest. This gives you an overview of the route while also connecting it to the town’s history and the stops along the trail.

A dated event to help plan your trip

The Seppelt Great Western Cup will be held again in 2027 on the Saturday of the Australia Day long weekend. If this event is the deciding factor for your trip, check the date for the relevant edition before booking a hotel.

Discover more destinations: Tynong, HMAS Cerberus, Laharum, Broadford, Clunes, Cathcart, Lake Boga, Strath Creek.

See the broader travel overview: Victoria.