THE REGIONS FLAVOUR PROFILE
Engage your senses and let your taste buds tour the taste trail
We think we have the best flavour profiles and ‘Instagrammable’ locations
Geelong & The Bellarine Peninsula
Geelong has evolved from a historical port town into a thriving multi-cultural city with a lifestyle focus. As Victoria’s second largest city we are blessed with a variety of city-living benefits including some cool cafes, craft brewers and breweries plus a variety of international restaurants and food options.
The Bellarine Peninsula is a sub region of Geelong and the home of some top local award winning wines as rated by James Halliday. The peninsula offers an incredible array of wineries, gin, whiskey distillery and cellar doors of course and to add to these, the area is also filled with passionate people who love to create and share all sorts of culinary produce, from locally grown mussels, vegetables, cheese, olives and olive oils to smoked fish, handcrafted butter, brownies and sourdough specialist bakers.
Moorabool Valley
The Moorabool valley is located to the north-west of Geelong and is characterised by a drier climate with volcanic limestone and basalt soil which lead to the early Swiss immigrants planting the first vines in this region back in 1842. The conditions here allow for some alternative grape varieties and provide passionate winemakers the opportunity to create different style of wine than those predominant on the coast and are rated highly by James Halliday.
The flavour taste trail takes you to some of the amazing farm gates and provedores, it is also the home to the internationally celebrated and award-winning Meredith Dairy. As you travel through the undulating hills of the golden plains you might be lucky to see Bunjil (wedge-tail eagles) which are symbolic to our First Nation people.
Surf Coast & Otways
The surf coast is well known for its famous surf breaks and the internationally renowned Great Ocean Road. It’s also the birthplace of iconic surf brands Quiksilver and Rip Curl.
The temperate rainforest of the Great Otway National park and its surrounds has an adventurous side for those seeking waterfalls, hiking and mountain bike riding.
Between the coast and hinterlands fertile soil, the trail leads to some of the best artisan products and provedores, craft breweries, gin and whiskey distilleries, ciders and wineries including a 3-hat organic farm restaurant and truffle, beef and pork farm.
Before heading out on the road, be sure to grab your coffee from one of our great local roasters.
Quote
Geelong is “a hub of a gastronomic wheel, its spokes being the wineries, cheesemakers, fruit growers, olive producers, fish suppliers, vegetable growers, restaurants, bread makers, honey producers and truffle growers and not to mention the excellent pork, dairy cattle, lamb and beef in this region”
-Rita Erlich- Food, Wine and Travel Writer