Steels Gate Wines

Steels Gate Wines is a boutique cellar door and restaurant at 1974 Melba Highway in Dixons Creek, and among Yarra Valley regulars it has a reputation as one of the genuinely dog-friendly wineries in the valley. Dogs are welcome on the outdoor terrace and the grassy area among the vines, with staff happy to have them around, and you can do a full tasting or a proper restaurant lunch without leaving your dog behind.

The dog setup

The dog-friendly spots are the outdoor all-weather balcony and terrace plus the adjacent grassy lawn overlooking the vines, where picnic blankets are set out for a more casual option. Dogs stay on lead and need to be well behaved around other guests and staff. Outdoor dog-friendly seating is limited, so book ahead and say you are bringing a dog so the team seats you on the deck rather than indoors. The blanket-on-the-lawn option is the easy pick if a full table feels like too much fuss.

Max: weekend lunches on the deck fill up, so book early and be specific that you want the outdoor dog-friendly seating. Turning up hoping for a terrace table rarely works.

Worth knowing

The wines are hand-crafted estate drops from vines planted in the 1970s and 1980s, with pinot noir, chardonnay and sparkling the callouts, and lunches run on a seasonal garden-to-table menu from the kitchen garden. Hours are generally Monday, Thursday and Friday 11am to 4pm, Saturday 11am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, though they can shift seasonally, so check before a long drive.

Getting there and parking

The cellar door is on the Melba Highway in Dixons Creek, roughly 60 kilometres from central Melbourne, with free off-street parking on site that makes unloading a dog straightforward. Weekday visits or an early weekend booking are the ways to secure the best terrace spot, since weekend lunches on the deck get busy.

Make a day of it

The Melba Highway strip stacks up well for a dog day out. Locale Restaurant at De Bortoli Yarra Valley takes dogs in its outdoor terrace and garden, Sutherland Estate is another close stop, and De'Vine Escape is the pet-friendly base if you are staying in the valley.

More options are on the Victoria wineries guide and the Dixons Creek destination page.