SOUMAH of Yarra Valley

SOUMAH of Yarra Valley is a Northern Italian-focused estate on Hexham Road in Gruyere, with cellar door, restaurant and lawn terraces looking over the vines. It is one of the Yarra Valley's easier wine visits with a dog, because the outdoor Piazza Bar explicitly welcomes well-behaved dogs on lead.

The dog setup

Dogs join you at the outdoor Piazza Bar and on the surrounding lawns, leashed and settled beside the table while you work through wood-fired pizza, antipasti and cheese boards with a view across the Gruyere valley. They are not permitted inside the formal Ai Fiori Trattoria or the indoor tasting spaces, so this is an outdoor visit.

The Piazza runs walk-in only because it is weather dependent, which suits a spontaneous stop, though arriving early on weekends helps with seating. The estate also keeps pet-friendly accommodation: Villa Sophia takes up to two dogs and has a fenced yard, which turns a tasting into a proper Yarra Valley weekend.

Worth knowing

The wines lean cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir alongside Northern Italian varieties such as Nebbiolo and Brachetto, so the tasting flight works even if the pizza waits. The estate trades 10am to 5pm daily, and weekends are the busy push, particularly through autumn and summer.

Pepsi: the lawn is the move. Dogs settle fast when there is grass, shade and a cheese board within sniffing range.

Getting there and parking

SOUMAH is at 18 Hexham Road, Gruyere, an easy scenic drive from Coldstream or Healesville, with a free onsite car park. Allow 10 to 15 minutes from Healesville town centre.

Pair it with

Make it a Gruyere to Seville run: Squitchy Lane Vineyard is minutes up the road and Seville Estate continues the cellar door line further east. For leg-stretch time between tastings, the Seville Recreation Reserve off-leash area gives the dog a proper run, and Carriage Cafe covers breakfast on the way in.

More pours are on the Victoria winery guide and the Gruyere destination page.