Panton Hill Vineyard & Winery

Panton Hill Vineyard & Winery is a boutique, family-run winery in the bush about 45 minutes north-east of Melbourne, hand-built from quarried sandstone, recycled timbers and slate. It feels intimate and rustic rather than commercial, and dogs are welcome in the outdoor courtyard that looks straight over the vines.

The dog setup

Well-behaved dogs on lead are welcome in the courtyard, which is where you will want to sit anyway. Treat the indoor tasting room as staff's call rather than a given, particularly when food is being served, and don't expect water bowls or treats on hand, so pack your own bowl. This is a small venue, and booking a table on weekends is the reliable way to get a comfortable courtyard spot for two humans and a dog.

Pepsi: Bring a bowl and stake out a courtyard table early on a Saturday. The tasting is free and the view over the vines does the rest.

The vibe

The cellar door pours estate-grown dry, sweet, sparkling and fortified wines, with light Italian-style fare alongside tastings on Saturdays, and the owners come up constantly in what visitors say: knowledgeable, passionate, unhurried. A fire takes the edge off winter and the courtyard earns its keep in summer.

Getting there and when to go

The winery is on Manuka Road, Panton Hill, with access only from the Panton Hill end of Cherry Tree Road. Mind your navigation: Manuka Road has two ends and only one reaches the winery entrance, and Google Maps has been known to send people the wrong way. On-site gravel parking is available. The cellar door opens Saturdays, 11:00am to 5:00pm, and closes the rest of the week.

Make a day of it

The hills around here form a neat dog-friendly loop: Shaws Road Winery at Arthurs Creek is another boutique cellar door that takes leashed dogs, Smiths Gully Cafe covers the lunch stop, and the St Andrews Hotel is a classic country pub to finish on.

Find more dog friendly wineries in Victoria on the PawScapes wineries directory, or see everything open to dogs around Panton Hill.