Ben Ean

Ben Ean on McDonalds Road is a big, historic Pokolbin estate, the old Lindeman's site, reworked into a relaxed cellar door with expansive grounds, a patisserie and deli and a restaurant. For dog owners the appeal is scale and flexibility: the whole site is pet friendly, so a visit can move between a tasting, a coffee on a terrace and a walk on the lawns without leaving the dog behind anywhere.

The dog setup

Leashed dogs are welcome across the estate, including the cellar door area and the outdoor terraces of the patisserie, deli and restaurant. The open lawns and grounds give the visit a moving-around part, not just a sit under the table. Water is available around the site, though carrying your own bowl keeps things simple, and a settled dog around the food terraces keeps everyone happy.

Worth knowing

The tasting range is broad and good quality, the patisserie and deli cover a quick bite, and the restaurant handles a full meal, which makes Ben Ean an easy full-morning or full-afternoon base on the main Pokolbin strip. The heritage buildings and roomy grounds give it a more open feel than the smaller boutique doors.

Getting there and parking

The estate sits at 119 McDonalds Road, the main Pokolbin tourist route, with ample on-site parking including flat gravel areas near the main buildings, which makes arrivals and departures simple with a dog.

Close by with the dogs

Other Pokolbin cellar doors take dogs in their outdoor areas too, so a dog-friendly run is easy to build: Pepper Tree Wines, Saddler's Creek Wines and Tulloch Wines are all nearby. The NSW wineries list and the Pokolbin destination guide cover the rest of the valley.

Pepsi: Tasting, then a coffee on the deli terrace, then a wander on the lawns. The dog gets a proper outing here, not a chair-bound sit.