Wow is all I could think and say when I walked into the old barn that now serves at the Cellar Door…read more(yes, it should be capitalised according to rule 17.9 of the oenophile's handbook) for Paramoor winery. The old barn, complete with stabling boxes, working blacksmith's forge and generous lashings of now-archaic once-indispensable rural paraphernalia, is decked out with tables and chairs as if you had been invited into someone's rustic tearooms or sitting room, and Bill conducts the free tastings in person, at your table. I challenge you to name another such table service wine tasting at a cellar door. This intimate approach allows you to hear the full story of the wines, including the naming convention of some (after his mother, his wife etc), and the locations of the vineyards from whence the berries were sourced. This is undoubtedly the best wine tasting I have ever had. Happily, Paramoor make fantastic wines, and Bill will let you try them all during his tasting flight. I mentioned that I liked heavy cold weather Shiraz, and some minutes later bill presented a bottle for tasting that he thought "may be ready, so your opinion would be good if this is your thing." We agreed it was ready, and he noted improvement from his tasting a year or so previous. And will only improve, so I managed to secures bottle or two of an as yet unreleased wine :) If that doesn't fill you with warm fuzzies, nothing will. Pizza in the wood fired oven many days, and cheese platters etc available all the time. Like MacArthur, I shall return. Unlike MacArthur, I will not destroy Manila.

From the owner: A boutique winery in the Macedon Ranges, Paramoor Winery is a family run business. Since 2005 we…read morehave been producing award winning wines including Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Rose, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2011, we added a wood fired pizza oven into the mix and now serve delicious wood fired pizzas on the first two weekends of each month in our beautiful barn. Located only an hour from Melbourne we look forward to seeing you soon!

I LOVE Curly Flat wines. I'm a fan of Macedon ranges wines as it is, but Curly Flat definitely…read moreearns my 5 stars as one of the gem producers of Victoria. There are some excellent wines on tasting here and some really good value picks too. We came here (unwittingly) during the Budburst wine festival. There was a special menu on that day - so I'm not entirely sure if they regularly do food or if this, like the menu, was specific to the event. Still, we settled in by one of the two fires and enjoyed a MASSIVE glass of Chardonnay. Bottles are sold in the restaurant at cellar door prices, making it exceptional value. Food options were home style comfort cooking and also reasonably priced. The staff that attended to us at both the tasting and in the restaurant were helpful and chatty - great country hospitality. Put this on your list if you're touring through this wine region.

Curly Flat is out of the way, far from main towns or other vineyards, so only the truly dedicated…read morewine enthusiasts will probably find themselves here. But your effort will be rewarded. They're only open on the weekend, and at around 80 minutes from Melbourne it's possible to pay a visit on a nice day when you want a drive out in the countryside. They can also do a tasting on other days, but you'll need to ring ahead and make an appointment. In winter you will be warmly greeted and encouraged to sit where you like. There's no stand-up cellar door bar but rather large tables and chairs and multiple sofas by the warm and inviting fire. Watch out though, the resident cats love these spots too so be sure not to sit on them! A tasting here is relaxed, friendly and as in-depth as you want it to be. As we were the only ones there during our visit, we got to ask a lot of questions about their methods of wine making and the history of particular vintages. Pro tip: sign up for their newsletter for information about new releases and special events.

I couldn't find much information online about this place so I thought it would be good to do so!…read moreMaybe it's because it's a well kept secret Really nice to sample some Italian wines and not just the standard. The food was very tasty, elegant and mostly local produce. Although, I think the menu is quite small. You'll need to book ahead, it was full on a Sunday lunch time. A lovely little find hidden away in Mount Macedon. The staff were very friendly and helpful. They were flat out though, and it did take us a long time from start to finish with the wine tasting, entree, main and then coffees. The reason I only gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because there were times our table needed waiting but the staff were polishing glasses or doing other things like that. It took a little over 3 hours all up. Worth the wait though and we had a really lovely time. They are also hard to get on the phone. They said they often don't hear the phone when they are busy, so I had to give up and just arrive with more people than I originally booked for. Including us, they had a few big tables full and there was not a spare seat or table in sight, so we probably saw them at their very busiest. The cheeses, antipasto and bread were very good quality. And the bread was still warm from being baked. Very yummy!

Fabulous location and beautiful food. 6 page wine list. Great service and very well constructed…read moremenu. Option of both fine dining, or casual bar menu with drinks. Well done Macedon Wine Room! Ordered the special; light chicken salad (gf) glass of wine and coffee for $20. Perfect.

Today I attempted to have lunch at this venue with my husband, child & mother-in-law. We entered…read morethe restaurant at about 1.30pm to see at least 4 free tables. The waitress came to greet us, asked if we were seeking a table for 4, looked around at the empty tables and then turned to us & flatly stated: "No, we can't accommodate you today." That was it, no other explanation. Just a statement, no apology or reason offered. Surprised, we asked why this was the case. Her reply was "We just had a table of 9 and 5 arrive & we can't put extra pressure on the kitchen." Again, no apology that they couldn't help us. Just the rudest, most unwelcome treatment I have ever received upon entering a restaurant where I intended to spend my money. What was more confusing was why did she bother to look around, notice vacant tables and then proceed to inform us that they could not accommodate us? My mother-in-law, who is local to the area, then stated that this has happened to her family before & that it is simply not good enough & that she would not be returning to this venue. At this time another staff member had ventured over & said "Good, we don't want you to come back!" I was absolutely amazed at the obscene rudeness of these two staff members. It was completely uncalled for & utterly disgusting! We were dressed casually but reasonably, we did not behave in any lewd way or use poor language. All we did was enter the premises with the intention to have a meal. If we were greeted with an actual reason for not being able to stay, rather than the rudest waitress I have ever encountered, we would have left happily to seek a meal elsewhere. I cannot recall a time when I have ever been treated so rudely by a customer service worker. It was completely unnecessary & utterly appalling.