Wine x Sam

Located on the main street of Seymour, Wine by Sam is one of a few ‘urban’ wineries and cellar doors in country Victoria.

Including a fully functioning winery complete with cellar door and wine bar, Wine by Sam offers wine tastings, tours, light meals and local produce, coffee and regular live music and events.

The building itself is beautiful; a converted warehouse that has been both a textiles weavehouse and a go-cart track, now a stunning winery and feast for the eyes, with visitors able to watch the winemaking in action during vintage (February – March).

Celebrating its seventh year, founders Sam Plunkett and Bronwyn Dunwoodie have proven the once relatively unknown region of Seymour is a big hitter in Australia’s wine industry.

Since starting Wine by Sam in 2012, Sam and Bronwyn have crushed nearly 6,000 tonnes of fruit from their vineyard in the Strathbogie Ranges and other vineyards across Victoria, equating to around 5.35 million bottles of wine.

Prior to making wines under his own label, Sam was a winemaker in the Seymour region for 21 years, and it’s his renowned winemaking skills that resulted in the support of Naked Wines and other local vineyards to get his own label up and running in 2012.

Having grown up in the Strathbogie Ranges – his father planted the first vines there in 1968 – Sam knows just what the region is capable of and dreams of seeing it get the praise it deserves as an outstanding wine region.

Some of Sam’s wines include The Victorian, which showcases Victorian fruit, winemaking innovation and eclecticism; Stardust and Muscle, a play on the region's shiraz style which has delicate and perfumed fruit (the Stardust) while still being full bodied and structured (the Muscle); The Butterfly Effect, an entry level wine that changes the perception of an affordable drop (just like a butterfly flapping its wings has a big impact, so too does small changes in the winemaking process); and The Halo Effect, a tribute to the Naked Wines’ Angels that made Wine by Sam possible.

As well as the outstanding wines there is a delicious  fresh bread, local cheeses and meats served tapas style, locally roasted coffee and regular music and dinner events.

Only an hour from Melbourne, Wine by Sam may be the only cellar door in Victoria where you can catch the train from the CBD straight to the door (an option we highly recommend!). It is certainly well worth the trip.

Location: 69 Anzac Avenue Seymour

Phone: (03) 5799 0437

Link: winebysam.com.au

Opening hours: 10am-5pm (7pm Fridays) daily