Crittenden Estate
25 Harrisons Rd, Dromana VIC 3936 · $$
The Peninsula's pioneering estate, four decades of Crittenden family winemaking, Pinot, Chardonnay, and the Spanish-Italian Los Hermanos range from a new lakeside wine centre.
A quieter Dromana-side estate making honest, characterful wines, Viognier, Sangiovese, and Pinot alongside the Peninsula classics.
Known for Italian and Rhône VarietalsFamily-Run Dromana EstateOff-Ridge Cellar DoorViognier and Sangiovese
Photo · Peninsula Insider
Why we’d goPhaedrus is one of the Peninsula's unsung cellar doors, small, family-run, and deliberately off the main ridge itinerary, with a varietal range that gives the flight real range.
Phaedrus is one of the Peninsula's unsung cellar doors, small, family-run, and deliberately off the main ridge itinerary. The focus is broader than the Peninsula average: alongside the mandatory Pinot and Chardonnay, the estate works with Viognier, Sangiovese and a handful of other varieties that give the tasting flight some genuine range and a reason to pay attention beyond the usual cool-climate benchmarks.
The cellar door is unpretentious and the wines are honest. This is the kind of stop you add when you want to finish a cellar-door day with something different, at a quieter address, before heading back down to the bayside for dinner. The Dromana position makes it easier to reach from the bayside than from the ridge, which is an advantage if you are not driving all the way up to Main Ridge.
Check current hours, Phaedrus runs a smaller tasting schedule than the headline estates. Worth confirming before you make the drive.
Worth knowing
If you only do one thing
Ask to taste the Viognier or the Sangiovese, whichever is available, as your starting point before working through the rest of the flight.
Works well with
Crittenden Restaurant · Small Stone Pantry
Filed under Cellar DoorSlowAll YearCouplesSolo
Not sure how to build a day around Phaedrus Estate?
Ask The InsiderNearby picks
25 Harrisons Rd, Dromana VIC 3936 · $$
The Peninsula's pioneering estate, four decades of Crittenden family winemaking, Pinot, Chardonnay, and the Spanish-Italian Los Hermanos range from a new lakeside wine centre.
25 Harrisons Rd, Dromana VIC 3936 · $$
Lakeside dining under a vine-strung pergola at one of the Peninsula's founding wineries, now Crittenden Restaurant under Head Chef Brunno Melo.
121 Point Nepean Rd, Dromana VIC 3936 · $$
Sprawling beachfront pub with an enormous deck and bay views, the straightforward bayside pub day done correctly.
Build a day around this
Peninsula Insider guides that put this stop into the context of a full day or weekend.
Where to eat