Stonier Fire & Wine Lunch, a Winter Whale Watch Window, and Buckwheat Galettes in Mornington

Stonier Fire & Wine Winter Lunch, Merricks - today only

Stonier runs these fire-side winter lunches selectively, and today’s is the one on the calendar. The format centres on Stonier’s Merricks estate, where the cellar door dining space gets a proper working fire and the kitchen builds a menu around the current-vintage Pinot Noirs and the Chardonnay that keeps appearing on serious restaurant lists. Winter is genuinely the right time to drink Stonier’s Merricks Pinot - the tannin structure makes sense when it’s cold outside and something is burning inside. This is not a casual drop-in situation. Bookings are required and the event is today, 9 August. If you don’t have a reservation, call the winery directly on the off-chance of a cancellation - it’s worth trying. Allow three hours minimum. Stonier Wines, 2 Thompsons Lane, Merricks; stonier.com.au/visit.

Pair this with an afternoon walk down to Merricks Beach while the light holds.

Whale watching from the Cape Schanck boardwalk - August window

August is the peak month for humpbacks and southern right whales moving east through Bass Strait on the winter migration corridor. Cape Schanck’s boardwalk puts you roughly forty metres above the water at a point that juts far enough into the strait to give proper sightlines both directions along the coast. Arrive before eleven on a clear, low-wind morning - afternoon sea haze cuts visibility fast. Bring binoculars. The whales move in groups of two to five, breaching less frequently than the Instagram highlights suggest, but the blows are visible at distance on a calm day and that’s enough. The lighthouse circuit is forty minutes return; the full boardwalk descent to the beach adds another twenty. No booking, no fee for the boardwalk itself - Parks Victoria manages the site. Cape Schanck Road, Cape Schanck; parks.vic.gov.au.

Follow this with coffee and something warm at Georgie Bass in Flinders, fifteen minutes back up the road.

Ouest France Bistro, Mornington - buckwheat galette on a winter Saturday

Ouest France is easy to walk past. It sits on Blight Street rather than Main Street, the awning is blue-and-white and quietly done, and the interior is small enough that a full house looks like eight people. The buckwheat galette with ham and gruyère is the order - a properly made Breton-style galette with enough structural integrity that it doesn’t collapse mid-bite, which sounds like a low bar and isn’t. The café grew from a crêperie into something more considered, and the breakfast menu now runs a jambon-beurre alongside the galettes. Go early on Saturday, before ten if you can manage it, because tables move quickly and the kitchen runs at its best pace in the first hour of service. Blight Street, Mornington; check current hours before you go.

Pair a post-breakfast walk along the Mornington foreshore with a stop at Commonfolk Coffee on the way back if you want a second coffee roasted in-house.

This Weekend’s Key Details

Stonier Fire & Wine Winter Lunch 2 Thompsons Lane, Merricks Today only - Sunday 9 August 2026 Bookings essential: stonier.com.au/visit

Whale watching, Cape Schanck boardwalk Cape Schanck Road, Cape Schanck Open daily - August is peak window; aim for mid-morning on a clear day No booking required; parks.vic.gov.au

Ouest France Bistro Blight Street, Mornington Saturday mornings recommended; arrive before 10am Check current winter trading hours directly