Sorrento Sunset 7:27 PM Case 02 is open · Play
Spring Insider · October 2026 Spring 2026
A local point of view.
A Peninsula worth knowing.
PlayWhere in the Peninsula is PI?
She’s out again.
Case 02: Took the long way to dinner. Ask the locals, read the land, find her before sunset. Find her and go in the draw for $250 to dine at Doot Doot Doot, Jackalope.
Free to play, no account.
Tom Carson's single-block Chardonnay and Pinot Noir program, poured from a relaxed cellar door with one of the Peninsula's loveliest lunch decks.
Known for Block 1 Pinot NoirJimmy Watson Memorial Trophy WinnerTom Carson Single-Block ProgramJames Halliday 5-Red-Star Winery
Yabby Lake Vineyard · Tuerong Why we’d goThe Block 1 Pinot was the first Pinot to ever win the Jimmy Watson Trophy, the cellar door is the right place to understand why, and the deck is reason enough to stay.
Yabby Lake sits slightly east of the main wine-country road, and that off-axis position has worked in its favour. The Kirby family planted the vineyard in 1998 and hired Tom Carson to run the winemaking, and what the team has built in the years since is one of the most serious single-block programs in the country. The flagship Block 1 Pinot Noir became the first Pinot ever to win the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 2014. The Block 1 Chardonnay is, quietly, one of the best Chardonnays in Australia.
The cellar door is open daily and is deliberately more relaxed than the winemaking philosophy suggests. Seated tastings on the deck, a short early-lunch menu, and room to work through a full flight at your own pace. This is the cellar door we recommend when someone wants to understand why Peninsula Chardonnay is currently among the most interesting in the country.
Order the Block 1 flight. Stay for lunch. Buy the single-vineyard Chardonnay on the way out, it rewards five years in the cellar.
Worth knowing
If you only do one thing
Order the Block 1 tasting flight, stay for lunch on the deck, and buy the single-vineyard Chardonnay on the way out, it rewards five years in the cellar.
Works well with
Onannon · Barmah Park Farm Kitchen
Filed under Cellar DoorLong LunchViewAll YearCouplesGroupFirst Timers
Editor's verdict
Yabby Lake made Peninsula wine history in 2012 when the Block 1 Pinot Noir became the first Pinot Noir to win the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy. Tom Carson's single-block release series genuinely rewards side-by-side comparison. The Kirby family's estate is understated in presentation but uncompromising in quality.
Walk-in daily 10am–4pm for groups under 6. Groups of 6+ require bookings. Charged per person, redeemable on wine purchase. Dogs welcome outdoors on leash.
Key varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Syrah.
Worth seeking out: Block 1 Pinot Noir.
1 Good Food Guide hat.
1 Chef Hat, Good Food Guide 2026. Classic seasonal fare with a Modern Australian approach.
Cuisine: Modern Australian.
Walk-ins welcome for groups under 6. Groups of 6 or more require a booking. Open daily 10am–4pm.
Yes - Yabby Lake Restaurant, 1 Hat in the 2026 Good Food Guide; classic seasonal fare.
Yes - dogs on a leash are welcome in outdoor spaces. Not permitted inside the tasting room or restaurant.
Not sure how to build a day around Yabby Lake Vineyard?
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The drive to make on your first visit, or the one to send a friend on when you are out of time to explain why you keep coming back. Coffee, ridge, hinterland, ocean, village, bay - in that order, with most of a day to enjoy it.
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