Punt Road cellar door entry
We were on St Hubert’s Road on our way to Healesville when we passed Punt Road Winery and decided on the spot to drop in. Our main motivation was to buy some of the famous pear cider for Michael, my brother-in-law.
The back entrance to the tasting room
In all the many years we have come to the Yarra Valley, we had never made it to this well known winery. The estate with about 75 ha under vines (two vineyards, one planted in 1987 and the other in 2001) is owned and operated by the Napoleone family.
The senior wine-maker is Kate Goodman, one of the so called “young guns” of the Australian wine industry and much sought after judge for wine competitions.
The Punt Road vineyards are planted with the white varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Viognier and the reds Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
The cider stacks
From the outside we already spotted the boxes with the Napoleone Co. apple and pear cider piled up in a neat stack.
My heart jumped. Here it was, the golden liquid which stirs up so much emotions, and is considered one of the best ciders in the valley. Quality has its price, so a box of the stuff does not come cheap.
Having been raised in Trier at the Mosel river, I am very familiar with cider, which is called “Viez” in the local dialect. “Viez” is a mixture of fermented apples and pear juice coming from a very small kind of apples/pears (they are in-edible and very very sour/acidic).
The trees are grown along the rural roads. All the peasant in the region used to make their own cider, as a very refreshing drink for home consumption.
The garden
The premises are very lovely with wide open spaces, tables and chairs, picnic facilities and an area prepared for boule playing (pétanque).
The back porch
We had not time for a proper tasting. The man behind the counter was not very welcoming either. So we decided to try some of their bubbly and the Pinot Gris which we (my wife Margit and I) both liked.
I am not a fan of Pinot Gris but this one was just the right stuff for a hot summers day. We bought a bottle of each. Later we also tasted the Pinot Noir, but the 2010 vintage did not catch our fancy.
The two bottles we acquired at Punt Road Winery
Golden liquid: Punt Road Pinot Gris
I guess we will have to come back for a proper tasting. Punt Road is a good place to visit in the Yarra Valley.
Address:
Punt Road Wines
10 St Huberts Road – Coldstream
Victoria, Australia 3770
Tel.: +61 3 9739 0666
Fax: + 61 3 9739 0633
wine@puntroadwines.com.au
www.puntroadwines.com.au
The Man from Mosel River 
Hi Rainer,
My name is Jon Baxter, Sales and Marketing Director for Punt Road Wines. I found your blog via a Google search that we subscribe to. Thanks very much for coming to visit us and for all of your comments on our cellar door and products. I was disappointed, however, that you didn’t feel welcome…please accept my apologies, as obviously this is not our aim.
Hopefully we will see you again.
All the best,
Jon
Well after visiting Punt Road previously with all my visitors, I was disgusted with our treatment on Saturday. I brought counting myself 6 people to see where the wine that I carried to the Uk for Christmas was produced…. Every visitor I get including Overseas work colleagues I always bring to the Yarra Yalley.. And Punt Road usually does very well. Last year I brought some friends who live in Adelaide and they bought quite a lot from you including boxes of apple and pear cider. I came on Saturday with an order of 5 boxes of each of apple and pear cider for friends of those people. We were not welcomed and even locked out of the cellar door apparently while you await a coach load of people. I didn’t get the message of the locked door I thought somebody caught the catch!!! Like you say on your web site Cellar Door open Daily!!!! Wrong!!!! And then to have a flat pear cider dished up followed by What else would you to try!!!! I clearly over stayed my welcome….. not that their was one in the first place…… I hoped you enjoyed your coach load………. And luckily for us we had a great visit at Oak ridge winery, Yarra Yerring, Pumpernickle and warrandyte winery.. I’ve told my friends that your cider had gone flat and wouldn’t recommend buying it! karen!
Hi Jon,
Thanks for this very fast response to my entry about your winery which impressed me quite a bit. Thank you also for reading my blog. You might have noticed that I seldom write anything negative about the places I visited and the wines I tasted. In such a case I usually choose to not write at all. I certainly plan to return to Punt Road and try some more of your wines. Looking forward to this occasion.
Cheers Rainer, the Man from Mosel River
Dear Jon
I have a great list of friendly winery’s with lovely cheerful staff. I also hate to complain, but to me the day around yarra velley should peaceful and fun………… not being locked out of a previously favourite cellar door….. while they prefer to wait for a coach full of people. Who hadn’t even arrived when we’d left!!!!
una consulta en la co fermentacion lo hacen al inicio o final.quisieraque me saquen la duda gracias