Wineries, Breweries & Distilleries
of the Illawarra
Far out, there are some awesome wineries, breweries and distilleries here in the Illawarra. All of them are kicking some serious goals – whether it be supporting local, focusing on sustainability, or creating some very cool places to hang out – they’re all making and creating some super tasty bevvies for us to partake in.
Here’s your go to list of the wineries, breweries and distilleries you need to visit in the Illawarra. Pronto!
This award-wining winery has cracking views from it’s gorgeous location in the hills west of Gerringong. The amazing property has a restaurant, cellar door, accommodation, is popular for weddings, runs fun live events and has a micro-brewery onsite too. A fab place!
Cellar Door is open Tuesdays to Sundays 10:30am – 4:30pm. Bookings encouraged for smaller groups and essential for groups of 15 or more.
A boutique winery that has operated in Gerringong for over 20 years, Roselea Vineyard offer up award-winning wines. While their tasting room is closed at the moment because of COVID, when they’re open again, swing by to taste test their delicious wines while looking across Rose Valley, Saddleback Mountain and Werri Beach. Beautiful.
The Cellar Door is currently closed but hopefully they can open up soon. Prior to closing, they were open from Thursdays to Saturdays by appointment or you could swing by on Sundays 11am-5pm. Watch this space!
IMAGE: NEG Photography
A stunning venue that has it all….we’re not kidding….check this list out. Cellar door for wine tastings, of course.
Accommodation – super handy! It’s a fab spot for private events and gorgeous weddings. There’s a helipad so you can chopper in if you like, cos why not, right? And they have alpacas! See what we mean? Everything!
The property itself is over 150 years old and just minutes away from Berry. And you know what that means, don’t you? Picture perfect views!
While technically not in the Illawarra, Two Figs is only a 20 minute drive from Gerroa and 15 minutes from Berry and we love this family-run winery so thought it would be remiss of us to not include it.
It’s a boutique winery so there aren’t any large groups and noise – book yourself in for a wine tasting and you’ll get yourself a lovely, intimate tasting experience – you can order a cheese plate too – high on the hill overlooking the Shoalhaven River. Gorgeous!
It’s all about authentic craft beer for these guys. No frills, no fancy stuff. Just bloody good beer (and home to the popular Chuck Norris American Red Ale). They’ve got all their beers on tap for you to try, or you can get some cans from the fridge. And they have food trucks onsite most weekends to keep that stomach lined while you work your way through their range.
The brewery is open Wednesdays and Thursdays 12-6pm, Fridays and Saturdays 12-9pm, and on Sunday 12-7pm.
Five Barrels have their regular range of popular craft beer available to taste (we recommend the beer paddle) at their brewery and The Taproom, where you can grab perfect beer fare – burgers and wings and more – four days a week. Special releases happen throughout the year which go pretty quickly too! And we love their merch – drink it then wear it!
Open 7 days Monday to Wednesdays 12-6pm, Thursdays to Saturdays 12-9pm and Sunday 12-6pm. The kitchen is open Thursday to Sunday.
This place has got the whole craft beer vibe going on. Cool art on the walls in a funky industrial space, you’ll find a brewery and café where you can kick back in the sun, grab some beers and listen to some tunes.
The brewery is open Thursdays to Fridays 2pm-5pm and on Saturdays and Sundays 11am-5pm, with The Brewers Café serving up nachos, tapas platters, fresh coleslaw and rolls. Seriously yum.
This nano-brewery has a strong eco focus. So much so, that they trade in Growlers only. Called the Swap & Go EcoSystem, this is how you can drink delicious, fresh and local beer with the least impact on the environment. Just keep getting your growlers refilled from their tanks – sorted. We LOVE that! Oh, and they’ll come and get your growlers if you don’t have the time, fill ém up and deliver them back. Um. Awesome!
They’re open Thursdays and Fridays 3-8pm, Saturday from 12-8pm and Sunday 12-6pm. Get on it, peeps.
A popular independent brewery and brewpub in Bulli, these self-proclaimed beer geeks renovated and set up shop in the historic Bulli Railway Guest House to create the awesome space we know now. A family-friendly, contemporary spot to catch up with friends, drink some of their delicious small-batch brew and grab something to eat. You had us at Reuben Burger…..
Open 12-9pm seven days, because of COVID restrictions, you need to book online. Totes worth it!
Founded in 2018 by a father and son team (love!), these guys brew craft beer and cider at their micro-brewery in Gerringong. You can fill up your reusable Growlers and Squealers or pop in and grab some cans. You’ll find food vans onsite most weekends or you can build your own cheese plate. Great idea! And they’ve got merch…..we’re such suckers for merch!
Open Wednesdays and Thursday 3-7pm and Fridays to Sundays 12 – 7pm, but keep up to date with their opening hours via their socials – things are moving around a bit thanks to COVID.
DISTILLERIES
We certainly don’t mind our gin and tonics at The Fold, that’s for sure! And these guys whip up award winning gins and spirits right here in the Illawarra. Their Sublime Gin has been globally recognised – how cool is that? We love their regular range of gins, vodka and liqueurs as well as their concept releases (hello pink gin!). And check out their spirit mixer packs which you can order online. And you can find them at local markets like the Kiama and Berry Farmers Markets.
The distillery opens up as a bar on Friday night from 4pm until late. Book online so the guys can follow COVID procedures.
Four friends started this awesome local distillery only five years ago and already they’re producing some pretty sensational stuff – yes, we’re looking at you Illawarra Plum Infused Gin. Can’t get much more local than that, right? The guys have plenty more in the pipeline and some cracking cocktail recipes on their website!
The distillery is open for free tours and tastings every Friday 4-7pm and Sunday 12-4pm.
