Why the Southern Highlands Is Australia's Most Underrated Food and Wine Region

There's a wine region within 90 minutes of Sydney that most people still don't know by name. It has cool-climate Pinot Noir pioneered in the 1990s, micro-vineyards perched at 720 metres above sea level, artisan bakeries tucked beneath heritage buildings, and regenerative farms where the people who grow your food are the ones who serve it to you. It's the Southern Highlands — and if you haven't visited with your tastebuds leading the way, you're missing something genuinely special.

The climate changes everything

The Southern Highlands sits on the Great Dividing Range between Sydney and Canberra, and that altitude is the key to understanding what makes this region taste the way it does. Cool winters, warm summers and soils ranging from red volcanic earth to ancient clay create conditions that winemakers elsewhere in Australia can only dream about. Varieties like Chardonnay, Gamay, Riesling and Pinot Noir — grapes that need cold nights to develop complexity and freshness — thrive here in a way they simply can't in warmer lowland regions.

Over 60 vineyards now call the Highlands home, with 17 or more cellar doors open to visitors. The wines tend to be elegant rather than showy: restrained, food-friendly and expressive of a very specific place.

The makers are the experience

What makes the Southern Highlands different from bigger, better-known wine regions isn't just what's in the bottle. It's who pours it for you.

At Artemis Wines in Mittagong, brothers Anton and Mark Balog have been shaping the region's identity since 1996 — they were the first to plant Pinot Noir in the Highlands, earning the title of the region's Pinot Noir pioneers. Their cellar door, framed by recycled River Redgum timbers, is the kind of place you arrive for a quick tasting and stay for wood-fired pizza and two more glasses.

In the village of Exeter, Mike and Katrina at Dawning Day Wines poured a 20-year dream into a three-acre micro-vineyard at one of the region's highest points. They make Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay, but also house-made pickles, hot sauces, limoncello and vinegar — because when you're a small producer this close to your land, the creativity doesn't stop at the cellar door.

Down in Colo Vale, the Mussett family started farming in 2016 for the most human of reasons: they wanted their children to understand where food comes from. Today, their regenerative operation supports the local community through sustainable, pesticide-free growing — the kind of farming that restores rather than depletes.

And in Berrima, the oldest licensed pub in Australia sits at the edge of a village where an artisan bakery turns out golden croissants and sourdough from early morning, beneath the rafters of a heritage pantry.

It's made for your own pace

The Southern Highlands doesn't have the coach-tour crowds of the Hunter Valley, and that's part of its charm. You can self-guide a trail from a vineyard stay in Exeter to a long lunch at a winery restaurant to a pastry in Berrima, all in one day — or spread it across a leisurely long weekend. The region rewards slow travel, the kind where you end up chatting to a winemaker longer than you planned because the conversation (and the Gamay) was too good to rush.

That's exactly what the Tasting Trails Tasting Pass is built for. One pass, your own route, all on your phone — letting you move between independent producers at whatever pace suits your day.

The Highlands have always been there. The question is just when you're going.