ellender estate

We had a great, relaxing winery lunch at Ellender Estate. We were with a group of friends who knew the owner and had a very enjoyable day. The winery is several km off the main road but worth a visit for its tranquility and great food.

An easy and beautiful 13 minute drive from Daylesford (and heck... even Melbourne at 1hr 20 is a breeze) will find you at this gorgeous, smart and unpretentious winery. The owners are lovely and you'll be offered a tasting of about 6 different wines they have on offer. The wood fired pizza knockout!! REAAAAALLY good that would have any city business with people lined out the door. The landscape is stunning, and all in all its just a really great place and absolutely "worth the trip". but as above... its easier to get to that you think. Id go here in again in a flash over the crammed options in Red Hill or the Yarra Valley. I was really impressed beyond measure. (oh.. and the 2011 Pinot Noir is world class).Go here. Do it. You wont regret it.

We stopped by this Winery after visiting other Wineries and being dissapointed, a must say this winery was wonderfull, the owners were very welcoming, we had a few tastes of Wine were we were not pressured into buying anything, we then sat down outside admiring the vineyards had an oven pizza which was made by the owner and then took a nice stroll through the winery to the lake and boathouse, very nice and would higgly recommend it.

Three of us visited for Sunday lunch and thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our time there. The young couple who were looking after the place whilst owners were away could not have been more helpful, friendly or professional and we wish them well in future endeavours. The tasting of the wines pre our meal was informative and the wines very good. The choice of what to have with our meal was difficult but rewarding. The meal itself was enjoyed in a delightful setting looking down on a large dam surrounded by vines. We chose to share a platter of predominantly local produce which was accompanied by freshly cooked bread and local olive oil. The platter was generous in terms of serves and variety. We then had a wonderful wood fired pizza which was brought to our table for our approval prior to going into the wood fired oven which was outside off to the side of where we were eating. The platter and the one pizza was more than ample for the 3 of us, along with a couple of glasses of wine each and a good coffee. I would like to have made room for the lemon syrup cake on offer but just couldn't manage it with any degree of comfort. The overall experience was so enjoyable that I have booked to return this coming weekend with 2 other friends. Highly recommend.

Lovely afternoon of wine tasting, lovely homemade bread, excellent cheeses/antipasto followed by delicious wood fired pizzas. Nothing too much trouble for a group of 15 including young kids. Caretakers are just lovely and have this place in great hands.

Amazing woodfire pizza, must try the potato one with prosciuttoThe dogs are lovely elle and red they make a great pair and red is very friendlyOffering a very cosy environment with outdoor sitting and heater. We also got a bottle of chardonnay which was quite nice

Such a nice experience. The owners (and their dogs) are very welcoming and friendly. We started by having a wine tasting than then moved on to lunch consisting of their home made wood-fire oven pizzas - DELICIOUS! The visit here was the highlight of our day and we went home with a few bottles of wine to enjoy at home.

Ellender Estate can be found by following a trail of signs that eventually lead you off up a dirt road to the estate. The cellar door is warm and cosy and the cafe/restaurant has a real pizza oven which is always encouraging!The owners are very friendly and welcoming and after a wine tasting we decided to stay and try out the pizza. The wine itself was very good, in particular for us the Pinot Noir 2011, a very robust and rich wine. We found ourselves a table outside in the sun and soaked in the atmosphere while we waited for our pizza. It was very good! Very thin crust pastry (yay!) and delicious topping - cooked to perfection by the owner himself. We stayed on for an extra glass of wine and were contemplating ordering another pizza, but the winery suddenly got very busy and as the owners were working on their own that day, it did cause a bit of a food delay - so we finished our wine and left them to deal with more hungry people than us!We did buy some wine from here, I would recommend visiting, it's a lovely place and you will feel very welcome - a bit like a home away from home. A great find for us! My suggestion is to get there for an early lunch and miss the food rush.

This was our second visit and it was just as good as we remembered. Yummy platter to share, gourmet pizzas, finished with home made lemon pie and perfect coffee. The hosts were so friendly and welcoming, the dogs well behaved. Just a lovely Sunday lunch

Thank you for your constructive comments. Our normal practice is to place the trays in an enclosed drawer, however, on this occasion the trays must have been left in reach of the dogs. However, I can assure you that the trays are scrubbed and cleaned before the next usage. It is also our practice to ask our guests when eating if they mind the dogs in the pavillion area and they would be removed if this was a problem. Our apologies for this oversight on your recent visit.

The platters & pizzas here are always fantastic! I love the warmth of owners Graham and Jenny and the wines are second to none - thanks for another great experience.

We had an highly enjoyable Sunday lunch and its excellent value, cheap, casual and friendly.The winery is a few kilometres outside the little village of Glenlyon - a littleover an hour's drive from Melbourne with the final 500 metres being a bumpy dirt track but easily drivable. The property presents as idyllic countryside with its own lake and the views from the restauant (outside, but covered and walled) are superb and relaxing.We started in the cellar with a wine tasting (free) and were surprised by the subtle flavours of their 5 wines (reds, whites and rose). We bought some Rose which is very similar to teh French style - not sweet but light with strawberry flavours ($24 each).We started our meal with two types of their wood fired pizza - both highly unusual toppings and both delicious and light.We then shared an antipasto platter comprised of various meats, cheeses, olives and salads including Rabbit Terrine, pig trotter sausage and Holy Goat Luna cheese and another, and local olives - everything was superb. Chocolate cake was dessert although I was already full.The husband and wife hosts are friendly and informative about all the foods and their wines. They have two well fed Chocolate Labrodors that befriend anyone with food which is a nice touch for all animal lovers and they are vey well behaved and just sit next to you.I am going back for one of their planned mushrooming days which sounds like a lot of fun...Enjoy.