‘A Floating Piece of History’: How the Gucci Family Restored This 214-Foot Sailing Yacht
Moving beyond fashion, Maurizio Gucci and his daughters, Allegra and Alessandra, became avid sailors. Their prized possession? The world’s largest wooden sailing boat, Creole, which the family rescued and restored to its former glor
Allegra Gucci’s first palpable memory was aboard her family’s sailboat, the 214-foot Creole. As she recalls growing up, the world’s largest wooden sailing yacht formed a playful cocoon for water fights, running along hundreds of feet of teak decks, swallow dives into the ocean, and, at peak performance, adrenaline rushes as the boat thundered at full sail in the Mediterranean.
Fun and games belie this superyacht’s stature. Creole is a head-turning behemoth with a crown of sails and an ink-black hull. Born in 1927, the boat is a work of genius from Charles E. Nicholson, the era’s greatest naval architect. “Creole is Nicholson’s masterpiece,” Gucci tells Robb Report in a rare interview, noting the boat has been in her family since her father purchased the then-dilapidated three-masted schooner in 1983, two years after she was born.
Having grown up cruising and racing Creole, Gucci remains both nostalgic and practical about the classic vessel. She views the majestic, nearly century-old schooner as a responsibility—her responsibility—to present to the world as its finest self. “She is iconic—you have to keep her like this,” says Gucci, noting the details that define Creole but also require an uncanny amount of maintenance. “The varnish, the brass, the lights, and the soul of the sailing yacht represent the history of naval architecture.”
Creole also represents a rare combination of meticulously preserved maritime history and European glamour. Ranked among the most photographed yachts of all time, luminaries from Sophia Loren to Spanish King Juan Carlos have been snapped alongside her.
In her younger years, Gucci viewed Creole as simply her family vessel that defined the yachting season, with weeks typically spent aboard with parents, sister and crew in the Western Mediterranean. “One summer, we said ‘we’ll just follow the wind,’” she says. “We went to the Balearic Islands just enjoying the sailing, the wind and the sea. We could be free from everything, sailing day and night.”
Creole was indeed designed to cruise the world—fast. It’s capable of reaching 17 knots which, when pushed to its limits, seems more like a living, heaving beast than a boat. “With a full set of sails and perfect conditions,” Gucci says, recalling idyllic days of full-adrenaline sailing, “the energy the boat has is incredible.”
Now a veteran sailor, Gucci learned to race when she was 14 at the Monaco Yacht Club, often sharing racing dinghies with her older sister, Alessandra. The sisters routinely skippered Avel, a 60-foot Nicholson design also rescued by her father Maurizio, with a full crew, often racing against HSH Prince Albert’s flagship Tuiga. These magnificent sailing vessels are part of a very special class of restored vintage yachts that show up to race each other at Cowes Race Week or Monaco Yacht Week. “We always support the [Monaco] yacht club as you can really breathe in the passion of sailing there,” she says.
Carlo Borlenghi
Creole’s history involved an interesting set of twists and turns, starting with its launch in the roaring twenties. Manhattan playboy Alexander Smith Cochran, “the richest bachelor in New York” and avid sailor, according to contemporary news accounts, commissioned the vessel to cruise the world. What the papers didn’t say was that Cochran was in poor health with tuberculosis.
When Cochran first saw his new vessel, which he named Vira, he took fright and ordered 10 feet lopped off the masts. Then another 10 feet. Cochran “begged me to agree to cut a third 10 feet,” said the naval architect Nicholson. “I had to conclude that his ill-health had lowered his nerve.” In the end, Vira bore no resemblance to the magnificent schooner Nicholson had created, but looked more like a low-masted motorsailer.
On Cochran’s inaugural voyage in Europe, the short-masted boat, which now had tons of extra ballast, rolled uncontrollably. The owner also couldn’t walk from the stern to bow without having a coughing fit. On what was supposed to be a dream cruise, Vira barrelled through France’s Bay of Biscay, “most uncomfortable, pitching about,” as the owner wrote in his logbook. His final ship’s entry from Monte Carlo in February 1927 was faintly scribbled, “as if the writer’s pen were running out of ink,” wrote Yachting World. After the trip, the ailing Cochran placed Vira, before it could demonstrate its sailing prowess, on the brokerage market.
It would be more than half a century until the schooner realised its full potential, thanks to Gucci’s father, Maurizio, fashion mogul and the last family head of the house of Gucci. Between Cochran and Maurizio came a succession of eclectic owners: First, British major Maurice Pope, who also avoided sailing, using the engines almost exclusively to cruise. He renamed the boat Creole after a dessert his chef had created.
Carlo Borlenghi; Inset: Getty Images
Fortunately for Pope and his guests, the schooner’s construction was ahead of its time. “Amidships, the engine room and fuel tanks were in a steel-plated, oil-tight compartment to avoid any oil smell creeping through to the accommodations,” wrote Nicholson. The original layout also featured unusual niceties like a “Ladies Stateroom,” a pantry, and even an officer’s mess.
Third owner Sir Connop Guthrie restored the boat more closely to Nicholson’s original design and fulfilled Cochran’s uncompleted dream of cruising the Mediterranean from Capri to Corsica. The boat also won a number of regattas in the British Isles in the late 1930s, but war was looming across Europe.
During World War II, the British Admiralty requisitioned thousands of yachts. These included now-vintage sailing superyachts Marala and Malahne (still available for charter) as well as the largest boats built by the famed shipyard Camper & Nicholsons. Renamed Magic Circle, Guthrie’s schooner became a lowly minesweeper along the Scottish coast.
The era of post-war elegance belonged to Greek shipowners who scooped up surplus wartime cargo fleet for a song. Shipping oligarch Aristotle Onassis purchased a Canadian minesweeper for $USD30,000 and transformed it into Christina O, the world’s greatest classic motor yacht. In turn, his rival Stavros Niarchos bought Creole and put hundreds of thousands into restoring it. As proof of its rebirth, the vessel and new owner made the August 1959 cover of Sports Illustrated.
But Creole did not enjoy a long and happy life under the Greek owner. Nicholson’s son John said Niarchos “ruined her” by running the schooner too hard and fast as it were a motor yacht. There were other more serious considerations. After Niarchos’s first wife died aboard from an overdose of barbiturates, he never sailed the boat again. When his second wife also died of an overdose, Niarchos decided to part with the vessel for good.
In 1977, the Danish Navy purchased Creole to use as a training vessel. Part of its role was to rehabilitate drug addicts using a naval regimen—a noble yet undignified service for a generation-defining yacht. “When my father found Creole she was destroyed,” recalls Gucci. “He just fell in love and wanted to give her a second life.”
For the first time, the vessel that Nicholson had envisioned came slowly back to life, through an extensive six-year refit at multiple yards, Beconcini in Italy, Lurssen in Germany, and Astilleros de Mallorca. Designer Toto Russo created an interior (which had been gutted) that reflected the roaring twenties, installing period artwork through its six guest staterooms.
Gucci’s “first flash of memories, when I was really, really small,” were on board Creole. “Sailing in the 1990s, we had less yachts and more freedom to go wherever you like.” She isn’t a big fan of the new breed of flashy gigayachts. “The sea is very busy with superyachts of 100 meters-plus [328 feet],” she notes. “But they are more like floating buildings. You may have a wonderful experience, but you could be anywhere.”
Carlo Borlenghi
By contrast, classic wooden yachts like Creole really “speak” to sailors, says Gucci, especially when cruising at speed, cloth sails straining with wind, the boat heeling, crew working winches and lines, and in the distance, the Mediterranean coast. “You live the real yachting life then,” she says.
Gucci doesn’t view herself as the yacht’s owner. “I’m merely a custodian because Creole is the one that survived so many difficulties,” she says. Transient owners, global war, and years of neglect could’ve been the end of a long, unfulfilled sailing career.
Then came the yacht’s renaissance by her father, who saw beauty and sailing prowess inside a rotting hull. For the next four decades, relished and replenished by the Gucci family, Creole has lived its best life. “She is a floating piece of history,” says Gucci. “What’s even better, she still has many miles to sail.”
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Omega Just Unveiled 9 Watches in Its New Constellation Observatory Collection
The line-up shows up a bevy of metals and colours, too, as well as two new calibres.
Omega’s latest watch is in a universe of its own.
The Swiss watchmaker just unveiled its new Constellation Observatory Collection today, the next step in its Constellation lineage and the first two-hand hour and minute timepieces to ever earn Master Chronometer certification. And if you were paying attention to any of the dazzling watches spotted at the Oscars this year, you would’ve caught a glimpse of the new line already: Sinners star Delroy Lindo rocked one of the models on the Academy Awards red carpet, giving us a pre-release preview of the collection.
Developed at Omega’s new Laboratoire de Précision (its chronometer testing lab open to all brands), the collection houses a set of nine 39.4 mm watches. The watches underwent 25 days of scrutiny there, analysed via a new acoustic testing method that recorded every sound emitted from the timepiece to track irregularities, temperature sensitivities, and more in the name of all things precision. (Details such as water resistance and power reserve are also thoroughly examined.) This meticulous process is all in the name of snagging that Master Chronometer label, meaning that the timepiece is highly accurate and surpasses the threshold for ultra-high performance. The Constellation Observatory Collection has now changed the game, though, thanks to its lack of a seconds hand.
“Until now, precision certification has required a seconds hand,” Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of OMEGA, said in a press statement. “The development of a new acoustic testing methodology has made that requirement obsolete. It is this breakthrough that has enabled us to present the Constellation Observatory, the first two-hand watch to achieve Master Chronometer certification.”
In addition to notching its place in history, the collection also debuted a new pair of movements: the Calibre 8915 and the Calibre 8914, each perched on a skeletonised rotor base. The former’s Grand Luxe iteration will appear on the 950 Platinum-Gold model in the collection, which offers up that base in 18-karat Sedna Gold alongside a Constellation medallion in 18-karat white gold with an Observatory dome done in white opal enamel surrounded by stars. The second Calibre 8915, the Luxe, will find its home on the other precious-metal models in the line, either made with the brand’s 18-karat Sedna, Moonshine, or Canopus gold seen across the case, the hand-guilloché dial, and, of course, the movement itself. (Lindo chose to rock the Moonshine Gold on Moonshine Gold iteration, priced at approximately $86,000, for Sinners‘s big night at the Oscars.) As for the Calibre 8914, it can be found in the collection’s four steel models.
Each model is a callback to myriad design features on past Omega models. That two-hand dial, for one, comes from the 1948 Centenary (the brand’s first chronometer-certified automatic wristwatch), while the pie-pan dial (seen in various blue, green, and golden hues throughout the line) and that Constellation medallion caseback both appear on watches from 1952. The star adorning the space above 6 o’clock also harks back to 1950s timepieces from Omega. And to finish off the look, you can opt for alligator straps in a variety of colours, or perhaps a gold iteration to match the precious-metal models; the brick-like pattern on the 18-karat Moonshine bracelet was also inspired by Omega watches from the ’50s.
We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for any other Constellation Observatory timepieces (or any other unreleased models from the brand) at the rest of the star-studded events headed our way this year—perhaps the Met Gala?
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Best Combustion Supercar: Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider
A modern classic in the making, combining naturally aspirated power with elegant restraint to deliver performance that feels as refined as it is visceral.
In a year when carmakers of all persuasions sheepishly extended hyperbolic electric targets, it’s fitting that the monastic puritans of Maranello—who, lest we forget, won’t finally yield to the sin of battery power until October with the Elettrica—opted to make combustion their major power play.
As an uncertain future of AI omnipresence barrels towards us, the 12Cilindri—an analogue, open-topped tribute to Ferrari’s late-’60s/early-’70s grand tourer, the Daytona—represents a defiant fade into the past, a pause for breath, a fleeting return to The Good Times when nascent technology provoked excitement rather than existential dread.
Guiding this automotive nostalgia trip is, as the nomenclature suggests, a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine, generating an unceasing wave of power as it sears towards the 9,500 rpm redline with relative nonchalance. That’s because the 12Cilindri is not a mouth-foaming attack-dog. It scales performance heights with the refinement of the finest Italian works of art; its “Bumpy Road” mode facilitates comfy al fresco GT cruising, and even the imperious powerplant is mannerly at most speeds.
For all the yesteryear romance, progressive technologies and engineering, such as a world-class 8-speed transmission, advanced electronic aids and independent four-wheel steering, are baked into the deal. The 12Cilindri’s clean, stark design somehow toggles between retro and modern; and while vaguely polarising, one can’t ignore its magnetic road presence.
In terms of aesthetics, Ferrari describes the 12Cilindri as being “ready for space”; in many ways, a fantasy vehicle that transports users to another dimension is probably what the world needs right now.
The Numbers
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Power: 610kW
Torque: 678 Nm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100 km/h: 2.95 seconds
Top speed: 340 km/h
Price: From $886,800
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Inside Loro Piana’s First Sydney Boutique
A first Australian address brings the Italian house’s textile-led approach to retail full circle.
On the fourth floor of Westfield Sydney, near the Castlereagh and Market Street entrance—in the space formerly occupied by Chanel—Loro Piana has opened its first Australian boutique. It is a significant address change for that corner of the mall, and a meaningful one for the Italian house, which has sourced Australian merino wool for decades but until now had no retail presence here.
The facade is understated—creamy, tactile, more about texture than theatre. Inside, the store unfolds across a single, expansive level divided into distinct men’s and women’s wings. The separation is clear without being heavy-handed: womenswear leads from soft accessories and leather goods into ready-to-wear, while menswear occupies its own assured territory, with tailoring and outerwear given proper breathing room. Footwear (supple loafers, luxurious slides, pared-back sneakers) is particularly strong, and the sunglasses are a quiet standout: mineral-toned frames with a disciplined elegance that feels entirely of the house.
That same restraint carries into the interiors, where the surfaces do much of the talking. Walls are wrapped in the company’s own linen and cashmere; carpets are custom, dense underfoot, softening the acoustics and the pace. Oak and carabottino wood add warmth without fuss; marble accents introduce a cool counterpoint. The effect is a composed space calibrated around material, proportion and restraint.
The Spring 2026 collection now in store underscores that sensibility. Silhouettes are elongated and fluid; cashmere, silk and featherweight merino move in sandy neutrals, creams and muddied earth tones, with flashes of marigold and pale turquoise breaking the calm. Tailoring is softly structured and projects confidence without aggression. Leather goods arrive in buttery skins that feel almost pre-lived, as though time has already worked its magic.
What distinguishes Loro Piana, particularly in a market that has grown noisier by the season, is its refusal to perform luxury in an obvious register. There are no oversized insignias telegraphing allegiance. Instead, the status is encoded in fibre count, in hand-feel, in how a coat hangs from the shoulder. It assumes the wearer knows and, crucially, does not need to announce it.
Sydney’s luxury landscape has matured in recent years; global houses no longer test the waters but commit to them. Yet Loro Piana’s arrival feels different. It is not trend-driven expansion but material logic. For a country whose sheep stations have long contributed to the house’s fabric story, this boutique reads almost as a thank-you note written in cashmere.
Photography: Courtesy of Loro Piana.
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Field Guide
From nubby tweeds to supple shearlings, the season’s most exciting menswear is as richly textured as the forests, mountain and lakes surrounding Switzerland’s Gstaad Palace.
Above: Zegna wool and cashmere coat, price upon request; Caruso wool-flannel jacket, $2,615; Tod’s wool and silk turtleneck, price upon request; Dolce & Gabbana wool-tweed trousers, price upon request; Brunello Cucinelli calfskin belt, $1,315; Paul Smith sheepskin gloves, $420.
Above: Caruso wool overcoat, $3,420; Boglioli wool-flannel jacket, $2,305, wool and cashmere sweater, $1,125, and wool-flannel trousers, $1,005; Tod’s calfskin belt, $1,025; Zegna buffalo-leather moccasins, $2,005.
Above: Massimo Alba wool-tweed jacket, $2,315; Moncler Polartec turtleneck, $835; Tod’s suede backpack, $5,230; Alonpi cashmere blanket, $2,805.
Above: Prada suede and shearling coat, $16,705, wool sweater, $3,325, and wool trousers, $3,045.
Above: Loro Piana dark-camel Rain System cashmere jacket, $8,765, greige Rain System cashmere vest, $7,055, greige cashmere crewneck, $4,635, and brown wool trousers, $2,565; Brunello Cucinelli saddle-brown calfskin boots, $2,330.
Above: Aspesi wool and cashmere field shirt, $1,260; Sacai wool trousers, $1,190; Brioni wool and cashmere tie, $420; Loro Piana x Le Chameau rubber boots, $2,240; Paul Smith sheepskin gloves, $420; Alonpi cashmere blanket, $2,805.
Above: Tod’s wool mockneck sweater, $2,615; AMI viscose shirt, $625; Ralph Lauren Purple Label wool-twill trousers, $1,125; Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Ref. 5960P watch, $68,000, available at Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, Gstaad Palace; Zegna acetate and metal sunglasses, $645.
Above: Hermès shearling jacket, $33,425, calfskin overshirt, $15,010, cashmere and silk turtleneck, $3,435, and wool-gabardine trousers, $1,630; Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 watch, $21,950.
Above: Ralph Lauren Purple Label brown wool-twill sport coat, $4,245, and trousers, $1,125, cream cotton shirt, $845, and brown wool-flannel tie, $335.
Above: Louis Vuitton wool coat and wool trousers, prices upon request; Aspesi wool and cashmere sweater, $625.
Above: Brunello Cucinelli alpaca, virgin-wool and cashmere cardigan, $7,795, silk and cotton jersey shirt, $1,630, cotton and virgin-wool trousers, $2,270, and calfskin belt, $1,320; Canali cashmere and silk blazer, $5,380; Brioni wool and cashmere tie, $420.
Above: Moncler cream, brown and black mélange carded-wool sweater, $2,030, and brown ski trousers in 2L tech corduroy with RECCO reflector system, $2,765; Chopard L.U.C Quattro Mark IV watch, $57,295.
Model: Oriol Elcacho Miro
Grooming: Cristina Crosarastyle
Editor: Naomi Rougeau
Market and sittings editor: Simone Fantuzzi
Photo director: Irene Opezzo
Photo assistant: Ead Gjergji
Production: Monica Poli/
Assistant: Lorenzo Borboni
Casting: Bronson Vajda
Location: Special thanks to Gstaad Palace
Coldfocus Production
Photographed by Eduardo Miera
Styled by Alex Badia
This article appears in the Autumn issue 2026 of Robb Report Australia New-Zealand. Click here to subscribe.
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The Best Under-the-Radar Wineries in Australia
From Tasmania to Margaret River, these sommelier-approved cellar doors reward those willing to venture beyond the usual маршруits.
In wine, as in travel, the most rewarding experiences are rarely found by following the crowd. They require curiosity, a little effort, and more often than not, the right recommendation.
As luxury travel continues its shift from spectacle to substance, many of Australia’s most compelling cellar doors remain largely undiscovered—known chiefly to sommeliers, bar managers and restaurateurs whose reputations hinge on what makes it into your glass. Ask them which wineries they’d drive past the big names to visit, the producers they seek out for themselves, the bottles they champion without fanfare, and a different map of Australian wineries emerges.
The following vineyards represent the new vanguard of homespun viniculture; the places worth planning a journey around; the cellar doors that justify a deliberate detour.
Stargazer Wines, Tasmania
When asked where he would go if he had just a single recommendation to give, Al Robertson— owner of Hobart’s legendary pocket-sized wine bar Sonny—doesn’t hesitate. “One word,” he says. “Stargazer.”
Run by Samantha Connew, one of the most respected and hard-working winemakers in the country, Stargazer has quietly become one of Tasmania’s most compelling small-batch producers, crafting finely tuned wines that emphasise purity, texture and a strong sense of place. “She makes gorgeous wines,” Robertson adds. “The riesling in particular—limey, mineral and razor-sharp—is perfect with local goat’s curd or seafood.”
There’s also the Rada red, a cult favourite at Sonny. Served lightly chilled, it’s a true sommelier’s wine—bright, savoury and surprisingly versatile, especially with tomato-heavy pasta or dishes rich with cheese.
Opened in late 2025, Stargazer’s bookings-only cellar door is a short 30-minute drive from central Hobart, tucked into the idyllic Coal River Valley, not far from award-winning Tassie icons Pooley and Tolpuddle. Tastings are deliberately intimate—capped at around 12 guests—unfolding beneath vast skies and among rows of chardonnay and pinot noir, the landscape proving as memorable as the wine in your glass.
The region’s accommodation is as compelling as its wine. While the capital and surrounds brim with beautifully curated stays, few rival Saffire Freycinet—the east coast’s all-inclusive masterpiece, consistently crowned among the world’s finest hotels. Perched above spectacular Wineglass Bay, its immersive, nature-led experiences—from private plunge pools to bespoke foraging dinners and oyster-inspired spa rituals—make the two-and-half-hour drive feel entirely worthwhile.
“Tastings are deliberately intimate, unfolding beneath vast skies… the landscape proving as memorable as the wine in your glass.”
Glenarty Road, Margaret River, Western Australia
It’s impossible to talk about Western Australian wine without mentioning Margaret River—but even within this celebrated region, there are still places that reward those willing to go a little further.
“You’ve got to visit Glenarty Road,” urges Samuel Cocks, bar manager at Sydney’s world-renowned Saint Peter. Their Wildlings Savagnin is the “standout” wine he keeps coming back to, a variety rarely seen in Australia, let alone Margaret River. Textural, savoury and quietly complex, it’s a reminder that this popular region still has room to surprise.
Set on a working farm, Glenarty Road feels deeply connected to its surroundings. Sheep, pigs, cattle and sprawling vegetable gardens all feed into an experience that’s as much about food as it is wine. “Some of the best food I’ve had in WA is served here,” Cocks says, much of it sourced directly from the property. He’s not alone. WA food critics have consistently ranked it among Margaret River’s strongest dining experiences.
Beyond the usual cellar-door format, “Vino in the Vines” unfolds as a guided walk through the vineyard, with up to 10 wines matched to seasonal farm produce, house-made charcuterie and freshly baked bread. It’s immersive, generous and thoughtfully paced; closer to a curated gastronomic experience than a casual tasting.
Located further south along the coast, away from the Yallingup bustle, Glenarty Road demands a longer drive, but it’s one serious food-and-wine travellers deem essential. On the return, retreat to Cape Lodge—Margaret River’s grande dame of luxury digs—a lakeside estate of manicured gardens, private suites and a dining room that has long set the regional standard.
For those wanting to stay closer to Perth, Swan Valley endures as a local staple. Compact, historic, yet quietly evolving, Cocks describes it as, “Probably one of Australia’s hottest regions.” One local pearl is Vino Volta, an experimental, modern producer focusing on Swan Valley hero varietals like chenin blanc and grenache. Its sparkling wines, easy-drinking reds and whites, and decadent fortified verdelho have earned a loyal following among Aussie sommeliers.
Krinklewood Estate, Hunter Valley, New South Wales
Just over two hours north of Sydney, in the Broke Fordwich sub-region of the Hunter Valley, Krinklewood offers one of the region’s most transportive cellar-door experiences. Family-owned and farmed organically and biodynamically for decades—long before it became a marketing hook—the estate feels worlds away from the busier Pokolbin circuit. Its Provençal-inspired gardens, sun-drenched courtyard, olive groves, fountains and roaming peacocks create an atmosphere that encourages indulgent lingering.
The wines are elegant and restrained: verdelho, semillon, chardonnay and shiraz, all made with a light touch. A trattoria-style kitchen on site turns out simple seasonal plates and cheese boards, designed to complement rather than compete with the wines.
Make a night of it in one of the estate’s Scandi-inspired lodges—minimalist, timber-clad, with outdoor baths under open skies—or check into Tower Lodge in Pokolbin, among the Hunter’s most exclusive retreats. Dinner is best taken at Muse, a two-hatted stalwart that has long anchored the area’s fine-dining scene.
Nearby, Running Horse Wines is worth a stop for something altogether more idiosyncratic. Headed up by former jockey Dave Fromberg, the cellar door is unique in every sense of the word. Rustic and striking, it’s built from six elevated shipping containers overlooking the vineyard. Tastings here are informal, personal and unhurried—more conversation than ceremony—with Fromberg himself often pouring and storytelling in equal measure. The glass bench-top doubles as a showcase, lit from below so that the colours of Dave’s wines—especially the deep, layered tones of his aged shiraz—can be fully admired.
Bekkers Wine, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Among serious drinkers, Bekkers has achieved near-mythic status. The tiny, family-run label is the work of respected viticulturist Toby Bekkers and his French-trained winemaker wife Emmanuelle. Together, they focus on refined, fine-wine expressions of grenache and syrah—deliberately resisting the heavier, more obvious styles McLaren Vale is often known for.
Production is ultra-small, often just a few hundred to around a thousand cases a year, with most bottles snapped up via allocation lists or poured at a handful of top-tier restaurants. That makes a visit to their appointment-only cellar door a rare opportunity to experience the wines at the source, guided by the people who make them.
Round out your SA trip with a night at The Louise, located north in the Barossa—a vineyard-encircled retreat that has quietly become one of Australia’s most enduring luxury addresses.
“Provençal-inspired gardens, sun-drenched courtyard, fountains and roaming peacocks create an atmosphere that encourages indulgent lingering.”
Wild Dog Winery & Entropy, Gippsland, Victoria
Two hours east of Melbourne, the landscape begins to shift. The air cools, the roads narrow, the vineyards are fewer, and more scattered. Gippsland has long existed at the periphery of Victoria’s wine consciousness, but those paying attention know something is changing.
“The Wild Dog Winery just south of Warragul gets my vote,” says Dave Verheul, owner of Melbourne’s Embla and cult vermouth label Saison—a figure whose palate has helped shape the city’s modern wine scene. “It’s home to winemakers like William Downie and Patrick Sullivan, but what Ryan Ponsford is making under the Entropy label is very, very special.”
Set high in the hills, Wild Dog Winery is less a single estate than a quiet epicentre for some of the country’s most thoughtful winemaking. Among them, Ponsford’s Entropy Wines stands apart. His 2024 cabernet is elegant, restrained and evocative of place in a way that feels both unmistakably Australian and entirely its own. Tastings unspool without theatre, the focus squarely on the wine and the landscape that shaped it. “The added bonus,” Verheul notes, “is being able to dine at Hogget Kitchen, one of regional Victoria’s best restaurants.”
For those willing to venture beyond the familiar, Gippsland offers the rare pleasure of discovery in real time, a dominion whose best bottles are still shared more often by word of mouth than by map. Indeed, the most memorable Australian wine experiences share a common thread: they reward the curious over the merely well-travelled. Because in the end, the best wine journeys rarely follow the most direct route. And the memories—the flavours, the landscapes, the stories—are all the richer for it.
This article appears in the Autumn issue 2026 of Robb Report Australia New-Zealand. Click here to subscribe.
