Melbourne Winery is set to redefine how Australia experiences wine in the city. Opening in April 2025 at 247 Flinders Lane, this $3 million project transforms the historic Ross House into the CBDs first fully immersive wine experience - a place where art, dining, and winemaking collide like never before.
This isn’t just another wine bar. Melbourne Winery brings the entire winemaking process into the heart of the city, creating a space where guests can crush, taste, and engage with wine at its source. The venue flips tradition on its head with a ‘backwards menu’—where wine leads and food follows—ensuring that every dish is designed to elevate the wine experience, not the other way around.
Occupying 552.5 square metres (5950.5 square feet) on the ground level of Ross House, a 126-year old heritage site in the heart of Flinders Lane, Melbourne Winery is a fully immersive wine experience. It features interactive winemaking opportunities, guided tastings, and a space that doubles as an art gallery, showcasing label-inspired works by local artists.
But this isn’t just a venue—it’s a brand. Melbourne Winery will also produce its own proprietary wine label, available to enjoy in-house and online, bringing a curated selection of locally crafted wines directly to consumers.
Behind this game-changing concept is hospitality visionary Eddie Muto, founder of Barman and Larder, the group behind Il Mercato Centrale, Flour Child, and Left Bank Melbourne.
“Melbourne Winery isn’t about tradition—it’s about transformation,” says Muto. “We’re taking the comfort of a winery and giving it a modern, Melbourne twist. This is a space where wine isn’t just consumed, it’s experienced.”
Forget choosing a meal and then selecting a wine to match. Melbourne Winery flips that script. The menu is designed around its wines, ensuring that every dish enhances the glass in your hand. Every sip is curated, every pairing intentional.
“We’re not here to tell people how to appreciate wine,” Muto continues. “We’re here to create an experience that lets them engage with it in a new way. Wine isn’t just about taste—it’s about atmosphere, storytelling, and who you become while drinking it.”
“Melbourne Winery promises an Terroir (earth) to glass experience with an atmosphere unmatched in Melbourne and unique in the country ensuring each visit and each glass provides its own story to guests” notes Muto.
Bringing the "Terroir to Glass" to life at Melbourne Winery, guests will follow the journey from grape harvest to fermentation, witnessing firsthand how terroir is expressed through winemaking techniques. Hands-on masterclasses will provide Melbourne Winery patrons the opportunity to experiment with blending wines and wine tasting, offering a deeper appreciation for the craftsmanship involved in capturing the essence of the land in every bottle. Classes will include samples of Terroir including soil, rainwater and vines allowing patrons to learn to identify terroir's influence on flavour, acidity, and texture across various varieties. Carefully curated pairings with Melbourne Winery regional cuisine will further emphasise the harmony between food and wine, offering a multi-dimensional exploration of taste.
Melbourne Winery experience includes things like:
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Live winemaking experiences, including grape stomping and guided tastings.
- A salle à fromage (cheese cellar) and oyster bar, offering perfectly paired delicacies.
- A rotating art exhibition, with local artists creating bespoke label designs and large-scale artworks throughout the venue.
“Wine, food, and art share a purpose—to evoke emotion and bring people together,” says Muto. “Melbourne Winery is about storytelling. Just like art, wine is subjective, everyone experiences it slightly differently. The way you experience wine is completely unique to you, and this space gives you the freedom to discover that.”
Melbourne Winery will officially open its doors in April, with a series of launch events and experiences to welcome the city into this new chapter of wine culture.
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Melbourne Winery Co-Founder and Director of Barman & Larder, Eddie Muto is available for interview and comment. All enquiries should be directed to Matthew@Madco.com.au and or 0466 406 418.
ABOUT MELBOURNE WINERY:
Melbourne Winery is Melbourne CBDs first urban winery, dedicated to redefining how Australians engage with wine providing a unique terroir (earth) to glass experience. Located in the heart of Melbourne’s epicurean district at 247 Flinders Lane, the venue blends winemaking, dining, and art in a unique, immersive experience. With an authentic wine making area, interactive winemaking opportunities, and a unique flipped menu concept matching meals to wine selections, Melbourne Winery is a love letter to both the city and Australian wine culture. The venue also collaborates with local artists to create bespoke wine labels and large-scale artworks, reinforcing its commitment to Melbourne’s creative scene whilst also remaining true to the wine growing experience, allowing guests to witness and enjoy the senses of grape harvesting, wine production and the final epicurean offering .
