The beautiful Mornington Peninsula...

Big, beautiful things sometimes come in surprisingly small packages and that's one of the delights of the Mornington Peninsula.

Just an hours drive from Melbourne you could travel the length of this spectacular part of Victoria in quite a short time but its so much more enjoyable to spend several days meandering from one coast to the other.

Along the way, you'll discover just how many attractions are packed into this relatively small area, and how you're never more than a few minutes drive from the next one.

For example, there are over 40 wineries with cellar doors, and even more restaurants and cafes with magnificent views of vineyards or the sea (and sometimes both), a dozen or more outstanding golf courses, including Moonah Links host to the Australian Open, sheltered swimming bays and wild surf beaches, cosmopolitan towns such as Portsea, Sorrento and Mornington, coastal hideaways like Flinders and quiet hinterland villages including Red Hill.

The Mornington Peninsula has a long history of being a favourite holiday destination for the people of Melbourne.

Just an hour or so drive from Melbourne via the Nepean highway or the Frankston freeway, the Mornington Peninsula could be a little part of the Mediterranean, with its vineyards and olive groves, its historic country house retreats and intimate hotels.

At the very tip of the peninsula is Point Nepean National Park.

The most famous feature of our 25,000 hectares of national parks, Point Nepean was closed to the public for more than 100 years.

It's now open for everyone's enjoyment, and you can follow the cycle and pedestrian road to the extensive wartime military installations right at the tip of Point Nepean.

Formerly used as a quarantine station and by the military for various purposes including a gunnery range, the site is now very popular as it is still, for the most part, undeveloped.

Sections of the park are however still closed due to unexploded ordnance.

Also popular is Mornington Peninsula National Park.

On the North-Western side of the peninsula, facing Port Phillip Bay, you’ll find a number of popular holiday destinations.

These include Dromana, Rosebud, McCrae, Sorrento and the more exclusive Portsea, sometime referred to as 'the playground of the rich and famous', due to its lavish properties and expensive real estate.

There's plenty to explore on the Mornington Peninsula before you head off to other parts of Victoria's magnificent coastline.

A great place to start is at the wineries, where at more than 40 cellar doors you’ll quickly discover why the Mornington Peninsula has such an enviable reputation for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, not to mention the excellent Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula produces some of Australia’s most coveted Pinot Noir, and travellers who visit during winter could head home with a $3000 wine cellar containing around ten dozen of the Peninsula’s finest wines.

It is the wonderful first prize in the Peninsula’s 'Winter Wine Passport' event which runs from the middle of June until the end of August each year.

At any of the participating Cellar Doors, during the event, purchase 2 bottles of wine, take a winery tour, or stay and dine at one of the many boutique accommodation providers and get your passport stamped.

All you need is 5 stamps to be in the running for $3000 worth of Mornington Peninsular wines or a weekend package.

Fifteen leading wineries, boutique accommodation and wine tour operators take part, and will stamp your passport each time a purchase is made.

Once you have five stamps you’re eligible for the $3000 wine cellar prize.

The second prize is a Mornington Peninsula ‘stay and dine’ weekend package at Max’s Retreat at Red Hill, with a bottle of Red Hill Estate Sparkling Wine and a voucher to dine at a nearby restaurant, valued at $500 while the third prize is a wine tour package including accommodation for two at luxurious Lindenderry at Red Hill, and a one day winery tour for up to four people, also valued at $500.

The visitor who produces the most heavily stamped passport wins a bottle of wine from each participating cellar, along with two Luigi Bormioli Bourgogne glasses that lift the bouquet and flavours of Pinot Noir to an entirely new level.

Complimentary Luigi Bormioli Bourgogne glasses, valued at $20 each, are also be given to visitors who buy at least six bottles of wine from a single vineyard.

For information on the Winter Wine Passport, contact the Mornington Peninsula Visitor Information Centre, 1800 804 009 or (03) 5987 3078, or visit www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org.

Passports are available from the Visitor Centre, Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association and all participating operators.

There are so many ways to ensure you have a memorable experience in Victoria's wine region and a "Cellar Door Pass" ensures you visit both the best boutique and iconic wineries.

With over 60 partners, a cellar door pass will ensure that your touring of Victoria's wineries is the best it can be!

Your cellar door pass includes 6 bottles of wine up to the total value of $150, from 6 different wineries, premium wine tastings, winery tours and other special offers with over $150 value.

It also includes a wine discovery CD featuring many of Victoria’s leading wine makers, delivery of a 12 bottle carton of wine to anywhere in Australia, transit insurance up to $300 and a $20 reward voucher to spend at selected gourmet establishments, each time another 6 bottles of wine are purchased.

You’ll also get a Victorian cellar door directory to guide you through your journey and a smartcard identifying you as a special guest and valid for 12 months from the first use.

Your Cellar Door Pass is available from the Mornington Peninsula Visitor Information Centre and Booking Service.

The Pass costs $AU99, is for 2 people and is valid for 12 months.

You can phone Toll Free 1800 804 009 (outside local area) or 03 5987 3078 for further information.

Fine wine, of course, is made so much better by fine food, and here you can buy just-picked and locally made produce, or let some wonderful restaurants and cafes tempt you with dishes that are the perfect complement to your favourite regional wines.

Now, what do you do after that lazy lunch?

A round of golf of course!

You’ll find 18 courses on some of the world's best natural golfing terrain, and you’ll be happy to know, the green fees are decidedly Australian.

Not into golf?

Then you can head off for a leisurely or an invigorating walk, your choice.

Choose a windswept cliff-top, a quiet beach or a bushy path or head for historic Point Nepean where you'll find all three.

But perhaps you’re more of a beachy person.

The Mornington Peninsula has plenty to offer you too.

Surfing, scuba diving, sailing, diving with dolphins or swimming with seals, fishing in Port Phillip Bay or the thrill of horse-riding along the sands of wind-swept Gunnamatta Beach.

Again the choice, as always, is yours.

When it's time take the tension out of life you can just relax in expert hands at one of the many day spas.

Mud wraps, massages, facials, hand and feet treats are all on the menu, together with outdoor Japanese-style hot baths, an Aboriginal relaxation massage and an Arabic steam room.

If you’re still looking for things to do , you’ll find splendid gardens to explore, art galleries and heritage mansions to browse, fine local art and craft galleries, antique stores and lively local markets where you can while away an hour or two.

If you have an interest in art, cultural heritage or maritime history you’ll discover a lot of ‘must-sees’ on the Peninsula including Victoria’s earliest European settlement, military history from the 1880s, historic homesteads and galleries filled with art, antiques, sculpture and hand-blown glass.

Now, of course, you’ll need somewhere to rest your head when your days of great wine and fine food come to a close, you’ll be happy to know that the Mornington Peninsula has every option available to you.

Stay in luxury at some of the finest hotels Victoria has to offer, opt for a cosy B & B (that's Bed & Breakfast if you don't know), or rough it in a tent or caravan, (I believe that’s a trailer for our American friends), whatever your style it will be well catered for here.

As I said right at the start, sometimes big, beautiful things come in relatively small packages, the Mornington Peninsula really is just that….