How Much Do Yarra Valley Wine Tours & Tastings Cost?

A guided Yarra Valley wine day from Melbourne starts at $71 a person, the most-booked tours cost $93, and the days with lunch inside the price run from about $125 to $250. Private days are priced for the vehicle, so what each person pays depends on how many of you share it. The spread is wide because a “wine day” can mean anything from a few standard cellar-door flights to a private tour with a long winery lunch.

The most useful way to budget is to separate the day into transport, tastings, food and upgrades, and then check which of the four your ticket already covers. The calendar below books the valley’s most-reviewed tour, Red Carpet’s wine, gin, whisky and chocolate day: $93 with the wine tastings included at every stop and lunch bought at the table, rated 4.9 from close to 1,500 reviews. Prices on this page are the US dollar figures GetYourGuide charges at checkout, and they move with the season, so confirm the live price for your date before you pay.

1. Wine Tasting Fees

Standard tastings are generally the cheapest part of the day. Premium flights cost more because they may include single-vineyard, reserve or older wines.

Budget categories:

standard cellar-door tasting;
premium/reserve flight;
masterclass or single-vineyard tasting;
vineyard or winemaking experience.

On a per-person group tour from Melbourne, the standard tastings are usually inside the ticket. The $86 wine, chocolate and gin day visits three wineries with guided tastings at two of them, and the full-day wine experience with lunch does the same at four. The fees come back into the sum in three places: when you book a tasting yourself, when you ask for a premium flight on the day, and on private tours that quote for the vehicle and leave the cellar doors to you.

Cellar doors set their own fees, and some credit the fee against a bottle you buy. If you are already in the valley, tasting-only listings you book at a single cellar door start at about $29, with no transport. For a first visit, one premium or seated tasting at the winery you care most about is usually a better use of money than upgrading at every stop. Our wine tasting guide explains what each format involves.

2. Shared Tour Cost

Shared tours bundle transport and often include tasting fees. The cheapest products may exclude lunch or mix wine with other attractions.

Price per person	What it usually buys	Example
$71 to $99	Melbourne pickup point, three cellar doors with tastings, often a chocolate or gin stop; lunch at your own cost	Wine tour with gin, beer, cider and chocolate, $93, 4.8 from nearly 800 reviews
$125 to $150	Lunch included, or a themed day (sparkling, wildlife, a fourth winery)	Wine tour with lunch and a gin or beer upgrade, $129, 4.9 from more than 350 reviews
$179 to $253	Longer days, hotel pickup, a restaurant lunch at a well-known estate	Winery tour with lunch at Yering Station, $243, 5.0 from more than 150 reviews

The $71 wine and chocolate tasting tour shows why the cheapest ticket needs reading line by line. It visits three wineries with tastings of more than fourteen wines and the Yarra Valley Chocolate Factory, but lunch is bought at the table, it is 18 and over only, and its record is a thin 9 reviews. One step up, the $86 wine, chocolate and gin day is rated 4.9 from more than 274 reviews, and its gin tasting comes only with the Full Tasting Experience option.

A higher price does not reliably buy better wine. The two most-reviewed tours in the valley both cost $93. The extra money buys time and service instead: a fourth cellar door, a smaller vehicle, hotel collection, or a meal you did not have to order. Every band is broken down on Yarra Valley wine tour prices.

3. Private Tour Cost

Private tours are usually quoted by vehicle, by group or at a high per-person rate for small parties. The per-person figure drops as more people share the vehicle.

Each private listing states a different group size, so divide the price by your number of people before you compare it with a per-person tour. Then check the inclusions: some private days carry the tasting fees and some leave them to you at each cellar door. The private wineries day with hotel pickup is quoted at $235 each for two people and includes three wineries’ tasting fees only if you select that option; lunch is extra, and its record is a thin 17 reviews at 4.7. Split six ways, the cheaper private listings work out at around $90 a head, less than most per-person tours. The per-head arithmetic is set out on private Yarra Valley wine tours.

4. Lunch

Food can change the day’s budget more than one extra tasting. Distinguish between:

casual pizza or café lunch;
one-course tour lunch;
two-course winery restaurant;
degustation with wine pairing.

Most group tours stop at a winery restaurant around the middle of the day and you order and pay at the table. One operator puts that stop at roughly A$25 to A$35 a head in its own listing, quoted in Australian dollars. On the $93 flagship, lunch is at Quarters at Hubert Estate, and the bill carries a surcharge at weekends.

Where lunch is included, read what kind. The full-day wine experience at $134 includes a one-course lunch with a glass of wine, rated 4.7 from more than 780 reviews. The $129 wine tour with lunch serves a shared antipasto and an individual main with a glass of wine. The Yering Station tour at $243 includes an à la carte main, a glass of wine and coffee there, and a cheese platter at De Bortoli. A degustation with matched wines is a separate restaurant booking on any of them. Every tour with lunch inside the price is listed on Yarra Valley wine tours with lunch, and the restaurants themselves are compared in our winery lunch guide.

5. Hidden Extras

Look for:

tasting fees not included in transport-only products;
Sunday/public-holiday restaurant surcharges;
premium winery upgrades;
hotel pickup outside the standard zone;
overtime on private vehicles.

The exclusions line is where these show up. The $86 wine, chocolate and gin day leaves out the tasting at St Huberts, where the group stops for lunch, and includes the gin only if you pick its Full Tasting Experience option. The $129 lunch tour does not cover tastings or purchases at the Chocolaterie. Most group tours meet at a fixed point in central Melbourne and exclude hotel pickup. On a hop-on hop-off ticket, every tasting is extra: our transport guide compares the shuttle with the guided buses.

How to Save

travel midweek;
book one premium tasting, not four;
choose a casual lunch if wine is the priority;
compare private vehicle cost for larger groups;
avoid paying for inclusions you do not value.

Midweek helps because weekend lunch bills can carry a surcharge and the popular tours fill first. And compare totals, not headline prices: add lunch to the $71 day before you set it against the $129 day, which already includes a two-course lunch with a glass of wine. If you have half a day rather than a whole one, our half-day versus full-day comparison shows what the shorter tours leave out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are wine tastings free?

Some wineries may waive or redeem fees with purchase, but paid tasting is normal and policies vary. On most per-person group tours from Melbourne the standard tastings at the named wineries are included in the ticket, while premium flights and spirit tastings are usually extra.

Is a cheap tour always better value?

No. Add excluded tastings and lunch before comparing totals. The $71 day, for example, leaves out lunch, while some $129 to $134 tours include a lunch with a glass of wine.

How much is lunch on a Yarra Valley wine tour?

Where it is not included, you order at a winery restaurant and pay at the table. One operator puts that at roughly A$25 to A$35 a head, and at least one lunch venue adds a weekend surcharge. Tours that include lunch start at about $125 a person.

How much does a private Yarra Valley wine tour cost?

Private tours are priced for the vehicle or the group, so divide the price by the number of people travelling. Then check whether tasting fees and lunch are included, because a lower per-head figure can exclude both.

Final Thoughts

The best budget is not the lowest number. It is the amount that gets you the experience you actually want without paying for irrelevant extras. For most first visits that means a $93 group day with the tastings included, a casual lunch and one premium tasting where it matters to you.

Prices are the starting figures GetYourGuide quoted at the time of writing; ratings and review counts were checked on 30 September 2026.

Related guides: Cheap Yarra Valley Wine Tours · Standard vs Premium Tastings · Wine Tours With Lunch