Underground wine storage feels like time travel. On the Seppelt Wines Underground Cellar Tour in Great Western, you walk through the heritage underground cellars called The Drives and learn how Australia’s sparkling traditions, including Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz, got started.

I love two things about this experience: first, the sheer scale of the hand-dug cellars (they run for 3 kilometers and can hold over 3 million bottles), and second, how the guide brings the place to life—Ricky’s storytelling makes the underground feel less like storage and more like a living chapter of winemaking. Sparkling wine tastings at the end are a great payoff after you’ve seen where the wine lives.

One thing to consider: the included tasting is alcoholic sparkling wine, and wine tastings are excluded for anyone under 18. If you’re planning this for a mixed-age group, that’s the only wrinkle to plan around.

Key highlights worth marking on your map

• The Drives stretch 3 kilometers and were built by miners working for decades
• Hand-dug cellars started in 1868 and took over 60 years to complete
• Over 3 million bottles can be stored underground there
• Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz traces back to the early 1890s
• Sparkling wine tastings are included with the guided tour
• Private tour for your group plus a mobile ticket for easy entry

Seppelt Great Western: a small-price tour with big cellar energy

This is the kind of wine experience that earns its hype fast. For about 2 hours, you get into one of the most impressive underground storage spaces in the Southern Hemisphere, then you finish aboveground with a tasting that matches what you just learned.

At $20.08 per person, the value is mostly in two places: the scale of The Drives and the guided context. A lot of tasting-focused tours give you a few sips and send you on your way. Here, you earn the tasting by seeing exactly how the wine is stored and why that matters for a sparkling style.

It also helps that the tour is private to your group. That usually means fewer awkward pauses and more chances to ask questions when they come up. And you don’t need to fuss with paper tickets thanks to the mobile ticket setup.

Where the tour begins at Seppelt Cellar Door

The tour starts at Seppelt Cellar Door, 36 Cemetery Rd, Great Western VIC 3374. It ends back at the meeting point, so you don’t have to think about transport or where you’ll land afterward.

Plan to arrive a few minutes early so you can get settled before heading underground. Underground spaces are not the place to be hunting for your phone signal or scrambling for the right time slot.

Inside The Drives: hand-dug cellars built over 60 years

The heart of the tour is the heritage-listed underground cellar complex known as The Drives. This isn’t a modern showroom cellar. It’s a story written in stone and time.

Here’s what you’ll learn while you explore:

• The cellars were hand-dug.
• They were excavated by out-of-work gold miners beginning in 1868.
• It took over 60 years to complete the full project.
• The Drives stretch for 3 kilometers underground.
• They can hold over 3 million bottles of wine.

For me, that combination of details is what makes the tour click. You’re not just looking at tunnels—you’re seeing the physical footprint of people making do and turning labor into a wine-making asset that lasted generations.

Also, the tour doesn’t frame this as trivia. It connects the building effort to why underground storage became such a big deal for winemakers. Even without getting technical, you can feel the logic: you’re in a controlled environment designed for long-term aging and careful keeping.

Emerging back aboveground: the Seppelt sparkling pathway

After your underground walk, you come back up and your guide shifts gears to sparkling wines—specifically how Seppelt built its sparkling identity over time.

The stop here is not just brand storytelling. It’s linking the space you toured to the wines you’ll taste. You’ll hear about the famous Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz, first produced in the early 1890s. That early date matters because sparkling wine is harder than it looks. It requires patience, control, and a producer who knows what they’re aiming for.

Then the tour keeps things moving with a journey through Seppelt’s sparkling lineup, guided by someone who can explain what you’re seeing and tasting as you go.

Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz: why that early 1890s detail is more than trivia

The early 1890s mention isn’t just a date to impress friends later. It’s a window into how long this producer has been thinking about sparkling wine as a signature style.

When a winery ties an iconic product to a time period that far back, it usually means the approach became part of the company identity—not a one-off idea. In other words, you’re not just sampling wine. You’re tasting the result of a long-running obsession with how sparkling should be made and presented.

I like how the tour uses that context while you’re still in motion. By the time you’re tasting, you’ve already walked through storage spaces built starting in 1868. The “why” lands faster because you’ve just seen where the magic—slow aging and controlled keeping—happens.

The included sparkling wine tasting (and the under-18 rule)

The tour includes sparkling wine tastings. That’s the payoff after the underground section, and it’s also the moment where you can match flavor to what you learned.

Do note the rule that wine tastings are excluded for anyone under 18. So if you’re booking for a group that includes minors, consider whether they’re comfortable doing the full underground tour and skipping the tasting portion.

If you’re 18+, treat the tasting like a chance to ask smart questions. For example: how the wine fits the Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz story, or what aspects of sparkling style your guide thinks you’ll notice based on what you just toured.

What makes Ricky’s guide style worth it

A big chunk of why this tour works is the human part. In the feedback, people specifically highlighted the guide—Ricky—for being both engaging and deeply informed. That matters because a place like The Drives can sound impressive on paper, but it takes a good guide to make the details feel real.

Ricky’s strength is that he links the underground construction story to the wine experience afterward. When that connection is clear, the tasting feels earned rather than random. You’re leaving with a stronger mental picture of how place, time, and process connect.

Practical tips so you enjoy the 2 hours

This is a straightforward 2-hour experience, but a few small choices will make it smoother:

• Wear closed-toe shoes suited to walking on underground surfaces.
• Bring your patience for a guided pace. The tour is timed to cover a lot of physical space underground.
• If you’re bringing anyone near the 18 cutoff for tasting, plan ahead so nobody feels stuck at the wrong moment.
• Use your mobile ticket but also keep your booking email handy in case your phone battery is running low.

And here’s a small mindset tip: treat the underground segment like the main event, not a quick photo stop. You’ll get more out of it when you listen for what the guide points out—especially the numbers and timeline.

Who should book this tour?

This one fits best if you want a guided wine-and-history experience without turning it into a long day.

I’d especially recommend it for:

• Wine beginners who want a clear story before they taste
• People who like heritage sites and real construction stories (not just wine labels)
• Anyone visiting Victoria who wants something different from the usual vineyard-drive-and-sip format

It’s also a smart option when you’re balancing interests. You get the underground engineering and the sparkling wine tasting in the same package.

The tour notes that most people can participate, so it’s broadly accessible as a concept. Still, because it’s an underground walk, you’ll want to use common sense about comfort with enclosed, darker spaces.

Should you book the Seppelt Underground Cellar Tour?

Yes, I think you should book this if you’re curious about how sparkling wine connects to place and long-term storage. The value at $20.08 is strong because you’re paying for two core things: a guided look at The Drives (3 kilometers, 3 million bottles capacity) and included sparkling tastings that you can relate back to what you saw.

Skip it—or at least rethink your plan—if your priority is tastings only, or if you’re traveling with someone under 18 who would rather not sit out that tasting portion.

If you want a tour that’s fast, focused, and genuinely rooted in what the winery has been doing for a long time, this is a solid bet.

FAQ

How long is the Seppelt Underground Cellar Tour?

It runs for about 2 hours.

Where does the tour start?

The tour starts at Seppelt Cellar Door, 36 Cemetery Rd, Great Western VIC 3374, Australia.

Is the tour private?

Yes. It’s private, so only your group participates.

What’s included in the price?

The tour includes a guided tour and sparkling wine tastings.

Are wine tastings included for anyone under 18?

No. Wine tastings are excluded for any participant under the age of 18.

Can I cancel for free?

Yes. You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.

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