Mulline Vintners was established by Ben Mullen and Ben Hine in 2018, with the mission of producing single-site wines exclusively from the Geelong region. Fast-forward to now, and their operation bears the rare honour of being named Halliday’s Best Value Winery for 2025.
From Mandarin Gimlets to Mornington aligoté, here’s what Ben Mullen drinks when he drinks Victorian.
I think Victoria’s key strength in wine is that it’s exactly what wine drinkers are naturally gravitating towards: predominantly cool climate, premium wines and smaller volume but higher quality. On the Venn diagram of consumer wants, Victorian wine is almost a perfect circle.
The last three delicious Victorian things I drank were…
1. A Mandarin Gimlet at Tipo 00. I literally smirked after taking the first sip it was so delicious: fresh, fruity and tart. Perhaps not 100 per cent Victorian, but it was Little Bourke Street so we’re going for a technicality.
2. Werkstatt 2023 Riesling Sekt. Bridget Mac is a new Victorian producer who operates from our shared winery facility. This latest wine of Bridget’s is made in Victoria and is a delicious drop. Bridget is also a talented photographer and the woman behind the camera for most of Mulline’s photos.
3. The Garagiste Aligoté from the Mornington Peninsula is a staple white wine in our house and just one of the most delicious white wines in the state. The dozen we get every year doesn’t last long.
When someone hands me a drinks list, I can’t help but start benchmarking the Victorian wine. Victorians drink a jaw-dropping amount less Victorian wine than, for example, South Australians do South Australian wine. We always like to see drinks lists that represent local producers. It’s also, environmentally, the best choice – think how many carbon miles you would be saving drinking wine produced within in our small state.
As far as I’m concerned, the defining place to get a drink in Victoria is… That’s like making someone choose a favourite child. But if we must, Geelong Cellar Door. Beautiful fit-out, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and huge supporters of local producers. Gun to the head, Apollo Inn is our favourite spot in the CBD.
When it comes to wine, good value means quality and consistency. In wine, and in life, quality means something that you can rely on first time, every time. That’s how Mulline wines are made. They’ll be ready to drink straight from bottling and can be comfortably aged and enjoyed in the future.
And there’s no better value on drinks list or in a bottle-shop in this state than Mulline Vintners, of course! We were completely humbled to be awarded the Halliday Best Value Winery 2024 among some enormously stiff competition from across the country.
Our favourite place to buy booze is direct from the producer. When it comes to keeping the lights on for small businesses, buying direct from a producer’s website or cellar door will always help them with the best return. It’s also the best way to learn about a brand, form a personal connection and potentially meet the makers.
We’d love to see Victoria brewing/distilling/planting more alternative varieties, such as aligoté, pinot blanc, and grenache. With an eye on the future, we hope that these delicious and climate-robust varieties will find new planting plots across the Geelong region.
The Victorian spirit I’m loving most right now is out of a remarkably competitive field, it has to be the classic Melbourne Dry Gin by the Melbourne Gin Company.
The best or most important change to the way people drink in Victoria in recent years has been drinking less, but drinking better. Our wines are lower in alcohol as a house style and are also classified at the premium end of the market. We acknowledge the trend towards lower consumption and encourage intentional drinking and prioritising quality. It’s also fantastic to see consumers seek out Mulline as an environmentally conscious and LGBTIQ+-run business. People are interested in learning about our wines and our growth in an industry that is still fairly early in its inclusion and diversity journey.
For me, the most inspiring person in the Victorian drinks world is it has to be my best friend Melanie Chester, head of winemaking and viticulture at Giant Steps. Melanie knows hard work, talent and grit no end. She is a fearless advocate for gender equality and inclusion, and extremely generous with her time in chairing and judging wine shows. But she and her husband Chris are also just the most fun people you could ever have a wine with.
mulline.com, @mullinevintners