On the Bellarine Taste Trail we're really proud of our great farmgates - small producers of gourmet products who you can visit for a taste. We have growers of hydroponic tomatoes, lettuces and other vegies. At our blueberry farm you can pick your own. We have three great olive groves laden with many varieties of olive trees - you can visit their farmgate outlets, sample their extensive oils and produce (including oils, olives, tapenades and even soaps made here from locally grown olives) and even take some home. In the mussel capital of Australia you can buy mussels straight from the boat on the pier in Portarlington. And there's the first commercial goat cheese manufacturer on the Bellarine. Delicious!
Darryl and Anne Wilson have been growing hydroponic tomatoes on the Bellarine Peninsula since 1995. They began with a small greenhouse on their property in Drysdale and built a second greenhouse in 2000. In 2004 they expanded the business further to achieve higher yields by building a high-tech 5000-square-metre glasshouse in Portarlington.
Drysdale Cheeses is the first commercial goat cheese manufacturer on the Bellarine Peninsula. Our cheese-making concentrates on a range of handmade cheeses, manufactured from the high-quality milk from our Saanen goats. And it all started when we bought a goat to keep the grass short!
We have approximately 10,000 olive trees on our 165-acre property in Drysdale with sweeping views of Swan Bay and Queenscliff. The cool maritime climate gives our olives a distinct character, aroma and flavour, which all contribute to our award winning oils. To ensure a range of flavour to suit the palate we grow approximately 12 different varieties of olives from Greece, Italy, Spain, France and Israel.
When you have a greenhouse as big as they do at Lonsdale Hydroponics, you can grow all sorts of beautiful varieities. They have 6,000 tomato plants here. Along with tomatoes, they grow a huge range of lettuce as well.
At Manzanillo Grove we have over 4500 olive trees of six different varieties. The grove was established by the Kint family in 1997. We produce a large range of olive oils, including our green label, red label, special blend, lemon and orange cold pressed, garlic infused and dipping oils. Renate even makes her own cosmetic range, Belle Mi, which is not animal tested and certified chemical free.
We believe that our extra virgin olive oil is one of the Bellarine’s best-kept secrets. We produce limited quantities of superior extra virgin olive oil, using sustainable growing approaches that ensure excellent quality while protecting our environment.
We are a family-owned company and have been in the fishing industry for over 30 years. We are one of Australia’s leading mussel-growing and processing companies. We farm mussels at a number of sites in the cool, clear waters of Port Phillip Bay, serviced by a fleet of specially equipped fishing vessels.
Tuckerberry Hill is the place to find your blueberry thrill! You can pick or buy fresh blueberries every day. We are the only blueberry orchard on the Bellarine and all our fruit is spray-free and grown under natural conditions.