Claire Hastings

Melbourne-based wine writer and former restaurant wine buyer. Five years on the floor and behind the bar taught me that the best wine tour isn't the most expensive one — it's the one that matches how you actually want to spend your day.

I've visited 40+ Australian wineries across the Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Yarra Valley, McLaren Vale, Hunter Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Adelaide Hills, Tamar Valley, Macedon Ranges, and Swan Valley. I write about which tours are actually worth the drive — the logistics, the tasting fees, the operators who know their stuff, and the ones who are just going through the motions.

Before Vines & Plates, I spent three years running the wine programme at a 120-seat Melbourne restaurant, building the list and visiting winemakers across Victoria and South Australia. That experience shapes how I evaluate wine tours: I care about the same things you do — whether the guide actually knows the region, whether the lunch is a real meal or a cheese cube on a toothpick, and whether you leave feeling like you got more than you paid for.