Corniola Wines was founded in 1996 as a result of Vince and Lucy Corniola’s love of wine.
For Vince, wine was virtually in his blood from birth. His grandfather Antonio, also a winemaker, was the driving force behind the expertise and passion passed down to Vince.
Vince and Lucy came to Australia from Italy as youngsters, ready for a new land of opportunity. For 27 years they successfully ran a highly popular restaurant in Carlton, but they realised their true passion was to run a winery.
In 1996 Vince began making his own wines. According to the many patrons of the restaurant, a long list of friends and customers throughout the country, and selected bottle shops to which he sells, Vince approaches the winemaking with great enthusiasm and skill.
In 2008 Vince and Lucy realised their long-cherished dream and bought a 10-acre vineyard where they built a winery on-site, finally producing wines from their own grapes.
The vineyard has a north-facing slope with stunning vistas of the rolling landscape. The wines are produced from low-yielding estate grown fruit and from selected vineyards, with the focus being to create affordable wines of premium high quality.
Brought some more wine of vince and lucy yesterday great little winery and fantastic owners all there wine is good highly recommend this place .
Great small out of the way fully independent family owned winery. They have some interesting varieties of wine you don't see at the bigger wineries so you must do a tasting here.
Being such a small winery the two owners can really tell you a lot about the process behind the wine and what's involved with the production while having a great conversation and telling some entertaining stories about their history.
Definitely recommend adding it to your wine tour if you're visiting the area. Some nice views from the property too.
Our second visit to see Vince in his little wee shed full of the barrels and tanks where their lovely wines are maturing. His wife, Lucy is always ready with... read more a smile and warm hospitality and you feel like you’ve arrived at friends for a...More
This is a tiny winery which produces the very finest reds and whites that I tasted in the region. The tasting session was very well conducted with much gusto and... read more enthusiasm by the owner who talked to us about all the highlights of each wine....More
A small cellar set up on top of a hill, Vince and Lucy were amazing in welcoming us! Upon arrival we instantly felt at home as the hospitality shown by... read more Lucy was above and beyond.
The wines were absolutely delightful! Even better then some of the bigger wineries within the Yarra Region.
We have recommended Corniola Wines to our family and friends as a must visit winery! We cant wait to visit again.
Bryan and Jade
We had a Corniola Shiraz at the nearby Dixons Creek Cafe a few weeks ago and wanted to try their other wines. Husband/winemaker Vince and lovely wife Lucy could not... read more have been more welcoming. Lucy brought out cheese and biscuits. All the whites, the rose', and the reds were winners. We took home a case of 12 (when you buy six they throw in one more; when you buy 12 they give you three!). Cellar door is actually a rudimentary tin shed, a nice change from the huge, flash cellar doors at some of the bigger wineries. We live in the area and will always take guests there when wine touring.
Lovely couple running Corniola, small family business rather than big commercial estate. We were staying just up the road at De' vine escape and just managed to squeeze in a... read more tasting before they closed. It was held in a small shed with a table and chairs and when we arrived there were 6 other people there and we filled the last 2 chairs. They provided cheese and biscuits. The small selection of wine was lovely and we bought a bottle to have with dinner. If you are passing through or staying at Dixons Creek I would definitely put it on your list to visit.
We had a Corniola Shiraz at the nearby Dixons Creek Cafe a few weeks ago and wanted to try their other wines. Husband/winemaker Vince and lovely wife Lucy could not... read more have been more welcoming. Lucy brought out cheese and biscuits. All the whites, the rose',...More
Visited this as part of our wine tour, a gem of a vineyard, loved it. Got cheese and crackers to compliment the tastings. Lucy was knowledgeable and passionate about their... read more wine. I'm so glad I purchased some wine, even though this was the first visited, was the best by far. No other purchases through the day required. Thank you Vince and Lucy
Dropped in and Lucy looked after us very well. Down to earth approach and very drinkable wines! We'll definitely be back!
Lovely little winery which produces wine that is different and distinctive. Lucy was a gracious host offering slivers of cheese and biscuits between the different samples. The wine has been... read more well developed with a distinctive flavour which shows that a lot of care and development has gone into the production. Well liked by everyone
We recently visited Corniola Wines in the Yarra Valley and were treated to a memorable tasting session with Vince & Lucy, it was great to hear the passion, and knowledge... read more in their stories which added to the quality of the wine. Vince, recalled stories of...More
This was a treasure of a find, hidden away this small winery has some of the best wines we have found in the region. The owners took their time... read more with us novices to give us a great tasting experience. Could not recommend Corniola enough to anyone touring the wineries.
Myself and my wife had the opportunity to meet Vince and he happily shared his passion and love for food, wine & family. Vince possesses an outstanding knowledge of fine... read more wines and provided a great wine tasting experience.
I strongly encourage visitors to the region to check out Corniola Wines. Looking forward to purchasing more of the Sangiovese and Shiraz.
Lovely little winery which produces wine that is different and distinctive. Lucy was a gracious host offering slivers of cheese and biscuits between the different samples. The wine has been... read more well developed with a distinctive flavour which shows that a lot of care and development...More
This was a treasure of a find, hidden away this small winery has some of the best wines we have found in the region. The owners took their time... read more with us novices to give us a great tasting experience. Could not recommend Corniola enough to...More
Visited this as part of our wine tour, a gem of a vineyard, loved it. Got cheese and crackers to compliment the tastings. Lucy was knowledgeable and passionate about their... read more wine. I'm so glad I purchased some wine, even though this was the first visited, was the best by far. No other purchases through the day required. Thank you Vince and Lucy
Welcomed by Lucy, who owns the winery with her husband, with a friendly, joyous smile and tales. Complete with cheese and biscuits, Lucy explains the wines and enjoys the chat.... read more A small winery full to the brim with heart!
Myself and my wife had the opportunity to meet Vince and he happily shared his passion and love for food, wine & family. Vince possesses an outstanding knowledge of fine... read more wines and provided a great wine tasting experience.
I strongly encourage visitors to the region to check out Corniola Wines. Looking forward to purchasing more of the Sangiovese and Shiraz.
Myself and my wife had the opportunity to meet Vince and he happily shared his passion and love for food, wine & family. Vince possesses an outstanding knowledge of fine... read more wines and provided a great wine tasting experience. I strongly encourage visitors to the region...More
Found by accident after finding next door larger winery closed. So glad we made the effort to go in, even though it was pouring. Spent the best part of an... read more hour talking, tasting and enjoying the hospitality, made to almost feel one of the family.
Good wines topped what was the highlight of our day in the Yarra Valley.
This is a tiny winery which produces the very finest reds and whites that I tasted in the region. The tasting session was very well conducted with much gusto and... read more enthusiasm by the owner who talked to us about all the highlights of each wine. Some of the wines like the Shiraz were fantastic and other were very good. This winery is a labour of love and guests are treated so very well. There are no frills here and no restaurants etc, but this is a winery that should not be missed while in Yarra Valley or Dixon Creek area.
Lovely little winery which produces wine that is different and distinctive. Lucy was a gracious host offering slivers of cheese and biscuits between the different samples. The wine has been... read more well developed with a distinctive flavour which shows that a lot of care and development has gone into the production. Well liked by everyone
We recently visited Corniola Wines in the Yarra Valley and were treated to a memorable tasting session with Vince & Lucy, it was great to hear the passion, and knowledge... read more in their stories which added to the quality of the wine.
Vince, recalled stories of his families migration to Australia and how they survived the Black Friday fires, which tore through the vineyard.
The Old Vine Shiraz and the Petit Verdot were the favorites and a case of each sits in the cellar to share with friends.
This is a must go to Vineyard on when you visit the Yarra Valley. Highly recommended
Definitely will go back and
Lucia and Vince are the owners of this small winery, very friendly, enthusiastic and very pleasant. We left with a bottle of their Petite Verdot for our trip.
Our second visit to see Vince in his little wee shed full of the barrels and tanks where their lovely wines are maturing. His wife, Lucy is always ready with... read more a smile and warm hospitality and you feel like you’ve arrived at friends for a visit. It’s quite incredible to see the varieties they produce so there’s going to be something for everyone. Love knowing these places are still around! Go and enjoy!
We stopped in here during our Yarra Valley excursion because we had seen it was listed on the "alternative tasting trail". The winery itself is charming and we can say... read more we enjoyed many of the wines (we did not taste them all). However, overall the...More
Nice surprise after visiting a few wineries throughout the day. Small family businesses are definitely my favourites. Lucy, the lovely owner, made us feel so welcome! The selection of wines... read more we tasted was great and she also provided us cheese and biscuits. It took place in a small shed, full of barrels what contributed to the atmosphere of the occasion. Last stop on our way home, it couldn't have been more heartwarming.
We bought a bottle of the beautiful Sangiovese 2014 which we had as soon as we came back to Brisbane. 🙂
Totally recommend!
One of the places we love taking our guests!🍷😋
We wanted to thank you very much for hosting our group on Sunday morning.
They loved your venue and hugely enjoyed... read more your guided tastings Vince!
They felt very welcome and found the whole visit very interesting. I think some of them will be back to visit you.
Visited this as part of our wine tour, a gem of a vineyard, loved it. Got cheese and crackers to compliment the tastings. Lucy was knowledgeable and passionate about their... read more wine. I'm so glad I purchased some wine, even though this was the first visited,...More
One of the places we love taking our guests!?? We wanted to thank you very much for hosting our group on Sunday morning. They loved your venue and hugely enjoyed... read more your guided tastings Vince! They felt very welcome and found the whole visit very interesting....More
We stopped in here during our Yarra Valley excursion because we had seen it was listed on the "alternative tasting trail". The winery itself is charming and we can say... read more we enjoyed many of the wines (we did not taste them all). However, overall the experience was quite negative. After we had sampled some wines, somehow the topic of politics came up (perhaps because we were talking about the news media before that). Vince the owner went on to subject us to a half hour rant on the subject. It's not important what his views are (everyone is allowed to have their opinions), but I found this to be very off-putting. I didn't see how it was relevant to tasting wine. Plus, being in Australia was supposed to be a break from arguments about U.S. politics. He didn't seem to take the hint that we were uncomfortable with his behavior and wanted to get out of there (it was getting late in the day and the wineries all close at 5).
Once we were able to get a word in edgewise and indicate it was time to go, he got irritated that we didn't buy a bottle of wine (you pay $5 to sample as many of his wines as you like, waived if you buy a bottle). He said something along the lines of "you each tried 9 wines and only paid $5 each". First of all, that wasn't accurate - I for one only tried a few because I was driving our car! (We tasted 9 in total.) Second, even if it was true, that was exactly our right, because that's how HE as the business owner chose to set up his tastings. He's entitled to change how he does things if he doesn't want people trying all his wines for $5. (For example, he could do what other wineries do and charge $5 to try maybe 6 wines.)
He kept trying to pressure us to buy a bottle. Our suitcases have gotten to the point that we can only buy something that was truly remarkable, and while nice I wouldn't say any of his wines were remarkable. That and his crummy attitude not to mention lack of social skills pretty much ensured that we would not (and never will be) buying any of his wines. I can't recommend someone who gives unsolicited political rants and acts like a used cars salesman in his own tasting room. Plus we wasted our afternoon in his tasting room and didn't get to go to the other wineries we wanted to try. It really put a black mark on the day. Would not recommend this winery.