Milawa

Milawa is a small rural village in the Rural City of Wangaratta in north-east Victoria, Australia, located about 18 kilometres south-east of Wangaratta along the Snow Road. Renowned as the centre of the Milawa Gourmet Region, it is notable for its long-established food and wine producers, including Brown Brothers winery founded in 1889, artisan cheese, mustard and olive producers, and its location on the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail near the King Valley wine region.

Visitors can expect a compact rural village centred around food and wine. The main street and surrounding area feature cellar doors, notably Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard, the Milawa Cheese Company, Milawa Mustards and local bakeries and cafes. The setting is flat to gently undulating farmland with vineyards and orchards. Visitors can explore shops and tasting rooms on foot, cycle the adjacent Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, and enjoy vineyard views and gourmet produce shopping.

Milawa developed as an agricultural settlement in the 19th century in the Ovens Valley. It became notable for viticulture after John Francis Brown planted vines in 1885 and established Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard in 1889, which remains one of Victoria's oldest family-owned wineries. The area's gourmet food identity developed from the 1980s-1990s with the establishment of cheese, mustard and other artisan producers forming the Milawa Gourmet Region.

Milawa is recognised as the centre of the Milawa Gourmet Region, Victoria's first gourmet region, representing north-east Victoria's food and wine culture. It showcases the King Valley and Ovens Valley wine heritage and artisan food production, and is a key stop on regional food and wine trails and the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail.