People visiting Victorian wine country in the coming months are being offered a new way to stay in the form of carbon-neutral, luxury shipping containers across three different wineries.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula, was at Federation Square yesterday for a sneak peek at one of the converted shipping containers which will be dropped into vineyards to help drive visitation in regional Victoria in the wake of the summer’s bushfires.

The ‘Wine Down Pop Up’ project will see luxury pods placed at Seville Estate in the Yarra Valley (28 February-28 March), Montalto on the Mornington Peninsula (3 April– 2 May) and All Saints Estate in Rutherglen (8 May–7 June).

Minister Pakula said that bringing tourism back in as unique a way as this will be great for the regions affected by bushfires.

“Now is the time to book your regional Victorian getaway, because a short stay really does go a long way,” Pakula said.

“Wine Down Pop Up offers a unique experience and will help to support tourism businesses and workers from across the state.”

Each winery will offer accommodation in two converted shipping containers plus a hot tub and special wine bar, accompanied by a virtual-reality experience to inspire travel to other wine regions in Victoria.

The containers will be powered by solar generators, making the project a carbon neutral operation.

Visit Victoria chief executive Brendan McClements said, “Regional Victoria has attractions and accommodation for visitors of every description, and this is a terrific temporary addition to our offerings”.

In 2019, the project proved an overwhelming success with 95 percent occupancy across three months at vineyard locations in the King Valley, Macedon and South Gippsland.

The Victorian State Government is backing the regional tourism industry in the wake of recent bushfires with increased marketing activities from Visit Victoria, a bushfire recovery round of the Regional Events Fund and the Business & Sport for Bushfire Recovery program, which has seen more than 220 companies come on board.

Tourism is an important employer in regional Victoria, supporting more than 90,000 jobs. In the year ending September 2019, regional Victoria welcomed more than 60 million domestic and international visitors, who spent an estimated $11.5 billion.

Visit Victoria has partnered with sustainable designers Contained to deliver ‘Wine Down Pop Up’ for a second year, with bookings available at www.contained.com.au/hotel.

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