The town is located on the Western Highway, in the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area, 225 kilometres north west of the state capital, Melbourne.

The first vineyards in the Great Western area were established by two Frenchmen who met at the gold diggings at Daylesford.

Irvine imported staff from France and dedicated himself to establishing a sparkling wine of comparable quality of French champagne.

[3] For decades Seppelt's "Great Western" and Penfolds' "Minchinbury" were strong contenders for Australia's premier Champagne-style sparkling wine.

The Seppelt cellars include over 3 kilometres of labyrinthine tunnels ("drives") originally constructed by out of work gold miners.