I think the yarra valley is practically our home away from home. We've been there a number of times. It's so close to Melbourne, but you feel so far away. We're even getting to appreciate the wine, despite the huge difference between them and the big SA wines that we're used to.
My sister, Megs, and her friend, Lauren, were visiting for a long weekend recently so for Queen's birthday Monday, we thought we'd take them up for a wine tour. And we knew that it's not a trip to the Yarra without Ali and Carter, so we organised to meet them up their with baby Jenson.
The first winery on our list was Helen's Hill. The guy who served us was really lovely and hung over, which somehow made him even more likeable. They had a fantastic french oak fermented Sauvignon blanc, which had such a different flavour to the Crisp grassy New Zealand sav blancs that I'm used to. A great start to the day.
My sister, Megs, and her friend, Lauren, were visiting for a long weekend recently so for Queen's birthday Monday, we thought we'd take them up for a wine tour. And we knew that it's not a trip to the Yarra without Ali and Carter, so we organised to meet them up their with baby Jenson.
The first winery on our list was Helen's Hill. The guy who served us was really lovely and hung over, which somehow made him even more likeable. They had a fantastic french oak fermented Sauvignon blanc, which had such a different flavour to the Crisp grassy New Zealand sav blancs that I'm used to. A great start to the day.
The next winery was Bianchet, which had a couple of Italian varietals that I'd never heard of before; one of which I ended up buying - a Verduzzo. To be honest, I can't remember exactly what it tasted like, but the bottle tells me nougat. I guess I'll find out sooner or later how accurate that is. Haha!
Next stop was lunch and beer tasting at the Coldstream brewery. The food, beer and cider here was great, but the service was lacking. They were either seriously understaffed or very lazy. I think it was the former.
We bought this tasting sample of beer, my favourite of which was the Naked Ale. The porter was just a bit too heavy for me and the chocolate ale wasn't my thing. The cider and the pilsner were both very good.
Beef and Winter Ale Pie
Twice Cooked Lamb
Next stop was lunch and beer tasting at the Coldstream brewery. The food, beer and cider here was great, but the service was lacking. They were either seriously understaffed or very lazy. I think it was the former.
We bought this tasting sample of beer, my favourite of which was the Naked Ale. The porter was just a bit too heavy for me and the chocolate ale wasn't my thing. The cider and the pilsner were both very good.
Beef and Winter Ale Pie
Twice Cooked Lamb
Jenson had loads of fun in his high chair with his new toy, the toothbrush, and was very tolerant of the paparazzi. He only threw the toothbrush at me once and I'm sure that was just a miscalculation.
After lunch, we continued on the winery tour, the next stop of which was at Yering Farm. The labels for Yering Farm are very cute and have cartoon farm animals on them. You should check them out. As with most wineries, the view from the cellar door is lovely.
The fourth was Yarrawood, which again had a lovely view and a great tree. My cellar and visa bill tells me I liked the wine here. I bought two very reasonably priced Rose's for $15 each, a delicious, liquid gold tokay, a verdelho and a cab sav.
And they got one of us...
The fourth was Yarrawood, which again had a lovely view and a great tree. My cellar and visa bill tells me I liked the wine here. I bought two very reasonably priced Rose's for $15 each, a delicious, liquid gold tokay, a verdelho and a cab sav.
This is where we parted ways from Ali and Carter who had to get baby Jenson back home but not before I got some family snaps.
And they got one of us...
The final winery on our list was De Bortoli. I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Sometimes the biggest labels don't have the best cellar doors. But there's was good. They did a cheese platter that you could match to the wines. The cheeses were delicious and the wines were great. I fell in love with their bubbles and bought 3 bottles of fruity sparkling shiraz and one sparkling white.
This winery also had a great tree in a courtyard.
The sun was setting as we left the Yarra Valley after a rather expensive, but fun day.
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