Today we get to sleep in a bit – the wine tour pick up isn’t until 9:20 – but it is at the other end of the CBD, so we head out early just to be certain (plus I got a little nervous because one confirmation said 9:20 and one said 9:00 – so what the heck, we can sit and wait). And sit and wait we did! Outside St. Paul’s cathedral, waiting for our tour group.
Lots of people started showing up, all seemingly waiting for a wine tour. We kept to the front of the pack, always on the look out for our tour: Chill Out Tours. Finally a little van pulled up and we hurried over, wanting to be at the front of the bus since there were so many people. Imagine our surprise when it turns out there are only 3 of us on the tour! Wow – our own private tour! Fun!
We scramble into the van with our other passenger, we’ll call her Beth, because, well, yeah, can’t remember her name. Our tour guide, Barry, we had heard good things about on TripAdvisor. Again, it takes about an hour to get to the Yarra Valley, with Barry engaging us in conversation, asking what we liked in wine, what we did, etc. Very nice way to create a cohesive little group. He was very full of knowledge too, about the area, the wine (the reason why wine bottles are 750l is because it is the size of 1 breath of the bottle blower) and local lore. He also gave us explanations for all sorts of Aussie animal names:
Koala – the Aboriginal name is “little man that does not drink”
Kangaroo – means “I don’t understand” because when the white man arrived, they didn’t know what the animal was, and the Aboriginals then called it “I don’t understand”.
We come to our first destination – Domain Chandon. Who knew they were in Australia? They are growing and bottling their signature sparkling wine, but of course they can’t call it champagne, because it is not from the Champagne region in France. But it is still excellent wine. We tour the winery where they are actually harvesting the grapes and processing them…
…then we go to the café for a tasting where we each try a different variation of sparkling wine – traditional for Beth, sparkling merlot for Ed (which I had really wanted to try, but didn’t like at all) and a rose for me. We also had cheese and bread to snack on with our morning aperitif!
After our morning tipple, we had time to wander around the grounds of the vineyards. It was beautiful there, so peaceful and pretty – and a beautiful day to just relax and stare out across the beautifully landscaped grounds.
Moving on, we drive through the rolling valleys, past so many vineyards and small wineries. It’s now time for lunch at Train Trak, a locally owned vineyard with a separately run café, Zonzo, on the premises.
This place is great – small, personal, the tasting area is a big shed looking out over the vineyard.
Definitely a favorite! And I even determine that I like certain red wines here! Who could have ever guessed that? So much so, that I have a glass to accompany our fabulous lunch.
And lunch is fabulous – a series of Italian delights (and thus the red wine!). First a huge antipasti with these incredibly delicious balsamic marinated pearl onions (we thought they were mushrooms, but no, so good!) plus arugula and shaved parmesan on the side for salad, all accompanied by excellent focaccia bread….
Then came the pizzas. And yes, plural! First is the shrimp, tomato and spinach, then the mushroom, sausage and red onion, followed by a version of margherita pizza with mascarpone cheese (which you can see from the picture, we liked so much I couldn’t take a picture fast enough!).
Awesome! We are stuffed, and we still have cappuccino to top it off with! We absolutely roll out of the restaurant, taking deep breaths of the fresh valley air to help our digestion, while staring across the peaceful vineyards.
Phew! Back in the van, we spend a pleasant 10 minutes or so winding back along the little vineyard lanes to our next stop – Yering Station. I don’t remember too much about this winery. Except that I took a picture of the boxes to remember where we went!
Oops. Should have taken better notes. But I do remember that as we were approaching the tasting area, a huge group of people were coming out – and they were most of the people we had seen waiting for the tours at St. Paul’s earlier that morning. We so lucked out with only 3 of us! It is way more personal, way more fun, and so much less rushed and crowded and pushed!
So – Yering Station was great – I’m sure – but not memorable, obviously! The last stop, though, De Bortoli Estate, is memorable though. It’s a beautiful setting, with lovely manicured gardens and shrubbery entering the winery….
…and once inside, the loveliest people! The two ladies helping us with tastings were a hoot – constant stream of conversation – all the while dealing with a Princess Cruise tour! Then the ship tour left, and there were left over cheese and cracker plates which they proceeded to give to us! Great fun – I overdosed on red wine and went back to white. Ed had a beer. And we all snacked our way through the last of the tastings for the afternoon.
I have no idea how we stayed awake on the ride home, but we all managed to do just that. We talked a good deal about the volunteer opportunities in Australia – a couple of which are near and dear to Beth’s heart. We talked about culture and politics and tons of things, and it made the drive just fly by. All too soon, we are dropped off at St. Paul’s and bid adieu to our companions as we hike our way back up the hill to to the top of the CBD and our little short stay apartment.
Later, we go to the Queen Victoria Market Place, right behind our apartment for their special Wednesday night market with music, crafts and different food stands. But we are still so stuffed from our lunch, that we end up walking around for a bit, then heading back to the apartment to have leftovers! Then a good night’s sleep to prepare for our last full day Down Under!
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