A Weekend in Yarra Valley

A few days after my triumphant return to Melbourne, I headed off with a bunch of friends to Celebrate Josh’s birthday at his house in Yarra Valley.

After a tour around the property, a visit with some horses and cattle, and unbogging a car…

…Almost out…

…Freedom!

We began with a feast!

Josh works at the Yarra Valley Dairy and lives smack dab in the middle of the wine region. So basically, we were pretty much set for the night.

Cheese heaven

This was awhile ago so you’ll have to forgive me. The only cheeses I remember were the persian feta (left) and the ashed goat cheese (far right) both pictured below alongside the fig spread and blue cheese.

Demolished.

No birthday is complete without the cake! Courtesy of Brunetti’s.

 

The boys admiring Josh’s new birthday present.

After dinner, we had a night out on the town country at a local pub: Coldstream Brewery

After our alarms sounded (read: cows mooing outside the window) we grabbed a quick breakfast.

Dan showed off his food blogging skills on my camera.

I might have to watch out for this rookie. This puts some of my food shots to shame!

After brekkie, we met up with some college kids for (yet another!) vineyard tour.

My camera was close to dead at this point so I only got pictures from Rochford Winery (pictured above and below) and Yering Station

The boys at Yering Station: 

Yering Station was one of my absolute favorites for wine. I liked just about every tasting I had from them. Though it was the first vineyard we visit of the day, but I’ll chalk it up to their excellent quality.

Making a dent in recap, hopefully I’ll be living in the present with you soon enough!

Casey

A Day in the Wine Country

Let me take you back ages ago, before I acquired a golden tan.

I know…. not as exciting. However, there is wine involved.

Girls day out in the wine country.

Lets how well my memory serves from my first vineyard tour of Yarra Valley…

There are heaps of vineyards in the Yarra Valley, we had a hard time deciding which ones to check out.

We went on a guided tour of 5 vineyards, our first stop was at Domaine Chandon.

We had a tasting of 11 different wines. My favorites from this vineyard were the Pinot Noirs, though they are more famous for their sparklings.

Fun Fact: Australia has the highest consumption per capita of sparkling

Our next stop was to Domaine Portet.

It was set among some beautiful scenery with a more authentic and privately owned feel that Domaine Chandon.

I made it through 9 of the 11 tasting here, passing on a Cab and a Shiraz. I attempted to take notes a la a wine critic at the first two vineyards. The tasting went so fast I only had time for a word here and there to describe each wine.

The reviews from Chandon were more descriptive. The Pinot Niors were very crisp, but the Chardonnay was too sweet and the Pinot Gris too watery. Once we got to Portet my notes became a bit less descriptive…

Apparently the Sav Blanc from Portet tasted like goon (cheap boxed wine) but the Rose and rut Rose both scored smiley faces and check marks.

We arrived at De Bortoli for more tasting and lunch. De Bortoli gave a great view of the countryside and some excellent wine to boot.

My absolute favorite was the sparkling Shiraz from De Bortoli.

We all shared some nibbles of cheese and crackers during this tasting. Can’t remember all of the varieties except for the fact that we devoured the brie in a matter of seconds.

More goat cheese, bread, and crackers before lunch

Yarra Valley loves their cheese, hey?

Lunch was a feast fit for a king queen.

Whole baked trout stuffed with a mixture of greens, spices, and lemon. Served with a side of lemony potato mash and rocket.

Lunch ended with a selection of biscotti, a date & pistachio sweet, and a long mach.

After lunch we headed to yet another awarding winning vineyard: Dixons Creek Estate

This vine yard was very small and intimate. The standouts were the Quatrain, Chardonnay, and one of the best Ports I have ever had.

The group made the last minute decision to check out one last small vineyard before our departure.

Lovin the architecture and design of this vineyard.

The logo as well.

Mandala had lost a large portion of their grapes to a brush fire recently and were debuting a few new wines.

Best. Snap decision. Ever.

THE best Sauvignon Blanc.

It was a long, tiring, and wine filled day. Needless to say, I have already returned 😉

You may just have to wait to hear about my prolific return to Yarra Valley, as my recap of Queensland awaits. Prepare yourself for heaps of artsy landscape photos.

Casey