2.5 liters of wine...EACH!

Melbourne Day 4: Yarra Valley Wine Tour

We woke up our final morning in Melbourne to again bright clear sunny skies and were quite excited to see how wonderful the weather was going to be for the day we had planned. We unpacked and repacked our suitcases several times, stripped our beds, had a quick bite of a breakfast bar and an orange and then we were ready to hit the road. We checked out of our room and said good bye to Sarah and Andrew for now and then we were off. As we walked down the streets of Melbourne together, we realized that this was where it could really start to get interesting...we no longer had Sarah and Andrew as tour guides, so now it was up to us!

Luckily, today’s adventure had been pre-planned and after grabbing a flat white at a street cafe, we were picked up in front of Her Majesty’s Theater by the Australian Wine Tour Co. We were the only two Americans on the tour, joined by some Swedes (maybe we’re related?), some Irish, some Canadians, some Brits, some Israelis, and some various Aussies and Kiwis. Our guide, Bill, was an Aussie with a booming voice and great personality. He quickly informed us that we’d be having our first glass of wine by 11am and apologized if that was going to be too late for some of us. He also told us that we would have the opportunity today to sample over 60 different wines...he said it would equal out to about 2.5 liters per person on the tour! No stingy pours on this tour!

(Two excited girls ready for some wine!)

(A result of some of the Aussie flooding in the Yarra Valley)

Our first stop was a winery called Yering Station. Here, we were given a brief lesson on how to properly taste wine to get all of the flavors, scents, and notes. We tasted four wines as a group and were then invited to the bar to continue to sample from their selections as we pleased. And pleased we were!

(Sniffing, swirling, and sipping)

Our second stop was Rochford Winery, a large vineyard that manufactures a large variety of wines, but they are known for their Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. We were able to sample five different wines here and then we were allowed to chose one to have a full glass with lunch. We had placed our lunch orders with the tour guide prior to stopping at the first winery and he had called ahead, so it wasn’t long before our beautiful meals were placed in front of us. We enjoyed our lunch and wine while visiting with our fellow travelers and then took the opportunity to explore the vineyard a little and take some pictures.

(Yummy lunch!)

The third winery was Yering Farms, a small family run vineyard that only handpicks their grapes and whose wine you can only get either directly from the vineyard or from very select distributors. The tasting was in a quaint little country farm house, between the atmosphere and the views I couldn’t believe we weren’t in a movie. Here, we were invited to gather around the bar and sample as many wines as we chose. We found quite a few wines that we enjoyed here and quickly took the opportunity to purchase a few bottles to bring home with us.

The last stop on our tour was Domain Chandon, a winery developed by members of the Moet family from France when they were looking for places with similar climates and soil to the Champagne region of France because they were unable to keep up with demand with only their vineyards in France. Here, the sparkling wines (or “bubbles” as the Aussies call them) are very similar to what you would find in the Champagne region of France. We were able to each receive a full glass of the bubbles of our choice and we were given nibbles (snacks) as well. I sampled the traditional dry bubbles which they claimed was as good as a $300 bottle of Moet Champagne. I took the opportunity to try the red bubbles. It was like Shiraz-based champagne, and I can’t wait to for a special occasion to pop it open at home! Delicious!

(Red and dry bubbles!)

We also had time to explore this vineyard a little more and we were able to take a tour which showed us some of their equipment and the riddling room where the bottles of bubbles are rotated 25 degrees left one day and then 25 degrees right the next day, back and forth for weeks at a time until all of the yeast settles in the neck of the bottle and they are able to remove it. The scenery around the winery was breathtaking and we took more than a few pictures.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Melbourne and we were dropped off by the hostel right around 5pm. At this point we were quite hungry again, but luckily our tour guide had pointed out Little Burke St, which ran the length of Melbourne’s Chinatown. We wandered around until we over heard one Aussie say to another, “I know this place doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the food is fantastic!” That was all we needed to hear and we followed them right in and had a fabulous meal. After that, we picked up our bags that we’d stored at the hostel during the day and made our way over to the Southern Cross train station We got our tickets, checked our bags, and then climbed on board our overnight train to Sydney. Once the train left, I took the opportunity to write this blog while I took the much needed down time to catch up on some homework. It’s been hard to find time for homework when there’s so much to see and do!

(Excited for our train adventure!)

(Comfy and ready to relax)

Now the rocking of the train is making me sleepy, so I think I’ll get comfortable and rest my eyes...big day of exploring in Sydney tomorrow and then a flight to New Zealand to look forward to!

Night!

Jess and Erin