The Wineries of Yarra Valley Victoria

While in Melbourne for a week long holiday, we decided to take a day trip to the Yarra Valley Wineries. After a scenic hour drive out of the CBD we had so many activity options in the area. We decided to plan our day visiting 3 vineyards - Fergusson Winery, De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate and Domaine Chandon.

First stop for us was lunch at the Fergusson Winery's Restaurant. Their website enticed me with an offering of a provincial menu and I was expecting a menu of comfort food. We started with a calamari salad, this dish didn't look too impressive in appearance but was tasty.  Mart per as his usual steak - they served their porterhouse with a cream muscat sauce with mash and greens. The meat could have been more tender for my taste, and the cream muscat sauce was not too much to my liking - but Mart didn't complain and ate it all up! For myself, I was very happy with my choice - I got my comfort provincial special with the Ned Kelly's famous chunky beef pie...yum! The meat was tender and so tasty - braised in their Ned's Cabernet Merlot and mixed in with an onion gravy, served with chips on the side. 

Not too far away, was our next stop - De Bortoli. First impression of De Bortoli was excellent. They have such beautifully kept grounds which house their restaurant Locale, their cellar door and cheese shop. We were there for the cheese - so as to be able to try a bit of everything, we went with a tasting plate of 5 cheeses ranging from manchego, dolce gorgonzola to soft goat cheese. Armed with our tasting plate, we make our way to some tables in the picnic area over looking the vineyards. This makes for a great afternoon for families - of course the wine consumed in these areas must come from their cellar door. 

We end our little road trip with some bubbly at Domaine Chandon. One of the more popular stops in the Yarra Valley, expect to be with some tour groups when you visit. But the facility has quite a bit of space stretching over the patio, the Green Point brasserie and tasting room. Given a chance to come back, I would like to try their menu, the restaurant looked very impressive and the dishes coming out of the kitchen looked very good. Unfortunately, by this point, we were so full and only wanted to have a coffee before the drive back. 

'Til the next post!

Sharlyn

Fergusson Winery

De Bortoli

Domaine Chandon