Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Tour

Tim and I recently went on a wine tasting tour with Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Tours, as part of Tim's birthday celebrations.

Our tour lasted for a day, and we visited five wineries, a chocolate shop and a cheese shop.

We left Melbourne at 9am, with the first stop being at Yering Farm Wines.

Here, we learned the basics of wine tasting (colour, aerating, smell, a quick swallow over the tongue and then a lingering taste, holding the wine in your mouth).  I bought a lovely dessert wine here.

Here's Tim and I on the breezy morning at Yering Farm: 

Our next stop was Yarra Valley Dairy, where we were treated to a selection of cheeses to try:

My favourite cheese was a marinated goats cheese called Cardi, marinated in oil with shallots, coriander, peppercorns and cardamom.  I liked it so much that I bought a jar to take homer.

There is also a café attached to the Dairy, so that you can enjoy a meal or a snack during your visit.

Next stop was Domain Chandon, where the beautiful cottage and garden situated at the top of this post is located.  Here we could choose a glass of one of their four types of sparkling wine.  I selected the Chandon Cuvee Riche, a sweet sparkling wine:

After enjoying a glass of sparkling wine and a walk in the grounds, we drove to our stop at Rochford Wines.  Here, we did another tasting, this time with each of us being given a sheet of paper to rate the wines:

We were also invited to select a lunch dish (included in the tour price) from four options.  I chose the pea risotto:

while Tim chose the salmon salad:

We shared each of these dishes.  We also received a glass of wine of our choice (red or white).  Lunch is included in the tour price.

After exploring the grounds at Rochford Wines, we drove in our mini bus to the next stop - St Huberts: 

By this stage, some of our group were over the wine tasting and opted out.  because I tasted and but did not swallow most of the wine, I was still good to do the tasting.

Our final stop was Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery

Here I was delighted to experience a chocolate tasting:

The chocolate was all very good, but it is on the pricey side.  Tim and I chipped in to share a block of the Lemon Myrtle chocolate that we tasted.

Be warned that this place is very popular and hence very busy, so you need to bring your patience with you.

The chocolaterie was our final stop before heading back to Melbourne.

I really enjoyed this winery tour.  The small tour size (14) and guide really enhanced the experience.  I hope to again sometime in the future.