DAY 32: The Yarra Valley

A good night's sleep, the largest croissants ever and an escargot (pain au raisin) from the local bakery for breakfast then off to the Yarra Valley for some wine tasting and lunch. Even Carmel found it hard to believe that Melbourne suburbs were so extensive and the number of car sales showrooms was incredible!

We arrived at Chandon Winery and were looked after by a really personable, enthusiastic and informed New Zealander who took us through the tasting of 8 wines including a brut Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine and an interesting sparkling Pinot Noir Shiraz. To be frank few of the wines really wowed me especially not the Savignon Blanc which even the server agreed could not equal one from NZ!

However, the winery was situated in a beautiful setting and we were fortunate in being allocated a table for lunch on the patio overlooking the vines, the valley and the hills beyond. It was a little cloudy but we had a very tasty lunch of charcuterie and cheese platters. Carmel had a barrel vintage Chardonnay and I had a Pinot Noir Rose, both very good with the extremely tasty food in beautiful surroundings.

To avoid the Melbourne sprawl and car sales rooms we drove back across the valley into the hills via Yarra Creek and Eltham, a tree lined route that was very rural and pretty and arrived back home to sit on the balcony, chat have a cup of tea, edit photos and enjoy the warm evening.

 

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