Our flight to New Zealand didn't leave until 11:45 pm this day so since we were in Melbourne we decided to tag along on the Yarra Valley Wine tour with newly arrived Alisha Koot and Kendall Owen- fellow Canadian friends from Ontario! Rianna came home early from Sydney so she was also able to join us on the wine tour.
We took a tour bus from downtown Melbourne to the Valley which was filled with many beautiful homes, pastures, golf courses, dairy farms, and of course...vineyards. The Yarra Valley is known for its many fine wineries which make some of the best wine in all of Australia, and even the world. It is also known for its rich dairy production as well- fine cheeses are also made within the Valley. It was very hot this day (around 40 degrees!) so thankgoodness for the air-conditioned bus and free glasses of wine!
Our first stop on the wine tour was as Yering Station- which, for non-wine drinkers, or "likers of wine" - had some of the best tasting wines among the wineries that we visited. Here, we learned the art of "tasting" wine. We had to smell, look and swish wine around in our mouths. It was here that we tasted some sweet dessert wines and even iced wine, which was very yummy!
Second stop was at Rochford Winery, a little bit more modern looking, and bigger than Yering station where we were all served a gourmet lunch! Alisha, Kendall, and Rianna all had fresh fish and salad and Mark and I opted for Chicken Breast with a fresh tomatoe sauce served over greens and salad. It was quite yummy!
The third stop was Yering Farms- a small, very rustic (and cute) winery which also had some delicious wines for tasting! We didn't stay here long but the view was quite nice!
Final stop, or what the tour guide called, le piece de ressistance, we visited Chandon, one of the top producers of Champagne! This winery was very beautiful and had some of the most amazing views! We were given a tour of Chandon, including where they make the wine, and learned how they get the bubbles into the bottle!
We tried lots of different wines and along with the heat all of us were quite wiped by the end but it was a very yummy, educational day!
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