First to my favourite aspect of Melbourne culture, wine-tasting!! A slight confession, although I love wine I wouldn’t say I have a great knowledge of it. Mr Silver and I usually plump for the most reasonably priced Sauvignon Blanc on the wine list! That being said we were both very excited about our Melbourne wine tour having never been to a vineyard before! We chose to visit the Yarra Valley which only a short journey from the centre of Melbourne and a beautiful region of the city. Here are some photos of the picturesque countryside.
There are over 100 wineries in the valley with around 60 open to the public, each vary greatly in size and produce. Our guide for the day was a real wine expert who had incredible knowledge of the wines in the region. In the morning we visited three vineyards, Yering Station, Balgownie Estate and Yering Farm. At each place we took in the gorgeous views and swirled, sniffed and slurped several different wines; we also enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Balgownie estate. One of the most interesting wines that we tried was a sparkling red, something I’d never tried before.
Here’s Mr Silver and I nose deep in wine:
The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Domaine Chandon vineyard. Owned by the French Champagne company, Moet and Chandon, it is a production house for Australian sparkling wine. We were given a guided tour of the winery and shown the process for making the bubbles! We were then obviously given a few glasses to sample. We loved the Chandon wine and it became one our staples for the rest of the time in Australia!
Next on the agenda was a trip along the great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage site and encompasses a 243 kilometre stretch of road between the towns on Torquay and Allansford. It is an incredibly beautiful scenic drive and includes several famous landmarks, the most significant of which being the 12 Apostles. Here are some pics of the stunning coastal drive.
Twelve Apostles
Melbourne is famously known as the city of ‘four seasons in one day’ as you can see from the photos the day started sunny and we ended up caught in a cyclone. I had to borrow the driver’s coat and Mr Silver purchased a fetching grey hoodie
Excitingly we also got to see Koala’s in their natural habitat among the eucalyptus trees
Our next excursion was also about witnessing the natural beauty of Melbourne with a trip to Philip Island.
Here we got to feed wallabys
Cuddle a koala
And experience Philip Island’s most famous lure. The Penguin Parade!! No photos though as the little mites have very sensitive eyes. But here’s another one of me gearing up for the next leg of our journey, Sydney!!
