Travel: YARRA VALLEY, AUSTRALIA

No rest for the wicked, as the morning after my trip to Phillip Island (read about my time with the penguins here!) I was up early again to head off on another excursion – this time to Victoria’s answer to the Hunter Valley – the Yarra Valley. Like the Hunter Valley, Yarra is famed for producing beautiful wines, as well as other artisan products, so of course I was going to have to test them out!

Right at the beginning of the Yarra Valley was the aptly named Gateway Estate, which coupled as both its own producer of strawberries and capsicums, as well as a local upmarket grocer for locally produced goods. Our visit to Gateway began with a mini tour around its greenhouses. Having just completed 3 months farmwork myself, I will admit that being back in such a space gave me something akin to minor panic, but it was interesting to learn about how they grow these fruits and vegetables as they weren’t ones that I had been working on.

After this, we returned back into the store, where a table had been laid with a variety of products for sale. These ranged from jams and chutneys to cheeses to chocolate covered pretzels, all of which were well and truly delicious. As well as munching on the array of foods presented before us, we also had three liqueurs to taste as well. Not bad for a first stop!

I definitely couldn’t complain about the next location either – Yarra Valley Chocolates. Not only was the chocolaterie located in utterly stunning surrounds, but upon walking through the door we were greeted by three huge bowls of small dark, white, and milk chocolate buttons. A spoon was stuck into each one, inviting you to pour some into your hand to taste as you checked out the vast selection of chocolates in the rest of the shop – I didn’t need to be told twice!

There were far more varieties of chocolates than I had time to look at, so I settled on two truffles – a strawberry delight and apple cider – just in case I got peckish later. On we went to Morgans, a small estate where drinks were poured and we were pretty much left alone to enjoy them in the warm autumn air. Here we sampled a cider, rosé, chardonnay, and pinot noir.

Killara Estate was a joint tasting and lunch spot with absolutely phenomenal views – I have no doubt that there’s plenty of weddings which take place here every year. We sipped on the deck looking out across the extensive orchard, and then sat down for an Italian inspired lunch consisting of antipasti and a choice of pizza, fish & chips, gnocchi, or salad. I was glad we had a bit of extra time after we’d finished lunch to wander serenely around the estate. I understand why people choose to live in this part of the world!

And just like that, we’d reached our last destination of the day – Helen & Joey, another massive estate owned by a Chinese couple whose vineyard emblem was a unicorn, presumably to highlight the unique wines that they produced. Here we had a selection of white, red, and sweet wines to sample before we hopped in the van and made our way home. 

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