Today was my favorite day so far in Australia. We were picked up at 9AM to commence on a full day wine, chocolate, and cheese tour around Yarra Valley. Of our entire group, 14 of us went and we visited 4 wineries, 1 dairy factory, 1 chocolate factory, and a brewery.
The first winery that we stopped at was very low-key and laid back. I wasn’t feeling great this morning (thanks to a cold that will not go away), but I tried to enjoy myself anyways.
The man in charge of the vineyard there taught us the proper way to taste wine, which was interesting. He also taught us a lot about the different kinds of grapes that go into the different types. The one that I liked the most was a very sweet dessert wine.. the others I didn’t really like.
Next, we stopped at the dairy farm. We were able to sample 5 types of cheese and they were delicious. They specialize in goat cheese, but also had their own small bakery inside. I purchased some cheese called “Juno.” It is basically goat cheese in a garlic/olive oil coating. My friend Mike and I also bought a gigantic baguette to split. It was probably almost 2 feet long and we ate just about the entire thing on the bus ride!
The second winery we stopped at was my favorite part of the day. I have never been somewhere with such breath-taking views. I never wanted to leave.
It looked like the perfect setting for a wedding scene out of a movie. The guide actually told us that it is a $35,000 minimum cost to have your wedding there!
This place wasn’t as much of a wine-tasting place. Instead, everybody got to choose between 4 types of wine and have a full glass of one. I picked one that is created only in Australia and is rare in other parts of the world. It was a sweet red wine.
I hope that someday I am successful enough to have a lifestyle that allows me to visit places like this often. A lot of us were saying that as we sat on the back patio and sipped our wine. 🙂
We also got a tour of where they actually make the wine and learned all about it.
The third winery we stopped at provided lunch for us. I was a little skeptical, as our lunch on the Philip Island tour yesterday was nothing to write home about, but it was spectacular. I ordered the Spicy Baby Calamari Salad and it was perfect. We also got a glass of wine with our meal (which I hated) and a coffee.
The last winery we stopped at wasn’t the best. The woman running the place was extremely rude and would not give us the time of day. It was really disappointing but we tried not to let it ruin the great day we were having.
Next we stopped at the chocolate factory!
I don’t think I have ever seen so much chocolate in one place. When you walked in there were heaping bowls of dark, milk, and white chocolate chips that you could help yourself to as you shopped around the store. It was a really fun environment and the chocolate was delicious. I bought a marshmallow truffle.. it was a chocolate cookie with a giant marshmallow on top of it, dipped in milk chocolate.. yum!
Our last stop of the day was at the White Rabbit Brewery. Some people in our group got a beer to try out, but I passed.
Overall, we had a great day. The sun was shining, we had a great group, and we had a lot of fun! Now I am getting my stuff ready for the work week ahead and going to sleep.
xo,
Jaclyn
