Yarra Valley Recommendations?

[ste667]

We've got a 3 night break in Melbourne in March (first trip ever without the kids!), and I was after some winery recommendations.

It will probably be an organised tour, so if anybody has any experience with any of the operators, recommendations there would also be appreciated.

I realise I won't quite get to pick and choose with an organised tour, but it'd be good to know which ones to shout the loudest for

 

[ric_melb]

The Yarra Valley is always an interesting visit outside Melbourne.
Whilst thinking about your Trip I came across the site of Chillout Travel, which has an interesting tour.

Yarra Valley Winery Tours - Public

I have never done an organised YV tour, but the vineyards on this tour all appeal.

Domaine Chandon and De Bortoli are two of the bigger producers, whilst Soumah and Yering Farm are more boutique.
Soumah have some interesting wines and a very scenic site.

I would also mention the following vineyards. All for their wines, some for the scenery of the vineyard setting, and many also have restaurants.

Medhurst, Oakridge, Punt Road, Yering Station, Tarrawarra.

Enjoy tasting.

 

[ICUDr]

We did that exact tour a couple of years ago and loved it.

The trip back to Melbourne got even better when I opened a pack of 10 plastic wine glasses and everyone in the van started drinking and sharing the wines the had bought hehe

 

[shep3369]

Just got back from Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and did a tour with "Yarra Valley Winery Tours"

We had a great day!

Was only myself and my wife, so we joined a public tour with 9 others (full van). There were no set vineyards on the day except for lunch, which was booked at Tokar Estate (nice lunch and tasting). The driver took on recommendations from the group and called ahead to the vineyards as we drove. We went to three other vineyards and he only got knocked back from one while calling as they had a few buses there already. I liked that they don't do the same four vineyards everyday and we got to experience wines from both small and large vineyards. Ended up going to:

Cornolia Wines - very small vineyard with some nice wines and great hospitality.
Punt Road - busy but enjoyed some nice wines here too
Helen's Hill - knowledgeable and friendly staff on hand for the tasting.

Wish I was heading back there again some time soon, enjoy!

 

[ste667]

We ended up going with Vinetrekker who I would heartily recommend. Paul, the guy who runs it, was great company and very knowledgeable.

We visited:

Coldstream Hills - bumped into James Halliday in the carpark who was hosting a private tasting for Eddy McGuire up at the farm. Very friendly guy. Wines were enjoyable but the pours were too small to get much of a sense of them I thought. Highlights were the Deer Park Pinot and the Reserve Chardonnay.

Medhurst - lovely setting and both owners were in attendance (Robyn running the tasting and Ross popping in briefly from the harvest). Really enjoyed their wines, and particularly their 50/50 Shiraz Pinot blend. They didn't offer their Reserve wines to try which was a shame.

Chandon - interesting, but a bit soulless. It was interesting to hear from our guide how much the arrival of Chandon had turned around the Yarra Valley's fortunes though. Tried their (new, I think) Sparkling Shiraz which was pretty average. Same price point as Majella's which I would much prefer. Was packed with Asian tourists which is quite the norm apparently!

Yering Station - as we walked up the drive I thought 'wow, it looks just like Xanadu'.. turns out they are owned by the same people. Anyway, had a delicious lunch here in their spectacular dining room. The tasting was great as they poured all their wines generously. I'd even made friends with the women in the group who didn't like red wine(!) and snaffled all of her Reserve tastings. The Reserve Cab Sav was amazing, as was their Reserve SV. The estate wines were all solid across the board, will definitely look to get hold of some of them in the future.

De Bortoli - cheese and wine tasting to finish the day. Tried their PHI 2013 Pinot from Lusatia Park which was really good. Their Sangiovese was pretty good for the price too. Really enjoyed their Black Noble which I've not had before. Very much in the PX style, think this has been in the graysonline 20% ebay sale before, so will grab some next time.


Really fabulous day, such a great spot.

 

[Steady]

Thanks for the report ste667,

What time were you picked up and dropped off? (or did you need to be at the meeting point etc)

Did you have any choice or were these CD's pre chosen?

How many on the tour?

 

[ste667]

Thanks for the report ste667,

What time were you picked up and dropped off? (or did you need to be at the meeting point etc)

Did you have any choice or were these CD's pre chosen?

How many on the tour?

Pick up was just before 9 right outside our Airbnb. He contacted us the night before to arrange it. Dropoff was around 6.. he was very relaxed about the timing of the day which was nice. We were the very last people to leave De Bortoli.

CDs were pre-chosen. Was a shame driving right past Yarra Yerring, but I guess he builds his relationships and goes with that.

9 on our tour (minivan was full), but I had read in the reviews that it had run with only 4 previously.

 

[visector]

I grew up in the Yarra valley and return regularly, every time I do I make sure I do a winery or two.

Yering station is a must, there are heaps of boutique wineries that are fantastic I still haven't got around to them all.

My favourite two are Dominique Portet, it's run by a French family who are on site, they have a very French style of wines (obviously) very tasty.

Second one is Sutherland estate, small boutique winery on top of a hill with a view to die for, family run, Pinot to die for.

Hope this helps

 

[jrod]

Updating an older thread, but recently did a trip and can highly recommend Seville Estate's wines. Their shiraz, pinot and reserve chardonnay are amazing. Dom Portet was up there as well, in particular their rose, sauv blanc and cabernet. Can't wait to go back to the Yarra

 

[vedder50]

Updating an older thread, but recently did a trip and can highly recommend Seville Estate's wines. Their shiraz, pinot and reserve chardonnay are amazing. Dom Portet was up there as well, in particular their rose, sauv blanc and cabernet. Can't wait to go back to the Yarra

I remember stopping in at Seville a couple of years ago. I recall that their Old Vine Shiraz was top notch.

 

[khussey79]

Hello wine lovers,
So I'll be down in VIC for the tennis/Australia Day weekend, and the Mrs has kindly agreed to be a designated driver for a few wineries around Yarra.
I'll probably aim for 3, as I want to stay in the good books
so I am thinking
Yering Station
Zonzo - Lunch stop
Oakridge
Yarra Yering

Does this sound like a good mix of places? Or is it best to sub in Oakridge or Di B?
I don't really like sparkling, I like Rose and a lighter Red, I've enjoyed Oakridge Meunier before and would like to try a nice pinot.

 

[tielec]

Lots of good suggestions above, one winery I really enjoyed was Mac Forbes (it's more of a restaurant with a cellar door inside). For our tasting which was meant to include 4 wines, we ended up tasting ten, including their top end Woori Yallock and Hugh, which were superb.

I am also interested in experimental winemaking techniques, and in that respect Mac Forbes was very edifying; orange wines, natural ferment, extended white skin contact wines and so on... Very interesting to see the results of these techniques, even if they were not always to my taste.

 

[Deleted member]

We ended up going with Vinetrekker who I would heartily recommend. Paul, the guy who runs it, was great company and very knowledgeable.

We visited:

Coldstream Hills - bumped into James Halliday in the carpark who was hosting a private tasting for Eddy McGuire up at the farm. Very friendly guy. Wines were enjoyable but the pours were too small to get much of a sense of them I thought. Highlights were the Deer Park Pinot and the Reserve Chardonnay.

Medhurst - lovely setting and both owners were in attendance (Robyn running the tasting and Ross popping in briefly from the harvest). Really enjoyed their wines, and particularly their 50/50 Shiraz Pinot blend. They didn't offer their Reserve wines to try which was a shame.

Chandon - interesting, but a bit soulless. It was interesting to hear from our guide how much the arrival of Chandon had turned around the Yarra Valley's fortunes though. Tried their (new, I think) Sparkling Shiraz which was pretty average. Same price point as Majella's which I would much prefer. Was packed with Asian tourists which is quite the norm apparently!

Yering Station - as we walked up the drive I thought 'wow, it looks just like Xanadu'.. turns out they are owned by the same people. Anyway, had a delicious lunch here in their spectacular dining room. The tasting was great as they poured all their wines generously. I'd even made friends with the women in the group who didn't like red wine(!) and snaffled all of her Reserve tastings. The Reserve Cab Sav was amazing, as was their Reserve SV. The estate wines were all solid across the board, will definitely look to get hold of some of them in the future.

De Bortoli - cheese and wine tasting to finish the day. Tried their PHI 2013 Pinot from Lusatia Park which was really good. Their Sangiovese was pretty good for the price too. Really enjoyed their Black Noble which I've not had before. Very much in the PX style, think this has been in the graysonline 20% ebay sale before, so will grab some next time.


Really fabulous day, such a great spot.

Interesting report, aside from a Buzz wine tour, I’m not a fan of small buses and group tours.
That said, I could see meyself heading to Yering. I have been a fan for years.

 

[Deleted member]

I grew up in the Yarra valley and return regularly, every time I do I make sure I do a winery or two.

Yering station is a must, there are heaps of boutique wineries that are fantastic I still haven't got around to them all.

My favourite two are Dominique Portet, it's run by a French family who are on site, they have a very French style of wines (obviously) very tasty.

Second one is Sutherland estate, small boutique winery on top of a hill with a view to die for, family run, Pinot to die for.

Hope this helps

Sounds fabulous, I am full of renewed enthusiasm to visit. Dominique Portet sounds interesting, and as I love Pinot , Sutherland sounds like my kind of cellar door