Day trips from Melbourne – Yara Valley Wine Experience

A great way to sample some of Australia’s wine and see some beautiful countryside outside Melbourne. The Yara Valley, sheltered by the Dandenong Ranges, is carpeted in vineyards so there are plenty of wineries to choose from.

En route, our guide gave us some great pointers about wine. By the time we reached the first winery we were almost ready to taste it like a professional.

Here are some of the wineries that we visited.

Soumah of Yara Valley

This region has a cool climate so wines produced here are similar to many found in Italy and France. Here wines with a Northern-Italian flavour are the speciality. There is also a focus on numbers that are similar to those from Eastern France such as pinot noir. Impressive.

Tokar Estate
The ethos here is from vine to glass so you expect some great wines to taste and you are not disappointed. Great for red fans, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon are stars here. The scenery is also rather beautiful, a great setting for lunch.

Domaine Chandon
This is Moët & Chandon’s Australian home. (The T is pronounced.) Our guide pointed out this to us on our drive here. He said that he had been pronouncing it wrong for years so he did not want other people to make his mistake.

See how sparkling wine is made and then enjoy a glass in the beautiful gardens. I went for the Chandon Cygnet Pinot Meunier Rosé 2014. It is unique to have a sparkler that is made solely from this grape. Think redcurrants laced with pink grapefruit with a tinge of ginger creaminess. It is crisp and fresh, perfect for a summer’s day.

Yering Farm
This boutique winery gives you the opportunity to savour traditionally-made wines. Chardonnay is good here as are reds. My favourites included merlot and cabernet sauvignon.

By Daralyn Danns

Getting there

There are many tours going to the Yara Valley. I went on the Yarra Valley Wine Experience Aus Wine Tour. Wineries visited are subject to change. For further information visit austwinetourco.com.au