Mmmmm...Wine & Cheese

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Okay, okay... I've been really slow in getting this online. I still have film I haven't developed yet because I haven't used up the roll. Yes, film. I got one of those waterproof disposable cameras so that I could take pics in the water but now I need somebody to invite me out to another warm beachfront so I can take more wet pictures. (Hint, hint. Anybody?)

So the trip to Melbourne was fairly low-key. If you can call any trip that involves a wedding to be low key! Once the crazy festivities were done we did a family road trip out to the Yarra Valley to visit a couple of wineries. One was Domaine Chandon (of the Moet Chandon family) and the other was De Bortoli (home of the very yummy Noble One Botrytis Semillon).

The tour of Domaine Chandon was very quick as they were undergoing renovations at the time. We just got the history of the winery and sparkling wines. Then it was a walk on a skywalk to look down on the pressing equipment. This was good as we then got to go right into the tasting room and taste. The wines were tasty but nothing (affordable) really stood out as a must buy-and-lug-half-way-around-the-world quality. The grounds were lovely and we spent a little while just relaxing in the sun. Ahhh..... hot sun in January. What a great idea.

After that was lunch at the De Bortoli Restaurant. Lovely!! And then more wine! De Bortoli also has a Cheese Room attached to their tasting room. We got to sample some really wonderful local cheeses. I still can remember what the really tasty creamy cheese was but it was good. The highlight really was the Noble One - a deliciously sweet botrytis-affected wine. Not an ice wine but pretty darn good!

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Photos

Hallway at Domaine Chandon
Beautiful hallway down to the vines.

Domaine Chandon
Amazing vista of the winery.

Vines at Domaine Chandon
The vines that produce the grapes.

Wines at De Bortoli
Yummy!

Hokey Pokey
Ya put your right foot in....