During a recent trip to Australia, we had the pleasure of doing a special tasting with James at…read moreGiant Steps. As a fan of Pinot Noir and liking Chardonnay that is not heavily oaked, I loved all of the wines. We were treated to 3 single-vineyard tastes each of both varietals. We ended up taking back a whole mixed case to California. Thank you, James!

I've been a fan of Giant Steps since they first started making wine over 11 years ago, long before…read morethey created this terrific cellar door experience. These kids are clever. They know how to make delicious wine and have two ranges pitched at slightly different markets - The IB range pitched slightly younger or for what I like to call "Tuesday night drinking" and the Giant Steps which is high end, special drinking and what I like to call "stash it away for later" kind of wine. Each range offers terrific value and you can try both when you visit the cellar door, though the GS tasting will set you back a tasting fee of $10. On top of great wine, these kids know how to cook (pizza, shared-dishes) and know that to keep people happy you should keep them fulfilled with coffee (they roast their own), cheese (the have an amazing selection) and sweet treats (check out their take-home cake and pastry section). It's a massive venue, but don't go assuming you can just rock up unannounced. Giant Steps is hugely popular, particularly on weekends, so do yourself and your hungry family a favour and make a reservation well ahead of arriving.

Off the beaten path, past the Sanctuary, down a dirt road and up on a hill is where you will find…read morethe Badge Creek Blueberry Farm. As we parked I thought, "okay, so there's only one other car here." Stepping in I was thinking to myself "uhhhh..." I really had no idea what to expect. Going to a blueberry farm, when it's not even blueberry season, what do you do here? Smart thinking right? But, I was reassured of my decision when we were immediately helped to try out some of the different beverages that they have. We tried the St. Ronan's Ciders: apple and pear. They also have another apple cider on tap. As I was trying these out, my eyes lingered upon the wall behind the counter, and I saw that they also offered a range of blueberry wines. How could I possibly come to a blueberry farm and not try out their blueberry drinks? After tasting the wine, sparkling and fortified, we chose a glass each of the blueberry wine. It's home grown and hand made, you are actually parking right beside the farm. Now the blueberry wine...first off, BLUEBERRY WINE! How cool is that? Not only does it smell just like blueberry pancakes, but it tastes like smashed blueberries, and takes you straight to blueberry heaven. It's very light, and it could be drank like a white wine, or you could make sangria with it. I've had other fruit wines before, but I had never tried blueberry, until now. And seriously, it rocked my world. Accompanied with a blackberry coconut cake and a side of ice cream, we sat down by the fireplace. It was...perfect. Tucked away from the busyness of Healesville on a weekend, this place is away from the crowds, so that you can recollect yourself to sanity. It's quiet, chill, and trendy with jazzy music. On a winter's day, with a cozy warm fireplace, wide windows to take in the views, and a glass of wine, how could it can get any better? They also have a good range of homemade jams and toppings. But my only regret is not taking home a bottle of their delicious tasty wine! I've been raving about it ever since! The blueberry wine, I just can't get it off my mind!

Wow, what a beautiful venue... outdoor concerts.... Weddings...etc…read more. We enjoyed our wine tasting....prior to Rochford winery our sommelier worked 12 years in Napa... he pointed out the difference in each wine... very helpful... Our excursion also included lunch... I had the pasta dish.. it was so delicious with lots of wonderful flavors... A great bus ride through the countryside of Melbourne.

This was a stop on a wine tour I was a part of…read more Wine flavored gin?? YES PLEASE! The gin was good, but a lot of people within my tour agreed we needed tonic water, which they gladly gave us. Not only did we taste wine flavored gin, but we also had an entire wine tasting as well as lunch. I had salmon and the most delicious in-house made bread. I would definitely return here!

Coldstream Hills has quite the provenance; the connection to James Halliday is well known, but…read morelesser known is the fact that Halliday still has a house on the edge of the Coldstream property, overlooking this proud and well regarded winery. The Coldstream Hills cellar-door has a fantastic tasting "menu" and great special offers. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable not only about the wines, but the history of the estate. They discuss and share, without rushing. Needless to say, on a recent trip I was so impressed by the experience that I bought a few cases, including one of their Reserve Cab-Sav - a personal favourite. They're known for one of the best Australian chardonnays out there, but everything that comes from Coldstream Hills deserves some attention. Fantastic stuff!

This is a small and lovely setting with some really fabulous wines. James Halliday publishes the…read moreannual "bible" of Australian wines, so it's no surprise that his wines are all exceptional. The tasting room sits on a hill with a nice vista. The tasting we did took us from sparkling to sauvignon blanc through the delightful chardonnays, pinot noir, and a surprisingly complex merlot. The staff will take their time and tell you as much as you'd like to hear, or just give you a little information and let you savor the wine at your own pace.

I made a stop at Oakridge Wines for a glass of wine whilst cycling. Carrie was super friendly and…read moreknowledgeable. She picked the perfect glass for my taste preference! And checkout the view in my photo!

Oakridge was our first stop in the Yarra Valley and we are certainly glad it was. We booked the…read moretasting in advance but it looked like they had some available for walk ins as well. The scenery is beautiful and the wine is even better, so great that we bought a couple bottles to fly back to the US with... and when we got home, it was confirmed that we still loved this wine!

I cannot believe all of the good feedback comments as this was the very worst wine tasting we have…read moreever experienced. There was no greeting or details about the history of Chandon. We were served by a person who not provide us with any napkins. He even poured the different tastings into the same glass, unbelievable. This was an expensive tasting that really left us with a bad taste in our mouths due to how bad the whole experience was. I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO PAY FOR A CHANDON TASTING AS UT WAS JUST AWFUL AND A COMPLETE WASTE IF MONEY.

We arrived early for our tasting (that we booked months before, but looked like they had room for…read morewalk-ins), and are we glad we did. The bar area was beautiful and the Spritz was absolutely delicious! The tasting itself was very well done and they were able to answer all of our questions. We ended up buying a bottle as well as a topper that survived the flight back to the US. I'd definitely recommend Domaine Chandon for anyone in the Yarra Valley!

Big family style restaurant. Food was delicious. Had Smokey potato pizza with prosciutto and a…read morebarley salad. Order at table didn't work so had to order at counter. Friendly staff and food came out quickly. Good value great venue

St. Hubert's Vineyard was a really modern and pretty area. We were surprised to have the place to…read moreourselves. It is a very clean and fine dining vibe in the Cellar Door and the wine was good as is most wine in this region. Definitely a pretty spot but it was not the best to walk around the grass in the rain though.

A French winery in the Yarra Valley, complete with accent-clad staff, a nice variety of wine and…read morefull lunch menu. The winery is petite especially on a busy weekend, so you will be snuggled up at the tasting bar or browsing their cute gift shop. With limited seating indoors and outside, it's intimate so groups need to book ahead. There is a cosy and rustic feel, family owned. The wines are good but can easily jump to pricey selections. The food was phenomenal. I was impressed with the menu and everyone from my dining party enjoyed their dishes, from lamb roast, pork belly salad and beef ribs. Even the French fries were good, as they should be! Excellent portion sizes. It's a beautiful stop on a sunny, summer day and a break from the bigger wineries. You will enjoy their personal touch and ambiance.

Lovely winery in a beautiful setting. The wine maker is 10th generation (French heritage) and their…read morewines are very nice, although only a small selection is available to taste. The lady who took us through the wine tasting and 'cellar tour' was very knowledgable and gave us plenty of tips on how to actually TASTE our wine properly. There is also a cafe for a small bite to eat or a coffee to perk you up during your winery tour.