My Yarra Valley Wine Tour Experience

I was first introduced to wine at the age of 10 by my parents. I would see them drink it on Christmas Eve or someone's birthday. I thought it was a "fancy" drink since they would drink it on special occasions. It made me curious as to what made it so special so during family dinner I asked for a sip from my mom. 

I can't quite remember what my reaction was since it was a while back but I do remember that it made me sleepy. So when I was finally in the legal age to drink, wine would never be my first option. I'd go for cocktails-- an amaretto sour or a lychee martini (Both very girly girl choice of drinks). But later on towards the end of college, I found out how bad cocktails were because of the insane amount of sugar in it. I wanted to look for a healthier/ more slimming choice of drink. They said it's either I drink hard drinks on the rocks or wine. 

I tried hard drinks while I still had the energy to keep up. Then in my mid 20s, I switched to wine as my go-to-drink.  A glass of wine before going to sleep always relaxed me. Plus, the doctor did say that it's good for the heart. 

"Oh no now that I like wine does that mean I'm turning into my parents?!" Kidding aside--- Ever since I discovered my love for wine, I was interested in learning more about it. My friend said that Melbourne was home to some of the best wines in the world.

I booked a winery tour in Yarra Valley via viator.com with Mika, my childhood best friend of over 15 years. It felt surreal that we were once in leotards in the 3rd grade dancing ballet and look where we are now, living on opposite sides of the world, (She's based in New York now) but toasting our wine glasses on a perfect day in Yarra Valley. 

Our first stop: Domaine Chandon Winery

Chandon is known for making the best sparkling wines in the world and some of the most expensive ones too.

The sommelier will walk you through all the kinds of sparkling wines that they offer-- Starting with their dry wines to their sweetest wine. Their sweetest wine is Rosé which was my favorite. 

They have private rooms perfect for having a wine night with a group of friends

Look how beautiful our backdrop is! This photo was taken by our tour guide.

Second Stop: De Bartoli Winery

De Bartoli has been around for almost a decade. It's one of the biggest family-owned wineries in the world. I couldn't agree more with their motto, " Semper ad Majora ("Always striving for better"). In my opinion, their wines were the best. I took home a bottle of their Chardonnay because I loved it so much.

In 2017, Noble One won as the best sweet dessert wine in Melbourne

All of us were a bit tipsy already for wine tasting. We needed to get some food in our system. We went to Medhurst Wines for lunch. The tour costs $140 per person including all the fees of the wine tastings, lunch, and pick up and drop off at the hotel. 

Cold Cuts for Appetizers 

Lamb Meatball for Main Course

Our last stop: Yerring Winery

Yerring is the smallest among the three because it's a boutique winery but their wine selection did not disappoint. Their most famous for their red wines. I'm more of a white wine kind of girl but I did enjoy sipping their Pinot Noir.