LaurenLeigh

My husband and I will be in Melbourne and Adelaide, each 3 days, in late Sept. We're interested in a small group wine tour during each stay. Any recommendations? we're not wine snobs but enjoy a good glass and tour. Thanks!

Deno111

Hi Lauren,
My wife and I did a tour last year to the Yarra Valley. It was perfect. The Yarra is only about an hour from Melbourne CBD. We did 3 or 4 wineries, and lunch was included at one of the wineries.

The tour ended at Domaine Chandon, and it was superb. There are quite a few companies that do the tour. It cost about $95 from memory.

We also did the Adelaide wine regions, but hired a car. Barossa was just over an hour from the CBD as well.

Enjoy.

tt7

Are you opposed to driving or is just that a 'tour' seems easier? We've never done a tour so I'm afraid I'm no help in making tour suggestions - personally, I would much rather drive and go where we want to go, when we want to go, rather than be tied to somebody else's plan -- though it must be said that Mrs. tt7 always drives, so I have the easy part. Either way, it's more about a nice day out and a good lunch somewhere, with a few tastings along the way, rather than imbibing any significant quantity. At most wineries, as you know, there isn't much to actually "see" so it's more about the ambience of the place and/or the appeal of the cellar door and/or the restaurant.

From Melbourne, you have two main choices - the Yarra Valley or the Mornington Peninsula (and also the Bellarine Peninsula) with the Yarra Valley being the better known. As Deno111 says, the Yarra Valley is a fairly easy hour or so drive from Melbourne and would be the more obvious choice. We have tended to become creatures of habit, so usually start the day with coffee and a cheese tasting plate at the Yarra Valley Dairy Company, then round the corner to Domaine Chandon, which has a good self-guided tour followed by a tasting flight ($) of their sparkling wines. Then on to TarraWarra to visit the Art Museum, followed by lunch there, or perhaps at De Bortoli or Tokar Estate or Yering Station. You could also spend some time in the afternoon at the Healesville Sanctuary, if that is of interest. All in all, a nice day out.

In Adelaide, you have essentially four choices - the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa, the Clare Valley or McLaren Vale. The Clare Valley is further out but the others are a fairly easy drive from Adelaide (roughly) north to the Barossa, east to the Adelaide Hills or south to McLaren Vale. We tend to go to McLaren Vale, if for no other reason than an old friend of Mrs. tt7's looks after the food at Coriole, so we go there for lunch. We've also had good tastings at Chapel Hill. Any of the areas would make a good day out - perhaps take a look at the wineries in each area and see which appeals more. If you go to the Barossa and you like reds, be sure to visit Torbreck. They probably won't have their best on the tasting list (The Laird - $900/bottle or RunRig - $275/bottle) but they have a good range of others worth trying.

Perhaps others can suggest - if not specific tours - then particular wineries worth visiting and you can see if you can work them into a tour (or your own self-drive tour).

http://www.yvd.com.au
http://www.chandon.com
http://www.tarrawarra.com.au
http://twma.com.au
http://www.yering.com
http://www.zoo.org.au/healesville

http://www.torbreck.com

LaurenLeigh

Thank you so much for the great suggestions! We won't be driving so a tour is our best bet. I appreciate all the links to the wineries. Some tour companies allow individuals to create their own itinerary so this will be a fabulous source. The Barossa is most appealing to us so we will definitely include Torbreck. Thanks, again!

LaurenLeigh

We've come up with a tour for Adelaide but would love suggestions of tour companies for Melbourne. The wineries suggested by tt7 sounded super and we'd love to incorporate some with a guide. Any suggestions?

tt7

Here's one -

http://www.yarravalleywinerytours.co...rra_valley.htm

- though I have absolutely no idea whether they are any good or how much they charge. They have a long list of "wineries they can visit" (including the ones I mentioned, including Yarra Valley Dairy) and also the Healesville Sanctuary. Perhaps email them and see what they can offer?

Their "daily public tour" appears to be $140, but they have a $105 "special" Monday to Friday. Their tours appear to visit 4 or 5 wineries. If you wanted a 5th one in addition to those already mentioned, perhaps add De Bortoli -
http://debortoliyarra.com.au/estate.html

Those that have restaurants invariably have their menus (or at least, a 'version' thereof) online so maybe check them out and see which appeals most for lunch.

tt7

This site also has a "tour search" function (and some prices) -

http://www.visityarravalley.com.au/tours.asp

LaurenLeigh

Thanks! I'll investigate these sites. I've been reading up on the Yarra Valley area and it sounds like we can't go wrong. Now to make the tour company decision, put down the credit card, and we'll be set for a great time.
Thanks for all your responses and suggestions.
Cheers!