Yarra Valley

Travel Advice for Seniors: Yarra Valley

One of the principal reasons we were visiting this part of Australia was to visit the outstanding wine country here and to taste my personal favorite, Shiraz, as much as possible!

Yarra Valley is Australia’s premier cool-climate region and is well known for its world-class Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. It is a short distance from Melbourne and is an excellent day trip.

Yarra Valley is home to over eighty vineyards and is known for the consistent quality of its wines not to mention the picturesque vineyards and countryside.

When you go on a wine tour, in addition to the tastings, we highly advise setting up lunch at one of the wineries. Many wineries will provide a tour and tasting at a cost and you should definitely do this. But the pièce de résistance is to dine among the vines and picturesque view. Many of the wineries have very inventive chefs that have a different menu of delicacies every day, most designed to specifically pair with the wines that are produced on-site. It is a lovely way to while away a few hours, over a multiple-course lunch with wine! Be sure to make reservations in advance.

We visited three wineries on our tour, which is probably more than enough. The purpose of the wine tour is to taste, not to see how much you can drink. The first taste is never that great as your palate has to warm up to it, but after you taste a few sips, even beginners are able to taste a few nuances with the assistance of the wine professionals on staff.

A bit of wine tasting etiquette…the wine specialist will usually take you for a tour of the winery itself and sometimes of the vineyard, explaining the grapes that they grow, which grapes are used for what wines and the various methods they use for producing wines. Even if you already know how this all works, be patient. They are showing you their pride and joy!

At the tasting, the specialist will explain a bit about the wine you are about to taste and pour out a small amount to taste. Smell the wine first and look at its color, swirling it slightly in the glass. Taste it by taking a small sip and swirling it around in your mouth before swallowing, discuss it and make notes if you’d like. Then dump out what you don’t want to drink into a receptacle and rinse your glass with water to get ready for the next taste. I usually like a glass of water alongside the wine, to cleanse my palate, and the winery may serve you some crackers or paired snacks which are also good to cleanse your palate in preparation for the next taste.

If you don’t like the wine, don’t turn your nose up, just stop drinking it and hear what everyone else has to say about it. It is polite to taste all of the wines, but I usually like to ask first what wines are the specialty of the area so I can be sure to taste them, even if I don’t perhaps really want to taste the whites.

Also, you do not have to buy any wine at the winery, but if I find one I like I certainly will purchase it. I like to ask for wine that I can’t get in the States and especially for one that is hard to get or rare, plus I always ask about a particular year to find out when the best vintages were made.

We are by no means connoisseurs but rather know what we like and what we want to taste. In fact, by the third winery, we had requested only reds which are our preferred wines.

Though we love a good winery tour and especially a winery lunch, it is always nice to go for a drive in the picturesque countryside and hear about the development of the area and its vines, if for no reason other than to get out of the city for a bit!

Where we stayed: Novatel Melbourne, breakfast included.

How we got there: Flew from US to Melbourne via Sydney then private transport to hotel. This was part of a three-week private tour through Australia. We began in Melbourne and ended in Sydney for New Years’ Eve.

General Accessibility Information: Major tourist sights, hotels and transportation in most major cities is accessible. Further, several hiking trails are accessible. See AllTrails’ wheelchair-friendly trail guide.Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements.See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.