Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Tour

Tim and I recently went on a wine tasting tour with Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Tours, as part of Tim's birthday celebrations.

Our tour lasted for a day, and we visited five wineries, a chocolate shop and a cheese shop.

We left Melbourne at 9am, with the first stop being at Yering Farm Wines.

Here, we learned the basics of wine tasting (colour, aerating, smell, a quick swallow over the tongue and then a lingering taste, holding the wine in your mouth).  I bought a lovely dessert wine here.

Here's Tim and I on the breezy morning at Yering Farm: 

Our next stop was Yarra Valley Dairy, where we were treated to a selection of cheeses to try:

My favourite cheese was a marinated goats cheese called Cardi, marinated in oil with shallots, coriander, peppercorns and cardamom.  I liked it so much that I bought a jar to take homer.

There is also a café attached to the Dairy, so that you can enjoy a meal or a snack during your visit.

Next stop was Domain Chandon, where the beautiful cottage and garden situated at the top of this post is located.  Here we could choose a glass of one of their four types of sparkling wine.  I selected the Chandon Cuvee Riche, a sweet sparkling wine:

After enjoying a glass of sparkling wine and a walk in the grounds, we drove to our stop at Rochford Wines.  Here, we did another tasting, this time with each of us being given a sheet of paper to rate the wines:

We were also invited to select a lunch dish (included in the tour price) from four options.  I chose the pea risotto:

while Tim chose the salmon salad:

We shared each of these dishes.  We also received a glass of wine of our choice (red or white).  Lunch is included in the tour price.

After exploring the grounds at Rochford Wines, we drove in our mini bus to the next stop - St Huberts: 

By this stage, some of our group were over the wine tasting and opted out.  because I tasted and but did not swallow most of the wine, I was still good to do the tasting.

Our final stop was Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery

Here I was delighted to experience a chocolate tasting:

The chocolate was all very good, but it is on the pricey side.  Tim and I chipped in to share a block of the Lemon Myrtle chocolate that we tasted.

Be warned that this place is very popular and hence very busy, so you need to bring your patience with you.

The chocolaterie was our final stop before heading back to Melbourne.

I really enjoyed this winery tour.  The small tour size (14) and guide really enhanced the experience.  I hope to again sometime in the future. 

Annabel Crabb's Hummingbird-ish Cake

In a recent issue of The Australian Women's Weekly, they had a cooking section promoting Annabel Crabb's book, Special Delivery.  Annabel hosts a series on ABC TV called Kitchen Cabinet, where she goes into the homes of politicians and cooks with them while having a chat about their lives.

One of the recipes published from Annabel's book in the Weekly was her Hummingbird-ish Cake.  She has also published the recipe online here. I actually like the photo on her website rather than in the Weekly because the Weekly one is oh so perfect and overstyled with edible flowers; the one on the website is much plainer and looks like mine.

This is a really delicious cake, as you can see from an inside shot:

As well as the usual pineapple, the cake contains peaches and pumpkin seeds, which are novel additions to a Hummingbird Cake.

This cake went down a treat with the troops, and if you like this sort of cake, it is a good one to make.

EwE - Pan-Steamed Broccoli with Lemon, Garlic, and Parsley Gremolata

For Eating with Ellie this week, Sarah chose Pan-Steamed Broccoli with Lemon, Garlic, and Parsley Gremolata. 

This was such an easy and wonderfully tasty side dish.  I never usually cook the broccoli stems, so this was a revelation.  I served it with last week's Beef and Guinness Stew: 

What a great dinner!

To see what the others thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the EwE website.

WWDH - Potato and Cherry Tomato Frittata

For Wednesday with Donna Hay this week, Chaya chose the Potato and Cherry Tomato Frittata - recipe online here.

This was a quick and easy dish that I prepared for a weekend breakfast, and served with a dash of tabasco.  I learned from Donna's other frittata recipes not to overcook it otherwise the frittata goes dry.

I liked this one.  To see what the others thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the WWDH website.

TWD (BCM) - Chocolate Covered Toffee Breakups

For Tuesdays with Dorie (BCM) this week, we made Chocolate Covered Toffee Breakups.

In brief, this is crack candy for the soul - hard caramel, covered with chocolate and studded with roasted nuts.

I had the benefit of the P&Q, so followed Steph's tips to use a Silpat for the caramel and only put the nuts on top rather than within the toffee.  This made the candy simple to make.

This is definitely the kind of thing that you need to share with as many people as possible to get it out of your house.  It is really delicious and bad, bad, bad for your teeth and waistline.

To see what everyone else thought of this week's TWD dish, visit the LYL section of the website.

Frank Camorra's Malted Milk Cookies with Pistachio

For a little Friday fun, I present Frank Camorra's Malted Milk Cookies with Pistachio.  The recipe is online here.  The food stylist obviously thought white icing looked better in the photo, but I promise you that if you put malted milk powder in the icing as directed, you do not get white icing.

These cookies are absolutely devine.  They are soft and chewy and chocolatey, and easy to eat a zillion.

Go forth and make them for the weekend - they are seriously good.

EwE - Guinness and Beef Skillet Stew

 

 

 

For Eating with Ellie this week, Glennis chose Guinness and Beef Fillet Stew.

 

This was a tasty, quick stovetop stew packed with vegetables and loads of good things.  I'd make this again.

 

To see what the others thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the EwE website.