Come Away With Me! A Weekend in Wine Country

I really should’ve named this post “My Happy Place” because that’s what Yarra Valley is! Yarra Valley holds such a special place in my heart (my husband proposed to me at one of the vineyards.) It is just the most gorgeous, relaxing environment and everyone is drinking wine! Win! It is located about 55 miles East of Melbourne and is the perfect little weekend getaway.

There are 160 wineries located in the Valley but we usually only visit 6-8 of them. There are the larger wineries such as Domaine Chandon and Oakridge but we love finding the smaller, more secluded ones such as Greenstone and St. Huberts. I find that you get a more intimate and educational experience at some of the smaller wineries. Most of the them offer free tastings and some of the larger wineries charge $5-$12 per tasting.

Our first stop is usually Greenstone. We absolutely love the quiet, serene atmosphere. They offer a free tasting session and even a free tour of the cellars!

We always grab a glass of sparkling after our tasting and enjoy it outside on the terrace that overlooks the vineyards. Absolutely stunning.

Nothing tastes better after a glass of sparkling than CHOCOLATE! The Yarra Valley Chocolaterie is a MUST if you are visiting the region. Sitting quietly on top of a hill, it offers some of the most stunning views of the valley. Upon entry, you are immediately greeted with 3 options of chocolate pastilles to sample…white, milk and dark. (Yes, I see the sign. No, you cannot have just one spoonful.) : )

The gelato is out of this world! I went for a classic cookies and cream.

If you’re smart enough to order a hot chocolate, this is where it comes from! You have the option of white, milk or dark.

After stuffing our faces with gelato and chocolates, we headed back to the hotel for cheese and wine.

Domaine Chandon was our first stop on our second day. It’s my absolute favorite as I LOVE a good glass of sparkling! We have done the tasting so many times but we just had to do it again.

The tasting room is stunning and overlooks the vineyards but this visit we weren’t so lucky. They were renovating the tasting area/restaurant so they created a makeshift tasting room in one of the cellars. The experience was just as gorgeous as always but I didn’t take any photos as it was very dark.

When we finished indulging in the different sparklings and stills, we visited the restaurant for a glass of our favorite-the Vintage Brut.

And last but not least, we went to another one of our absolute favorite spots-Napoleone Brewery and Ciderhouse.

This place is seriously so lovely. Not a fan of brews? No worries! They offer a cider tasting that gives you a little taste of the sweet, delicious ciders they offer. We tried apple, apple pear, cloudy apple and pear. Our favorite is the apple pear.

We sat outside as it was a gorgeous early Spring day.

They even offer accommodation. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to stay there someday. I’d never leave!

The food here is absolutely incredible! They have a beautiful brick oven for the pizzas (our favorite!)

We finished off the evening with a sunset walk at our hotel.

We stayed at the Yarra Valley Lodge and really enjoyed our stay. There were wild kangaroos right outside our hotel room! I couldn’t believe it. I’d never been that close to a kangaroo before!