Our final wine tasting day in the Yarra Valley had a French theme. And with Mick and I being confirmed Francophiles, it was a perfect ending to our time in this part of Victoria.
First stop was Rochford Wines. We had to walk past the actual wine making facilities to get to the cellar door.
We arrived on the dot of 10.00am and were the first customers for a tasting. This winery was established by Helmut Konecsny in 2002 after he bought this vineyard with its then 10-year old vines. And, while Helmut doesn’t sound like he hails from France, the name chosen for the winery does.
We also walked past these ‘eggs’ – which are used for fermenting some wines. We were told at Payten & Jones that they employed these fermenters as well.
As an aside: The only Yarra Valley winery I was looking to visit was Toolangi. But, it was not listed on the touring map of wineries that Mick was using to get us around. I had purchased some wines at auction from Grays Online earlier in the year and took a bit of a gamble by buying four bottles of 2003 Toolangi Pinot Noir for a ‘song’. It was the first Yarra Valley pinot noir that Mick and I had tasted, and at 20 years of age – it was amazing.
When we walked into the Rochford Wines cellar door, the first thing I noticed were bottles of Toolangi Pinot Noir for sale.
In 2017 Helmut purchased Toolangi Vineyard which is located in the northern Yarra Valley region of Dixons Creek. Originally planted in 1995, this vineyard produces premium Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz
Rochford Website
The tasting fee here was $10, refundable with a purchase. The young cellar door host, a vet science student we later learnt, was very knowledgeable about the wines and made the whole experience very enjoyable.
Compare this cellar door to the one we visited at Yering Farm Wines. Chalk and Cheese. This one was filled with all sorts of merchandise, enough to keep any non-wine drinkers entertained.
While wrapping up the tasting session, the cellar door host was joined by a senior staff member who introduced herself as Linsey. Linsey provided us with some very tempting information which resulted in both couples signing up to become Club Members. The wines were extremely well priced, and from the three tasters’ expressions, the wine was good. The club membership deals were excellent, offering 20% off prices and free postage, not to mention loads of special offers.
Like many of the wineries we had visited over the past few days, there were bargains to be had. Maree and I spotted a shelf with some ‘museum’ wines, where the prices were slashed – with some from prices of $80 to $25. And then, we were given an additional 20% off those prices because we were now of course ‘club members’. Now, that was going to be hard to beat.
The next winery (and winner of Australia’s Best Cellar Door Award in 2022), was only a few minutes drive away. Dominique Portet – was definitely run and owned by a French man. (I heard that the winery was currently undergoing a name change to simply ‘Portet’ as Dominique’s son Ben, is the current winemaker.)
Ben Portet represents the 10th generation of his family to make wine.
The Dominique Portet winery at Coldstream, in the most visited part of the Yarra Valley, was begun by Ben’s father Dominique, who was born in France and comes from a serious Bordeaux wine lineage.
The Real Review
The tasting fees here were non-refundable, but any purchase received a 10% discount – which was yet another variation on the way cellar doors cover their costs.
For $15, you could taste up to six of their wines, or for $25 you could also taste their two premium wines. Both Darryl and Mick decided to taste the ‘top shelf’, and it took quite an effort for me to convince Mick not buy a bottle of the ‘Andre’ Cabernet at $250 a bottle!! He did order a dozen bottles of their wines though, to be sent home to Queensland.
The rosés looked beautiful, and Maree tasted a few on offer, as red wine is not her ‘thing’, and she seemed to like them.
Finally, it was time for Maree’s choice in wineries – Domaine Chandon.
We had become a little too cocky about just rocking up to wineries and expecting a tasting. We had been the only visitors to many wineries in the Yarra, including both Rochford and Dominique Portet. But, it was a different story here at Domaine Chandon. The wine tasting room was only small, and it was packed.
We were told we could make a booking for a tasting at 2pm or we could have a seat in their restaurant and buy a tasting ‘flight’ of 3 different sort of their bubbles.
We chose the latter.
WE left here empty-handed, but it was now time for lunch. So we returned to where our Yarra Valley tour had started, to the Innocent Bystander to have a late lunch, where most of us chose pizza. I could not finish mine (as I was full from my ‘snack’ at Domaine Chandon) . so we took it home to have with dinner.
Our only activity for the afternoon was to undertake a nice drive, slightly off the beaten track thanks to whatever conditions I had placed on Google Maps, to Mandala, in order to buy some more merlot. Mick, Darryl and I must be old-fashioned, as we all enjoyed the out-of-fashion merlot. Mick was hoping to have a case sent back to Queensland, but when we arrived there were only three bottles left in the bargain bin. As Maree and Darryl had their own car – it made sense that they take them all. Mick’s and my bags were already overweight with too many purchases.
The final evening of our stay together in Healesville turned into a rather longer event than usual (for me at least). And, I must admit that my early morning walk the next day was a little more difficult than normal.
None-the-less, we agreed the holiday had been wonderful, and after saying our farewells the next day, Mick and I headed back towards Melbourne to return the hire car, and Maree and Darryl returned to their home in Geelong.
POSTSCRIPT
When we returned to Queensland last week, Mick and I learnt that there is yet another delay to our apartment of almost 3 weeks.
Rather than let that get us down, it has provided us with the opportunity to plan and undertake another wine tour, this time in Stanthorpe, Queensland with our son and Mick’s brother. It will be short and sweet, but we are looking forward to that as well.
Thanks again for joining us on us on this Victorian adventure.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 
Glad you had such a good time in your winter woollies. Still waiting though for the Cav’s guide to French and Australian wine though. Any day now I guess. Three thumbs up. (Tell Edward I’ll be delighted to have a look at his book.)