Yarra Valley, Australia
The 4AM wake up call came very early for our 45 minute drive from Melbourne to Yarra Valley. Yarra Valley is mostly known for its 160 wineries, beautiful scenery, and ballooning. We experienced all three!
Ballooning was a unique experience and we went through a company called Global Ballooning. The logistics of the whole situation were foreign to me. We had to start at 4AM because that is the time that the winds are the weakest. I had never thought about this, but the balloon basically goes wherever the wind goes and even the pilot has no control of how far or short the ride will be that day. It was a crisp, chilly morning when we started out, but thankfully the balloon is powered by a flame thrower that shoots hot air into the balloon to keep it afloat.
The heat felt amazing on our faces every time we ascended a little higher into the frigid atmosphere. Soon we were soaring 4,000 meters above Yarra Valley and floating along effortlessly watching the sun rise. It was a surreal and peaceful experience as you’re among the clouds and the balloon glides along silently as the valley slowly wakes up.
One of my favorite parts was landing the balloon. The bottom of the basket has large skis on it that help the balloon skid to a stop. The pilot yells out, “Landing positions!!” which mean basically crouch down in the basket and hold on for dear life. You bounce off the ground a couple times and slide to a complete stop. Fun ride! This is one of my favorite excursions I’ve encountered on any trip and I would highly recommend.
The Yarra Valley also has a chocolaterie & ice creamery, cheesery and distillery. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to try any of these, but we heard they were all worth seeing. If I had to do it over, we would have spent the night in Yarra Valley as opposed to a day trip from Melbourne to make sure we experienced everything. You wouldn’t need more than one night there, but it would be well worth it!
Port2Porter Review: Balgownie Estate Winery
After our balloon ride, we did a wine tour that visited 5 different wineries. For this post, I’ll focus on where we had breakfast and lunch at the Balgownie Estate Winery. Balgownie is a beautiful property with views of Yarra Valley’s mountains and the vineyards. It is one of the more commercial wineries in Yarra as it includes a day spa, restaurant, cellar door, indoor swimming pool and conference center . The grapes at the site we visited were only planted in 2002 so it is a bit of a newer winery, but Balgownie owns another vineyard about 2.5 hours north that was planted in 1969. They served wines from both facilities which was nice. The only thing I thought was a bit weird is that they have life size statues of kangaroos and wombats on the property. Haha.
The Yarra Valley is mostly known for the following grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. This winery produces all different spins on these couple grapes from Pinot Gris to Rose’ to Sparkling Wines. A fun fact we learned on the tour is that 60% of people choose a wine based on the label. Here are a couple of my favorites based on taste (not label):
Tawny Fortified Shiraz – This is a port-style, dessert wine. It tastes like Christmas morning and might be too sweet for some (not me!). Aged 25 years, it has gotten finer with time. This was the only bottle of wine that I bought on the trip. Amazing!
2014 Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay – I thought this was a solid chardonnay, but what made it special for me was that the taste lingered with me. Even after I had swallowed by sip, I could still taste it on the back of my tongue. Not the best chardonnay I’ve ever had, but easy drinking for a summer day and delicious.
2015 Black Label Pinot Noir – Fruity flavor with hints of oak. Classic Pinot Noir. Also easy to drink and a standard wine for this region.
