Melbourne: Yarra Valley Wine, Gin, Whisky and Chocolate Tour

About This Experience

This is the most-reviewed Yarra Valley tour on the market by a wide margin, and the shape of the day explains why: five venues in eight hours, three of them cellar doors, with a chocolate tasting and a lunch stop in between. It runs seven days a week, and the operator makes a point of the fact that it runs in the rain too.

The vehicle leaves Flinders Street at nine, detours through Warrandyte on the Yarra, and reaches the first cellar door around quarter past ten. Soumah opens the tasting with reds and whites, and it is a good introduction to what makes this valley different: cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in styles closer to northern Italy and south-eastern France than to warm-climate Australia.

St Huberts follows with four wines, or a beer or cider if you have had enough of one. Gin and whisky tastings are available here for a small extra fee, which is worth knowing before you arrive: the spirits in the title are an upgrade, not an inclusion.

Lunch is at Quarters Restaurant at Hubert Estate, one long table, everyone ordering and paying for their own. There is a weekend surcharge. You may instead book your own table at Domaine Chandon, but that means separating from the group, arranging it the day before, and missing the St Huberts tasting entirely.

The afternoon is the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie for a guided tasting of ten chocolates, then Balgownie Estate for a final flight, then roughly an hour back to Flinders Street. You are set down in the CBD in the early evening with nobody in your group having had to stay under 0.05.

Highlights

• Feel an explosion of flavors as a variety of wines awaken your palate
• Sample the best wine, beer, chocolate, and food in Yarra Valley
• Contribute to the itinerary by telling the guide what you would like to do
• Taste award-winning wines with sweeping views across the majestic valley
• Learn about the local creativity that goes into making these fine wines

What's Included

• ✓ A friendly driver for the full day
• ✓ Transportation by air-conditioned vehicle
• ✓ Wine tastings and chocolate
• ✓ Tastings included at 4 or more venues for wine, beer, and chocolate
• ✓ An eclectic Spotify playlist for the first half of the day
• ✓ Your choice of songs for the drive home ;)

Not Included

• Lunch (available for purchase at Hubert Estate or Chandon)
• Hotel pickup and drop-off

Good to Know & Caveats

• A lunch stop is made at Quarters restaurant at Hubert Estate where you buy your own lunch from a fantastic selection to choose from. All dietary requirements are catered to. (There is a surcharge on your lunch bill on weekends). You can also bring your own food, but this will not be allowed to be consumed on the grounds of Hubert Estate. (No customers will be left unattended by themselves in the vehicle)

Meeting Point

This map may take you to Russell Street Ext. but we are on Flinders Street :) Meet your guide and vehicle at "The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia" FLINDERS STREET at 8.35am as we leave promptly at 9am! This is directly opposite 154 Flinders Street. All trams are FREE in the CBD! Some days we leave earlier than 9am if everyone has arrived and is ready to go and we get to take a more scenic drive. We cannot wait for anyone as it is a public group tour! We will leave at 9.01am with or without everyone. Unfortunately we do regularly leave without people because they have not given themselves enough time to get into the busy CBD. Please aim to be early as taxis and public transport can be very unreliable! If you arrive late, we will have left and you will have missed the tour. You are welcome to make your way to the first winery to meet the group.