Mornington Peninsula & Yarra Valley in pictures

As our Aussie adventure drew to a close, we had two final regions to visit: the Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. Kicking off in Mornington, among the wonderful winemakers we met was Paramdeep Ghumman of Nazaaray, who makes one of the finest Pinot Gris’ I’ve ever tasted.

Our trip to the Mornington Peninsula began with a comparative Chardonnay tasting followed by lunch within the lush grounds of Port Philip Estate.

After lunch we went in search of kangaroos, which freely roam among the vines in the region, and were lucky enough to capture this curious clan.

During a memorable dinner at Moorooduc Estate that include lashings of Pinot, wood fired pizzas and an animated piano set by Richard Hemming MW, we were introduced to the estate’s flamboyant and rather spectacular mascot, Reggie the peacock, who became particularly excitable during David Bowie songs.

Moving on to the Yarra Valley, our first stop was to historic estate Yeringberg, where we were shown around by owner Guill de Pury.

Sleeping wines

During the visit we were treated to a tasting of older vintages of Yeringberg and Yarra Yering led by Yeringberg’s chief winemaker Sandra de Pury.

Yeringberg estate was lost in time – it felt like we were on a film set as little has changed in the main barn building since it was founded in 1863.

We began our final day with a tasting of wines from some of Yarra Valley’s winemakers to watch at Mac Forbes’ Graceburn Wine Room where the charismatic winemaker talked us through some of his more esoteric drops.

We also met likely lads Troy Jones and Behn Payten of Payten & Jones, who told tales of cheeky monkeys during their tutored tasting.

Among our favourite wines we tasted that morning were those made by the super talented Kate Goodman, who is currently working wonders with Italian varieties Vermentino and Negroamaro.

We were also lucky enough to meet wild cat Timo Mayer, who was born in Germany but has made the Yarra Valley his home, where he makes intriguing wines including a whole bunch Cabernet Sauvignon.

Before jetting home we had time for one last tasting at Giant Steps, where Chardonnay and Pinot went head to head. Among the winemakers showing us their wares was the rather gorgeous Rob Dolan of Santolin.

Also on hand was the super talented Han Tao Lau of Elmswood Estate, whose Pinot recently made out top five picks from the trip. Han is one to watch on the winemaking front and is currently seeking a UK importer for Elmswood for his perfumed Pinot, silky Syrah and stunning Chardonnay.

Unmissable in orange was Yering Station’s affable winemaker Brendan Hawker, who had recently returned from an eventful round the world trip.

We were kept entertained during the tasting by the hilarious Damian North of Journey Wines, who not only makes the wine but manages the estate.

and finally… our host was the effortlessly cool Steve Flamsteed Giant Steps, who was joined by his impressively inked assistant winemaker.