A Toast to New World Wine: My Journey Through Wine Country

Travel Dates: January 6 - 26, 2025

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Guided By The Thirst To Learn!

Greetings, friends!

I just wanted to share with all of you some of the delicious sights, sounds

and flavors from my road trip on my January vacation, touring some of the

local vineyards of Australia and New Zealand.

FIRST STOP

The more you know about wine, the more you know how much there is still to learn— even for a wine industry veteran. My first stop was the Silverwaters Vineyard on Phillips Island in San Remo, Victoria Australia, where we tasted several varietals while taking in the lush scenery, hosted by the owner.

As you can see in my photos, we tried a Shiraz, a Shiraz Cabernet Blend, Cabernet, Cabernet Rose and a Pino Gris, the latter two of which I really savored. Thumbs up for the Rose! Nicely done, Silverwater. We also visited the wildlife and witnessed the Penguin Parade.

Yarra Valley, Australia

The Yarra River is the major water source for the wine region. The major opening starts here. We started with a trip to the wildlife sanctuary. But not before a quick trip to downtown Healesville for coffee and a peruse of some wine and cheese stores. This small town reminded me of Healdsburg, CA. Quaint and friendly. Then off to the sanctuary where we visited with nature seeing many birds, distinct marsupial species and reptiles. The highlight was the bird show. 

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WINERY STOP ONE

Dominique Portlet

Planted first in the early 1800s. The Yarra Valley was the first Australian wine region. It started by producing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and some Shiraz. Moet Chandon has a winery here built 1986. The first winery in the valley was Dominique Portlet. It is a highly decorated and has ties to France’s Bordeaux region. 

Current Winemaker

The founder, once Château Lafite-Rothschild’s winemaker made this experience exciting and as you imagine the wine was darn good here. We enjoyed 6 wines; the highlights for us were the Rose’, Cabernet Franc and a Cabernet Sauvignon named Andre’ after the founder. Lunch was amazing. Of course we sent some home. 

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WINERY STOP TWO

Medhurst

Founders, Ross and Robyn Wilson have wine in their blood. Both from Gruyere. Like the cheese. Ross, as CEO of Southcorp drove the company’s acquisition of Penfolds, Lindemans and Wynns in 1990. Hmm. wonder why he wanted his own vineyard? All wines were screw cap. Very innovative winery built in the 90’s and planted in 2000. We sampled 7 different wines. All were good but the highlights were the Pinot Noir and the Bordeaux blend. We took a few home.

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Otago Valley - New Zealand

Otago is a region in the southeast of New Zealand's South Island. The region includes the Central Otago wine region, which is known for its wineries, lakes, and mountains. A quick 45 minutes from beautiful and culturally diverse Queenstown, this wine region is full of beautiful views and talented winemakers. Otago is often referred to as one of New Zealand's youngest wine regions, given that it was first planted in the mid-1990s. The weather and terrior are similar to France’s Burgundy region producing great Pinot Noir. 

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WINERY STOP ONE

Gibbston Valley

Owned by an Irish family who started it as a hobby in 1983. We are in the furthest south in world for making wine. New Zealand was the first to use almost all screw caps on their wines. I learned that in New Zealand the cap has a membrane that lets air in like cork allowing the wines to age properly with less spoilage. We enjoyed Reisling, Rose’ of Pinot Noir and beautifully crafted Pinot Noir. Can’t wait to share a bottle with my friends. 

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WINERY STOP TWO

Domaine Thomson

A sister winery to a vineyard in Burgundy, France, the wines and the scenery of this vineyard transport you to the small plots of grapes in the villages of Burgundy. The chardonnay even reminds me of another grape in Burgundy called Aligote’. Small but powerful presence make you want to take them all home. The manager was so welcoming we even talked about food pairing and my book. 

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WINERY STOP THREE

The Stoaker Room

Lunch was a wine pairing with meats and vegetables cooked in wine barrels. The barrels had been cured for months and then specially equipped to be like bbq’s. The foods and wines were nicely matched. They even did a great job with the veggie options for Basil. It was relaxing and it really showed the New Zealand cusisine. Lamb, goat, venison, pork and Orange Roughy fish. 

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WINERY STOP FOUR

Kinross Winery

Kinross was a winery that represented many labels. Even whiskey and beer. It was a small luxury resort with a restaurant and villas to vacation. We only tasted the wines but everything was paired with different cheeses or nuts. These wines were well made. Many from the first winemakers in the valley. The sommelier brought out many for us to try. I spent way too much money here but I am confident I’ll be pleased after they arrive. 

Australia and New Zealand was the trip of a  lifetime. So many sites, great people, amazing  weather, scrumptious food, wine and spirts. Here  are some more pictures of sites and experiences.  After all I went to the Australian Open.