Beautiful Balgownie

We stayed the night at the Balgownie Estate. The suite was very well appointed, it made us want to stay in and watch DVDs all night. But of course we ended up having dinner at the vineyard restaurant called Rae's, where I had this really delicious appetizer which had watermelon and goat cheese. The steak dishes were good too.

During the day we visited the Tarrawarra Estate for wine tasting and to have a look at the art gallery. Pete, the gentleman at the bar was very accommodating, giving us the history and describing the different terroirs of the area.

Having had most of my wine experience in California in the 80's, where and when I developed a preference for Cabernet Sauvingon, I didn't really pay attention to the lighter Pinot Noir and Shiraz stuff. But come to think of it, lighter reds and whites are much better suited to our tropical environment. I really liked the fruity crisp whites and the lighter reds--we went away with a bottle of Shiraz.

We could've stayed here longer and just basically stay at the Yarra Valley but someone told us we had to check out the Mornington Peninsula and check out the scene there too. So by noon the next day, we were off with our Hertz Neverlost, typing in "Mornington".