Yarra Valley - Greedy Diva's Gluttonous Travels

Lunch by the vines at Oakridge Estate

One of my favourite parts of living back in Melbourne, is being able to take off in the car on a sunny day to be surrounded by some of the world's most beautiful wineries within the hour. Drive east about 60 minutes from the centre of Melbourne, pass Legoland, and you'll find yourself among endless vineyards, rolling green hills and grazing cows in Victoria's beautiful Yarra Valley. For a bit of non gluttonous culture, you can even stop off at the Heide Museum of Modern Art on the way.

As in Burgundy, the order of the day in these parts are the chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. There are endless places to sit tasting wines immersed in the stunning vistas, while nibbling fresh local produce,  cheeses, charcuterie platters, wood fired pizzas or some terrific fine dining.

Duck leg at Oakridge Estate

Some of my favourite local wineries include De Bortoli, Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander and Domaine Chandon. But there are tonnes more scattered around the Valley, and all an easy and scenic drive from each other.

We started our recent day trip at the farmer's market at Yering Station - held on the first Sunday of every month. Stock up on gorgeous Jam Lady jams (I like pear, vanilla & ginger), olive oil, honey, tomato and coconut harissa, and, of courses, cheeses aplenty. 

Indoor section of the farmers' market at Yering Station

It's thirsty work. So do yourself a favour and head to the tasting room (all free) where some of the Valley's loveliest wines will be poured for you with a smile. Stock up the boot and head off to lunch.

The restaurant at Yering Station is hard to beat, with great food and magnificent views to match. However, after some more tastings of wine and a punchy pear cider at Punt Road (and some more boxes for the boot), we headed to Oakridge Estate to try out the chardonnay that has been winning awards all over the place. Yes, it's good. 

The Yarra Valley Dairy

We stayed on for lunch outside by the vines - to start, silky pink Yarra Valley venison carpaccio, Bloody Mary sorbet, cucumber jelly and cornichons for me and King George whiting fillet, with a zingy fennel and citrus summer slaw for TPG.  To follow, the Gippsland spring lamb rack with medjool dates, quinoa, preserved lemon, Hoddles Creek hazelnuts and harissa yoghurt was a little overcooked and slightly disappointing given it read like heaven on a plate, but TPG's twice cooked duck leg with white beans, cacciatore sausage, peperonata and red currants was the bees knees. A really lovely (if not earth shattering) long lunch with fabulous wines -  2 courses are $50 or 3 courses are $60.

The cafe and store at the Yarra Valley Dairy

For me, no trip to the Yarra Valley is complete without a stop at the Yarra Valley Dairy. The strong stench of cow dung wafting through the air is the sign that you're heading in the right direction. But put it out of your mind as you head in the door and taste a delicious range of cheeses - we've been gorging all week on Persian feta, goats cheese in ash and creamy cow's cheeses marinated in oil. There's also wine tastings and a cafe for coffee and cake before you make your way home again to stock up the cupboards.

Truffle & Wine Weekend: Crillon le Brave, Provence

"This is a good place to be a dog", says truffier, Eric Jaurnard. Indeed. At La Trouffe du Ventoux in Provence, the dogs are fed truffles as puppies and are trained via the treasure hunt and reward method to hunt in the fields for the black, earthy nuggets that are so prized by gourmands everywhere.

We have been invited to join a 4 day truffle and wine weekend, staying at the stunning Hotel Crillon le Brave in the heart of the Rhone valley. The indulgent package includes wine tastings at the hotel's bar and in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a morning of truffle hunting, meals - including a 5 course truffle lunch and a 6 course truffle dinner, a truffle cooking demonstration, a visit to the antiques market at bustling Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and some fairly hard core R&R.

The hotel itself is easily one of the most beautiful places I have stayed. Set in the picturesque Roman village of Crillon le Brave, it has scenic views of the vineyards and valleys below - and, for Tour de France enthusiasts, the nearby Mont Ventoux. (Cue TPG mentally planning future trips with his true love, the Serotta.)

The "hotel" is a cluster of 6 beautiful stone buildings forming part of the fortified village, which mostly have their origins in the 16th and 17th centuries. The large original house was once the priest's home and village school.

The entrance to the main building of the hotel

The hotel is a member of the association of prestige hotels, "Relais and Chateaux", and it has to be said that a wave of complete relaxation washes over as soon as you step into the luxurious, spacious bedrooms. They may be kitted out with all the mod cons you could ever want - including free wifi, flat screen TV, DVD player (and a DVD library at reception), mini bar, magazines, fab bathrooms that make me want to weep with joy, lovely L'Occitane products and views of the grounds and valleys below - but the best feature is quite easily the King sized bed which is so comfortable that you will wonder if Provence is worth getting up for.

Until now, I have only been to this part of the world in summer - but at this time of year, the autumnal colours are stunning and we are lucky to be bathed in sunshine much of the time despite the crisp temperatures. The pool is heated to 29 degrees making it available for a winter's dip if it's the Lapland experience you're after. We also see some light snow fall one day - a rarity at this time of year, but quite a pretty sight while you're knocking back your Cote du Rhone by the fireplace.

Truffle hunting:

Eureka - the dogs sniff out another truffle

Although truffle yields in the area have fallen to around 60 tonnes/year (from 1,500 tonnes/year before the 2 world wars), you wouldn't know it from the rate at which Eric Jaurnaud's dogs sniff them them out from the roots of the nearby oak fields. While pigs were traditionally used for the task, it's about as hard to pull a pig off a truffle as it is to pull me away from mine during the evening meal - dogs make for a more reliable master-servant relationship. The gorgeous dogs and the fields are a prime target for kid napping and late night skulduggery owing to the rarity and prices of these luxurious delicacies.

The truffle season in the area generally runs from 15th November - 31st March. After a chat about the ins and outs of truffles, and a stroll through the fields witnessing the thrill of the hunt, we amble back to kitchen where Eric and team rustle us up a brilliant, truffle filled rustic lunch.

Rich, creamy, scrambled eggs with truffle & jamon on toast

There are 5 terrific, truffley courses, but my favourite is the rich, creamy truffled scrambled eggs with thick cut toast and jamon. The simple things in life...

Over the feasting and merriment, our table shares a seemingly never ending supply of local white and red wines. As far as gluttonous travel adventures go, this one is going to be hard to beat.

The hotel restaurant

During the evenings, the truffle and wine weekend package includes dinner at Hotel Crillon le Brave's restaurant. And there it becomes apparent that there exists another reason that Autumn is a good time to be in Provence. Creamy pumpkin soup is laden with thick slices of chestnut and topped with hazlenut oil and eggwhite foam. Local milk fed lamb is cooked over the restaurant's fireplace for 3 hours and served tender and pink - it's the best dish of the trip. A thick, juicy bull chop, from Garrigues, is overcooked (well done when we order medium rare and medium when we order rare) but the flavour is full and earthy, it's tender and served with a rich sauce and a perfectly cooked array of pretty vegetables. Do NOT miss the lush, creamy mashed potato and the buttery green beans served as sides in little Le Creuset dishes.

Milk fed, slow cooked lamb

Bull chop

Apple tart

The cheese platter looks as good as it smells - pick your own selection, or opt for the house's 3 favourites. For dessert, the gigantic, big as a baby's head macaroon, the sticky tarte tartin or the rich, oozing chocolant fondant are hard to go past.

On our final night, there is a special 6 course truffle dinner. Fortunately, this is no longer held on same day as the huge truffle fuelled lunch after the hunt which might take the edge off somewhat. A luscious langoustine bisque contains a full, naked langoustine and is topped with a truffled foam. There's truffled foie gras terrine, a salmon ballotine with raw scallops and a pungent truffle jus and - my favourite course - a smashing fillet of beef, tender and supremely rich, with truffled mash potato and artichoke. To finish, a slab of truffled brie, and then a duo of chocolate (semifreddo) with a truffled creme anglais (which was too eggy, and not really my thing).

Beef with truffley mash and artichoke

Duo of chocolate...with truffles

If truffles count as one of your 5 a day, then I think I'm sorted for quite some time.

The wine list at Crillon le Brave is expensive but there are some great options at around the 35-40 euro mark. The sommelier seems to do a good job of picking wines to match your taste and budget but it's disconcerting to be given a bottle of something with minimal dialogue as to what it is, why it's presumed you will want it and how much it costs. To the sommelier's credit, he proved to be extremely trustworthy, not selling us more expensive options than we would have opted for ourselves and he seemed to pick our taste.

Breakfast overlooking the Provencale vistas 

One morning also includes a cooking demonstration which provides an opportunity to taste test and directly compare the tuber uncinatum truffle with the tuber melanosporum or "black diamond" nestled in a creamy omelette.

What to do besides eating?

Wine tasting: 

On the first night, managers Patrick Gillard and Andrea Kent have arranged a wine tasting with Philippe Danel and Marie Pirsch, the charming owners of Domaine du Tix, a tiny winery in the heart of the Rhone valley and Ventoux hills. The winery uses traditional methods, picking, sorting and leaf stripping by hand. We try a lot of wines over the course of our stay, and plenty that were more expensive, but these remain my favourite - an elegant, well balanced Cuvee des Grandes Pointes Viognier (gorgeous enough on its own, but with some local goats cheese it sings, €12.50/bottle), the velvety Bramefan Vintage Syrah (90%) / Grenache (10%) blend (€13/bottle) and the bolder, fruitier Dona Maria Vintage which is heavier on the grenache (60% Grenache / 40% Syrah, €17.50/bottle). This is a great introduction to 4 days of quaffing in the Rhone.

The area is dense with wineries, but we all meet up at the lovely Domaine du Grand Tinel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape for a tour, an education on the requirements for a bottle to earn the special "Chateauneuf-du-Pape" label and a thorough tasting. The village itself is gorgeous, with plenty of options for tasting and, for lunch, there's a restaurant with a spectacular view at the top of the hill. (Yes, we're back to eating again...)

Isle-sur-la-Sorgue market:

Many of the wineries in the region are closed on Sundays and some villages feel like ghost towns. However, on a quiet Sunday, the picturesque town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is the place to be - the town is bustling with an antiques market, food stalls (here's the place to stock up on local saucisson and cheese for the trip home) and lots of busy cafes.  And, just a week before our visit, a fantastic wine bar opened - at Le 17 Place Aux Vins, nibble charcuterie and cheeses while enjoying a free tasting of generous samples of fantastic local wines, many from small, rarely found producers. We stocked up here with a box to cart home - including some Domaine du Tix which was selling for around the same price per bottle as at the winery direct. A fun place, with passionate and knowledgeable owners, Christophe and Sylvain - and pay only 5 euro corkage to buy any bottle on offer and taste it there (or they will sell it to you by the glass). Le Place Aux Vins, 17, place Rose Goudard, 84800 Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

 

Le 17 Place Aux Vins, wine bar

In a week where 2 giant white truffles were snaffled up at auction for £211,511, this feels like one decadent weekend.

The Truffle and Wine weekend package at Crillon le Brave costs €1,130 per couple and includes 3 nights accommodation, breakfast and dinner daily, the truffle hunt and lunch, a wine tasting at the bar, winery tour and tasting at Chateauneuf-du-Pape and a truffle cooking demonstration. The packages are run 3 times per year during October/November.

Alternatively, Crillon le Brave also runs a Vendanges package during the September wine harvest, or stay at the normal rates of €240 - €490 per night.

Planes go direct to Marseille and Montpellier, and trains go direct to Avignon where you can hire a car and be relaxing in utter bliss with your glass of Cote du Rhone about 40 minutes later. The train is recommended for carting boxes of wine back home.

Greedy Diva was a guest of Crillon le Brave.

Crillon le Brave, Place d'Eglise, 84410 Crillon le Brave, Provence, France (Tel: +33 (0) 490 65 6161)

Bibendum - World Cup of Wine, Quarter Finals

I like the combination of wine and sport. Champagne at the races, beer and bowls, Pimms and croquet (as you do), vodka shots and a mad dash to the nearest souvlaki bar...

So, we're about to be hit with World Cup fever. To mark the occassion, last week, Bibendum hosted a flurry of London food and wine bloggers for the Quarter Finals of its World Cup of Wine. Some key wine producing countries were matched head to head, white for white and red for red. We tasted, we voted. Only the winners would progress through to the semi finals next month. Corks popped, spittoons creaked, the pressure ran high.

The thing I love about Bibendum's wine tasting events is that they're not only interesting and informative, but they make wine fun and accessible. There were some serious wine experts in the room. And there was me. I did try to hold back on my usual comments of the "tastes like Creamy Soda" ilk but, as my tasting notes will reveal, you can't stop me thinking them.

There are already some blog posts from wine fanatics recording the results of the evening - see Wine Passionista, Bibendum Times and Cellar Fella. The only difference between my post and theirs is that they know what they're talking about. So, I'll let my tasting notes speak for themselves...

Round 1: Argentina v South Africa

The whites:
Saam Mountain Middelburg Chenin Blanc, South Africa, Paarl 2007 (£9.51): This wine gained one of my highest scores of the evening, and is great value at £9.51. GD expert tasting notes: "6 months in oak; creamy; bit like a chardy but slightly acidic aftertaste". Grand.

v Argento Reserva Torrontes, Argentina, Torrontes, Salata, 2009 (£6.59): "Fruity, light, aromatic. Would go well with seafood, Thai". Lovely, easy drinking, but no match for the Chenin Blanc.

The reds:
Vinedos de la Posada Merlot, Argentina, La Rioja 2009 (£6.51): "Classic, soft South American Merlot; Crowd Pleaser [rubs chin, I imagine]; Organic; Good value".

v Journeys End "The Cape Doctor" Shiraz, South Africa, Stellenbosch 2005 (£14.76): The clear favourite, and quite a price difference. For me, it just edged out the Merlot (even taking price into account, as we tried to do...). There was much discussion about South African red developing a real following of late (Tim Atkin is a convert) and being one of the most exciting red wine regions of the moment. GD's expert tasting notes included: "Not too heavy; lovely; restrained and elegant" [I'm clearly having a moment here].

Round 2: Spain v Australia

I tried to put my Aussie bias aside, but my palate likes a big red and old school oak.

The whites: 
Cuatro Rayas, Verdejo, Spain Rueda 2008 (£7.76):  Tasting notes reveal only that "The house wine at El Bulli is a Verdejo - not this one." Helpful. In any case, this wine was no match for the big Aussie...

v D'Arenberg The Hermit Crab, Viogner Marsanne, Australia, McLaren Vale 2008 (£9): "Bit oily; aromatic; no oak, just fruit, but full bodied; thick". It got my vote.

The reds: 
Damana 5, Taula, Spain, Ribera del Duero, 2008 (£10.01): Made from the same grape as Rioja, but coming from a warmer climate, this wine spends 5 months in oak and is the entry level, softer wine from this new winery with the funky label. With astounding eloquence, I noted but a single thought: "Has a full on finish".

v Katnook Founders Block Shiraz, Australia, Coonawarra 2006 (£10.75): Spicy and rich, this one had it on the nose in a tough battle of the reds.

Round 3: Chile v Italy

The whites:
Augustinos Reserva Privada Chardonnay, Chile, Bio Bio 2008 (£7.25): "Harsh; needs food". This was suffered my lowest score of the evening, although it's only a 2nd vintage wine so a mere bub.

v Lageder, Chardonnay/Pino Griogio, Italy, Dolomites 2008 (£14.50): At twice the price, this was perhaps an unmatched fight, and I found this wine quite expensive for what it is - "lots of minerality; stone fruits" and a northern Italian wine showing Germanic influences.  My penmanship is transforming into a relaxed scrawl.

The reds:
Valdevieso, Cabernet Franc, Chile, Colchagua 2007 (£11.26): "A straight Cab Franc; tastes a bit green and peppery". [The "green" bit may have been lifted from someone else.]

v Ceppaiano "Violetta", Italy, Tuscany 2004 (14.25): "90% Sangiovese, 10% Cab Sauv; warmth, tannin, acidity; smells like Italy". Except, I didn't love it as much as I normally love my Tuscan reds. Not a knock out, but the Violetta had it.

Round 4: France v California


The whites:
Loredona Pinot Grigio, USA, Califormnia, Monterey Country 2008 (£8.75): "Smells fantastic - doesn't taste as good; short on finish". I tripped over my own heel at this point.

v Chateau Bonnet Reserve, Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers 2009 (£9): "Not oaked; quite well balanced". No stunners in this round, but ok.

The reds:
Marmesa Syrah, USA, California, Central Coast 2006 (£9.75): "Fruit and spice; Metallic aftertaste" [I seem to recall I did not think this a good thing at the time].

v els Pyreneus, Les Hauts de l'Agly, Cotes du Roussillon Villages 2006 (£10): Good value, 14.5% alcohol, but balanced. Would probably improve with food. "Tastes like oyster" - hmmm..  Clearly, it had been a long evening.

Drum roll ....
The winners of the evening will play off as follows in the Semi Finals on 13th May:  France v Italy, and Australia v South Africa.

As far as the rivalries go, some super heavy weights were pitted against some puny contenders. It's not necessarily the fairest competition, but unless Australia gets knocked out prematurely, I support the notion that it's all about the fun, trying some interesting wines and picking up some knowledge along the way.

It was great to meet a whole new array of wine lovers. Thanks to Gal, Gareth and Erica of Bibendum for hosting yet another fabulous wine evening.

Vinoteca, London

It is customary after a few drinks to tell old friends how much you love them.

"Vinoteca, I looove you! You're my best friend...."

The Peanut Gallery's birthday week continued last night with a wine tasting spectacular at Vinoteca in Farringdon. The bargain sum of £10 bought us 20 tastings each, and doubled as a soothing massage for the soul after a long day at the office.

We tried 20 of Vinoteca's "Customer Favourites" from around the world, including the following hits: NV Prosecco dei Conegliano-Valdobbiadene from Bernardi Refrontolo, Veneto, Italy (almondy and delicious, £9.95), 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Vin de Pays du Val de Loire from Vignerons Valencay, Loire Valley, France (nettley flavours, £6.95), 1997 Muzealis Chardonnay from Hilltop Winery, Aszar-Neszmely, Hungary (honey, truffles, £9.95), 2006 Nine Popes from Charles Melton, Barossa Valley, South Australia (a big one, £25). All topped off with a Piemonte Moscato d'Asti and good old Pedro Ximenez El Candado from Spain.

And what better way to sober up on a rainy night than back in the main wine bar/restaurant over a heartwarming bowl of Vinoteca's muscle, clam and leek chowder with home baked wholemeal bread (for me) (£7) and the char-grilled bavette steak, mustard butter, fat chips and salad (for The Peanut Gallery) (£14.50).

Surrounded by the dark wooden furniture and wine laden shelves, Vinoteca always has a buzz and that Melbourne wine bar feel (for the sentimental expat).

The wine tastings are held regularly and there's a South African "Wine Makers" Dinner this Monday 12th October, featuring the wines of Quion Rock. At £70 for 5 courses and 7 wines, it is rumoured to be fabulous (there's a South African chef in the kitchen). Alas, the Greedy Diva will be in KL... If anyone else makes it, let me know how it goes.

Vinoteca, 7 St John Street, Smithfield, London, EC1M 4AA