VINTAGE has started in Victoria's Yarra Valley and I was visiting Moet & Chandon today when a delivery of freshly-harvested grapes came in from the vineyard.
It's a
rare thing to see a winery's machinery in action - the equipment sits idle for
most of the year as the red and white varieties ferment in the barrels and
bottles - but today I saw the crushers working as tractors dashed around moving
the plump fruit along the production line.
Moet
& Chandon has been in the Yarra Valley for 16 years, planting the first
vines on the rolling hills east of Melbourne in the 1980s to take advantage of
the cool climate and rich soils, and now the Greenpoint grapes go into the
company's sparkling varieties.
While
some wineries like to keep the gates closed, and visitors away from the sharp
end of the operation, Moet & Chandon is keen to welcome visitors to the estate
to sample the wine while enjoying this beautiful part of Victoria.
There are
guided and self-guided tours to be done, wine lovers can visit the cellar door
to sample and purchase the sparkling varieties, and there's the new Tasting Bar
for a more relaxed sampling experience.
There connoisseurs
can try a flight of sparkling wines that include the signature vintage brut
that's considered to be this estate's trademark drop, the more unique
sparkling shiraz, and the prestigious cuvee riche which is made from the juice
produced in every block's first press.
The other option is the Greenpoint Brassiere, the estate's relaxed restaurant, and that's the perfect place to sit on a sunny day with the tables set inside floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a view across the vines to the bush-covered mountains in the distance.
