My early morning started with a walk along the longest pier in the Southern Hemisphere. Being so early, I was able to do it for free.

There was already quite some activity happening on the beachfront, in preparation for the Ironman Competition tomorrow.

A few competitors were getting in some practice laps – and the sea looked perfect for it. Flat!!

Our first engagement this morning was a wine tasting at Churchview, an organic winery, located just off the Bussell Highway in Metricup.

We were the first customers for the day, and our hostess treated us extremely well – giving samples of some of the most expensive wines that usually cost $5 extra to taste (at no extra charge). I actually was not tasting the wines, but I was observing the reactions of the the other three. They very much liked what they were trying. While they were tasting, I wandered around the Cellar Door and spotted a ‘Special’ – a mystery case of reds for $180 (or $15 each). As Mick and the others were enjoying themselves, sampling wines that started at $35, I decided to order one to be mailed home for us. Our son bought four bottles of wine (a Chenin Blanc to have with dinner this evening), so I got to try it later.

Next wine tasting was at Hayshed Hill Winery.

Mick and I had visited here last year, and I had bought one of my favourite, well-priced (@ $25) reds here, and I wanted to try it again. While it was a different vintage, with a different mix of the varieties, it was still delicious. So we bought another bottle – Morrison’s Gift (Bordeaux Blend) – to enjoy later. The name puts me off a little, but I am now wondering if winemaking was another job Scott Morrison gave himself without telling anyone. If so, he did very well.

After all that wine tasting, we headed to Maison Lassiaille for a coffee, only a few minutes drive away.

Here they make beautiful French pastries, which most of us resisted with our coffee because we had a booking for a 5 course degustation lunch – in 20 minutes time. We couldn’t resit them fully however – and selected one of these each as a ‘take away’ for another time.

Last year, Mick and I had a degustation at Rustico – a restaurant located on the Hayshed Hill Winery, and we loved it. I was determined to return during our visit this year as well. The five courses actually comprises two items per course, but in tapas sizes.

The duck liver parfait on toast was a favourite with us all, and the seafood course with rock lobster and scallops was amazing. We purchased a bottle of Museum Release 2011 Riesling to go with these, and a bottle of 2020 Cabernet Franc to accompany the pork belly and lamb courses.

I did tell a ‘little fib’ when I booked online; I said the luncheon was to celebrate my birthday.

Well, it is my birthday next week!

After all that food, we thought we could not eat another thing. But we were wrong.

Our son had purchased two marron for us so we could try the local delicacy with some more wines he had selected.

Mick helped in the cooking and cleaning process, and we enjoyed the sweet meat, and the challenge excavating the tiny scraps of meat from the claws. We will definitely need to do a load of washing tomorrow.

The wines we tried tonight included:

Whicher Ridge – 2019 Mademoiselle V (Viogner), which got a big thumbs up from us all. ($38)

Churchview – 2019 Chenin Blanc (at $30) at 12.5%, Purchased by our son today as he thought it would go extra well with the marron, and he was right.

Willow Bridge Estate – 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, 14% (@ $24). Mick had selected this the day before when we visited the winery, and we agreed it was a good choice.

Green Door – Amphora 2021 Tempranillo, 14%, (@ $40). which I had chosen after our lunch at the winery. This got the tick for the best red of the night, and it may have been helped by the pieces of dark chocolate with almonds we ate with it to conclude our long day.

We had a fantastic day – but will need to slow the pace a little if we are to survive the week.