The first winery chosen for today was Coombe Yarra Valley in Coldstream, about 20 minutes from Healesville. This winery was most impressive with its 600 metres of very old cypress hedges (which are pruned twice per year, with each pruning taking 3 months – well that is what the cellar door host told us). The winery occupies 7 acres and was once the home of Dame Nellie Melba.

It was here we became familiar with the Yarra Valley wineries modus operandi relating to wine tasting activities. Mick and I have visited loads of wineries in different states and different countries (in pursuit of our hobby of course), and we actually like the practice of charging a tasting fee. This takes the pressure off feeling obliged to purchase a wine or wines that we do not really like; we do not want to have wasted the wine grower’s time or money. From experience, this tasting fee is normally deducted if a bottle of wine is purchased.

But that was not always the case in the Yarra Valley.

In more than half of the wineries we visited, the tasting fees were non-refundable, and they ranged from $10 to $25. And, the number of wines available to taste was restricted to usually five.

Here at Coombe Yarra Valley though, the fee ($15) was deducted when wine was purchased.

The weather was stunning, and the Irish cellar door host was full of information about the wines, the gardens and tips on when to drink different wines. She had some she liked to sip while watching TV. (Each to his or her own!).

The Coombe Farm Vineyards are located in the heart of the Yarra Valley. Just 5km north of the Melba Estate, the 120-acre Coombe Farm vineyard is one of the oldest in the valley, and is still owned and operated by Melba’s descendants, the Vestey family. Having supplied grapes to some of Australia’s most recognised producers, an increasing portion of fruit is now being grown and selected specifically for Coombe Yarra Valley Wines. 

Mick left here with a bottle of their 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($40) for us to share later that evening.

Next stop was Punt Road, 6 km away, and it was here that the beautiful weather disappeared and the rain pummelled down. This meant there was no need for the tasters to rush their task, and a good thing they didn’t, as the rain had passed by 30 minutes later.

The tasting fee here was non-refundable. We were the only customers, which became a common theme as we toured the region during mid-week and in off-season. Perfect!

The cellar door host brought each of the five different wines available to be tasted to the table where we were seated, explained a few things about the wines, and then went back to whatever she was doing on her computer, before returning with the next sample. Not the best of experiences, and as such, Mick left here only parting with his $10 tasting fee. That is not to say he did not like their wines, but he was keen to be selective and knew we could easily return if none others lived up to his hopes.

We asked the cellar door host before we left where she would recommend we should go next, and she was keen to tell us that we must visit Payten & Jones (in Healesville) and nearby Oakridge Wines. She was finishing up at Punt Road that week to take up the cellar door manager at Oakridge. It apparently had won winery of the year as well.

I was a little concerned about visiting another winery as I was getting hungry by now (and unfortunately my hope that a lunch site would be identified the previous evening as part of the itinerary had not eventuated). But, as we had to drive past Oakridge Wines – we called in for a tasting. And here the views were spectacular.

But what of the wines??

The non-refundable tasting fee of $15 was almost worth it, as we had a very earnest young man who wanted to tell us all he knew about the wines and the vineyard. It was obvious however, that he had not tasted much or many wines, but he had learnt his script well.

Mick left here with two bottles of their Semillon – one for us to drink, and one to take back to Queensland for Edward to try.

It was now definitely time for lunch. We returned to Healesville and dined in the local bakery some time after 2pm.

We had only a few minutes drive to our next destination – Payten & Jones, and this was voted the most enjoyable winery visit of our whole stay.

Payten and Jones have a strong focus on sustainability. Our wines and vineyards have been carefully developed over the years to capture the unique location of the Yarra Valley.
Drinking our wines is like going to see a live band as opposed to listening to a CD – all the interesting and random fun stuff is left in

The wine tasting fee of $10 was non-refundable but none of the Three Amigos was bothered by this as the young host was so knowledgeable about the wines, and generous in his serves.

The story behind this winery is very interesting – Behn Payten and Troy Jones graduated from the local high school in Healesville in 1997 before teaming up with Pete Payten (Behn’s dad) to establish the business.

This article by Sarah Ahmed beautifully describes the wines and why they are so different to many others out there.

Once there, and after seeing the years of experience going into making extraordinary vermouth, they decided instead to team up with Fot Li as their sole distributor in Australia. Only days before our visit, the owners had negotiated a deal with Dan Murphy’s to provide the vermouth to them. These two young men are going places.

Mick purchased a bottle of the vermouth to bring back home with him, as well as a bottle of their 2022 Pinot Noir and a bottle of 2016 Nebbiolo, made by one of Payten and Jones’ mates who now no longer makes wines. And that is a shame, because it was amazing.

It was well past 4pm by now, and our next and final destination for the day was across the road at Four Pillars.

Maree and Darryl’s son had worked in the industry with Four Pillars, and they were under strict instructions to visit. So of course we all joined in. There was an option for a tasting (at a fee) or visitors could buy a tasting paddle with notes for $25.

As you can see, Mick chose the tasting paddle, Maree tried one of their new gins – Bloody Shiraz 2022 with tonic, and Darryl had almost had enough, so he chose a cider.

We had talked about visiting a local establishment for a drink before we headed home for dinner. I had spotted it on my walk around Healesville earlier that morning.

But, despite the allure of the sentimental factor, we all agreed that ‘enough was enough’.

That was of course until we got home and I was able to enjoy a glass or two of the wines that were purchased with the others while Mick cooked us dinner.

And tonight I was determined there was a break for lunch included in the itinerary for tomorrow.