The Yarra Valley: Melbourne's Wine Country an Hour from the CBD

The Yarra Valley, the cool-climate wine region 60 kilometres east of Melbourne in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range where the Yarra River rises, provides Melbourne with the world-class wine tourism destination that the city's food and wine culture has developed an appetite for and that the combination of the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sparkling wine quality that the cool Yarra Valley growing conditions produce and the proximity to the city make one of Australia's most visited wine regions. The valley's accessibility, the scenic drive through the Dandenong Ranges and the rural landscape of the valley floor, and the quality of the restaurant experiences at the major wineries create the day trip and weekend getaway that Melbourne residents and the international visitors who discover the Yarra Valley through the wine tourism circuit return to repeatedly.

Domaine Chandon, the Australian operation of the Moet Hennessy champagne house that produces Australia's finest traditional method sparkling wine from the Yarra Valley's cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, provides the prestige anchor at the northern end of the valley that has shaped the Yarra Valley's identity as a sparkling wine region. The cellar door experience at Chandon, with the green House restaurant and the expansive vineyard views, provides the benchmark for the valley's hospitality quality that the other major producers are measured against.

Healesville, the town at the head of the valley that serves as the accommodation and services base for the Yarra Valley wine tourism circuit, provides the access to the Healesville Sanctuary, the wildlife park that specialises in Australian native animals and that is one of the best places in Australia to observe the platypus, the Tasmanian devil, and the range of Australian bird species that the sanctuary's naturalistic habitats support. The combination of the wildlife sanctuary and the wine tourism makes Healesville the Yarra Valley's most complete day trip destination.

The farm gate producers and the artisan food businesses that line the Yarra Valley's rural roads, including the De Bortoli dairy and the Yering Station farm gate, provide the farm-to-table food tourism dimension that complements the wine cellar door visits in the complete Yarra Valley food and wine day. The Yarra Valley Dairy, the Cold Stream Hills vineyard, and the produce markets at Warrandyte and Yarra Glen provide the food stops that the wine tourist includes in the valley circuit.

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