Sunday is bright and sunny and we are feeling surprisingly chipper and spritely, all things considered. So why not back it up with another day at Toast to the Coast. You can read all about Day 1 over here.
Getting a jump start ahead of the shuttle buses (the only down side to the shuttles is that they don't arrive at the wineries until much later than cellar door opening) we get a lift from friend (remember the bottle of wine bought as wooing/bribery/thank you gift yesterday?!!!) and head to our first winery of the day Bellarine Estate.
First up at the Barn out front there is a local produce 'market'. Lots of jams, sauces, coffee and Portarlington Bakery goods.
Guess who are the first visitors of the day?
We head into the restaurant for tastings so that we can look over this view.
The winery also has a Vintage Car display too, with some fun rally cars. Unfortunately due to the rainy weather they don't have all the vintage cars on display.
Starting with bubbles and moving through the whites and the reds, I find that I really like their Shiraz.
Screaming Seeds are also here tasting their products. I really like the unique blends of herbs and spices that Screaming Seeds offer and I stock up on Rainforest Mix (a mix of lemon myrtle & Dorrigo Pepper), Virgin Island Mix (a blend of celery seeds, garlic & herbs), Moonlight Dreaming (a blend of coriander, garlic, fenugreek, Murray River salt, onion, lemon tea tree, ajowan Seed, fennel, mountain pepper, peppermint gum, black peppercorns) and a traditional gravlax cure for salmon.
The restaurant offers sweeping views over the vines and I can't help but stop by to explore this old pick up out front!
The first shuttle bus drops off for the day so we jump on and head to Terindah Estate. Lovely views over the vines with Port Phillip Bay in the distance, it's a lovely sweeping view.
It's here that I discover the best Chardonnay. You may recall that I went off Chardonnay years ago and although Chardonnay is making a comeback I just can't palate it. Well, Terindah Estate Chardonnay was gorgeous. Even Miss N, who is normally a red drinker, really liked it to.
So we purchased a glass to enjoy sitting on a hay bale outside soaking up the sun.
Cheers
Manzanillo Grove is also tasting their olive oil range at Terindah Estate. The estate produces 7 types of olives. Cold Pressed extra virgin olive oil is produced on site along with a range of flavour packed oils and of course olives. Their orange olive oil is particularly refreshing!
Cheers to a lovely day and a crisp cold Chardy.
Scotchmans Hill turned out to be a favourite for the day. We had a lot of fun tasting the wines and bantering with the staff.
The two ranges of wines being tasted today are Swan Bay and Scotchmans Hill. I find that the Swan Bay range is more acidic and tangy.
I am very partial to the Scotchmans Hill range. Again I am surprised that my palate is enjoying the sweeter wines and I come away with a bottle of the new release 2015 Scotchmans Hill Late Harvest Riesling. Definitely looking forward to enjoying their wines and to coming back here next year.
Mobile Pizzaria is on site serving up some very tasty pizzas. We ordered the BBQ chicken pizza. It had a crispy base and a good covering of ingredients and the BBQ sauce is tangy and perfect on top of the pizza
Obligatory amongst the vines photo
Onwards to Flying Brick Cider House with guest winery Yes said the Seal.
Starting with wines, the bubbles and creaminess of the Reserve Blanc de Blanc is delicious. The savingnon blanc is lovely too.
Moving onto the ciders. We have the 3 main ciders, Original, Draught or Pear. The original is crisp and fresh and an easy drink. The Draught is a little more depth and complex but both have a great strong apple taste.
Enjoying a glass al fresco while waiting for the next shuttle (we may have missed one).
But we didn't mind. The cider house is a lovely spot to soak up some atmosphere, take a break and sit back and relax.
Do you have to ask where our last stop was? Yes we ended back at Leura Park Estate. Of course this is the shuttle hub for the North and South routes of the Bellarine Peninsula, so it goes without saying that we would ultimately end up here...it's just that the party at the end of the day is so much fun!
Tasting our favourite Ms Flamingo & Associates 2014.
Guest wineries Finesse Wines and Jack Rabbit Vineyard. So I did some tastings at Jack Rabbit Vineyard.
The moscato was lovely a cool and fresh and the pinot grigio was a lovely drop.
It was time to have some more food. I am amazed on how hungry you can get when you are hopping from winery to winery!
The salt n' pepper calamari looked very tasty and I was not disappointed. A cone full of crispy, hot tender calamari tendrils.
It was party time. Test Pilot Molly were playing again as they jammed out songs from the 70's, 80'sand 90's
Here's to an amazing weekend in the Bellarine. Spending time with my bestie is always fun and exploring the wineries during Toast to the Coast has offered an insight into the area and all it has to offer. We didnt' touch on the food aspect of it that much (surprisingly) but hopefully in months to come I will be heading back to do some more exploring.
Cheers to friendships, love of wine, lovely produce and great times!
2270 Portarlington Rd, Bellarine
www.bellarineestate.com.au
Terindah Estate
90 McAdams Lane, Bellarine
www.terindahestate.com
Scotchmans Hill
190 Scotchmans Road, Drysdale
www.scotchmans.com.au
Flying Brick Cider House
Cnr Swan Bay Road & Bellarine Highway, Wallington
www.flyingbrickciderco.com.au
Leara Park Estate
1400 Portarlington Road, Curlewis
www.leuraparkestate.com.au
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