Yarra Valley Full Day Gourmet Food, Wine & Gin Adventure

Don’t worry about the driving, let someone else do it for you. Mathew, our driver and guide for the day did an excellent job showing us around the Yarra Valley. He was punctual, welcoming and informative. The day was a good combination of both food and wine tastings which showcased the Yarra Valley beautifully . The wineries we visited were a good choice, some large and a smaller boutique winery. Most of the venues provided an excellent opportunity to purchase quality Australian souvenirs for our overseas visitors. The only criticism is we didn’t visit the dairy for a cheese tasting which is mentioned in advertising for this experience. As it was it was a full day and a visit here would have made it rushed. Management need to amend the blurb on the TripAdvisor site. We recommend this tour.

It was a fun trip and we had a few stops where we had a chance to explore the vineyards and the wine we taste was great!

Even the concept with one getting driven around and seeing different areas is superb. It just felt a little rushed to have to taste so many things without the big context or history.

Overall, the tour was good, with some issues. This was the most affordable tour, and the experience matched that price. The tour guide didn't seem keen or enthusiastic about the tour. It would've been a better experience if they had more energy and gave us some more information. For instance, he didn't offer water etc. Further, the music wasn't working on the bus. There were also some air-conditioning issues for some other members (it was fine for me). There was also a rather loud group who had joined the tour & made it difficult for the rest of the group to enjoy the tour. However, this is not something that the tour operator could've prevented. The fruit at the beginning of the tour was modest. The private tour at the Yarra Valley Chocolatery was a highlight and is worth it. However, the Chocolatery stop was meant to be at the end of the tour, but the tour guide brought this forward to right after the fruits. It would have been a more enjoyable experience post lunch as the Chocolatery had ice cream as well. The wineries were quite nice. A nice addition to the tour could be a grazing board. One thing that I did quite like about this tour is that they offered a complementary bottle of wine. While it was a great tour, I would pay the premium for another tour next time.

It was a fun day out with a nice bunch of people. Cost was reasonable, with some great stops along the way, good food, good wine & a great tour guide.

This was a solid and enjoyable wine, chocolate, and fruit tour overall. The fruit tasting was so yummy and a really fun, quick stop — honestly one of my favorite parts of the day. The chocolate tasting was also excellent: very delicious and quite generous in the number of chocolates we got to sample. The order of stops mostly worked, though I personally think the chocolate tasting might have been even better as a mid-point stop rather than the second stop. That said, I understand wanting to save the wine for the latter half of the tour. The chocolate shop also had an ice cream counter, which looked amazing — I definitely would have indulged if it had been later in the afternoon. The wine tasting itself was a great entry-level experience. It’s very approachable, not overly focused on sophisticated tasting notes, and accessible for newer wine drinkers. It made for a relaxed, casual tasting atmosphere, and the bottle to take home at the end was a nice bonus. The only reason I gave this tour 4 stars instead of 5 is that the vineyards we visited didn’t quite feel like places I’d personally seek out to buy wine from. I’ve been on other tours where the tastings inspired me to purchase a case to take home, and that wasn’t quite the experience here. That said, I’d still recommend this tour for anyone looking for a fun, laid-back day of tasting without pressure — especially if you’re newer to wine or just want an easy, enjoyable outing.

Outstanding experience with Bernie as our guide

The wine tasting part was fab, but the fruit tasting was disappointing and we didn't make it to the Yarra Valley Dairy at all. Fruit tasting consisted of one piece of strawberry, a small slice of plum, a tiny break off of a pistachio bar, a tiny cracker cracked in half with jam and one with with capsicum chutney. I love Aussie fruits, this was just sad. Their shop on the other hand is then full of fresh & beautiful produce and you are free to buy of course. Spent quite a bit of extra time at Rochford and again quite a bit longer time spent at St Hubert, allowing all to get comfortably tipsy, and the "complimentary" wine to take home was quite nice actually. The guide was nice enough, but the commentary in the van was hard to hear and frankly, unnecessary at points. If you are looking for wine tasting only, it is sure a great trip.

Pete was a great tour guide, very informative about the history of Melbourne and the Yarra Valley. Thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate tasting with wide range of chocolates to try, the fruit at Yarra Farm Fresh was divine and great way to start the day. Each winery we went to was picturesque and had a great selection of reds and whites.

From the moment Bernie got us on the bus to when he dropped us back about 8 hours later, we had a ball! The fruit and chocolate start the day off right and then its into the wine!