On Saturday, Agathe and I went with Marion and Josh to the Yarra Valley. Wine country. After driving about an hour and half from Melbourne you arrive in a semi-mountainous countryside. The road we came in on straddled acres of vineyards sprawling far and away. Spring colors were in full bloom on a day that could have been summer for all we knew. Our first stop was Chandon, a well-known French champagne that has vineyards in various countries around the world too. They claim to use the same traditional methods of making champagne at these destination vineyards as they do in France. After a generous tasting with our French server, imagine that, we spent our day traveling from winery to winery, tasting many Shiraz, blends and even gin, we had a picnic in a regional park with old trees and unfamiliar birds. It was a great of a day as any. I hadn’t thought much of Australian wine coming from Europe and the US, but what impressed me in particular was: the passion and flair of some of the smaller winemakers and the high quality of the wine. Which leads me to a much broader question:
Does Melbourne really have it all?
Coming from someone who’s been here for less than two weeks it’s hard to say. But from what I have seen, Melbourne is successfully incorporating much of what’s good in Europe and the US while leaving out the bad, like:
- Things work and run efficiently;
- With modern and historical influence;
- And a high quality of life;
- People are kind, polite and like to have a good time;
- Access to the sea, wine country and good weather;
- Many people are from international backgrounds;
- Professional opportunities abound
These are some of the reasons Melbourne is rocking it right now. It feels like the modern “land of opportunity” — what America used to be for many though with far more social safety nets. How unjust of them..
Cheers to a good gin,
Anthony P.S. If you make it out to the Yarra Valley, Four Pillars Distillery ought to be on your list. Before the tour, I didn’t know how to properly drink gin (spoiler alert: hold it in your sealed mouth for 15-20 seconds before swallowing) nor did I expect to have a gin-guru comedian as our guide. Hats off to him!
