The air conditioning in the van did a fantastic job of tempering the heat of Albury. We woke at 6.30am, showered, dressed and packed the van away – leaving the caravan site at 7.30am headed for Beechworth for breakfast.

With Caroline at the helm today we arrived into the picturesque Beechworth around 8.30am and found refuge at a small cafe within spitting distance of a wine bar. Heaven! From what we could see, Beechworth was a beautiful little town. An extremely wide main road. Some parts of the road and footpaths cobbled, with some beautiful sandstone buildings as you enter the town.

We finished breakfast at 9am and as luck would have it (or was it good planning), I entered the Cellar Door Wine Store (#CellarDoorWineStore) run by the Bisset family. Upon entering this Aladdin’s cave of wine, I was greeted by one of the owners, Peter Bisset, whom was extremely knowledgeable on all things wine. I explained to him that I was interested in sampling wines from the Beechworth region and was advised that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were some of the standout varietals. Wines tasted included:

• 2016 Chardonnay from Warner Vineyard, Beechworth. Nutty, butter and integrated oak. #93rating
• 2016 Pinot Noir Mayday HIlls from The Ninth Mile. In Caroline’s words “Oh Blimey that’s good!” I would tend to agree. Earthy boldness, good structure. Wish I had bought more. #96rating

And for something completely different, a 2015 Tannat from Beechworth Wine Estates. Usually used as a blending grape, the wine is made from the skin and flesh of the red tannat grapes, with origins from the South West of France an Italy. Dark bodied, hints of fruit (Ava and Audrey smelt raspberries) and a good set of legs, Peter identified this as a good wine for a dinner party with wine snobs. #90rating

I grabbed the contact details for Peter and his son, Lachlan, as I discovered they send wine interstate. Looking very forward to picking Peter and Lachlan’s brains for future wine orders! @cellardoorwinestore

We continued south bound on a picturesque drive through the rainforests along Maroondah highway. Beautiful tall trees, great ferns reminiscent of a scene from Jurassic Park. We followed the winding roads until we returned to civilisation. Next stop Giant Steps Vineyard, Healesville.

A quick stop at the Beechworth bakery before I took Danielle to experience her first wine tasting! A beautiful ‘working’ cellar door, surrounded with floor to ceiling barrels and wine bottles delicately placed in racks – held together by pieces of leather, to ensure the labels wouldn’t tear when bottles were removed from the racks.

The French Sommelier with the curly moustache described each wine in great detail, describing the difference in climate, terrier, incorporation of wild yeast and carbonic masseration process. There were expressions of the aforementioned varietals sourcing grapes from regions within the Yarra Valley, Mclaren Vale, Coal River Tasmania and Otago. The line up consisted predominantly of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah, with a Field white (French blend based on Viognier) and Bordeaux style blend thrown in for good measure.  Rather than completing a typical @lordlachlanwines rating on each of the wines (notes were taken), my summary is that the wines from the Sexton vineyards were more to my taste than the blends from the Yarra Valley region. The standouts were the 2018 Rose, 100% pinot, two hours in the press. Salmon in colour, Raspberries with subtle floral notes & the 2018 Sexton Pinot Noir, #90rating. From clay soils, more open on aromas and complexity. A darker hue, earth and licorice, #91rating.

We left the Yarra to gridlocked traffic in the opposite direction, as die hard John Farnham fans patiently waited to see yet another ‘final tour’. As Danielle and the girls weren’t familiar with Farnsy, I decided to pump up the volume in the Prado and educate my audience. Classics including “You’re the Voice”, “Pressure Down” & “A Touch of Paradise’.

Before our final destination for the evening, we stopped in at Brian and Jakkie’s house in Port Melbourne, a stone throws from where we would board the Spirit of Tasmania. The girls quickly changed into their cossies and joined the other kids in the pool, while Caroline, Danielle, Brian, Jakkie, Barro and I had a chance to catch up. Unfortunately Emily, Barro’s wife, was sitting in the gridlocked traffic, waiting to see Farnsy! Brian and Jakkie were fantastic hosts, putting on a lovely meal and gave the girls a chance to shower and change into their p’jays before getting back into the car and heading to the port.

A few minutes later, we were sitting in the queue of cars waiting to board the Spirit of Tasmania. The long day with the girls was about to become that little bit longer, having to wait over an hour and a half to park the car, find our rooms and go to sleep before disembarking in Devonport, Tasmania.