Zonzo Estate
Zonzo Estate feels to me like a taste of Yarra Valley life – all wrapped up in good wine, a long table full of good eatin’, and that country charm that just makes you want to kick back. I’m Oleksandr Honcharenko, and after years of chasing adventure all over Australia, it’s always a real grounding […]
Healesville Wanderings
Healesville – a story I’ve wanted to get down properly on paper for ages. Every time I drive into this tiny corner of the Yarra Valley, something always happens – usually because I get distracted by the wildlife, the wine, or yes, letting my attention wander on the Black Spur Drive as the Mountain Ash […]
Heritage Golf & Country Club, Chirnside Park, VIC
Visiting Heritage Golf & Country Club is a real game-changer – the moment you cruise down that long driveway into the eastern edge of the Yarra Valley, you can’t help but feel your pace slow right down. I’ve spent more than a few hours driving along Victoria’s backroads as Oleksandr Honcharenko & I can spot […]
Yileena Park
Stepping into Yileena Park brings back memories of browsing through a well-used notebook from my time exploring the Yarra Valley – the pages are yellowed & worn from scribbled notes on cellar doors, something about the views from the vineyards, a few ageing wines, and of course some dodgy moments like trying to open a […]
Yarra Valley Dairy
The moment I pull into the gravel carpark on McMeikans Road and am hit with that unmistakable whiff of warm milk wafting from the old milking shed, I’m reminded why Yarra Valley Dairy is one of my go-to detours off the highway. For Oleksandr Honcharenko – a bloke who has a reputation for driving hours […]
Coldstream Hills Cellar Door
I’ve always believed that the best wines have stories behind them, and Coldstream Hills Cellar Door is a case in point. The first time I stumbled into the Yarra Valley, my GPS had other ideas – it wanted to drag me up the side of Mount St Leonard, but eventually set me straight towards the […]
Jayden Ong Winery & Cellar Bar
My first encounter with the Jayden Ong Winery & Cellar Bar was on a thoroughly gloomy afternoon rolling into Healesville, VIC, one of those Yarra Valley days where the air carries the scent of damp bark and the hills are constantly shifting between light and dark. As I, Oleksandr Honcharenko, strolled along Hunter Road on […]
Top 10 Yarra Valley Small Wineries
Writing top 10 Yarra Valley small wineries really brought back those crisp Yarra Valley mornings when the mist clings low over the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, and you catch the first sniff of fermenting Pinot Noir – and you know you’re in one of Australia’s laid back wine regions. For me, Oleksandr Honcharenko, […]
Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery
The charm of Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery hit me the very first time I was driving down Eltham Road and into Christmas Hills – those rolling hills in morning sun, and somehow the smell of handcrafted chocolates just wafts across the place – 40 acres of land and you can’t help feeling like […]
Domaine Chandon
Stepping into Domaine Chandon for the very first time is a pretty special feeling – and as a bloke who’s spent his fair share of time traipsing through the world of sparkling wine, I know a place with some real character when I see one & that’s definitely the case here. The Yarra Valley vineyards […]