A Rotarian Wine Appreciation Fellowship Event will be held on Saturday 27th of May 2023 at the De Bortoli Family Winemakers. It will include a winery visit, tasting and dinner at De Bortoli Winery plus transportation there and back. $200.00 USD per person + Eventbrite fees. Limit of 100 people.
You can see the full schedule of information below.
This event has sold out – but you can join the waiting list. You will be notified if there are any cancellations.
Meeting Information: Meet at Federation Square in the designated coach zone. (click here for map). This is about a 20 minute walk from the convention center. Doors for the bus will open at 12:15 and buses leave at 12:30 pm. Do not be late. Look for the Rotarian Wine Appreciation logo in the windows to know which bus to take.
No refunds after 5 days before the event. Please let us know of any dietary concerns.
Our first stop will be at Domaine Chandon Green Point Winery (www.chandon.com.au) to taste an array of their best sparkling wines. The winery boasts some of the best views in the Yarra Valley.
Our second stop will be at De Bortoli (www.debortoli.com.au). De Bortoli is one of the largest and oldest of over 80 vineyards in the Yarra Valley. Now, the Italian owned estate has grown to a size of nearly 600 acres (240 hectares). This iconic winery is known for its variety of quality wines made using organic and sustainable wine producing practices. Of the Top Ten wineries to visit in Australia, De Bortoli has been named the number 1 best.
We will be able to casually enjoy the vineyard vistas, followed by a hosted tasting in the winery barrel shed and then a 3-course dinner with paired wines in their Locale Restaurant. Trip Advisor has rated De Bortoli five stars for their value, service and food.
12.15pm – Meet at Fed Square Coach Pickup
12.30pm – depart Melbourne CBD
1.45pm – arrive at Domaine Chandon
3.30pm – depart Domaine Chandon for De Bortoli
4.00pm – arrival at De Bortoli Winery & Locale Restaurant – Yarra Valley
4.00pm – 6.00pm – hosted wine tasting in the winery barrel shed
6.00pm – 8.30pm – 3 course dinner with matched wines in Locale Restaurant
8.30pm – departure from De Bortoli back to Melbourne CBD
The cost of this experience is $280 AUD ($200 USD), all inclusive (transportation, tastings, food, tax, and gratuity). + EventBrite processing fees.
More About Domaine Chandon:
In 1959, the founder of Domaine Chandon Robert-Jean de Vogüé and his oenologist Renaud Poirier, collaborated with local winemakers in Argentina to apply Champagne expertise to local varieties which resulted as the first of many connections. This saw Chandon craft sparkling expressions from New World terroir. And in 1973, Robert-Jean de Vogüé and Californian entrepreneur John Wright’s shared vision for exploring new horizons gave rise to an inspiring estate in the Napa Valley, which now crafts exceptional wines with a Californian character. Then during the mid-1980s, a team of Chandon’s wine whisperers struck gold at Green Point, an old dairy farm in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. The cool climate and great soil combined to make a picture-perfect home for Domaine Chandon.
Since 1986, this is where Australia’s leading méthode traditionnelle producer has been confidently crafting sparkling and still wines that are stamped with the distinct style that is Chandon.
Chandon’s spirit of possibility continues to burn brightly, unlocking the potential for wine production in India and China, and believing in the promise of possibility. The fruits at the winery are sourced from cool-climate sites across Victoria, including their three vineyards in the Yarra Valley, Strathbogie Ranges, and Whitlands Plateau. The grape varieties produced in those vineyards include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier which are used to produce excellent sparkling wines.
More About De Bortoli:
The history of De Bortoli begins in the 1920’s when Vittorio De Bortoli immigrated from Italy to Australia where he purchased a fruit farm, and then one year when their was a glut of Shiraz grapes, he started to produce wine from grapes he acquired for free. Now, almost 100 years later, the 4th generation of the De Bortoli family is making an award-winning array of organic wines using innovative sustainable winemaking techniques, using grapes sourced from a number of wineries they have acquired over the years in multiple renown wine making regions of southeast Australia.
In 1982, they created one their most acclaimed wines, Noble One (originally released as De Bortoli Australian Sauternes Botrytis Semillon). Noble One won the Trophy for Best Botrytis Wine at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 1985. It won again in 1992 and 2004 and it is consistently rated in the low to mid-90 points range.
The overall philosophy at De Bortoli is that great wine begins in the vineyard and should reflect the region where the grapes are grown. Achieving this must involve both the vineyard and the winery.
In the winery, it’s all about restraint, minimal interference and allowing the wine to ‘make itself’. With their winemaking, the mantra “it’s harder to do nothing” expresses our approach.
In the vineyard, it means thoughtful site selection, vine maturity and a move towards sustainable, biological farming practices that deliver exceptional fruit quality and real environmental benefits. It also involves an increasing embrace of single vineyard wines.
I have registered for the event and have my confirmation. However, it is vague where we meet in Melbourne to begin the tour:
“Central Business District, Queen Street.”
Can a more specific address be supplied?
Information will be sent to those who register when we get closer to the event.
For those that haven’t seen the latest, the meeting spot is Federation Square in the designated coach zone. This is about a 20 minute walk from the convention center. Doors for the bus will open at 12:15 and buses leave at 12:30 pm. Do not be late. Look for the Rotarian Wine Appreciation logo in the windows to know which bus to take.