Mornington Peninsula Adventure with Lisa Lye

This month has been super busy with work and my gorgeous friend Lisa and I decided that a mid month reprieve to the Mornington Peninsula was exactly what we needed. To give our little getaway the respect it deserved we took the Friday off and headed from the bustling streets of Melbourne's CBD straight down the M11 just after lunch on Friday and headed for the coast. After a short drive of just over an hour we arrived at the idyllic Red Hill in the Mornington Peninsula which is characterised by huge gum trees that line the streets. 

After exiting the highway, we drove for another five minutes into another world. Turning left off the bitumen we turned into Lindenderry Winery and immediately the stresses and noise of the city was washed away. Greeted by the friendly Damien at the front desk we were swiftly checked in, upgraded to a larger suite with a view of their beautiful gardens and promised that a bottle of chilled Moët and Chandon would be delivered to our room. Nice! All I could think was 'Well done Lisa'! The afternoon was spent drinking champagne and catching up whilst enjoying freshly made scones and jam. Quite clearly the perfect start to an Alex Mac adventure.

For dinner we moseyed on along to the locally acclaimed restaurant 10 Minutes By Tractor which was about 5 minutes down the road by taxi. While the restaurant was pleasant and the food quite delicious it all seemed rather fussy to me. Small portions of artistic style food is not really my thing, especially when it is accompanied by a snooty sommelier who tells you that he can see what type of patron you are by the price of the wine you order! That said, the wine was delicious and very reasonably priced. It is unfortunate that they do themselves the disservice by representing their brand with such employees.

Our second day was just as fabulous. Starting with a tasting at the cellar door of Lindenderry Winery we tasted all they had to offer including sparkling, Chardonnay and Pinot noir, with the 2010 Pinot being the pick of the bunch. After a reprieve at the Red Hill day spa, we continued on our journey with some new recommendations to Peringa Estate which was definitely a great find. The tasting costs you $4.00 and you get to taste close to 20 wines. For someone who is learning about wine this is the place to go as you can really taste the difference between different varieties and vintages. Definitely worth a visit.

Finally we stopped at the Main Ridge Dairy which was super cute. The dairy is set up so visitors can taste all the different types of goats cheese, whilst also having a beautifully designed farm which allows guests to look out onto the property and watch the kids (baby goats) as they play fight and try to knock each other off the obstacle in the paddock.

After our $10 tasting plate we packed ourselves up in the car and headed back to Melbourne refreshed and ready to tackle the coming week. Is it just me or does time go by faster as you get older?

Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac :)