Wine Technology Blog @ WineWeb.com

We took our family vacation to Australia this summer and spent three weeks touring the areas around Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. We spent a week outside of Melbourne in the Mornington Peninsula region, in the heart of that area's wine country. While Victoria is more known for Shiraz in Yarra Valley, the wines in the Mornington Peninsula were impressive. Due to the cooler climate, the wineries there typically focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The rolling hills and wooded areas reminded me of what Napa Valley might have been like 30 years ago. Most of the wineries are small, but a few have distribution to the U.S. Our first stop was typical of the experience. It was at Ten Minutes by Tractor, a winery named by how long it takes to get to their other vineyards. A dirt road through the vineyards led to a small tasting room among the vines. Super-friendly staff, at most a couple of other visitors there, and plenty of time to talk about the wines.

We made it to about a dozen wineries. Our favorite was Miceli, a very small winery with an amazing sparkling wine and an awesome Chardonnay. The wines remind me of the feeling I had in 1992 when I toured the Barossa Valley and tasted the wines from Henschke -- they're just do marvelous things to your taste buds. Some of our other favorites were Paringa Estate and Port Phillip Estate, both for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Stonier for their sparkling cuvee and Pinot Noir. Don't go looking for these wines at your local wine shop, however. They are small production wineries that sell all of their wine to the local market. But if you're ever in the area, be sure to grab all you can.