How good does some snow play sound for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend 9-11 June up at Lake Mountain?  Test out your skills at a toboggan race and stuff snow down the back of your friends’ jackets!   It’ll hopefully lead to an all out snow ball fight.  And if there’s been a real dump of snow, you can even go snow shoeing, and cross country skiing along some of their 37 kms of cross country ski trails.  With live bands and wine tastings for après ski, and face painting and show bags for the little ones, it’s a great family day out.

Thanks to the resort’s world-class snow making machine, you don’t even have to wait to hear the snow forecast, you can just book tickets today – knowing there’ll definitely be enough snow for your toboggan race.  And all this is on Lake Mountain – the closest slopes to Melbourne – it’s totally affordable and a great family resort, especially for first timers.  Top tip, be sure to get there early to get the maximum out of your day, as your hire gear has to be returned by 4pm. And the best way to get there early is to stay the night before at the foot of the mountain in Marysville, then you’ll be first up on the mountain!

And as we come into winter, it’s great to know a day at the snow starts from as little as $30 for the whole family (if you purchase in advance online – a ‘mid-week resort vehicle entry’).

For the rest of the season, they are offering some good value deals, where they’ve packaged up great activities, including ski lessons.  And, if you buy in advance online, you can take advantage of ‘discounted resort entry’ (purchase online via their website or through Ticketmaster).

So, as they say on the mountain – there are ‘No excuses’ not to come and enjoy the snow – just jump online and book yourselves a  day of play on the mountain for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Does the combination of a steam train journey, a big carvery dinner in front of an open log fire and a turn on the dance-floor sound like your idea of a good night out?  If so, book yourselves on a Puffing Billy Dinner & Dance train, which run most Friday and Saturday nights.

Perfect for these cooler nights, climb aboard the heated ‘Mount Lyell’ first class dining carriages where you’ll be served a warming soup for your entrée, as the steam train gently chuffs its way to Emerald.  There you’ll alight at the hundred year old Nobelius Packing Shed – with its welcoming warming log fire and beautifully laid tables.

Up at the carvery you’ll be offered roast
beef or Cajun chicken along with a great selection of dishes from the buffet, as the evening’s entertainment begins.  Will you take a turn on the dance-floor?  Or will you be singing along to Gloria Gaynor “I will survive?”  I have it on good authority that singing is encouraged!!

Whatever floats your boat – just enjoy being in great company, with all the fun and none of the responsibility of cooking and clearing up later.  You’ll be having a great night out in the Dandenong Ranges and when the whistle blows, and Puffing Billy is ready for the return journey to Belgrave, you’ll be served a lovely after-dinner coffee, with chocolates and a glass of port.

So, check through your diary and find a reason to celebrate with a night out on Puffing Billy.  You can look up available dates and get all the information you need from Puffing Billy’s website.

Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Did you come up to the Archibald Exhibition at TarraWarra Museum of Art last year?  I was lucky enough to go three times – one of the perks of being local – we can just pop along when the crowds have died down.

Why don’t you come up and stay locally and that way you can ‘feel like a local’ too?

Many of the beautiful accommodation providers here in the Yarra Valley, like Chateau Yering Hotel, are offering you an Archibald package, where you get tickets to the exhibition, a la carte dinner for two at Eleonore’s, an overnight stay in a beautiful River Suite and a full English breakfast in Sweetwater Café the next morning.  And best of all, you’re staying just down the road from the exhibition, and you’ve already got your tickets, so there’s no rushing, no long drive to get there or queuing at the exhibition.  Perfect.

If you can’t stay, but you still want to make a lovely day of it here in the region, Chateau Yering Hotel are also offering a great lunch deal served in their beautiful light and airy Sweetwater Café – so take your time and enjoy a 3 course set menu washed down with a beautiful glass of TarraWarra Estate wine – all for just $55.  You could go to the exhibition late morning and then wend your way across to the hotel and discuss your favourite portraits over a leisurely lunch before heading home.  I’d recommend you book though, as a deal like this will be popular.

The lunch menu will be available throughout the duration of the exhibition – 8 June to 9 July 2012.  Call today and reserve your table for lunch or your accommodation treat! 9237 3333

Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Being English I look forward to autumn each year: those glorious colours of the turning leaves, and wood smoke curling up from people’s chimneys across the valley.  But autumn is only fun if you can keep warm, so if you’re after a day out which doesn’t involve getting cold, then you’ll love lunching in the warmth of the first class heritage carriages on Puffing Billy.

When its dark by 5pm and the last throws of summer are a distant memory, I find it really helps to have something special to look forward to in the diary, like having lunch with a friend on Puffing Billy.  It’s a great, convivial atmosphere in the carriage and it is a lovely way to catch up on someone’s news, without a care about cooking or driving.  And Puffing Billy has devised a great system in that you order your lunch from the menu when you make your booking – choosing either to share a ‘Natter Platter’ or go the full monty and have a decadent three-course lunch.

On the outbound journey to Emerald Lake Park, if you’ve ordered the Natter Platter to share, you’ll be presented with a generous tiered stack of savoury antipasto goodies, such as cured ham, smoked salmon, olives, pate, roasted veggies and gorgeous creamy cheeses.  Then, on the return journey, out come the scones with jam and cream and a warming cup of tea or coffee.  So, if you have got off the train at Emerald Lake Park (where the train stops for about 50 minutes) and gone for a wander in the bracing fresh air around the lovely lake, that cuppa will be rather welcome once you’re back on board.

I ordered and thoroughly enjoyed a three-course lunch and I certainly didn’t need feeding again that day!  We each opted for a different menu item and I can heartily recommend the free range chicken followed by lemon-curd cheesecake, which tasted of real lemons, just the way it should.

Not everyone will want to leave the
warmth of the carriage at Emerald Park Lake, especially if it’s a bit wintry out there, and passengers are welcome to stay onboard and continue enjoying their drinks as the locomotive takes water and prepares for its return journey back through the Dandenongs to Belgrave Station.

Your ticket price covers your train journey and meal and you just pay for soft drinks and alcohol on board.  We enjoyed a couple of glasses of a great local Yarra Valley wine and kept commenting on what a super relaxing way it was to spend a day out together with friends – all the fun and no responsibility.  So don’t delay, book today while it’s fresh in your mind.  The train goes daily from Belgrave Station at 12:30 and returns at 3.30pm.

Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Vintage is in full swing here in the Yarra Valley so the winery was a hive of activity atTarraWarra Estate when I arrived; winemaker Clare Holloran was topping up barrels, the marketing team was preparing for the arrival of Chateau Yering’s Front of House staff and Zac the handsome vineyard dog was busiest of all, soaking up the last rays of the autumn sun.

I’d been invited to tag along on a ‘vintage visit and tasting’ for Chateau Yering’s staff and listen in as TarraWarra Estate’s General Manager, Simon Napthine introduced the winemaking process, philosophy and sustainable farming practices of the Estate.

As we climbed our way up the dirt track to J-Block to the Shiraz vines, Simon explained the Estate’s approach of ‘minimal intervention’ in both the vineyard and winery.  The vineyard team use organic fertilisers and re-use the grape marc (skins and stems waste) for composting and cattle feed.   Their aim is to achieve a balanced eco-system, keeping the vines and soil healthy whilst ensuring the right number of grubs, bugs and microbes are present to maintain the health of the whole Estate.

At the top of the hill, we surveyed the
three kilometres of north-facing undulating slopes, planted out in 17 blocks, between Yarra Glen and Healesville; 28 hectares in total under vine.  Their oldest vines are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which were planted nearly 30 years ago.  Nowadays, the estate also has Shiraz and Merlot, with a couple of rows of Rhone Valley white varieties Viognier, Marsanne and Rousanne (which just happens to be my favourite TarraWarra Estate wine, 2010 VMR). Nebbiolo has recently been grafted to older Pinot Noir vines and Barbera will soon be included too.

Back at the winery, Simon took us through
to the barrel hall to the open fermenter Shiraz vat, where we could literally feel the heat from the whole berry ferment.  Plunging his arm under the warm fruit, his stained arm revealed the rich dark grape juice below – this intense colour of the wine is a real feature of the 2012 vintage.

The visit reinforced for me how exact and precarious the wine making process is: with every stage critically influencing the wine for better or worse.  To perfect each element of the process and produce consistently award-winning wine is about as easy as getting a hole in one every time you play golf.  I take my hat off to TarraWarra Estate, for perfecting that art and painstakingly producing stunning wines we love to drink.

Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Be one of the lucky few to join Leanne, Steve & James for a six course degustation dinner on Saturday 28 April as they host a sumptuous Autumn Harvest Dinner as part of the Yarra Valley Food & Wine Festival.

After sparkling wine and canapes on the lawn overlooking the vineyard, the lucky guests will be escorted to De Bortoli’s restaurant ‘Locale’, where a six course feast prepared by Executive Chef, Heath Dumesny awaits.  All that Heath would reveal about his menu, when recently quizzed, was that he will be using all his favourite Yarra Valley produce.  Buxton trout, locally forraged pine mushrooms, Yeringberg lamb, veggies from the kitchen garden, berries from Wandin and figs (if there are any to be found nearby) will feature.

Throughout the dinner, James Halliday and Steve Webber will discuss the wines (matched to complement each course) and the joys of calling the Yarra Valley home.

The evening promises to be an absolute treat for food and wine lovers, so get in quick, tickets are on sale so grab yours now.

www.experienceyarravalley.com.au

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Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

It’s much more than just a Day out with Thomas though, because his friends Bulgy theGreen Bus and Trevor the Tractor are there too.  And once you’ve enjoyed having your photo taken with Thomas, the Fat Controller and his friends, you can have a go on the jumping castle, have your face painted, colour in Thomas pictures and pat the sweet animals at the animal farm.

Bring your own picnic and find a shady spot to set out your rug, or if you’d prefer, you can buy delicious sausages from the sausage sizzle stand.

It’s been said that Thomas the Tank Engine appeals to the 4 years and under age group, but all the Mums and Dads and older brother and sisters I saw, were having the best ever day out too!

Book your Day out with Thomas tickets now online.  And here’s a great deal – if you are booking for a group of 20 or more (makes a fun birthday outing) they’ll give you a 10% discount.  Just use TGS as your promo code.

To watch a movie of Thomas, click Puffing Billy TV – A Day out with Thomas

www.experienceyarravalley.com.au

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Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

The guest books at Yering Gorge Cottages are packed with comments like this – in fact – I wrote some of them, back in 2008 when I used to stay at the cottages when I came up from the city, for A Day on the Green concerts or weekends spent wine-tasting in the valley.

When you stay at Yering Gorge Cottages you will undoubtedly see kangaroos, and if you’re very lucky you might see their very special white one.  One of the wombats or echidnas will probably trundle past your cottage, deep in thought, as you sit on your deck enjoying your breakfast as the kookaburras serenade you with their infectious laugh.

And if you can tear yourself away from watching the wildlife from your cottage, or spotting it on a walk on the 630 acre property, you can tailor make your stay to suit the occasion and your numbers.  If hot air ballooning is on your list of things to do, tell the owners at Yering Gorge and they will arrange a package that includes ballooning for you.  The balloons are a wonderful sight to behold as they rise effortlessly into the early morning sky.

If cheese is more your thing, make a whole day of it; try some sensational European cheeses at De Bortoli’s maturation room (or cheese cave as I prefer to call it), then on to the Yarra Valley Dairy for some of their ashed cow’s cheese or infamous Persian feta and perhaps sneak in a final cheese tasting at the new Coldstream Dairy (opens end of February) at 735 Maroondah Highway, just near the turnoff to Oakridge Wines.

And then it’s back to your cottage at Yering Gorge, to put your feet up, open some of that cheese and wine you’ve bought and watch the sun sink on a magical day.  Call today on 9739 0110 and get some dates in your diary.

www.experienceyarravalley.com.au

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Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Your gourmet lunch, prepared by Eleonore’s renowned chef Mathew Macartney will be served to you in their stunning outdoor setting, matched with Coldstream Hills’ Reserve wines and accompanied by live entertainment.  Only a few Vintage Club tickets remain, so contact 9237 3333 or functions@chateauyering.com.au to secure your ticket – for what will surely be a day to remember.

www.experienceyarravalley.com.au

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Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords

Lake Mountain are putting on a fantastic music festival over the labour day weekend to thank everyone for the support they’ve received since the 2009 bushfires.  The mountain is definitely back – and bigger and better than ever before – with great new activities and state of the art facilities.

And Lake Mountain have managed to secure some big names for the festival, with Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier heading the line-up, supported by favourites such as Dave Larkin Band, Dallas Frasca, Steve Lane and The Autocrats, Ben Smith Band, 400 Watts and local Sony Youth Foundation bands.

As well as great music, the mountain will be buzzing with local market stalls for you to browse, selling everything from art, jewellery, clothing, gifts, beaded candles, accessories, home-ware gifts, pots, plants, massages, hair braiding and air spray tattooing.  Enjoy delicious food from local producers and wine tastings on offer from some of the region’s local wineries.

All the kids activities will be on offer too – dune buggies, flying fox, laser skirmish, giant jumping castle – all within the spectacular alpine environment.

And at only $99 for a Family Festival Pass, which covers lunch, music and a great range of activities for two adults and two children, it’s a great value, affordable day out for the whole family.

Tickets go on sale today, so jump on and grab your tickets now

www.experienceyarrravalley.com.au

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Helen Collier is a local writer in the Yarra Valley with her own business JustWords