The Yarra's a great place to drink falling stars

In springtime Victoria's Yarra Valley is lush, green and very beautiful.

A few years back, I visited the Yarra while on a foodies tour hosted by Peta Mathias. The trip was wonderful and I still have vivid memories of travelling through the rolling countryside where vineyards drape over the curves of the land.

Among the places we visited were the De Bortoli Winery and Yering Station – home to Victoria's first vineyard. We also visited Domaine Chandon, established by the renowned Champagne house, Moet et Chandon.

In 1985, Moet et Chandon set out to find an ideal site in Australia for growing traditional cool-climate Champagne grape varieties. Since then the parent company, Moet-Hennessy, has purchased our very own Cloudy Bay, which is home to the magnificent Pelorus sparkling.

The company settled on a site that had once been a dairy farm named Green Point. Today, the original homestead houses a gallery and remains part of the modern winery complex. The cool climate and good soils were ideal and since 1986 Green Point has been home to Domaine Chandon Australia.

There are two critical factors influencing the cool-climate regions of Victoria. The first is the cold weather patterns that sweep in from the Great Southern Ocean. Anyone who's visited Melbourne will have experienced the dramatic temperature changes that can take place in a single day. The second is the Great Dividing Range, which cuts through Victoria, creating mountainous and hilly terrain across more than a third of the state. These factors have resulted in the creation of some excellent cool-climate viticulture sites.

While the initial aim was to establish vineyards growing grapes for sparkling wines, in the early 1990s the winemakers began setting aside some of the fruit and producing small quantities of chardonnay and pinot noir.

The potential of the viticultural areas being opened up wasn't lost on the team at Domaine Chandon. The chardonnay and pinot noir sold at the winery's visitor centre was proving popular, so the still wine range was expanded in the late 1990s. The wines were commercially released in Australia and overseas under the Green Point label and subsequently well received. Fifteen years later, Domain Chandon has re-released its range of table wines under the Domain Chandon label.

I learnt some interesting things while at Domaine Chandon. The magnificent star-shaped flower garden that wows visitors as they arrive was created in response to a quote by Dom Perignon about "drinking falling stars" – a reference to the bubbles in Champagne. It was also impressed upon us that Moet is pronounced "mo-ette" rather than "mo-ay".

Domaine Chandon 07 Yarra Valley Chardonnay

Aroma: Apple and light stone fruit aromas combine with some pastry and creamy malo notes. There's a hint of mineral and citrus in the background – all very interesting.

Taste: Refreshing, tingly acidity sits well with the gentle fruit flavours. The taste of nectarines and citrus are held together by a gentle caramel flavour and just a hint of pastry. An unusual but very pleasant wine – ideal for lunch as it's a lighter-style chardonnay. Oak and malo flavours hold the wine together rather than making a statement and the crispness of the fruit speaks volumes. If you're not keen on Aussie chardonnay because of the tendency towards a flabby palate – this is one to try.

Price: $27.95.

Brown Brothers 04 Patricia Cabernet Sauvignon

Colour: Another deep, dark red wine on a black background – the velvety dark crimson is almost grainy.

Aroma: A glorious aroma to spend some time with. Plums and blackcurrants combine with some sweeter cedar and violet notes. There's that lovely barrel hall whiff in the background and some gentle spiciness. Given a vigorous swirl some sweeter blackberry/blueberry aromas become obvious.

Taste: Rich, concentrated – astoundingly good. The palate is ripe yet clean, the sweet, rich fruit flavours are coupled with a hint of mint; the tannins are firm and the acids lively.

Some lovely sweet Christmas cake fruit and coffee flavours trundle out to the fruit and spearmint finish and aftertaste. There's a long, lingering graininess to the aftertaste which is very pleasing. This wine has all the toys: concentrated fruit flavour, good length, excellent balance. It's still a baby and will cellar beautifully – if you can wait that long.

Price: You won't be disappointed, good buying at $55.