City Escapes - Yarra Valley
The Age
Friday May 30, 2008
Yering Gorge has 12 new cottages - handy bases for grazing in the valley.
A mere hour or so from Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is a hedonist's paradise: in the distance, the hazy blue hills of the Great Dividing Range, in spitting distance, a bacchanal of wineries and restaurants to satisfy your every whim.The risk of an expanding waist is no reason not to visit - life's too short, and at Yering Gorge Cottages you can eat your Persian fetta and shallot tartlet and have it too. Feeling a little pudgy post three-course feed and winery crawl? Nothing that a power walk along the property's 12 kilometres of bush paths can't fix, or so it's nice to think.The trail forms a large circuit around the 275-hectare property, snaking along the Yarra, passing by Sugarloaf Falls (sadly rendered non-existent by drought when we visited), on to Yering Gorge, before heading up a hill into wild and windswept scrub, and curving back down again alongside cow-filled paddocks. The crack of gunfire from the nearby Melbourne Gun Club is a little unnerving, but adds a certain frisson to our hike through the bush. Indigestion-curing walks aside, there are other reasons to bunker down at Yering Gorge after a day of swilling and feasting - for the cost of about one night at the exclusive Chateau Yering up the road, you can stay three here, which is meant not as an indictment on the marvellous 19th?century chateau, merely as an observation on the variety of experience that can be had in gourmand valley.At Yering Gorge, the experience is one of tranquility and seclusion. Nothing beats coming back to the comfort and sleep-inducing quiet of the place after a hard day's gluttony. There are 12 cottages on the property, contemporary in style, near the banks of the Yarra and spaced out for privacy. The fit-out is sleek and unobtrusively stylish, featuring a subdued palette highlighted by the vibrant abstract paintings of co-owner Alison Stevens.The cottages were built a year ago by the Stevens family, who have had the farm property for 20 years, producing beef cattle and running a horse agistment. The head of the family, Harvey Stevens, is 77 and his sons, Noel and Ross, suggested diversifying in these tough, drought-ridden times. To their credit, they have not overdeveloped the property - the cottages are accommodating and unpretentiously plush. Generous touches abound: a bottle of Yarra Valley wine, bread and newspaper delivered to your door in the morning, free chocolates and fresh coffee in the fridge.We stayed at Winneke, which overlooks a vast, gently sloping lawn that descends to the river. The owners have not skimped on quality: the floors are a richly burnished jarrah; the bathroom has a spa bath; the lounge room is furnished with a comfy faux-suede couch; and the black-tiled kitchenette is simply practical. The small LCD television in the lounge stayed firmly in off mode - it would be a travesty, really, to switch it on. Much better to zone out on the large, wooden-decked veranda, admiring the dramatic curtain of gums that line the river, and taking in a symphony of birdsong - magpies, parrots - and the tender percussion of crickets at dusk. At twilight, the air turns misty and the kangaroos roll in. The landscape that rose before us recalled the paintings of Boyd and Nolan and Williams, and yet we were a mere hour from the city, and only minutes from a magnitude of epicurean delights. The valley, and the gorge, is a perfect antidote to the stresses of city life, a place to recharge - a couple of nights will do. It feels like cheating - it's so close to the city, the air's clear, the views idyllic, and you get your country hit without sacrificing your city conceits. In fact, your every caprice is fulsomely catered for. The cottages are a great base from which to explore the valley's wineries, restaurants, markets, antique stores, and regional produce. Yering Station Winery is a must, as is dinner at Eleonore's at Chateau Yering - a reasonably priced luxury in one of the most beautiful dining rooms around Melbourne. Smaller wineries are not to be missed. It pays not to be too prescriptive - we chanced upon the picturesque and rustic Allinda winery by taking a punt and following the sign. Half an hour later, we left - half a dozen bottles in tow and the credit card a little less creditable. The Yarra Valley markets are also worth a look. The regional farmers' market - Victoria's longest-running farmers' market - is held on the third Sunday of every month at Yering Station Winery. The Yarra Glen racecourse craft market is on the first Sunday of every month - great for picking up hand-sewn padded coathangers (why wouldn't you want a wardrobe full?) and spotting noteworthy T-shirt slogans, such as this beauty, worn by a man with whom you would not dare argue the point: "Fords were made to keep dickheads out of Holdens." Good to see that city attitudes, expectations and appetites haven't entirely erased the country charm from the Yarra Valley. Where is it?215 Victoria Road, Yering, phone 9739 0110. Prices range from $229 for a one-bedroom cottage to $344 for two bedrooms, with specials offers too. See www.yeringcottages.com.auWhere to eat Eleonore's at Chateau Yering. For lunch, try Yering Station, TarraWarra Estate, Domaine Chandon, St Huberts and the smaller Allinda and Stones, which regularly hosts the Arabesque Sunday lunch series by chef Greg Malouf. What to do A regional market is on the third Sunday of every month. Go ballooning then breakfast at Chateau Yering (www.gowildballooning.com.au) or go gliding from Lilydale airport. Why we'd go back The peace, proximity to wineries, and the walking. Why we wouldn't The effort required to ditch the extra kilos accumulated.
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