Elizabeth March 10th, 2008

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge
My brother had a conference down at the Mornington Peninsula last week, just outside Melbourne, and extended his stay over the weekend. Tim & I met up with him in Frankston yesterday to see a few wineries and have lunch.
We only had a few hours to work with, which was made worse when we discovered that none of the wineries opened before 11 or 12. It’s almost as if they were telling us that drinking before lunch was frowned upon! Still, we managed to see a few great places including Main Ridge Estate, Tucks Ridge, Red Hill Estate and T’Gallant Winemakers.
I took lots of photos, but I’m really unhappy with most of them. Stupid me for forgetting my UV filter on a sunny day - the contrast and colours are pretty awful.

My brother took us to lunch at T’Gallant, and our meals were incredible

Eldridge Estate (I think?). This winery was closed when we visited, but I still wanted to get a shot

Main Ridge had beautiful gardens surrounding their vineyards. This was probably my favourite photo from the day.

Wine tasting at Tucks Ridge, where I learned that not all Chardonnays are cheap and nasty
I’m really excited about going back to these places when we have more time (and a car!). In particular, Tim really wants to take his parents to the area when they visit at the end of the year, since they love their Australian wine.
I came home yesterday with some really useful tasting notes, and several bottles of booze. Most importantly, I left with some changed opinions about what I thought I did/didn’t like in a wine, and a real appreciation for the winemakers in this region.

These wine tastings taught me a great deal, and were certainly a wonderful start to my goal of learning something about wine. However, I didn’t really feel as though I understood enough about the terminology used to describe them, or the processes involved in making different types of wine. This morning I went hunting for “beginner guides” online, and found Vino! to be a great source of information for an uncultured swines like me.
In particular, I recommend checking out Wine Knowledge 101, Wine Dictionary and The History of Wine.
Do you have a great online resource that would help me continue to learn? Tell me all about it in the comments!