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Thursday May 17, 2012

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Yarra Valley Dairy

Posted by: Ela Carte | 18 January, 2011 - 11:04 AM
Yarra Valley

YARRA VALLEY DAIRY
70-80 McMeikans Rd, Yering, 3770
www.yvd.com.au  

So continuing throughout January, we’ll look at lovely places to head on a nice, summer’s day. If battling the crowds at the beach isn’t for you, head bush. And one of my favourite country places to go within cooee of the city is the Yarra Valley Dairy.

This is the sort of place that I like to people from interstate or overseas in order to show off the best Victoria has to offer, and the experience starts from the moment you drive up the dirt road, park your dusty car, open the door and get a whiff full of cow poo, freshly mown grass, or {insert recognized farm smell here}. I seriously love it!

The Yarra Valley Dairy cheese shop is a gorgeous, ramshackle looking farmhouse – charming and inviting – it is actually contained within a 100 year old milking shed. Step inside and you’re faced with a long deli counter choc-ful of cheeses and accompaniment, but the rest of the room is stacked high with complementing foods, drinks and food-related accessories. Pickles, chutneys, crackers, wines, water jugs, cordials – it’s all there.

But that main attraction is the cheese counter. If you’re just passing through, it’s a tough decision working out which cheeses you’re going to try, but if you have time to indulge – the only thing to do is grab one of the dairy’s affordably priced $25 cheese platters. For that small amount you get a selection of cheeses that includes two goats, and two cows, a pickle or jam, and a basket full of bread and crackers. So on this day we tasted an aged goat, fresh goats, herbed soft cow’s cheese and a marinated cow’s feta … all accompanied with a beetroot relish. Now of course you’re not limited to just cheese, or just their own selection, you can choose from the guest cheeses including a pungent Rocquefort (yes, from France) or Stilton (direct from Cropwell Bishop); and I can’t go past either of the Pork and Pistachio terrine or the Duck Neck Sausage.

Seating is limited in the dairy, and you may end up on the end of a shared table or sitting at a bench by the window, but the view across to the Warburton Ranges just can’t be beat, and chances are you’ll see the odd bovine wandering past the weekend.

Importantly, it may be illegal in some states to consume good cheese without great wine, but luckily the Yarra Valley Dairy has countered this. They stock a great range of smaller, boutique labels from around the Yarra Valley, and if you’re lucky enough to be there on the weekend, you’ll get a chance to have a chat to one of the growers or winemakers, taste their selection and choose your glass to accompany your food. These smaller vineyards alternate weekends, so if you head back you’re likely to get another chance to taste a good local wine, and certainly during the week the dairy still offers tastings of a weekly feature wine (on this day it was a stunning Mac Forbes Arneis), it just may be a bit more of a wait for help with that if the guys behind the counter are busy.(Arneis was originally grown in the Piedmont region of Italy.

So the $25 platter is great for two to four people, guest cheeses or one of the meat accompaniements will push that price up. But with Wines at $6-8 a glass, it makes for an affordable, relaxing afternoon in the countryside.

PLAY AUDIO: Ela Carte review Yarra Valley Dairy with Ross and John

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3AW Food 3AW is Food: Melburnians love to eat so it's fortunate we live in the culinary capital of Australia. On this dedicated food page you will find the latest recipes by Bob Hart as well as Tony Leonard's Pub of the Week reviews. La Luna head chef Adrian Richardson also serves up a dish from his own cook book and food reviewer Ela Carte visits one of Melbourne's hottest eateries weekly.

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