MAKING MERRY IN YARRAWONGA (4 - 7 APRIL 2016)

Our winter home at Kurrimine Beach has produced more than one benefit. Apart from the fact that it is warm, we have made a number of wonderful friends there. These include Margaret and Charles Gangemi, a Melbourne couple who had issued us an open invitation to join them at their holiday home at Yarrawonga in northern Victoria whenever we were in the area. 

With Myrtleford being just over 100 kms from Yarrawonga, we decided that 'we would be in the area', so before leaving the Mornington Peninsula we had been in touch and arranged to land on their doorstep on 4 April for a few days.  And with the town of Rutherglen less than 50 kms from Yarrawonga, where, apart from the history of the place, the best fortified wines in Australia are to be found, we decided it would be silly to be that close and not call in there for a few days (when the spittoon will not be in use!!)

We still had much more to do in the alpine region, so before leaving Myrtleford we re-booked at the Ardern's park for a return visit after our jaunt slightly further north and duly headed off towards the mighty Murray River. There was something almost surreal about relocating, in the space of less than an hour, from the towering mountains and valley slots of the high country to the flat, open plains of the river region.

Whilst Yarrawonga is considered to be a town on the River Murray, the majority of it actually fronts Lake Mulwala, a vast expanse of water which is the result of a massive weir built across the river to cater for an equally large irrigation scheme.

The dead trees rising starkly from the water reminded us a great deal of Watchells Lagoon near Kingston-on-Murray in SA, a place we had visited often whilst house-boating. And also like Watchells, for those wishing to make their way through this waterway, a navigation channel is marked by the green and red lateral markers dotted amongst the tree trunks.

Margaret and Charles currently enjoy their time here in a home which is not quite lakeside, but is only a few minutes' walk away. This 'home away from home' is ideally suited for wandering mates to drop in....plenty of room for the van and the tug with water and power on hand.

We were keen to use this visit to recce the area and Charles was more than obliging in that regard. Apart from getting a good feel for Yarrawonga itself and its opposite number across the river border in NSW, Mulwala, (these are twin towns in the same vein as Albury-Wodonga) we visited Cobram and a few other nearby towns and river districts.

Quite contrary to my normal practice, I did not blaze away with our increasingly ailing camera (it is showing distinct signs of wear and tear) for a very good reason. In the brief time we were here a plan was hatched.....we have decided that our adventures should include a Murray River run, starting at Robinvale and ending at the Hume reservoir or beyond when we can give all these wonderful river towns the full attention they deserve. That will be the time for photos.






But of course we did retain some snaps of our four days here, including those taken on a visit to the Gangemi's nearly completed new home.









This on is right on the lake complete with lush lawns, a private jetty, a boat hoist












and a delightful waterfront park setting which ever way one looks from side to side. Again they have included room to accommodate a visiting caravan.....our standing invitation will surely be taken up at some stage in the future.




So just how did we spend our time apart from the sightseeing?  Eating, drinking and yarning, of course. This was a very social four days, of which I'll include a few moments.  We were still carrying fine fillet steak in our freezers and a bottle of Madeira was still clinking under the bed, so it was time for another feast of Tornadoes Chasseur. The fried bread bases and the thick rounds of tender steak were warming in the oven as I laboured over the sauce of mushrooms, shallots, Madeira and a few other goodies.






Time to plate up















and finish the dish with a liberal sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley.











Salute. Another triumph from the kitchens of Chef Pierre.












Margaret I and I shared the cooking duties during our stay.  My second effort was far less adventurous (or demanding).....a good old fashioned BBQ complete with our patented caramelised onions and potato mix.












On this particular evening we also enjoyed a spectacular sunset, courtesy of all the local crop farmers who were very busy burning off their stubble.












The sun set over the end of the street in a blaze of its own.











And whilst on the subject of atmospheric phenomena, natural or otherwise, I could not believe the contrails left by high flying jets on this particular day...it looked as though they had been dogfighting.

As I had hoped, Margaret and Charles are real fans of roasted chestnuts. I still had those we bought at Nightingales in Wandiligong. It was time to see if I could master the skill of preparing them in the time honoured fashion. With the shells scored through to prevent them exploding, it was under the griller with this lot until the they opened. Then the trick is to peel off the shell and skin whilst they are still hot.

This all went to plan....I had mastered the roast chestnut. My revenge for the pain inflicted by their freshly fallen colleague some week or so previously was complete. There was only one snag. I found that I don't like the taste of them one bit! Fortunately all others at the table were more than happy to tuck into what they all considered to be a real treat. An entree for another fine evening meal and a delayed action 'groupie'.

But this was not the end of our culinary adventures here in Yarrawonga. Charles had suggested a breakfast visit to Ninos in the main street of the town, where mine host bungs on a fine feed of bacon, eggs, turkish bread toast and coffee for a mere $10.  We'll be in that!

For any who read this and may visit Yarrawonga, let me here and now give Ninos a resounding endorsement. This was a great start to the penultimate day of what was a marvellous period of 'travelling time out' with good friends. We shall look forward to catching up in FNQ later this year.









Even Max was relaxed. He did join us under the back verandah for most 'happy hours', and spent many moments patrolling his new patch, but then it would all get just that bit too much....after all a cat must nap!.........










........especially when the morning sun is streaming though the window. Who said life on the road is a challenge? "You housebound moggies don't know what you're missing"!



But, as always, and at the risk of sounding dreadfully trite, all good things come to an end. It was time to make our way east to Rutherglen and tangle with the ports, muscats and tokays for which this district is (rightly) famous. My taste buds were already tingling....and guess who's turn it will be to drive!!

A DAY OF WINE AND CHEESE - MILAWA AND THE KING VALLEY (1 APRIL 2016)

The bounty of the Milawa region and the King Valley had been recommended to us by a number of our friends who have visited these areas, not to mention the tourist brochures. Like most of these regions one can spend days and days visiting all the various wineries and food outlets. A  spot of selected targeting was required.

Apart from anything else, the Gracebrook winery in the valley and that doyen of the region, Brown Brothers, were on our agenda. The Milawa cheese factory was also firmly fixed in our sights.

From our base in Myrtleford they were a very convenient half day trip away and we set out on what was, in Myrtleford, a clear and sunny morning.

That was about to change. By the time we had reached and driven through Milawa

and Oxley before turning on to the King Valley Road,

we had begun to notice a distinct change in the atmosphere, and believe me it was not for the better. The Gracebrook winery is about 25 kms south of Oxley and by the time we had driven up the entrance driveway past the rows of vines, 

this is the view which greeted us as we looked out over the vineyards to the hills of the opposite side of the valley. Smoke, smoke an more smoke. This was but a harbinger of what was to become the bane of our lives (well, mine in particular) for the next few weeks. I'll have much more to say about this later when we return to Myrtleford for the second time. This was but our first taste of what was to come.

Needless to say the good folk of the Gracebrook winery cellar door we less than impressed. This is not good for business. Apparently today was far better than it had been for the past few, so goodness only knows what that must have been like.

What a shame, because this is a lovely spot. The cellar door is housed in this very old tin roofed building, the exterior of which very much belies what is to be found indoors.

But before we went on to sample the wares of Gracebrook, we had to wander past the pig pen, where this large brown porker was snoozing in the sun in blissful ignorance of its eventual fate (they do a lot of pork meals here!).

We also had to stop to admire the size of the root stump of this huge river red gum which has been left here for a reason (that's probably a statement of the obvious!) We were to later discover that all the timber from which the bars and other interior fittings of the cellar door are made came from this one tree.

And it is indeed a very good interior....rustic to the boot straps. In addition to the service provided in the tasting area,

meals are served in the indoor dining room

or, for those who wish a more rural outlook, out here on the front deck

or beyond under the shade of the trees in the winery gardens.

And this is why the staff were not happy. Who would want to commune with nature over a tasty meal and a few glasses of fine wine with all this smoke about?

Fortunately for us, we were here purely to taste the fruit of the grape. Mind you, once I had read the menu for the day (it changes on a daily basis), which featured quail, duck, and wild rabbit amongst many other dishes, I thought for a moment they must have know we were coming.....I was sorely tempted, but resisted valiantly. It was still early in the day and we had much to do (and of course, this decision had nothing to do with the fact that Liz could not be less enthused by this range of culinary delights!)

So out came the wine lists and the tasting glasses and a half an hour of supreme sacrifice by your scribe. It was my turn to drive...my previous promise in this regard was not for breaking!  The spittoon became my friend....and of course, herself had to make sure that this rare moment was recorded for posterity!

Of course I'm having a good time.......chatting to the admirable and highly knowledgeable front-of-house staff member, admiring all the marvellous timber work and feeling very smug about the fact that I'll not have an afternoon headache!  Yeah, right...I don't care what anyone says, spitting is not the same as swallowing and wine is made to be drunk, but a promise is a promise.

Liz went for it with unbridled gusto. I now suspect that there are some advantages to this system....it's amazing how the purse strings open under the influence of a few good sips of bubbles, rose and sav blanc. 

We really did enjoy our time here, and just before we leave Gracebrook, moderately laden with a bottle or two (of what is very acceptable wine), I must draw your attention to this wine rack. What an ingenious bit of woodworking this is and how well it fits with its surrounds here.  Ah, the things one finds when we have no house in which to put them!

We both agreed that a return to Gracebrook would be definitely on our agenda for any future visit to this area, but not during the burn-off season, and having first rung to enquire as to the menu of the day.  

But for now it was back north along the King Valley road through the increasing smoke haze, and a small detour on our trip back to Milawa.

En route down to Gracebrook the otherwise flat road along the valley floor traverses a short cutting through a ridge, the Edi cutting.

Our Camps book, which sits firmly on Liz's knee during most of our travels, listed this area as one where a free camp can be found. We snuck in off the road and on down what we through to be the entrance track to find that our book was right. There were caravans and campers galore nestled amongst the trees 

which line the banks of the nearby and extremely pretty watercourse of the King River. This was school holiday time in Victoria, which did account for the crowds, but even so we found that there was still more than adequate room had we been dragging the van in here for a few days. 

As is often the case with these areas, one road in was very much better than the other...we are now well informed and very keen to give this spot a try in the future....it really ticks all the boxes.







With the knowledge of this gem under our belts and notes in our Camps book, we pushed on.....Brown Brothers was next on the agenda. From the very moment we pulled into the large car park (with many others) is was clear that this really is the largest and probably the most prestigious of all the wineries in this area. I mean to say, who hasn't heard of Brown Brothers?




Our good friend Neil Jericho cut his wine making teeth here many years ago and had given us the name of a cellar door staff member who still worked here. We made our way on through the extensive gardens









which grace the approaches to the cellar door















and the attached restaurant and cafe areas











where, like most of these establishments, a good meal can be had as well as the wine.










The gardens here at Brown Brothers are extensive, picture perfect neat and, on the day of our visit, very well occupied by visitors lounging about on the odd shaped recliner chairs dotted about the lawns.











But there was to be no lounging about for the Mobile Marshies. For us it was straight into the huge tasting room











with its unique (in our experience) and very practical wave shaped bar, which enables limited numbers of staff to keep a good eye on crowds of eager tipplers.

The walls are dotted with explanatory boards

which give visitors a good insight into the development philosophy of Browns













and also provide details of the involvement of the various members of the Brown clan in what remains very much a family owned and managed business..

Interestingly, we found that in another of the winery car parks, a section has been put aside for parking a limited number of caravans overnight. It is excellent...a bitumen roadway which runs along a long strip of well kept lawn over which the awning can be extended (I can't for the life of me remember why I did not take a photo). We were told that John Brown wanders out most afternoons to chat to those who take advantage of this boon. Good marketing, I thought...wrong....he is a mad keen caravanner himself and apparently just loves chewing the fat with those of a similar ilk.  Again, for us, this is firmly on our 'to do' list. The thought of being able to moor, toddle across the road to the cellar door and later sit in the gloaming sipping on a Brown's fortified or two, chatting about all things caravan with the patriarch of the clan, has immense appeal.

But did we find Ernie?...Indeed we did, and he could not have been more obliging, informative and helpful.  His product knowledge was extensive and he guided the lovely Liz through all her preferred products with aplomb.





We left far more laden than we had been at Gracebrook, from an establishment which is now a far cry from its very modest beginnings! Brown Brothers is a winery success story in every way.






One last stop, the renowned Milawa Cheese Factory, a mere couple of kilometres from Browns. As we had been told, and confirmed for ourselves, this is a very slick operation. A cheese tasting area, indoor and outdoor cafes and restaurants, and a huge range of local products other than cheese on sale. We nibbled our way through most of the range and again our tucker bags opened to take many of them with us.


Apart from a number of their excellent cheeses, a local smoked rainbow trout found its way into the goodies package (we were preparing some surprises for the up-coming 'happy hours' with the Gangemis in Yarrawonga) and what an excellent selection this later proved to be.

That little extravagance put paid to the Treasurer's largesse.  The influence of our visits to Gracebrook and Browns had finally subsided. There would be no lunching at the Cheese Factory for us.  A ham salad sandwich and a cup of soup in our van represented a  return to reality and a balanced budget!

As the subsequent days unfolded, and we made inroads into our store of the Milawa region goodies, we could not but agree that this area's reputation is well deserved and that another visit is highly likely.

I'm hatching a plan.....it's time to have a good chat to several of our good travelling companions.....Liz is nervous (probably with some cause)!