A Day at Domaine Chandon

It was the only sunny day of the week and thankfully I did not have to spend it indoors. Instead, we visited the Domaine Chandon vineyard in Coldstream.

We joined the free guided tour of the place which are held every 11am, 1 and 3pm. We were given a brief history of the place a guided tour from the time the grapes are delivered to the winery to the cellar where they are matured.

I thought the tour to the cellar (called the Riddling Hall because it was used to rid the bottles of the murky yeasty sediment used to ferment the grape juice) was the most interesting part because the cellar was dark, cool, and full with dark bottles... very mysterious. Later, I found out that the winery even hosts operas in the cellar... I wonder if they have to ensure the opera pieces do not have high notes?

After the tour, we went for wine tasting. Gaz paid $5 for a taste of a selection of white and red wines. I sipped a little from his glass but I turned lobster red so quickly that I stopped at wine no. 5. Gaz however continued, and he became a little tipsy because he was drinking too quickly.

To let the alcohol work its course, we went outdoors and walked around the place where we stumbled upon a little two room brick cottage. The first room upon entry has a large in-built stove where Gaz dreamt of a large pot of soup on a cold wintry night in the cottage, and did star jumps in the compound. Gaz becomes very silly after a couple of drinks! We then walked to the historic homestead which now houses the administration office. The delicate lattice and simple cream walls made it look younger than its 100 year old history. Amazing what makeup can do!

Later, we went for lunch at their on-site restaurant, the Greenpoint Brasserie. I ordered the slow cooked served with celeriac mash, broccolini and quince jus ($33) while Gaz ordered the braised lamb shoulder ($26) and tempura eggplant chips ($8) to share. We had amazing (and I mean ammmmaaaazing!) eggplant chips at Movida previously and I just couldn't wait to sink my teeth into crispy batter on the outside and creamy goodness in the inside of the eggplant chips. Unfortunately, some of the eggplant batons were uncooked on the inside, and they were definitely not as creamy as the Movida ones.

My duck still had a little 'stubble' on the skin but the puree was creamy and nice. Gaz enjoyed his braised lamb which was tender albeit a little fatty. His only complaint was that the pearl barley was not well cooked. We weren't sure if the chef meant for the texture of the pearl barley to be hard, but we felt like we were eating uncooked pearl barley... which wasn't pleasant.

Compared to Yering Station's onsite restaurant, and Matt's Bar (also at Yering Station), I think that the food at Greenpoint falls short. Although, a point to note is that the prices at Yering Station's restaurant are about $5 more expensive. I also prefer the view from the Yering Station's restaurant better.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the drive to and our day at Domaine Chandon, and laughing at Gaz's antics when he gets a little tipsy is a lot of fun!