Bubbly with an Aussie accent

If you can’t resist a glass or three of bubbly and happen to be spending some time in the capital of Victoria state, find time to take a side trip to Domaine Chandon Australia. Located just 50 kilometres away from Melbourne, you’ll enjoy a pleasant and relaxing day at this pristine vineyard while gaining an insight into the art of winemaking, experiencing a food and wine pairing and even learning how to impress your pals with your own sparkly cocktails. 

In 1985, the French firm Moet & Chandon engaged a group of wine experts to find an ideal site for growing traditional cool climate Champagne grape varieties. The search took more than a year and covered Tasmania, South Australia and even New Zealand. 

Eventually the team came across Green Point, an old dairy farm nestled in the Yarra Valley, which offered the perfect combination of cool climate and fertile soil. Since 1986, Green Point has been known as Domaine Chandon winery and is home an impressive range of viticultural sites.

Chandon produces “methode traditionnelle” sparkling wines from the Champagne varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

“It’s pretty much a crystal ball gazing business,” says Dan Buckle, Chandon’s senior winemaker. “Not only do we have to know when the grapes are ready for harvest, we have to predict how they will taste after the fermentation and the blending. The process of making sparkling wine takes years, and there are a lot of procedures to oversee and a lot that could go wrong. Also, we’re at the mercy of nature. So, it’s teamwork of man, arts, science and nature altogether. It is hard work but it’s always worth it.”

He then walked us through the process of winemaking, from harvesting, pressing and settling. The first fermentation follows a process where the clear juice from each grape is pumped into tanks and inoculated with Champagne yeast that converts the natural grape sugar to alcohol and oxygen. After 14 days, the base wine from this process is ready for use. 

It is now that the marriage of the base wines begins, a process that requires a great deal of expertise to maintain consistency and standard flavours. Every June, winemakers spend several hours each day evaluating each base wine before deciding which wine and the percentage of it that will be used to make the final blend. 

Once the blending is complete, they add a little sugar and yeast before transferring the wine into bottles with crown caps. This second fermentation is when the bubbles are conceived.

The ageing continues at 14 degrees Celsius for between 18 to 36 months, depending on the wine styles. This is when the wine develops certain flavours and aromas, thanks to yeast lees that break down inside the bottles. 

The winemakers then remove the yeast lees at the bottom of the bottles, both by hand and machine, and bottle the wine. The wine is then aged for a few more months, rendering complex, subtle and delightful sparkling wines. 

Sparkling wine is great with food too, not just cheese and bread. Visitors should definitely take time to enjoy lunch at the restaurant, which overlooks the vast, green vineyard.

And you can learn to make sparkling wine cocktails too. For the French-style Champagne cocktail, first put a cube of sugar in a Champagne flute and drip some angostura bitter to dissolve it. Then add a bit of brandy, and top it with sparkling wine with orange slice as garnish. Add a cherry on top for a special touch.

The Italians have their own sparkly cocktail, too. Arm yourself with a puree of your favourite fruit (pear, passion fruit, lychee, mango or strawberry are all great), put the puree at the bottom of a flute and top up with bubbly. It can’t get easier than this to make such elegant and delicious drink in less than two minutes. 

If you like fruits and you like bubbly, why don’t you treat yourself to a fruity, sparkly sangria. With either brut or rose, you can make a sangria with any fruit you like, be it orange, guava, lime, strawberry or even papaya and berries. Put in a lot of ice, and add other liqueurs such as cointreau or brandy, or even elder water and ginger ale to make it hit home. 

For a quick aperitif, put a big scoop of sorbet ice cream in a bowl, whip it for a few seconds with sparkling wine and serve it thick and cold in a Champagne flute. 

 

 

Domaine down under

>> Domaine Chandon Australia is located on Maroondah Highway, Coldstream, Victoria, which is about an hour’s drive from Melbourne. 

>> It’s open daily from 10.30am till 4.30pm. 

>> Check out www.DomaineChandon.com.au.