We're off to wine country (Yarra Valley, Victoria) next week, so I'd like to talk wineries and tasting, generally.

Not specific to any place or region (FT is well serviced by the regional forums) but just as a way to share general winery experiences.

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Locally, I will use a book by the most prominent local wine writer as a guide.

DiningBuzz wine lovers:

• What are your own travel experiences to wineries for tastings and buying wine?
• Did you find anything special at the cellar door, which is not available through retail or restaurant channels?
• Did you make any mistake buys? The case at the end of the day which tasted good at the cellar door but isn't great now you've opened it? (It happens )
• Have you been to a FT wine do?
• How does one set one up? I just recently posted an invite, and wish I could attend dhammer's upcoming one!

All comments most appreciated and I hope to join you at a winery or any other kind of tasting sometime.

Here are a few FT Wine events - or Dos where I think lots of wine is appreciated.

• Shameless plug
• I left my Matzah in Argentina (is that you, Mel?)
• Pop the Cork Do
  
  (No doubt there are many more. Maybe with the LV people, mostly in California, maybe a few here along with the BNE AGM and OzFests. )

Come on DiningBuzzers - have you ever spent the weekend away in a wine area?

Tell me your stories.

There is one winery in the Yarra Valley with some shockingly good wines; it should be open for a visit. It is a cool climate area so some of the techniques used are quite different to my typical favourite warmer climate reds.

Pinot is among the most popular varieties but it is the Shiraz and Chardonnay vintages that have received all the praise.

Dream setup: a tasting of ALL of the 2004 Shiraz vintage range and a se;ection of several years of the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc range.
The 2004 Shiraz was the big winner and I'd like to gauge the development of all of the products of this place from that year.

I'd like to find an outstanding 2004 shiraz (the big winner will be sold out) and buy what's left.

I try to head up to Napa and Sonoma every few months, it's always good to see the wineries I represent and get that face time in. I particularly enjoy Healdsburg, I think it's a really fun town, especially for someone from the city.

I'd like to try to write something about the winemakers we visit.
Story ideas:

• Sommeliers (or in this case Cellar Door managers) discuss their favourite wines for their own stash.
  Revealed: the home cellars of our brightest wine minds
  
• Winelovers' breweries in wine country
  
• Yarra Valley Wine and Cheese Trails
  
  Quote:

  How does a "do it yourself" Wine and Cheese tour of the Yarra Valley region sound?
  Starting at either Healesville or Wandin - pick up your cheese hamper at the Healesville Hotel or Yarra Valley Deli respectively. The trail requires between 3 and 5 hours and takes you on a scenic drive through the region's varied landscapes.
  
  Wines from some of the region's best wineries are matched to cheeses produced by Victorian artisans; for your enjoyment at your own pace. Enjoy your journey.
• Up and coming winemakers / wineries.

What kind of article would be most interesting for our DBuzz readers and food/wine readers in general? Suggestions are most welcome.
Any comments are appreciated!

Got into wine seriously last year. One of the main reasons was the Winelibrary TV video blog (tv.winelibrary.com). Great show on tasting, and wine in general.

My first real "wine trip" was to Napa a couple weeks ago. Had a great time on a quiet weekend there. I was really blown away by two tastings that day.

2005 Cakebread Carneros Chardonnay - splurged on the $55 bottle, and when I opened it at home thought it was probably a 88 or 89 wine...not the 92-93 type i thought I had tasted at their vineyard.

1998 Frank Family Reserve Brut - blown away by this bottle of wine. according to the folks in the tasting room, it can only be bought there...so no sense trying to seek it out. best sparkling wine i've ever had.

It would be good to make some kind of Easter analogy.

That could be a tough one, other than the obvious analogies.

• Cellar-door vintage 'Easter egg' discoveries

I like taking trips to Napa Valley and to various wineries in Oregon. I am definitely a wine connoisseur. One of my favourite wines is Pinot Gris and I find many good labels in Oregon.

I would definitely be up for a wine do! If anyone sets one up, I would be interested without a doubt!

fabulousflygirl, if you find a great fare to Sydney, let me know and I'll have an excuse to take you wine tasting from here.

Check out the West forum as there are many great LAS Dos. The LV gang (and those crazy Hawaiians) are great fun and I'm sure would have some fun dinners!

I had the great pleasure to have a mini-Do dinner with such a crazy Hawaiian and his lovely partner, and an equally mile-running fun Aussie couple, both well-known here. All of us Aussies at that dinner have repeated the fun dinners in Hawaii and are trying to do similar in other cities.

Why did I mention this? At the Sydney dinner we had a Fantastic Tasmanian Pinot Gris.
I'll head across to the famous Oz Fest (ozstamps is an institution on FT...he'll likely read this...) and hope to get to the winery, as the wine is only sold to resturants and at the cellar door.
I'll try to bring some home for future Dos.

Each of these Aussie miles-crazy FTers will be in NYC at some time, from one of our excellent fares and I hope that we can meet up with some of the really fun NYers, who are also big on food and wine.

Check out dhammer53's famous Brooklyn Reality Tour Do and the follow-up Wine Do. Maybe you can be the representative of us Aussies who hope to be there later this year.

Aloha kaukaus, tinkybelles, glenntwenty and dhammer53!

Sydney is definitely on the list for this year!

Sounds like you have definitely had some fun times! I love food and wine so I will always be up for anything that also ties in my obsession with travelling.

The Tasmanian Pinot Gris sounds delightful! I just had some from the King Estate wineries in Oregon just lastnight.

I've got friends that live in Walnut Creek, CA so we make an annual visit with them to Sonoma and Russian River. Just returned a few weeks ago and brought back 1 1/2 cases of great wines. One of our favorites is J Vineyard's Viognier and Chardonnay. We also enjoy HopKiln and De La Montonya.

This past trip we rented a cabin in the hills of Guernesville on the Russian River. What a great trip!

My new boss is French and he and his partner are relocating from the UK to Alabama. His partner is in the wine business. I scored major points with her by directing her to the best local wine shop, and knowing the name of the owner (turns out they know a lot of the same people). I lost all my points when I told her we had a winery in town that specializes in wine made from muscadine grapes and blueberries.

I sell wine for a winery in Ontario and it along with many others in the province sell wines direct from the winery which are not available at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. This is very useful to restaurants who can then mark up the wines anywhere from 100% to 200% or more as their house wines.

I want to throw this in as a topic. What was the most informative tasting that you have attended? My nomination for that honor was a tasting of a single vintage of Schloss Johannisberg from Qba through to Beerenauslese. The only variable was the sweetness. It was fascinating to see the differences and similarities between these wines.

One dream tasting that I have is the following. Kabinett, Spatlese and Auslese of the following wines from the same vintage; J. J. Prum's Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Wegeler-Deinhard's Bernkasteler Doctor and Scharzhofberger from Egon Muller.

Can someone explain the Rosemount Trophy?

I think it is an award at a Canadian wine competition.