Rainy day at the end of June, in the middle of an Australian winter, is not an ideal time for a culinary tour. However, Adam Majcher a good friend, was generous enough to take us, his international friends, for a day-trip to the Mornington Peninsula.

An hour drive south-east from the city of Melbourne, the Peninsula is a stretch of pristine bay beaches, ocean coastline nearby green hinterland. The Mornington peninsula is a place to go to for parks and gardens, golf and water sports, adventure and marine activities, spas and indulgence, nature walks, shopping, art galleries, dining and entertainment.

A brown metal goat welcomed us to the Main Ridge Dairy,  famous for its true paddock to plate experience. It was still early in the morning but the weather changed quickly and the place is sunny and abuzz with visitors.

Sitting inside the cheesery one can enjoy the view of a green pasture and see some of the goats from far away. The Main Ridge Dairy mils its goats twice daily to get milk of the highest quality. The cheesery is an award winning commercial/industrial building where visitors can do cheese tasting and buy cheeses and cheese related products. If they are not playing outside, children can do goat coloring and play with goat stuff toys.

There are several categories of tasting plates: the full goat, nannys plate, billy goats plate and tasting plate. We settled for tasting plates consisting of small samples of all cheeses available for the day (11 in total) and crackers. Visitors received a piece of paper indicating what cheeses we are going to taste.

On that day the first cheese that we tried was cashmere, slow set lactic curd, delicately hand ladled into drainage hoops. It is slightly sweet, with a citrus flavor, delicate and can be used for savory or sweet. The last one was marinated chevre, delicate, soft and creamy slow set lactic curds immersed in garlic, lemon and rosemary flavored oil. This soft and tasty cheese is my favorite. It won a gold medal two years in a row at the Melbourne Specialist Cheese Show.

Craig Tansley recently reported for the Australian Financial Review that the Mornington Peninsula is Australia’s prettiest wine region.  More than 75 operators in the region formed Wine Food Farmgate, offering visitors the chance to discover hidden culinary gems across the region, as well as cellar doors they might have overlooked.

Our next stop on the tour was the Paringa Estate Winery and Restaurant.  Since 2008 the estate has been producing award-winning wines. While friends tasted different wines, I explored the beautiful surrounding and could not stop thinking how Lindsay McCall, the owner, made a transition from a school teacher to a successful wine maker who since Paringa Estate’s establishment in 1985 has become the most awarded wineries in Australia, particularly for Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

Adam took us to Port Phillip Estate for a late lunch.  Port Phillip grows and produces their wines 100% in the estate and specializes in Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz . The huge building is an architectural landmark with a dining room that extends to an expansive outdoor timber deck with views to the vineyard, Westernport Bay and Bass Strait.

Stuart Deller, the head chef, who began his career in London infused the food with European feel. I wondered why such a big dining room only provides limited choices of food. Apparently the menu changes regularly, highlighting the best of the season. Sitting next to a fire place, I had the best polenta that I ever tasted, paired with fricassee local mushrooms and hazelnuts. The chef’s duck confit, combined with fennel and orange salad is definitely a match of savory and sour taste. The roquette salad was elegantly presented with thin slices of pear, parmesan and balsamic to taste.

We were appreciating several beach spots in the freezing weather when Adam said we just have enough time to visit The Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm for dessert.  

Strawberry picking is only available from November to April so we entertained ourselves in the “all strawberries shop” and the dessert café that serves dessert only.

Sunny Ridge carries farm made ice cream and sorbets and a large selection of handmade strawberry jam and syrups with very little sugar. While some friends tried strawberry ice cream, I savored the Sunny Ridge Freeze Dried Strawberries in white and dark chocolate that strangely melted in the mouth.

Rebello Wines Cellar Door at Sunny Ridge offers medal winning fruit sparklings, liqueurs and Cheeky Rascal Ciders, made from fresh crushed Victorian apple juice or mixed with strawberry or raspberry wine.

A day-trip is just not enough to explore the picturesque Mornington Peninsula’s hinterland and seaside. As Tansley said: every street corner seems to offer up a cafe or produce store selling local delicacies picked that morning from the fertile local soil.

Adam promised to take us on another food tour whenever we visit Melbourne again. I guess for now I just have to be content by discovering more of the area through the Peninsula Visitor magazine. 

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Images: Omar Niode Foundation