Destination Summer 21

photo by rick liston

Hello lovers. We’ve missed you. The summer has arrived at last and we’re all just a little bit eager to get outdoors – to feel the wide open spaces and start to live again. And it’s reassuring to know, everything you’ve always loved about the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges is still here – ready, willing, and waiting to welcome you back with a socially distanced hug.

We are the backyard you’ve been yearning for – the open fields, the lush vineyards, the forest walks and the tumbling rivers – just a short drive away. We are all shapes and sizes, many colours and flavours, the tiny details and the grand designs. In summer our baskets are full of fruits and berries, and the cherries are within easy reach, bursting with sunshine and flavour. The rivers and trout farms hum with the promise of fresh caught fish for the BBQ. The picnic blankets spread on lawns and vineyards are like magic carpet rides to relaxed, flavour-filled experiences – the kind that you refer back to forever as ‘remember that day when we…’

When the city sizzles in the midday sun, the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges sends a cool breeze down from the mountains, when the glare of sunshine becomes too much, the region embraces you with an ‘always’ green vista. The grapes are abundant on the vines, and the latest vintage always on tasting. There is an immediacy in the produce – a deeper knowing that what you are devouring is so good because it was picked fresh that morning, or handmade by an artisan or master chef.

Bring on the sunshine in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. Let’s do summer together.