We need food to nurish our body more than the simple chemical compounds that supports our cells.  Eating serves us in a deeper level, it is also a gesture in honour of the lives we live. That belief brings us to dedicate a whole day in the area of the twelve apostles on a little food escapade.

To boost tourism, farmers from the little towns located not far from the Twelve Apostles created a chain of specialty food businesses as attractions.

We had just enough time and budget to visit the following three:

George Chocolates

Apostle Whey Cheese

Newtons Ridge Estate Winery

on George Chocolates website, a list of other attractions are also provided

George Chocolates has a wonderful and adorable selection of  yummy chocolates with free samples for their most popular selections.  The only disappointment is that the chocolate wasn't made at the farm, it is just a side business for the owners.

Our visit to Apostle Whey Cheese was a more unique experience in comparison to the chocolate shop.  Surrounding the path from the car park to the shop are the most amazing copper sculpture collection!.  The dairy farm sells both home made cheeses and milk.  The girl behind the counter walked us through a mouth watering cheese tasting (FREE OF CHARGE!).  I felt like I was one of the white hat members in the movie Box Trolls.  Just as we worried about the transportation of cheese while we travel, the owner suggested us to buy a small cooler bag and reusable icepack for $3.  We gladly purchased a slice of lucious blue cheese as we head down to Newtons Ridge Estate Winery.

(note: We passed on the milk.  It is from a distributor that pastorizes milk from all over the country, so it's technically not the milk that's produced from the cows you see through the shop window.)

We arrived at Newtons Ridge Estate Winery just at the little down time.  The owner of the shop walked us through the variety of wines they house as we chit chatted throughout the experience.  The wine from this region is dry, especially so due to recent droughts.  Since we were the only customers at the moment, she taught us the various details of wine making.  We talked about the ages of various wines from various regions as well as how barrels affect wines through its fermentation.  She gave us information on work in vineyards, unfortunately the time we have arrived is at the end of grape picking season so not much work was available.  She generously shared the last drops of the grape juices that was collected for the season, it was pure ecstacy.  We purchased our bottle and settled at the picnic table outside the shop.  The wine and cheese created fireworks on our palates as we gazed out onto the rows of vines.  We met some Japanese travellers during this time and put a perfect ending to our day.

a couple more pictures from the winery: