Tiger Tales

Tour the Vines

Load up your wine knowledge as we trip through the best Aussie vineyards

PHOTOGRAPHY JEREMY SIMONS

Australia may have made its name internationally with affordable, “sunshine-in-a-bottle” wines produced by big companies, but its boutique wineries with their passionate, often eccentric winemakers that are the most interesting places to visit. We lay out a fabulous wine trail highlighting the top ten cellar doors from the Margaret River in Western Australia all the way to the Derwent Valley in Tasmania.

Aussies love a great tipple and have elevated wine touring to an art form. “In contrast to their French, Italian and Californian counterparts, there is a complete lack of snobbery at Australian wineries,” says Andrew Caillard, director of Langton’s Fine Wine Auctions, “They want you to visit. Fine wine is much more democratic here.”

Each of the following wineries is idiosyncratic. They may be steeped in history or brand new. They may offer tasting platters of local specialties or the full-on restaurant extravaganza. They may be home to art galleries and cheese-aging rooms or none of the above. No matter what’s on offer, you can be sure these wineries have the X-factor that elevates swilling and spitting to an experience that oozes the good life.

South Australia

CHARLES MELTON, BAROSSA

Boyish-faced Charlie Melton embodies the image of the Aussie winemaker as artisan hero. He saw the potential in some of the world’s oldest Shiraz and Grenache vines, which were once used to make fortified wines in the Barossa. Today his Nine Popes – a cheeky reference to the famous Rhone winery Châteauneuf-du-Pape – which is made from century-old Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre bush vines, is collected around the world. But you needn’t know the history to enjoy a pleasant afternoon sampling wines at the rustic cellar door or relaxing on the veranda with a lamb pie or cheese platter from the Barossa Valley Cheese Company. You’ll no doubt meet Charlie, too. “He’s very engaging,” says Andrew, “always up for a good yarn.” You can even base yourself nearby in the historic German kirche (church) which Charlie’s wife, Virginia, has just converted into a luxury vineyard accommodation.

CORIOLE, MCLAREN VALE

“If you didn’t know better you’d think you were on a hillside in Tuscany,” says Ralf Hadzic, owner of Life is a Cabernet wine tours. Coriole pioneered the growing of Italian grape varieties in Australia and its Sangiovese is among the nation’s best. Surrounded by delightful gardens, Coriole’s 1860’s farmhouse cellar door also offers tastings of the Lloyd family’s olives, olive oils and Woodside cheeses. Enjoy a picnic platter under the mulberry trees and marvel at the views over McLaren’s vales all the way to the sea. Coriole also stages classical music, Shakespeare and poetry events. “I brought the composer Philip Glass here once and he was knocked out by the place. I couldn’t get him to leave,” says Ralf.

SKILLOGALEE, CLARE

Located in an 1850’s Cornish miner’s cottage set amid expansive cottage gardens that make the heart swoon, Skillogalee “was the coolest winery I visited,” says US journalist Brian Smith. “The house is right out of a Dickens story.” According to Ralf, it also happens to serve the best food in the Clare Valley, including a mighty fine afternoon tea, which you can enjoy on the veranda or in the shade of an old olive tree. The name Skillogalee comes from a Gaelic word meaning “poor man’s soup.” You can also sample the Palmer family’s hand-made Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. For those who can’t bear to leave, there is a luxury sandstone house with an open fireplace and terrace, plus two cottages.

Western Australia

LEEUWIN ESTATE, MARGARET RIVER

Dennis and Trish Horgan’s Leeuwin Estate is “the quintessential contemporary winery”, according to Andrew. The towering Karri trees place it smack in the emotional heart of the Margaret River, which English wine writer Jancis Robinson calls the world’s most beautiful wine region. Sample their world-class Chardonnay and, in the cellar art gallery, check out the original paintings by the leading Australian artists whose work graces the winery’s acclaimed Art Series wine labels. Enjoy a delicious meal on the restaurant terrace overlooking the spectacular site of the winery’s renowned al fresco concerts, which have featured the likes of Ray Charles, Sting and the London Philharmonic. Trish reflects, “We started with a blank sheet. Thank God we didn’t know what we couldn’t do.”

Victoria

TAHBILK, NAGAMBIE

Drive past Tahbilk’s 1860 Shiraz vines, some of the oldest in the world, on the way to the historic multi-tiered wooden winery with its horse-hitching rails under an alley of plane trees. Here you can sample its signature Shiraz and Marsanne wines and explore the atmospheric cellar and museum. The winery’s name comes from the Aboriginal expression tabilk tabilk, meaning “place of many waterholes”. Owner Alister Purbrick says, “We have this remarkable heritage as the oldest living winery in Australia but we decided that by restoring the property’s amazing wetlands we could add even more appeal to Tahbilk as a fascinating place to visit. Today the wetlands and the café have become destinations in themselves”. There is no better way to work off lunch than by taking a wetlands cruise or a stroll along the timber boardwalks to look for rosellas, egrets, eagles and swans.

GIANT STEPS, YARRA VALLEY

Named after jazz saxophonist John Coltrane’s first solo album, Giant Steps redefines the cellar-door experience. It is not down a dirt road in the heart of a vineyard, but instead injects a little bit of urban chic into the country town of Healesville. Better yet, the glass-sided winery allows visitors to observe every step of the winemaking process. Beyond that, you can sip coffee, microbrewed beer or wine while watching bakers make bread, pizza bubble in the wood-fired oven and coffee being roasted.

There’s a cheese-aging room and a terrific all-day bistro menu, free wi-fi, and oh yes, tastings of Giant Steps’ single vineyard wines – Chardonnays are standouts – and companion winery Innocent Bystander’s “playful and exotic wines made in earnest”.

MONTALTO, MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Montalto’s rammed-earth winery overlooking a natural amphitheatre of vines makes for an ambitious and eclectic mix. “It’s a world-class experience,” says regular visitor Nevile Lyngcoln, “you can taste exceptionally good Chardonnay and Pinot noir at the cellar door, relax for hours over pizza and antipasto at the Piazza Café or enjoy top-quality French-inspired food in the restaurant with its floor-to-ceiling windows. Overall, it’s a lovely, relaxed setting and the views are magnificent.” If you want to stretch your legs, explore co-owner Wendy Mitchell’s expansive, heirloom kitchen garden and olive grove, wander around the estate’s sculpture collection or, better yet, take a nature walk to the wetlands for a private picnic – delivered in style via a red Morris Minor – at a shaded table set with white linen.

Nsw

TYRRELL’S WINES, HUNTER VALLEY

“Tyrrell’s Wines is a must-visit winery because of its great history,” says Andrew. “Its dirt floors and huge red-rimmed barrels are so evocative of an earlier time.” The cellar door is located in the original 1863 winery building but there is nothing fusty about Tyrrell’s expert personnel, who cross the nation to lead excellent tastings of wines from the family-owned vineyards. Try the Vat 1 Semillon and Vat 47 Chardonnay before taking one of the nation’s best winery tours, offered Monday to Friday at 1.30pm. “My father pretty much invented cellar-door tourism back in the 1960s as the best way to sell wine,” says CEO Bruce Tyrrell, “and we haven’t looked back since.” At harvest time, you can even help plunge the red wines in the huge open vats.

Tasmania

MOORILLA ESTATE, DERWENT VALLEY

Gambling-syndicate millionaire owner David Walsh calls Moorilla Estate an adult Disneyland. The Age newspaper reporter Gabriella Coslovich describes it as “a place of sensory and (legally) subversive pleasures where the worlds of art, architecture, food, wine, beer and ideas collide”. Located in a peninsula on the banks of the Derwent River, 10km from Hobart, Moorilla Estate’s winery produces Tasmania’s signature cool-climate varieties, its microbrewery creates beers under the Moo Brew label and its Source restaurant features a grazing menu of Mediterraneanstyle dishes. Its eight dramatic pavilion apartments, decorated with edgy contemporary furnishings and art, are named after Australian architects and artists. But the pièce de résistance is the now-under-construction, fortress-like A$75- million (S$96 million) Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), which is dedicated to the themes of sex and death. Once completed, it will be the largest private art museum in Australia.

Queensland

SIRROMET, MOUNT COTTON

The sub-tropical state of Queensland might not seem like the ideal setting for a vineyard, yet Sirromet's bluestone and burnished wood winery sits high on Mount Cotton on the outskirts of Brisbane, with splendid views of the sea. At its heart is Restaurant Lurleens, one of the nation's best winery restaurants. Chef Andrew Mirosch is fanatical about fresh local produce – much of his supply is grown on-site – as well as seafood from Moreton Bay. "I always enjoy visiting because of the beautiful location, open spaces and gorgeous food and wine," says regular visitor Elisabeth Topham. While the vineyards are sequestered in the Granite Belt high country, the eclectic range of high-quality wines is made right here. The cellar door offers tours and tastings as well as grazing platters and live jazz on weekends.

FIND IT:

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Charles Melton, Krondorf Rd, Tanunda, Barossa, tel: +61 (0)8 8563 3606, www.charlesmelton.com Coriole, Chaffeys Rd, McLaren Vale, tel: +61 (0)8 8323 8305, www.coriole.com Skillogalee, Trevarrick Rd Via Clare, tel: +61 (0)8 8843 4311, www.skillogalee.com.au

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Leeuwin Estate, Stevens Rd, Margaret River, tel: +61 (0)8 9759 0000, www.leeuwinestate.com.au

VICTORIA
Tahbilk, Mulberry Dr, Nagambie, tel: +61 (0)3 5794 2555, www.tahbilk.com.au Giant Steps, 336 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville, Yarra Valley, tel: +61 (0)3 5962 6111, www.giant-steps.com.au Montalto, 33 Shoreham Rd, Red Hill South, Mornington Peninsula, tel: +61 (0)3 5989 8412, www.montalto.com.au

NEW SOUTH WALES
Tyrrell’s Wines, 1838 Broke Rd, Pokolbin, Hunter Valley, tel: +61 (0)2 4993 7000, www.tyrrells.com.au

TASMANIA
Moorilla Estate, 655 Main Rd, Berriedale, Derwent Valley, tel: +61 (0)3 6277 9900, www.moorilla.com.au

QUEENSLAND
Sirromet, 850 Mount Cotton Rd, Mount Cotton, tel: +61 (0)7 3206 2999, www.sirromet.com

Become a Wine Guru

Want to impress your friends with your Aussie wine knowledge? Here are a few tips:

Mention Australian wine and many people think of big bold Shiraz from the Barossa that you can almost cut with a knife. And, indeed, there are some mighty fine examples from Rockford, Elderton, Langmeil, Charles Melton, Yalumba and Grant Burge that are the ideal accompaniment to roast lamb. But there are tremendous variations in climate, landscape, grape types and winemaking styles in Australia’s 64 wine regions, which stretch for thousands of kilometres across the continent.

When it comes to white wines, there isn’t much that compares to a crisp Sauvignon blanc from the Adelaide Hills (Shaw and Smith, Nepenthe), enjoyed with a plate of oysters, a luscious Chardonnay from the Margaret River (Leeuwin Estate, Vasse Felix, Cullen) with heartier seafood dishes, or a fragrant Riesling from the Clare Valley (Grosset Wines, Mount Horrocks Estate, Skillogalee) with poultry.

Try some great sparkling white wine from Tasmania (Moorilla Estate, Josef Chromy) or a distinctive, aged Semillon from the Hunter Valley (Tyrrell’s Wines, Brokenwood, Bimbadgen) or Marsanne from Victoria’s Nagambie region (Tahbilk, Mitchelton). As for reds, check out a hearty Grenache from McLaren Vale (d’Arenberg, Chapel Hill, Penny Lane, Wirra Wirra) or enjoy a Cabernet from the Coonawarra (Hollick Wines, Penley Estate) with a thick, juicy steak.

And try a Pinot noir from the Yarra Valley (Chateau Yering, de Bortoli, Giant Steps, TarraWarra Estate) or Mornington Peninsula (Main Ridge Estate, Paringa Estate, Montalto), which goes perfectly with duck and game dishes. Also growing in popularity are Italian varietals, such as Sangiovese (Coriole) and Barbera (Sam Miranda, Brown Brothers). Either is perfect with antipasto and pasta dishes.