It so happened that this weekend was also part of an annual festival called Grape Grazing, where a variety of food and wine related events and live music are held and a lot of the smaller wineries are open or have their wines on tasting. While wandering the main street of Healesville, we came across a tasting called New Wave, showcasing the smaller wineries that are generally not open to the public. Wanting to support the little guy, we were keen to try some new wines.
Of the ten small producers at the event, we ended up buying from four of them. The wines were fantastic and all from wineries we had never come across before.
Journey Wines
Journey Wines are made by one of the former sommeliers at Tetsuya's restaurant in Sydney. Damian's love of wine lead him to study wine making and he has worked at other wineries in Australia and overseas. A few years ago he finally decided to start his own label. He makes a chardonnay and a pinot noir from Yarra Valley fruit and a shiraz from Heathcote grapes. The chardonnay and pinot noir were both amazing. As someone who is not normally a chardonnay drinker, I surprisingly loved this one and could quite happily drink it on its own or with a nice meal. It wasn't heavily oaken at all, had a nice acidity and plenty of ripe fruit flavours.
Precipice Wines
Another winery started by someone who had spent a long time in the wine industry, Marty decided to create Precipice Wines to make the style of wines he loves to drink. He uses Yarra Valley fruit to make a chardonnay and syrah. Being a syrah, rather than shiraz, this wine is much softer, with plenty of fruit flavours and low tannins. Complex, smooth and delicious! Again the chardonnay was lightly oaked, fruit driven and very approachable. One to drink on a warm afternoon in the sun!
Trellis
Trellis Wines are another small producer in the Yarra Valley, making great wine at an affordable price. A pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay, riesling and a pinot rose make up their range. The chardonnay and pinot noir were particularly good. Another chardonnay that I really enjoyed. What is going on! Both wines were lovely to drink now, but will continue to improve with another couple of years in the bottle. Not sure I can wait that long!
Out of Step Wine Co
These guys currently only make two wines, a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc. Not just any old sauv blanc, mind you! If you think that the New Zealand style is too much - too green, too tropical, then this one is for you. Lightly oaked, it has much more complexity and depth of flavour. Plenty of lemony citrus, with a little bit of greenery, but not so much that it's overpowering. Out of Step with other wines made from the same grape variety, but in step with my palate!
Brumfield/Crothers
Brumfield winery was previously unknown to us, but we visited after our sommelier at dinner revealed that it was his father's winery and that he also made some wine on the side. We were Impressed with his wine knowledge and wine matching at dinner and thought we'd head along to check them out. We were not disappointed. The marsanne that Aaron produces under his own label, Crothers, was rich and buttery with plenty of honeysuckle and a touch of citrus. A big wine, full of complexity, but delicious to drink now or cellar for a special occasion. The other Brumfield wines include a shiraz rose, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and a sparkling pinot noir chardonnay. We loved the rose, which was quite savoury and with only a touch of sweetness. The shiraz and cabernet were big and rounded, with fine tannins and good red fruit flavours.
We were so glad we called in to visit and will now look out for these wines when we dine locally. It's always great to have new recommendations of a small producer.
Five Oaks
The Five Oaks winery was also recommended to us by Aaron, our sommelier at dinner. It is a winery very close to his parents property and one which seemed to influence him quite heavily. Owner, Wally, was a nuclear physicist in a past life, but decided to turn his talents to winemaking thirteen years ago. Along with his wife, he creates cabernet sauvignon, merlot, a cabernet merlot blend, riesling and a heady cabernet rose. The rose was a deep red, almost the colour of a grenache, and served lightly chilled, it was a taste sensation! Red berries and plum with a touch of acidity and a little residual sugar. Perfect to sip on a warm day, with a plate of prosciutto, cheese and fresh bread.
As much as we tried some amazing wines, there was some pretty amazing food too! It started with a six course degustation at Eleanor's Restaurant in the historic Chateau Yering Hotel. We had high expectations for dinner, as we'd heard great things, and we weren't disappointed. Each course was beautifully presented and matched with a wine which perfectly complemented the flavours in the dish. Our Sommelier, Aaron, was incredibly knowledgeable about the wine matches and we had a good chat with him about the wines for each course. A highlight for me was the vegetarian entree, Vegetable Garden. Delicate and beautiful, it was delicious!
We were also lucky enough to time our visit with the monthly Yarra Valley Farmer's Market held at Yering Station. Here local farmers and small producers displayed their wares and offered tastings of their products. We were spoilt for choice and could easily have come away spending way too much money on gourmet treats!
The Giverny Estate Kiwi Fruit cider was a complete revelation! I'm generally not a great lover of kiwi fruit, but this cider was amazing. Despite being 7% alcohol, it was very light and refreshing, with only a hint of kiwi flavour. On a hot summer's day, this would be perfect. Unfortunately this cider is only available at local farmer's markets, but they will ship Australia wide for a $15 flat rate. Giverny Estate also make still and sparkling wines from kiwi fruit too, if you're looking for something a bit different and unique.
I love to make jams, but often don't make berry jams as I can't really justify spending $6 a punnet on fruit that I'm just going to make into jam. I am more than happy to support a small producer who makes a great product. The Australian Harvest organic blackberry and raspberry jams were just divine! Made with fruit and sugar, they don't contain any nasties and taste just like your Grandma used to make. Ripe fruity flavours with just the right amount of acidity, these reminded my husband of the jams he used to have as a kid. Perfect on fresh bread, toast or on hot scones just out of the oven with lashings of cream!
Pate is one of my favourite indulgences and I love it spread on to fresh crusty bread or on hot toast. We came across these pates made by Chef's Fine Food. I loved the Venison and Muscat, which was a bit stronger and had a lovely sweetness from the muscat. My husband loved the Duck and Grand Marnier, which was slightly milder. Both were amazing and unfortunately for me, we had to buy both! They also made a chicken pate, smoked salmon pate, chicken and pistachio terrine and gourmet pies.
Flavoured olive oils are great to have in the cupboard to add a bit of interest and zing to salad dressings and marinades or to just dip fresh bread into. I have often bought lemon or basil infused oils, but you tend not to see ones infused with more interesting flavours. These oils made by Olivetto were beautiful. The blood orange oil had a sweetness and acidity to it which would match perfectly with chicken, pork or seafood. It was understated elegance in a bottle! The lemongrass oil had a more pungent aroma and taste, perfect to use with any Asian style foods. They also made a chilli oil, with a pretty strong bite, a refreshing lemon oil and a funky truffle infused oil. I can't wait to get experimenting with these oils and finding new ways to use them!
I am probably more a coffee person, particularly in the morning, but I do like a good cup of tea to relax me before bed. The Yarra Valley Tea Co produce a huge range of mainly herbal teas for all sorts of conditions and uses. We liked the sound of the New You Detox and Nod Off. Perfect teas to help cleanse the system and help with getting a restful nights sleep. Check them out if you are looking for something a little bit different for yourself or as a present for someone you love. They stock their teas more widely around Victoria, so you might be lucky to find it closer to home.
Finally, our last purchase was a great sauce, called Ricci's Soyoza. This Asian style sauce is a combination of soy sauce, lemongrass, chilli and garlic, with a pungent aroma. Ricci suggests using his sauce in stir frys, marinades, as a dipping sauce for rice paper rolls, or just drizzled over barbecued meat. It really is a flavour bomb and I can't wait to get experimenting with it in the kitchen.
With bursting bellies, we drove home from our weekend in the Yarra Valley with a boot full of foodie treats and new wines. It was a wonderful weekend away and we discovered so many great products. If you live nearby, definitely head to the Yarra Valley for some beautiful food and wine.
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