AUSTRALIA: The Capital
Canberra is
a happening suit and tie city that encompasses the Australian Capital Territory
(ACT). Jean and I are lucky to have a good friend who lives in the city, and
being only a few hours from Sydney, it was a perfect first stop.
Our first
visit was Lark Hill Biodynamic Winery. Jean and I had tried their wines before
and were excited to finally see the vineyard and taste more of their offerings.
The property definitely had a boutique feel with a stone building covered in
crawling vines, hens scratching around the gardens, and a clumsy Great Dane
puppy who greeted us on arrival. The owners were at the Cellar Door happy to
pour wines and talk about their philosophy; making great organic and biodynamic
wines without compromising quality. The stand out wine in our opinion is the
2013 MrV, a white wine blend of Marsanne, Rousanne, and Viognier. This type of
blend is often found in white wines coming out of the Rhone Valley, France. What impressed me was the vinification techniques used to make the
wine. Rather than co-fermenting all the grapes together the process was a bit
more focused on creating the right texture and flavours to make the wine stand
out. The Rousanne was fermented in a stainless steel tank, the Viognier was
fermented in older French oak barrels, and the Marsanne was fermented on skins
for 21 days. All ferments were spontaneous meaning the natural yeast on the
grapes did the fermenting, no added lab yeasts. After they blended the finished
wines together it resulted in a funky, yet crisp and lean wine with texture on
the palate. For $35 we thought it to be of pretty decent value.
Next stop
was Mount Majura Winery. My good friend Monica Gray had just recently landed a
position as Assistant Winemaker at this winery and I was really looking forward
to paying her a visit. The 9 hectare vineyard is situated on a steady eastern
slope with the winery at the bottom. Despite only being 9 hectares they offer a
surprising number of wines, 17 and counting. Plantings of Chardonnay, Riesling,
Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Touriga, Graciano (just to name a few) showcase the
owner’s playfulness with grape varieties in the vineyard. Monica gave as a tour
around and guided us through a tasting. Our favourite wine was the 2014 Molli
a blend of wild ferment Pinot Gris and Riesling with nice bright fruity
flavours and great texture.
Not only is
it home to the capital city of Australia but another reason to visit is to
journey through the 140 vineyards and 30 plus wineries that surround the city.
What makes this region so special is the range in temperatures, soil types, and
elevation giving the wines a cool climate advantage over most other regions
around Australia.
Our first
visit was Lark Hill Biodynamic Winery. Jean and I had tried their wines before
and were excited to finally see the vineyard and taste more of their offerings.
The property definitely had a boutique feel with a stone building covered in
crawling vines, hens scratching around the gardens, and a clumsy Great Dane
puppy who greeted us on arrival. The owners were at the Cellar Door happy to
pour wines and talk about their philosophy; making great organic and biodynamic
wines without compromising quality. The stand out wine in our opinion is the
2013 MrV, a white wine blend of Marsanne, Rousanne, and Viognier. This type of
blend is often found in white wines coming out of the Rhone Valley, France. What impressed me was the vinification techniques used to make the
wine. Rather than co-fermenting all the grapes together the process was a bit
more focused on creating the right texture and flavours to make the wine stand
out. The Rousanne was fermented in a stainless steel tank, the Viognier was
fermented in older French oak barrels, and the Marsanne was fermented on skins
for 21 days. All ferments were spontaneous meaning the natural yeast on the
grapes did the fermenting, no added lab yeasts. After they blended the finished
wines together it resulted in a funky, yet crisp and lean wine with texture on
the palate. For $35 we thought it to be of pretty decent value. 
Next stop
was Mount Majura Winery. My good friend Monica Gray had just recently landed a
position as Assistant Winemaker at this winery and I was really looking forward
to paying her a visit. The 9 hectare vineyard is situated on a steady eastern
slope with the winery at the bottom. Despite only being 9 hectares they offer a
surprising number of wines, 17 and counting. Plantings of Chardonnay, Riesling,
Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Touriga, Graciano (just to name a few) showcase the
owner’s playfulness with grape varieties in the vineyard. Monica gave as a tour
around and guided us through a tasting. Our favourite wine was the 2014 Molli
a blend of wild ferment Pinot Gris and Riesling with nice bright fruity
flavours and great texture.
After a
solid day of wine tasting we headed into the city to Monica’s urban flat to
unwind. We quickly discovered that Canberra is an upbeat city with lots to
offer. Our first stop was at Bent Spoke Microbrewery, a hip spot with a huge selection of brews including cask conditional ales, double IPA’s, and sour
brett inoculated beers. Then as hunger called we walked over to what I would
consider the gem of Canberra, the food truck village. It is a fun little spot
with live music, BYO and all sorts of food truck cuisine ranging from Indian,
Greek, Italian, American and even Peruvian.
Unfortunately
we could only stay for one night but with Monica as our host we were able to
see Canberra’s best in a day. Looking back, I don’t think there would have been
a better way to start our trip.
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| Monica and I in the cellar at Mount Majura |
Cheers friends!
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