Tahbilk Wetlands Cafe

In the couple of weeks before we head to Europe I needed to conduct some further research interviews. It provided an opportunity to head to Melbourne and then to a couple of wine regions in Victoria.

We decided to fly and hire a car this time. This meant forgoing a stop in Nhill to see the talking horse and a stop for dinner at The Bridge Hotel in Bendigo, but did allow us to see family in Melbourne before driving onto country Victoria.

These days we stay near the Southern Cross Railway Station, making transport into the city easy on SkyBus. That end of town is a little less fashionable but has plenty of accommodation, some nice bars and restaurants. For us Higher Ground for breakfast and drinks at Kirks Wine Bar have both become favourites.

What we were surprised about though, was how hard it was to find somewhere open for dinner on a Sunday night in a big city like Melbourne. Eventually we settled on Hardware Lane. It’s not boutique but it is just fine. It’s near Marvel Stadium, so with a Sunday afternoon game on there were footy fans in their colours at the place we chose. How lucky we are that footy fans can wear their colours and not feel threatened by opposing fans. Seeing footy fans wearing their team colours is one of the things I love about Melbourne, even if I rarely see anyone wearing the colours of my team – The Adelaide Crows.

Southern Cross Station was a great spot to hire a rental car. Easy access to the Ring Road out of the city, although missing the turn off meant a bit of a delay as the traffic was heavy. The sign was pretty obvious but we still missed it!

We stopped at Tahbilk for a light lunch at their delightful Wetlands Cafe. What they have done in restoring the property is quite amazing.

Tahbilk is one of Australia’s oldest wineries and there are many signs of its history. I love the cellar door in an old barrel room. The reds are still made using old winemaking techniques. The wines are distinctive and to my taste.

Tahbilk winery

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From there it was onto Milawa, an hour and half, to our base for a couple of nights. We stayed opposite Brown Brothers, a winery we love. They have a fabulous cellar door and the Epicurean Centre serves great food. Brown Brothers have quite possibly the widest choice of wine varieties in Australia.

We discovered Brown Brothers as twenty somethings in the early 80s. They had just opened their tasting room, and we sampled wines including Spatlese Lexia which back then was quite a favourite. Today its a bit sweet for our pallets, but visiting the cellar door bought back some great memories.

Dal Zotto Winery

We had lunch in the Epicurean Centre, also known as Patricia’s. Great food lovely surroundings.

After lunch we took the dive to Whitfield to visit two wineries – Pizzini and Dal Zotto. We knew Pizzini well but not Dal Zotto. Both were worth the visit. Both came highly recommended. The forty minute drive through the King Valley and its lush country side was vey pleasant. The Alps are a short distance away but there was no snow to be seen.

Both wineries Cellar Doors were open with friendly cellar door staff happy to chat on a very quiet Tuesday afternoon. We tried some wines. Always annoying to be the driver, so most of the tasting was done by my favourite person. We joined both wine clubs and made some purchases. I love the Wine Club concept. You get to try wines you might not otherwise see and a couple of times a year a dozen turns up at your doorstep. You are dealing directly with the winery so they are getting their margin and as a member you get some level of discount.

With our tastings done, we headed back to our hotel. We decided on the local pub for dinner, however when we arrived the local Rotary Club was meeting. I’d been a member of a Rotary some years ago, and decided we would pass on the opportunity to join them. It was back to our delightful hotel for a pleasant dinner at our hotel , before going back to our room to watch the Aussies beat England in a World Cup round match.

After a breakfast overlooking the vineyards we took the easy two and half hour drive back to Melbourne airport to drop the rental car off and head home.

A very pleasant couple of days, more research completed and some new wines to try.