I hate to break it to you, but even if you think you have a handle on the Australian winery-scene, you’re mostly mistaken. (We’re about to educate you but read on until the end because we want you to school us, likewise).
You know how it is; you spend a long time in one wine region – or you go back to that wine region a lot – and you think you’ve seen all there is to see.
But, don’t get ahead of yourself. Wait – there’s more!
Before you claim your prize for visiting every cellar door, double check the list. Do that on the CELLAR DOORS.CO app.
As we know, one of the best things about Australia is it is a great big whopping continent of natural beauty, diverse landscapes, and creatures great and small. It’s also a country that defies categorisation. (Case in point: the platypus).
All things considered, it’s hardly surprising that not all locations fall neatly into a designated geographical wine region. Some cellar doors stand alone and others dwell among a small community of other cellar doors and associated businesses outside official wine regions.
Have you heard of these wineries?
Did you know, for example, that there is a winery on the NSW Far South Coast called Rusty Fig Wines? (If you didn’t, please add to your Destinations list immediately if not, sooner).
Rusty Fig winery vigneron Gary Potts established the vineyard in 2002. Gary and his wife Frances live on the property, which they have owned since 1993, with golden retriever Jasper. Their cool climate vineyard lies 15 minutes inland from the seaside town of Bermagui on the Far South Coast of NSW and 10 minutes east of the heritage village of Cobargo. The region’s latitude and climate is similar to that of the Margaret River in Western Australia and the vineyard enjoys a northerly aspect and cooling sea breezes from the north east. They have four acres under tempranillo, verdelho and savagnin vines, making it a specialised boutique vineyard. Their peak production is about 800 cases a year and you can order them online or find them in restaurants everywhere.
Although Bathurst is not an official wine region, you can find nine vineyards and four cellar doors in the area (close to Orange).
What has been your best cellar door discovery (anywhere)?