TUESDAY, 3/01/2023
2:00pm – WOOD PARK WINES
Wine tasting at Wood Park Wines, Milawa Cheese Complex, Milawa VIC 3678. Wood Park Wines owner and winemaker John Stokes first stomped on grapes in the 1980s and has been following his passion for quality wine ever since. The Wood Park Wines vineyard is managed with a commitment to sustainable environmental practices and minimal chemical use. Wood Park Wines draws on fruit sourced from the diverse micro-climates within the King Valley, Alpine Valley and surrounding regions.
6:00pm – RESTAURANT MERLOT
Dinner at Restaurant Merlot, 223 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Rd, Milawa VIC 3678. Named in honour of the wine grapes plucked from the vines it overlooks, Restaurant Merlot is the onsite restaurant where cuisine, comfort and conversation are the key ingredients. With a pared-back interior scheme by The Stella Collective and floor-to-ceiling windows that frame both the vineyard and refurbished courtyard, it’s a place where a passion for everything delicious about the High Country comes to the table.
WEDNESDAY, 4/01/2023
10:30am – CASTAGNA
Wine tasting at Castagna Vineyard, 88 Ressom Ln, Beechworth VIC 3747. The Castagna Vineyard is situated at an altitude of 500 metres five and a half kilometres outside the historic town of Beechworth in north-east Victoria, high in the foothills of the Australian Alps. They make natural wines of terroir and their intention is to make, as simply as possible, wine which is an expression of the place where it is grown. The wines of Castagna are multi-awarded and are at the forefront of the new Australia and are fully certified biodynamic.
12:30pm – INDIGO VINEYARD
Wine tasting at Indigo Vineyard, 1221 Beechworth-Wangaratta Rd, Everton Upper VIC 3678. The Indigo Vineyard is located near the hamlet of Everton in the foothills of the Victorian Alps. The region enjoys beautiful views, fine dining, wonderful local produce, historic Beechworth streetscapes and is recognised for outstanding Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The hot days and cool nights, granitic sand and clay loam soils and a location in foothills of the Victorian Alps combine to create an amazing terroir for growing super premium grapes. Indigo Vineyard has a little over 46ha of vineyards planted to 11 varieties, including the top French and Italian grapes.
3:00pm – PENNYWEIGHT
Wine tasting at Pennyweight Winery, 13 Pennyweight Lane, Beechworth VIC 3747. Pennyweight is a small traditional winery, owned and operated by the 4th and 5th generation Morris family winemakers. It comprises two certified organic / biodynamic, dry land vineyards situated in the Beechworth and Rutherglen wine regions, producing a range of solely estate grown table and fortified wines including apera (sherry).
6:00pm – OX AND HOUND BISTRO
Dinner at The Ox and Hound Bistro, 52 Ford St, Beechworth VIC 3747. Ideally located in the main street of historic Beechworth, The Ox and Hound Bistro occupies a quintessential shopfront and offers a relaxed dining space. Inside, there are signature ‘wattle branch’ chandeliers bathe a beautifully simple dining room with golden light. Woven cane bistro chairs, a pressed metal ceiling, fine wine glasses and cloth napery welcome diners.
THURSDAY, 5/01/2023
11:30am – FIGHTING GULLY ROAD
Wine tasting at Fighting Gully Road, 15 Kurrajong Way, Mayday Hills, Beechworth VIC 3747. At an elevation of 530 – 580m above sea level, Fighting Gully Road is a cool, breeze-blown site. It’s steady slopes rise to the top of the escarpment that overlooks the fertile Murmungee basin, south of Beechworth. In 1995, when we purchased the farm, these slopes were covered in scrub, stumps and many thousands of rabbits. There was hard work ahead, but also plenty of potential. The first vines were planted at the Fighting Gully Road vineyard site in 1997 – Cabernet Sauvignon and a small plot of Merlot on the north and west-facing slopes, followed by Pinot Noir on the upper and east-facing slopes in the following year. Over subsequent years, small areas have been reworked to Tempranillo, Shiraz and Sangiovese.
2:00pm – CHRISMONT
Lunch at Chrismont, 251 Upper King River Road, Cheshunt VIC 3678, followed by wine tasting. Established in 1980, Chrismont is the culmination of two generations of grape growing and winemaking in Victoria’s beautiful King Valley, whose wines today celebrate the traditions and way of life of the family’s home and Italian heritage. The original Chrismont vineyard was planted at Whitfield (altitude 280m above sea level) in 1980, with Riesling, Barbera, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cheshunt vineyard, five kilometres away (altitude 350m above sea level) was planted in 1992, with a section dedicated to trial plantings of new varieties that Chrismont continues to innovate under its popular La Zona range, including Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Arneis, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and its latest pursuit, Sagrantino. The Chrismont Restaurant is the realisation of a 20-year dream to create a dining destination that blends contemporary King Valley winemaking with family hospitality based on authenticity, generosity and flavour.
FRIDAY, 6/01/2023
9:00am – CELLAR DOOR WINE STORE
Wine tasting at Cellar Door Wine Store, 62 Ford St, Beechworth VIC 3747.