With a new and very demanding job I had taken on last year, and having moved house twice within 11 months, I needed a rest - Away from the city, from having to constantly be available and clutching multiple job-related tech devices, and away from the noise. (Can you tell that I was feeling a bit stressed?) And I only had one week to make it happen, too short a time to fly to Europe and do what I love doing so much: travelling in Italy’s countryside, drinking good wine and just enjoying the simple pleasures of life. And then it hit me.
Heathcote was only 80 minutes drive away and offered many similarities to the environment I was dreaming about without having to go on a long trip. So, on a sunny Friday afternoon, I packed my bags and was on my way to Heathcote and its charming wineries and renowned wines.
I had booked a room at Domaine Asmara, a winery with a bistro and an adjacent Bed & Breakfast in the heart of Heathcote. Coming from Melbourne and following the Hume Highway it’s about 20 km past the Heathcote Township. Follow the Northern Highway towards Elmore and then turn right into Gibb Road. Here the warm hospitality of owners Henni and Andreas and their son Benjamin greeted me. Henni is originally from Indonesia and met her husband Andreas, quite an adventurous German as I later learned, in her home country before they came to Australia. “Asmara” is Indonesian for” Love and Passion” and this is indeed reflected in all their attention to the small details that make their guests feel so comfortable. I settled into my lovely spacious and bright room with a comfortable king size bed for the duration of my week’s vacation and started to relax.
My days started each morning with a lovely English breakfast on my beautiful verandah. I looked across the vineyard facing Mt Camel and Mt Pleasant in the distance and leisurely enjoyed the meal while deciding my route for the day.
My only requirements in terms of the decision-making process? - No set program, no time restrictions, no stress. And so every day I crisscrossed the scenic countryside through rolling hills, along eucalyptus lined roads and picturesque vineyards with stops at some of the nicest Heathcote wineries. I met some of Heathcote’s welcoming artisan winemakers, learned a thing or two about wine making, listened to their interesting stories, tasted some of the best wines ever, and had delightful little lunches and dinners in quaint courtyards and rustic bistros. I enjoyed every single minute of my Heathcote winery tours.
Three of the many highlights of this week were my trips to Tellurian, McIvor Estate and the Heathcote Wine Hub. It’s amazing what you find out over a few quite reds, about the winemakers and the history of the winemakers. I got to know so much more than you get to hear at a busy wine festival. Some of the standouts are below.
Stefani Estate’s story is lovely. It is located at the start of the Mt Camel ranges north of the Great Divide. The owner, Stefano Stefani comes from the rolling hills of Tuscany (here we go – the first connection that reminded me of my favorite holiday destination, Italy) His grandfather had owned a vineyard in Italy and was an avid collector of fine wines. Stefano came to Australia in 1985 and continued in his grandfather’s footsteps. He started out with a property in Yarra Valley and completed his Heathcote winery in 2003. Together with winemaker Mario Marson they produce an excellent Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon but I also loved their whites, a lovely Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. They even have an olive grove! On 9 hectares adjacent to the vineyard they grow varieties of Picual, Frantoio and Leccino olives and produce a heavenly rich extra virgin olive oil.
Galli Estate turned out to be yet another great Heathcote Winery with Italian roots. Lorenzo Galli was also born in Tuscany and came to Australia in the 1950’s to make his vision of producing outstanding wines come true. And indeed he succeeded. In the last eight years Galli Estate has collected an amazing number of awards. Over 16 trophies, 22 Gold, 40 Silver Medals & numerous Bronze medals.
And then how can you go past Heathcote and not experience Wild Duck Creek, a winery about 8km west of Heathcote. Steve at the Heathcote Wine Hub gave me a taste of their flagship Springflat Shiraz, which was exceptional and you can see why it has received so many great praises from Robert Parker and James Halliday over the years. I tried a couple of different vintages and each was rich, intense and velvety and simply tasted wonderful. They also had a Cab Blend and ‘Little Whit Duck’ viognier which were both devine. Wild Duck Creek is a small family run winery where traditional winemaking methods are still very much fostered. Hand-picking, open fermentation, hand-plunging, basket-pressing, and long-term barrel-ageing are still used.
I could go on and on, but one thing’s for sure, this was the best and most relaxing week I have had in a long time and I’ve promised myself that the Heathcote wineries won’t have to wait too long to see me again.
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