Good Food & Wine Show, Sydney 2016 - Part 1

The Good Food & Wine Show in Sydney is my annual pilgrimage. It’s the one major event of the year that I look forward to and enjoy every single minute and this year I backed it up with a two day visit!

Arriving early on Friday the lines are already long but we are in the doors before we know it and purchasing our tasting glass and lanyard.　 As an FYI this year, if you were a Dan Murphy’s member you could ‘jump’ the line and enter in a separate line quicker and also receive a free wine glass (which I did on the Saturday). Thanks Dan Murphy’s.

Ready.....set....go..

Where to begin?　 Wine of course!

First stop is Bunnamagoo Wines.

 

 

Our second stop of the day was a absolute delight. Sampling the awesome Hartshorn sheep whey vodka and vanilla liqueur. 　How?　 By developing a technique to use the by-product (from making cheese from sheep milk (whey) from the family business at Grand Ewe cheese and distilling this to create a clean, crisp vodka is, in my opinion, brilliant.　

The bottles are gorgeous too being lovingly hand painted!　 The vanilla liquor is like vanilla icecream in a bottle!!!

So much to try and see.

We make our way through Barossa wines before landing at Bruny Island Cheese Co.　 I am a fan of the stinky cheeses and newly paired beers. Here we have The Saint and the Otto.  The Saint is [   and the Otto is a fresh cheese wrapped in prosciutto.

The Saint (left) and Otto (right) - Bruny Island Cheese Co.

Bruny Island Beer Co is brewing some awesome Farm Ale and dark beers too, which pair really well with stinky cheeses.
 

 

I’m excited about beer and cheese together (and there is more on that during Saturdays visit later).
I’m sensing more beer this year.　 Although I am not a big beer drinker (occasionally drinking beer when it’s hot), today I sampled some beers that may just change my mind a little.　

Over at the Australian Brewery I was surprised by a nice Pilsner (which is my Partner and Dad’s beer of choice) and their Ice Ice Baby (pilsner on ice on tap).

We may have spent quite some time over at Tamburlaine chatting with Mark Davidson.  This is one of my favourite wineries and love their GSM and their stickies and Muscat!

Tasmanian artisan brewery Moo Brew have a range of brews to suit your palette.  I really am liking the darker ales today!

 

Want something wintery and warming? Maxwell’s Liqueur Mead is heavenly and a bottle is  purchased!

Doc Adams is next.　 A friend has raved about their wine (specifically the 2013 GSM) and I have been wanting to try it before I purchased a case.　 Sadly, they are not sampling it at the show.　 I made some enquiries about purchasing a bottle before committing…and I left my details.　

 

A drool worthy moment with Miguel as he cooks a huge pan of paella.　 Cannot help myself and purchase a paella pan and a take home paella kit!  Pity he didn't come with the purchase! 

 

We stop by Sud Polaire for some gin….  I am not a gin person (it makes me cry) so I don't enjoy it as much as other spirits and I find tonic to be to bitter and grrrr....

 

So I  am surprised by this tonic!  I like it.

 

Whiskey and Porteen over at Melbourne Martini is sipped (and bring the Boy back the next day).

 

Cheers from us girls as we sip our way around the festival.

James Squire is offering a selection of their beers and we can not help ourselves, we have to sample all of them.　 I am a big fan of the Summer Swindler.　 The Jack of Spades Porter is palatable too!

The Wog with the Grog have a selection of European grappas and citrus based liqueurs.

I think it is clear what the Biltong Man makes and the mango and chilli one is a winner!

Over at Mr Black I fall in love with their cold drip coffee liqueur.　 I don’t think I have ever tasted something so delicious made from/with coffee.

Oregano bakery offering up some awesome scrolls.

 

Always stop by Stone's.　 I noticed the Gold is no longer available but there are a few other options.　 The reserve is quite nice.

Okay so there was some food involved (at some point!). hahaha

Jack Dillion’s was there again this year and offering some tasty BBQ sauces along with their lovely smoked garlic.　

The lovely people at Brixton gave me a bottle of their Jerk sauce and their BBQ rum sauce is awesome!!! (purchased a bottled the next day).　 Looking forward to making some jerk chicken with this.

 

 

The Smelly Cheese Club offer a range of just that (stinky) cheese from all around the world!　  So as per normal I purchase their selection. (in fact we had the le Delice de Cremiers on the weekend and loved this soft cheese)

 

We discovered Nick’s Jerky at the Deni Ute Muster last year and are fans of the dried stuff.

 

The aptly name Sticky Balsamic　 stall is a must.　 A lovely range of balsamic vinegars including a gorgeous pear balsamic.　 Miss B purchased the box set!!!!

 

Murray River Pork are taste testing their pork products and I arrive just in time for a slab of pork belly with crunchy crackling.　 Yum!

 

Tamar valley truffles is always a nice stop…one day I will purchase you lovelies!

 

There is lots of cider tasting this year too.  Elk cider is a traditional Swedish cider and they make a  nice apple cider!  I find pear to sweet.

 

Over at Cheese Ally, there is a lot to explore and enjoyed meeting Mrs Cheese from Hunter Belle Cheese.  Say Fromage!!!!  the cheese range is good too and purchase a few of the range including caramelised onion and hyme and cranberry and pistachio.  Their beer cheese is divine!

Our first day was awesome at the show and there were plenty of products purchased (lucky I took my Nanna trolley).

Toast to the Coast - Day 2 - More of the Bellarine Peninsula wineries

Sunday is bright and sunny and we are feeling surprisingly chipper and spritely, all things considered.  So why not back it up with another day at Toast to the Coast.  You can read all about Day 1 over here.

 

Getting a jump start ahead of the shuttle buses (the only down side to the shuttles is that they don't arrive at the wineries until much later than cellar door opening) we get a lift from friend (remember the bottle of wine bought as wooing/bribery/thank you gift yesterday?!!!) and head to our first winery of the day Bellarine Estate.

 

First up at the Barn out front there is a local produce 'market'.  Lots of jams, sauces, coffee and Portarlington Bakery goods.

 

 

 

Guess who are the first visitors of the day?

 

We head into the restaurant for tastings so that we can look over this view.

 

 

The winery also has a Vintage Car display too, with some fun rally cars.  Unfortunately due to the rainy weather they don't have all the vintage cars on display.

 

Starting with bubbles and moving through the whites and the reds, I find that I really like their Shiraz.

 

 

 

 

Screaming Seeds are also here tasting their products.  I really like the unique blends of herbs and spices that Screaming Seeds offer and I stock up on Rainforest Mix (a mix of lemon myrtle & Dorrigo Pepper), Virgin Island Mix (a blend of celery seeds, garlic & herbs), Moonlight Dreaming (a blend of coriander, garlic, fenugreek, Murray River salt, onion, lemon tea tree, ajowan Seed, fennel, mountain pepper, peppermint gum, black peppercorns) and a traditional gravlax cure for salmon.

 

 

 

The restaurant offers sweeping views over the vines and I can't help but stop by to explore this old pick up out front!

The first shuttle bus drops off for the day so we jump on and head to Terindah Estate.  Lovely views over the vines with Port Phillip Bay in the distance, it's a lovely sweeping view.

It's here that I discover the best Chardonnay.  You may recall that I went off Chardonnay years ago and although Chardonnay is making a comeback I just can't palate it.  Well, Terindah Estate Chardonnay was gorgeous.  Even Miss N, who is normally a red drinker, really liked it to.

 

So we purchased a glass to enjoy sitting on a hay bale outside soaking up the sun.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Manzanillo Grove is also tasting their olive oil range at Terindah Estate.  The estate produces 7 types of olives.  Cold Pressed extra virgin olive oil is produced on site along with a range of flavour packed oils and of course olives.  Their orange olive oil is particularly refreshing! 

 

 

 

 

Cheers to a lovely day and a crisp cold Chardy.

 

 

Scotchmans Hill turned out to be a favourite for the day.  We had a lot of fun tasting the wines and bantering with the staff.

 

The two ranges of wines being tasted today are Swan Bay and Scotchmans Hill.  I find that the Swan Bay range is more acidic and tangy.

 

 

 

 

I am very partial to the Scotchmans Hill range.   Again I am surprised that my palate is enjoying the sweeter wines and I come away with a bottle of the new release 2015 Scotchmans Hill Late Harvest Riesling.  Definitely looking forward to enjoying their wines and to coming back here next year.

 

Mobile Pizzaria is on site serving up some very tasty pizzas.  We ordered the BBQ chicken pizza.  It had a crispy base and a good covering of ingredients and the BBQ sauce is tangy and perfect on top of the pizza

 

Obligatory amongst the vines photo

 

Onwards to Flying Brick Cider House with guest winery Yes said the Seal.

 

Starting with wines, the bubbles and creaminess of the Reserve Blanc de Blanc is delicious.  The savingnon blanc is lovely too.

 

 

Moving onto the ciders.  We have the 3 main ciders, Original, Draught or Pear.    The original is crisp and fresh and an easy drink.  The Draught is a little more depth and complex but both have a great strong apple taste.

 

 

 

 

Enjoying a glass al fresco while waiting for the next shuttle (we may have missed one).

 

But we didn't mind.  The cider house is a lovely spot to soak up some atmosphere, take a break and sit back and relax.

 

 

Do you have to ask where our last stop was?  Yes we ended back at Leura Park Estate.  Of course this is the shuttle hub for the North and South routes of the Bellarine Peninsula, so it goes without saying that we would ultimately end up here...it's just that the party at the end of the day is so much fun!

 

 

Tasting our favourite Ms Flamingo & Associates 2014.

 

 

Guest wineries Finesse Wines and Jack Rabbit Vineyard.  So I did some tastings at Jack Rabbit Vineyard.

 

The moscato was lovely a cool and fresh and the pinot grigio was a lovely drop.

 

It was time to have some more food.  I am amazed on how hungry you can get when you are hopping from winery to winery!

 

The salt n' pepper calamari looked very tasty and I was not disappointed.  A cone full of crispy, hot tender calamari tendrils.

 

 

It was party time.  Test Pilot Molly were playing again as they jammed out songs from the 70's, 80'sand 90's

 Here's to an amazing weekend in the Bellarine.  Spending time with my bestie is always fun and exploring the wineries during Toast to the Coast has offered an insight into the area and all it has to offer.  We didnt' touch on the food aspect of it that much (surprisingly) but hopefully in months to come I will be heading back to do some more exploring.

Cheers to friendships, love of wine, lovely produce and great times!

Bellarine Estate
2270 Portarlington Rd, Bellarine
www.bellarineestate.com.au

Terindah Estate
90 McAdams Lane, Bellarine
www.terindahestate.com

Scotchmans Hill
190 Scotchmans Road, Drysdale
www.scotchmans.com.au

Flying Brick Cider House
Cnr Swan Bay Road & Bellarine Highway, Wallington
www.flyingbrickciderco.com.au

Leara Park Estate
1400 Portarlington Road, Curlewis
www.leuraparkestate.com.au