O
neofthefirstthingsyouneedtoknowabout
Canberra’swineriesis thatmostofthem
aren’tactuallyinCanberra.Thiscoolclimate
wineregionspreadsoverseveralclustered
regions– LakeGeorge,Murrumbateman,YassandHall
tothenorth,BungendoreandWambointotheeast,
manyofwhichblurseamlesslyintoNewSouthWales.
Butnoone’ssplittinghairswhenthewine’sthisgood- particularlytheregion’sflagshipriesling– theviews
stretchforyears,andeveryonehastimefora chat,
whichever side of the border you come from.
Toptastingexperiences
“I mademyfirstwinewhenI wasnine,”says
StephanieHelm,headwinemakerat TheVintner’s
DaughterinMurrumbatemanwhois,asher
winery’snamesuggests,thedaughterofoneofthe
district’sfoundingfathers:formerCSIROinsect
ecologistKenHelmwhoopenedHelmWinesin
1973.“Ifyougrowupona cattlefarm,youlearn
aboutcattle.I’dchoosea barrel,dadwouldgiveme
somegrapesandI’dfollowa recipeandseewhat
happened,”shesays.Whathappenedwasthat
Stephaniewonherfirstawardat only13,for
a cabernetshemadeonherown.Fastforward
severalyears(“Igotsickofit fora whileinmy
lateteens;everyoneelsewashavingfunwhile
I waspullingnetsoffvines,”shesays)andshenow
runsherownoperationwithhusbandBenjamin
Osborne,offeringdailytastingsoftheirmulti-
gongedriesling,creamysparklingchardonnayand
theregion’ssignatureshirazviognier,a unique
red-whiteblendmadefamousbyanotherofthe
region’swinegiants(and,ofcourse,ex-CSIRO)
JohnKirkat Clonakilla.
AtMountMajuraVineyard,anotherCSIRO
alumnusDrFrankvandeLoo– hisbackgroundis
inagriculturalscienceandplantbiology– makes
traditional-stylewinesfromexcitinggrapeslike
graciano,mondeuseanda tempranillothatholds
thetiniesthintofeucalyptusthankstothestately
yellowboxgumsthatgrowat oneendofthe
plantings,foundonthewinelistsat Bennelong
andSpiceTempleinSydney.Dailytastingsare
accompaniedbycheeseandcharcuterieboardsand
inwinterthey’relikelytohaveinfusedthebrie
withtrufflesfromTheTruffleFarmnextdoor.
thevintnersdaughter.com.au; mountmajura.com.auClockwisefromtop
right:MountMajura
Vineyard;the
Vintner’sDaughter’s
headwinemaker
StephanieHelm;the
verdantvineyardsat
Vintner’sDaughter.
PREVIOUSPAGES
Left:thevinesat
PoachersPantry.
Right,fromtop:
ash-coatedbeef
tenderloinat
PoachersPantry;
Helm at work.132 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHY ERIN DANDO (THE VINTNER’S DAUGHTER).