Located in the picturesque Broken Bago State Forest 12km west of Wauchope is one of the North Coast Wine Trails larger vineyards.  Bago Vineyard has more than 20 acres of land under vines and is a peaceful, tranquil spot to spend a day relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere.

The vines at Bago were planted initially in 1985 to supply another local vineyard. Over time Bago began producing their own styles of wine under the Bago label. The vineyard has continued to grow and is now one of the only local vineyards to assist smaller wineries in blending grapes and bottling.

When I visited Bago I was fortunate enough to be taken on a tour through the bottling area. Jim talked me through the bottling process and I was able to watch a local Kempsy Vineyard “Dangar” bottling their Rose. Now if I had of been thinking I should have asked for a sample of the rose straight from production but alas it did not occur to me at the time. Never mind we will visit Dangar vineyard and sample the current vintage “in situ”.

Jim then showed me around the property.  I cannot over state the total feeling of relaxation which comes from sampling a few of the gorgeous wines produced by the vineyard and looking out over the vines. We paused at the newly developed children’s maze.  Planting the maze was a family affair, and started Christmas Day 2006.  The maze has continued to fill out over time and is now looking very impressive.

Image courtesy of Bago Vineyard

Bago isn’t always quite so peaceful.  On the second Sunday of the month the vineyard hosts “Jazz at Bago”.  It’s a lively, family affair with picnic blankets, and chairs strewn on the grass and children running around everywhere.  The music starts at 11.00 and goes through until 3.00pm. Patrons are welcome to bring a picnic or enjoy the delicious gourmet food which is available.  Each month catering for the event is provided by Craig Freudenstein and his team from XS Fooda. The menu offered at the "Jazz Cafe" showcases local produce and is fresh and tasty. Examples include a Bruscetta of BBQ Beef with relish and salad or perhaps you would prefer a Chicken Cesear Brushetta.  What ever you choose it is a memorbale experience enjoying great food, music and Bago wines amongst the vines.

If you can’t visit Bago on a Jazz day you needn’t be concerned, wine tasting is available from 9.30 to 5.00pm seven days per week. Once you have decided on your favourite wine you can purchase a cheese platter with pickles, olives and raspberries and enjoy a bottle of wine with you platter.  Bago embraces the “Journey of Flavour” so platter items are delicious, seasonal and local.

Make a day of it, relax, unwind and watch the vines grow, whilst sampling a little of what Bago has to offer.

Image courtesy of Bago Vineyard

Bago cellar door is located at Milligans Road, Wauchope Ph:  02 6585 7099. View the Bago website for more infomation or wine orders.

"Tis the season to be Jolly, fa lalalala le la la la. It is the Christmas edition of “Top Drop”.  What have I been drinking this month?

With the heat of December I have been seriously enjoying the lighter style of wines. I have decided to review one of each variety this month, so regardless of whether you are drink, red, white or champagne I have a suggested wine. Please give one of these a go and let me know what you think.

2007 Villard Blanc, Two Tails Vineyard, NSW

$14.00

Pinot Noir, Oyster Bay NZ

$24.00

Sparking Chardonnay Pinot Noir, Banrock Station

$ 7.50

Villard Blanc from Two Tails

I have absolutely yearned for this wine.  I discovered it whilst attending “The Cheesemaking Workshop.” They served a glass over lunch and I was hooked. So much so that I made a special trip out to the vineyard for a wine tasting and stocked up on my favourites afterwards. I have now polished off the last bottle, so tried to purchase it at the local IGA liquor to no avail.

There aren’t too many bottle shops which stock local boutique vineyards but our local IGA does, they had every other variety in the Two Tails range, unfortunately, though the Villard Blanc was out of stock! There seemed to be no other choice than to take a 40 minute drive out to the vineyard. When I arrived there was more bad news.  The Villard Blanc was no more! Completely sold out! I had not even contemplated that my “Top Drop” of the month would have been completely consumed.

Thankfully all was not lost.  The vineyard owner informed me that he thought there may be a few bottles of the 2007 Villard Blanc. I started to relax a little. I was offered a taste of the 2007, (already nicely refrigerated,) and whilst it wasn’t the same wine as the 2008 it still had the crisp dry fruit that I have been enjoying. I had a few more sample sips and decided that it was equally as enjoyable. Then I discovered that by “a few bottles” the gentleman actually meant there were only three left! I am sorry to say dear readers that I have left no 2007 Villard Blanc at the vineyard for anyone else.  If you read this article and decide you may want to try this variety I am afraid you will have to wait... but not too long.

Whilst at the vineyard I was offered an extra little treat. I was poured a glass of the current vintage Villard Blanc to try.  The winemaker had just finished perfecting the blend and it was now in the bottling stage.  The sample bottle happened to be in the tasting room and I was offered a preview.

It was delicious, another very easy drinking, white wine.  It will be available for sale after Christmas and will retail around the $14.00 mark. I am looking forward to purchasing a few bottles before they too become scarce.

Pinot Noir Oyster Bay NZ

Thankfully this is a much easier wine to find as most bottle shops stock this wine.  It is a beautiful light red which is perfect for drinking through the day. I seem to always switch to a Pinot Noir as my red wine of choice in summer.  I find the usual, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz too heavy for our summer drinking, especially if you happen to want a drop at lunch.

Sparking Chardonnay, Banrock

This may seem like a strange pick for my champagne of choice but please let me explain.  Now I love my beautiful expensive bottles of champagne as much as anyone (maybe a little more… okay, maybe a lot more!) but lets face it, at this time of year we are all drinking rather a lot of sparkly, so it is not really the occasion to splurge, every second day for an expensive bottle.

This is a sparkling Chardonnay which can be found at any bottle shop.  It is light and easy to drink. It is not too sweet and is really rather good for the price.  It is not a cheap and nasty, although it is very very cheap. I have been buying this bubbly by the dozen just to keep in the bar fridge for the impromptu drinks when friends drop by.  So far it has been thoroughly enjoyed by all.  We are now on our second dozen. By the dozen the price was a mere $6.50 per bottle.

So there we go my lovelies, I hope you give some of these tasty drops a try over the Christmas period. Make sure to also suggest any wines you have come across, I am always looking for more "favourites".

The High Valley cellar door and cheese factory must be included on any gourmet itinerary of the Mudgee area.  High Valley has all my first loves under the same roof, coffee, cheese, wine and a lovely selection of dishes made from fresh, local produce on the café menu. It should probably come as no surprise that this was my first port of call on my “tasting itinerary”.  High Valley is just 5 minutes from the CBD and marks the start of the wine trail, so it is also a natural place to begin a tour.

Friends had pre warned me about the amazing marinated feta, and I was looking forward to sampling for myself. High Valley cheese factory produces five different flavours of marinated feta.  These are the Chili, Pesto, Olive Tapenade, Olive Oil and Sundreied Tomato.  The flavours were truly amazing. I couldn’t choose a favourite and ended up purchasing three gorgeous pots of feta.  Before I had even finished the tasting I already had plans to make an Angel Hair Pasta with Prawn from the Chili Feta. I was in cheese heaven!

Adding to my appreciation of this beautiful feta was the knowledge that after recently attending a cheese making workshop I could do this myself. I have learnt the secrets of making feta, and I am planning to extend my knowledge into marinating my own feta and adding herbs from my garden.

Also available for tasting are a number of other cheese varieties included a white mould cheddar, buffalo cheese and a mild creamy blue.  All the cheese were absolutely beautiful with the buffalo cheese being a very strong gamey taste, but yet still strangely appealing.

We moved onto the wines, and settled into a comfortable seat for the journey.  There is quite a large range available for tasting and they were all lovely.  My favourite whites were the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and the Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc, both at $19 per bottle.

I am a red drinker at heart and at the risk of sounding like a lush, I have to say I enjoyed all of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz on tasting at High Valley Vineyard.  The 2007 Reserve Shiraz was my true favourite at $30 a bottle.  Also the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was rich, fruity, and truly delicious and only $18 per bottle.

Both Mr GG and I like a nice dessert Semillon and the High Valley Botrytis is a gorgeous drop.  A lovely citrus marmaladey lemon tang, cuts through the syrupy sweet nectar. Beautiful, we added a bottle to our shopping list and set off for our next stop.

I will need to return and sample the menu from the Fromagerie Café, the dishes making there way to the terrace looked beautiful, but alas we still have so much more to cover. We cannot spare a couple of lazy hours to contemplate the view over the vines and sample the menu on this visit.

High Valley is located at 137 Cassilis Rd Mudgee and is open from 10-5pm 7 days a week and also features a gallery showing the work of local artists.  Various locally produced condiments are also available for purchase.  For more information phone: 02 6372 1011.

132 Apanie Road

Port Macquarie

Slowly but steadily we are making our way through the vineyards of the North Coast Wine Trail.  The next vineyard on our list is a family owned vineyard formerly know as Innes View Vineyard.  It has recently undergone a name change to Roses Vineyard.

Roses is one of the newest vineyards on the North Coast.  The initial vines planted were Chardonnay and Chambourcin in 2002.  The first vintage was produced from these grapes in 2005, and the vineyard has gone from strength to strength since that time.

The family have since planted Verdelho and Merlot, and are trialing blends using these varieties.

The cellar door has been welcoming guest for the past two years.  I had the pleasure of sampling a few of the wines on offer. From the two main variety of grape, the vineyard produces five varieties of wine.

I sampled the 2007 Chardonnay, which was a lovely unwooded crisp dry white available for $18, it was a lovely drop and I would highly recommend trying a bottle.

My other two favourites were from the “Roses are Red” range made on the Chambourcin grape. I was treated to the 2006 and 2007 Chambourcin and they were both absolutely delicious, smooth and very easy to drink. These wines would both cellar well and are available for $20 per bottle or $225 for a case of 13.

The vineyard also produces a sparking chardonnay and a sparkling rose for those special occasions when you want some celebration bubbles.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Roses Vineyard, the family has great enthusiasm for the product they are creating, and it is infectious. There are plans in the pipeline to offer B&B style accommodation at the vineyard and they have a purpose built cottage nearing completion.

Coming into Summer I would suggest trying a bottle of the Rose for your next picnic.  All of the wines produced under the Roses label are from the property’s own grapes.

Bookings are welcome for weddings and functions. The cellar door is open from 11.00am to 5.00pm 7 days per week. 

Ph: 0434 028 446 or 02 6585 2381

Oxley Highway

Port Macquarie

The next vineyard on our tour of the North Coast Wine Trail is the Douglas Vale Historic Homestead and Vineyard.  Surprisingly the vineyard is located in Port Macquarie. I don’t know how we have not stumbled upon it previously.

The property is spread over 8 acres and is managed by the Douglas Vale Conservation Group. I decided to do the tour of the homestead and learn a little about the history of the place prior to participating in the wine tasting.

It seems in the 1800’s Port Macquarie was a large producer of wine.  There were over 40 vineyards in the area and Douglas Vale Vineyard consisted of 45 acres of land under vines at its peak.  A downturn in the economy, accompanied by a fungal disease in the vines, decimated the local industry.  The disease destroyed the majority of grape varieties in the area.

In 1995 the historic society noticed the house was to be demolished.  As the property represents one of only 5 remaining 1800’s buildings in the area, a group established to save and restore the property.  The restoration was completed using old family photos.  Fences and sheds were reconstructed in their original locations in the original manner.

Now, 15 years later the property has been restored, and the vineyard is producing a range of limited release wines and port.  The port is being produced from one of the original Isabella vines. In addition to the Isabella grape the property uses Chambourcin and Villard Blanc grape varieties. I have really developed a taste for the wines that are produced on the North Coast and I thoroughly enjoyed the “White Cockatoo” and the Chambourcin Red.  Mr GG could resist a bottle of the Isabella Port so we left the vineyard well stocked.

Tours of the property and wine tasting are conducted Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am 3.00pm.

For more information or group booking email douglasvale1@bigpond.com or phone 02 6584 3792

1187 Gowing Hill Road

Sherwood, NSW

It is day two on the North Coast Wine Trail. We are leaving Coffs Harbour and heading towards Port Macquarie.  Along the way we will be visiting Sherwood Estate and Cassegrain Wines. A third vineyard in the area is Dangar Wines, which we will be visiting on the return journey, to break up the trip home.

Sherwood Estate is located west of Kempsy, in the Macleay Valley.  The property has 7.75 hectares under vines.  Surrounding the cellar door is a beautifully hedged formal garden.  The centerpiece of the gardens being a gorgeous white gazebo, which I am sure is popular for weddings.

Happily the kids disappear into the garden and Mr GG and I are left to sample the wines. We are greeted by Bruce, one of the owners of the vineyard and he goes through the selection of wines with us.  This is something I love about visiting little boutique vineyards. In a lot of cases you are speaking with the person responsible for everything from planting the initial vines, to blending the wines. My appreciation of wine has come directly from these amazing people.

As I review the wine list I am pleased to see that most of my favourites are well covered.  In the whites I enjoy a nice Verdelho and Unwooded Cardonnay.  I have recently become a fan of the Chambourcin, and at Sherwood estate they have three different Chambourcin blends. One of the blends is with a Merlot which I love, and the other two are blended with a Cabernet Franc which I am very interested to try.

In all we tried about ten different wines, and at the risk of sounding like a total soak, I enjoyed them all. Obviously I had my favourites but they were all appealing.

The vineyard also boasts a range of condiments which sounded absolutely delicious.  Some of the recipes have been passed down in the family for over 100 years. The range includes both sweet and savoury condiments, and uses fruit fresh from the vineyard.

If you plan to visit the vineyard I would suggest staying for lunch and enjoying the “Fine Blends Restaurant.” The restaurant is open 7 days and is fully licensed, so once you have completed tasting the range, you can sit back and enjoy a relaxed lunch with a bottle of wine from the tasting.

We still had another vineyard to visit so unfortunately we had to get our purchases “to go.” As they say “there is no rest for the wicked.”  I did however take advantage of the Sherwood Estate wine club membership and saved 15% on my purchases. There is no obligation to make further purchases from the vineyard, but now I know which wines are my favourites, I won’t be able to resist getting a carton shipped periodically.  Oh and the vineyard offers free shipping to all states except WA.

I personally guarantee the 2005 Chambourcin Merlot, if you don’t like it I will finish the bottle for you… guaranteed! We have since tested this one at home with friends and everyone enjoyed it.

963 Orara Way

Nana Glen, NSW

We have set off on our vineyard road trip.  Our first stop of nine vineyards is Two Tails Wines.  This vineyard is located 25km west of Coffs Harbour along the Orara Way, at Nana Glen. It truly is a boutique vineyard, with just a small plot of carefully selected grape varieties, specifically grown to suit our North Coast climate.

The vineyard is quite modest, but they have had considerable success with their wines. They have produced a large number of winning wines and the awards are proudly displayed on the walls. Jean is our host and owner of the vineyard, she is very friendly and is happy to explain how they produce their wines. She serves us cheese and biscuits and sets the children up with colouring in, while we enjoy sampling the different wines on offer.

The first wine we sampled was the Villard Blanc.  I am familiar with this wine as it was served at the Cheesemaking Workshop I attended recently. I really enjoyed the crisp,clean taste, and I was pleased to find that hubby like it too, so it was an easy decision to purchase a few bottles of this variety. We moved along to the Chardonnay which was also very nice, but the Villard Blanc was definitely our pick of the whites.

The Vineyard grows a Chambourcin grape, for the red wines.  I have tried Chambourcin previously, and found that I enjoyed the change from my usual Shiraz or Merlot. I was pleased to find that the Two Tails Chambourcin red was a favourite too. When it came to the crunch I couldn’t pick between the two red wines so we ended up with a bottle of each.

We completed our tasting by sampling the three ports, my favourite was the white port called Forte Blanc, but they were all syrupy and smooth.  I could have easily taken home a bottle of each but I showed great restraint and resisted this time.

Two Tails wines are priced between $10 - $14 per bottle.  The vineyard offer a members special which takes an additional 10% off the purchase price. 

The vineyard is open to the public for tasting, and cellar door sales from 11.00 to 5.00pm daily, (except Mondays). Ph: 02 6654 3633