Wining & Dining Archives

22-07-2024

‘Man the barricades!’ and prepare to defend Australian shiraz. In the recently published National Vintage Report for 2024 white grapes increased to 51% of the national crush and was higher than red grapes for the first time in a decade.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

09-07-2024

Italian feast - a wealth of opportunities to taste some wonderfully different wines. That is the joy of choosing Italian grape varieties and I’ve recently been able to see a good cross section of wines made in Australia.

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Wine notes

25-06-2024

Place of Changing Winds vineyard is located between Mt Macedon and Mt Bullengarook in the Macedon Ranges. Different clones of pinot noir and chardonnay vines were planted between 2012 and 2018.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

11-06-2024

The Canberra District is a wine region that often flies under the radar but is well worth visiting. Most of the vineyards are actually in NSW.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

31-05-2024

The Good Food and Wine Show will be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from today May 31 to June 2.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

14-05-2024

It is not something I’d normally recommend, serving a white wine (chardonnay) with steak, but I had it the other night and it made a comparatively good match.

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Wine notes

05-05-2024

Winemaker Peter Fraser from Yangarra Estate in the McLaren Vale is passionate about some grape varieties you might not be too familiar with.

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Great ‘takeaway 24’ part of Ballarat’s heritage fest

16-04-2024

The Great Takeaway 24 is a chance for visitors to dine using some of the finest materials, textiles, glassware and ceramics produced in the Ballarat region – and then take the handcrafted materials home with them.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

14-04-2024

If you look closely at a label from the wine producer Sutton Grange its motto or byline is 'wines that stand alone’ and tasting through their line-up recently they lived up to their name.

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Meet you at the Bowlo, with new menu offer

12-04-2024

"Meet you at the Bowlo," has been a part of Daylesford’s dinning vocabulary for many, many years.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

03-04-2024

Cool climate cabernet sauvignon can be a disaster. It is a late ripening grape variety, so to grow it successfully the vintage needs to be a long one with a warm sunny autumn.

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Winemakers fest returning to Roasalind Park

26-03-2024

The Strategem Bendigo Winemakers Festival returnsto Rosalind Park on Saturday April 13.

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Wine notes

18-03-2024

In wine education circles we have a standardised acronym that covers the questions of determining quality in wine – it’s call BLIC and stands for balance, length, intensity and complexity.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

04-03-2024

Go out and visit a wine region. A leading wine CEO is pleading with Australians to buy local red wine in support of grape growers facing tough years ahead.

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Wine notes

20-02-2024

Apply within! There is a vacancy in Australian red wine styles at present. Shiraz has lost its Midas touch but there are plenty to choose from and one of them applying is grenache.

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Wine notes

05-02-2024

Sauvignon blanc can separate a room of drinkers. It is a grape that you either love or loathe. It is disliked, partially, because of the deluge (or savalanche) of wines from New Zealand where it makes up 63 per cent of total plantings and 85 per cent of all exports.

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Wine notes

25-12-2023

'Tis the season to be jolly. So here are some recommendations to enjoy the festive season that can be sourced locally.

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Wine notes …

11-12-2023

Once people know I’m a wine educator and have published books and articles on wine I dread their next question, which invariably comes. What’s your favourite wine? My stock answer is “what today…or yesterday?

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Above The Greens with down-to-earth dining

10-12-2023

Above The Greens, the Daylesford Bowling Club's bistro is back up and running with some great fare on offer from chef Geoff Wellington.

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Wine notes …

26-11-2023

Glenhope Vineyard is both an old and new vineyard. It was planted in 1995 by Tom Lazar from Virgin Hills, so it is coming up to 30 years old and in its prime.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

12-11-2023

Since planting grapevines on an old potato farm in 1998, Passing Clouds has become a stalwart producer in the Macedon Ranges.

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Wine notes …

28-10-2023

In the Great Western sub-region of the Grampians, Best’s have their Nursery Block within the Concongella vineyard which has grape vines first planted in 1866.

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Wine notes

16-10-2023

Aglianico and I go back a long way. In my 20s I was asked to ‘bring a bottle’ to parties and this was my ‘go-to’ wine. I took a double magnum. Well, no one said it couldn’t be a big bottle. I still remember the wine, it was D’Angelo Aglianico del Vulture from Basilicata in Southern Italy.

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Budburst Festival returns to Macedon Ranges

15-10-2023

There could hardly be a better way to welcome the quickening pulse of the season. All who are partial to a good wine will be keen to note that the famed Macedon Ranges Bud Burst Festival is back and happening over the weekend of Friday 17-Sunday 19 November.

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Wine notes

01-10-2023

Researching champagne provides an opportunity to explore a rich history, a fascinating production process and, of course, to drink a glass of stars.

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Wine notes

17-09-2023

We have finally turned the corner on winter, but as any resident of this region knows, we are far from over the cold weather. So, there is still an opportunity to sit in front of an open fire and sip a good red. These fireside wines need to be bold and beautiful with plenty of guts and layers of flavour.

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Wine notes

04-09-2023

On the world stage cabernet sauvignon easily outguns shiraz/syrah. It dominates the ‘left bank’ in Bordeaux, France and is famous in the Napa Valley in California. In Australia we have the Yarra Valley, Coonawarra and Margaret River as specialist regions for cabernet. Yet it runs a poor second to shiraz in Australia.

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Wine notes … with Clive Hartley

20-08-2023

The fiano grape has truly established itself in Australia, with over 100 producers having planted it since Mark Lloyd from Coriole in the McLaren Vale planted this delicious white in 2001.

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Wine notes …

06-08-2023

Pinot noir is a significant grape for the Macedon Ranges, along with chardonnay. Climatically, we are on the edge of being able to ripen the grape. However, that is not a bad thing as the grape responds well in a marginal climate.

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Warming fare at Guildford

06-08-2023

Want to warm up for winter? Head to the Guilly. A friendly family pub just this side of Castlemaine. The pub is well back up and running after a little incident, ok, they had a small fire, and ready to receive locals and visitors alike.

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Flavour and flair at the Daylesford Bowlo

23-07-2023

It's always a great meal at the Daylesford Bowling Club. It starts with a warm welcome as you walk in, sometimes from the manager Neil, or the bar staff, and the good vibes continue.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

22-07-2023

With the 2023 vintage now put to bed Oliver Rapson from Lyons Will Estate had time to summarise the year. “In a nutshell, the start of this year was exceedingly wet, delaying budburst substantially, which in turn had a knock-on effect across every stage of the vine development, including flowering, veraison and ultimately ripening.”

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

09-07-2023

A cool climate is not the growing conditions you imagine suiting a grape like shiraz. It is more at home in hot regions like the Barossa or Hunter Valley. Classic Australian wines are full bodied, rich, alcoholic with ripe jammy, dark black fruit aromas. However, when it is grown in chilly regions it develops more of a savoury medium bodied palate with distinctive pepper aromas. Ask winemaker Llew Knight from Granite Hills about pepper – he’s an expert.

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Warm welcome at the Daylesford Steakhouse

07-07-2023

On a recent chill winter’s evening, just after dark, the mellow light that issues from our dining destination – the Daylesford Steakhouse - is warm and inviting.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

24-06-2023

The Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wines Roadshow rolled into Melbourne last month with over 50 producers represented from across Italy. It is a once-a-year opportunity to taste around 200 Italian wines.

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Wine notes: Innovation wrapped in tradition

13-06-2023

I consider Best’s Great Western as a national treasure and one of only a handful of wineries that everyone should visit. It is an historical place for a number of reasons.

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Wine notes with Clive Hartley

28-05-2023

All points of the compass: Living in the Central Highlands of Victoria is like being in the centre of the universe. Well, in wine terms that is. Because at every point of the compass you can drive to a different wine region that offers you a diverse and interesting day out experience.

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Wine notes

17-04-2023

Some of the first gamay vines were planted in Australia by Len Evans in 1976 at his aptly named home, Loggerheads. I remember driving past the vines on the way to see him and questioning his sanity. “You obviously don’t have vision,” was his tart reply.

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Laid-back dining at the Daylesford Hotel

31-03-2023

MY dining companion (Paddy H) and I are ravenous as we enter the Daylesford Hotel for lunch, mid Monday, me having done a gruelling morning group weights class and Paddy having arisen well before 11am.

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For great food, service: See you at the Guilly

03-03-2023

I RECKON the road to Castlemaine has probably never seen so much traffic since Megan Evans and Tom Allen took over the Guildford Family Hotel at the end of 2021.

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Land of ‘pork and honey’: try some honey-glazed ham

13-12-2022

We are a land of pork and honey here in Daylesford, with some of the best pig growers and beekeepers in the nation right here on our doorstep.

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Recipes with Jen Clarke

02-08-2022

Recipes with Jen Clarke

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Recipes with Jen Clarke

16-03-2022

Blackberry Jam

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New vegie foodie award

21-02-2022

BEST vanilla slice award? How many hundreds of bakeries lay claim to that prize. But there is a new prize in town for the cafés and pubs of the Macedon Ranges, The Edgy Veg award.

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Wine Notes

01-01-2022

John Burford is the owner/operator of Limestone Track Vineyard near Guildford.

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Battles continue for hospitality businesses

HOSPITALITY businesses around the Central Highlands are doing it tough as Melbourne remains closed and inside limits remain at just 10 people per building.

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High tea at Daylesford Bowling Club

07-06-2021

THERE has never been a better time to indulge in a high tea - designed to take you away from reality and into a more pleasant era where people took time to sit back and indulge in decadent food and gentle conversation.

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New dinner menu on offer at Chaplin’s

12-04-2021

JULIET and I had the pleasure of sampling Chaplin's new dinner menu last Monday week. I brought my wife along, not only for the chance to catch up on everything that gets missed in the conveyor belt of day-to-day life, but also for the expert palate she acquired as a professional chef.

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Thursday means Steak Night at the Daylesford

29-03-2021

THURSDAY is our deadline for The Local so we rarely go out. Too tired, over each other. But that is something we will change after heading to the Daylesford Hotel last Thursday.

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Look forward to seeing you at the Daylesford

02-11-2020

YAY! The Daylesford Hotel is up and running again with all its classic items on the menu. The pub, or the old girl as she is known, opened last Thursday for its famous steak night, with plenty of happy diners taking their seats.

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The Boathouse puts lake view back on menu

26-10-2020

SLOWLY the region is opening up again and people are heading back to their favourite foodie places – although some, like La Luna Pizzeria, have never stopped offering their fabulous fare!

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More outdoor dining

21-09-2020

HEPBURN Shire Council is backing its hospitality businesses to adapt to the requirement for more outdoor dining, in areas like Vincent Street, Daylesford (pictured above on Saturday), now COVID-19 restrictions are easing.

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Sault @ Home

31-08-2020

LOTS of restaurants have pivoted over the past few months, offering takeaways and deliveries, but Jodi Flockhart at Sault has come up with a unique idea for our region - Sault @ Home.

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