Rutherglen Wine Weekend

by Lisa Hill
(Cheltenham Vic. )

Rutherglen is a great place for a weekend wine trip, with terrific restaurants and some excellent wineries including Campbells, Stanton and Killeen and Jones's Winery.

Carlyle House is a lovely place to stay: very comfortable and an excellent breakfast on the veranda overlooking the pretty garden is a pleasant way to start the day. The best thing, however, is that your genial host will drive you around the wineries in his Rolls Royce! No worries about over-imbibing, or getting lost, and it is delightful to sit back and relax and enjoy the lovely countryside.

With Halliday's Companion as my bible we bought some terrific wines. I always do a bit of homework first, bookmarking the wineries and wines we are interested in while my husband does the driving up from Melbourne. Taking this book into the cellar door establishes you as a serious buyer, especially in places where the serial taster has soured the cellar experience for the winemaker a bit.

The Pickled Sisters is the best place for lunch. Very imaginative menu and the service is first class.

Stanton and Killeen make a sensational durif, and a very good everyday drinking Moodemere Shiraz.

Campbells is best for stickies and ports and Jones make a very good apero (sherry) for pre dinner drinking on a cold winter's night.