12 August 2011
If you're looking to do a bit of tasting around Canberra it pays to pay a bit more attention to the distances involved than Hughesy did when we were looking at doing that back in May.
The Canberra District is a scattered affair compared to most wine regions, which probably makes an excursion around the wineries a two- rather than one-day affair.
You can do it in one, but you're better splitting it, since the wineries are clustered around the two main routes into Canberra.
If you're coming from Sydney via Goulburn you're heading in along the Federal Highway, which would get you to Lerida Estate and Lark Hill, whereas if you're coming from Melbourne or Cowra you're going to be passing Clonakilla and Helm. Those four aren't the only wineries in the district, but they seemed the pick of the bunch.
Of the Federal Highway options, your first port of call is likely to be Lerida Estate where car park signage advises caution given three deadly species of snakes in the vicinity. We found a small but impressive range with a view out across Lake George from the Glenn Murcutt–designed winery complex. Check the Shiraz Viognier, various incarnations of Pinot Noir and there's an interesting sticky (Botrytis Pinot Gris) that's also worth a look.
Lerida is straight off the highway, but you need to turn off towards Bungendore to get to the biodynamic Lark Hill where you're probably looking at their Gruner Veltliner as well as views outwards from the Lake George escarpment. They also do Riesling, Viognier and Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Merlot, Pinot and Shiraz Viognier and a couple of sparklings, though you might not find all of them in stock at any given time.
If you head into Bungendore looking for lunch you could do a lot worse than the Wood Works Cafe heading from there into downtown Canberra via Queanbeyan (at least that's the way we went).
If you've used the Federal Highway as your way in, you can escape along the Barton Highway via Murrumbateman, though one notes it's rated Australia's most dangerous highway. The turnoff to Clonakilla comes just before you hit the town of Murrumbateman (assuming you're heading out from Canberra), while the turn for Helm lies just past the northern outskirts, though you can skirt round the back-blocks between them.
Clonakilla is the largest of the four wineries we visited, and is also the oldest, dating back to 1971. You're probably looking for the Shiraz Viognier if they've any on hand, though the Syrah and Viognier are also highly rated and they do a rather pleasant Semillon Sauvignon Blanc. Their Hilltops Shiraz ain't too shabby either.
But if I had to pick a favourite out of the four, it would have to be Helm, largely due to a charming cellar door in the old Toual School House, a friendly Border Collie named Matilda and a speciality in the Riesling department. Ken Helm kicked off the Canberra International Riesling Challenge and you can't go wrong with their entry-level Classic Dry Riesling, though the Sauvignon Blanc is definitely worth a look and the reds are rather tasty as well.