SomethingToDo2

Some Crikey readers are the movers and the shakers of Australia’s political, media and business worlds, rolling in cash and living the high life in a flash of caviar, champagne and the knowledge that they can fire hundreds of people at the click of a finger.

So maybe that’s not you but you can still live large, at least occasionally. May I suggest that you indulge yourself with a degustation at a lovely winery somewhere in the country.

I went to Ten Minutes by Tractor winery in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula the other weekend for their degustation meal. While technically a six-course meal, if you count the amuse-bouche plus the pre-dessert and sharing the two dessert options, it was more like nine courses with matched wines.

The meal started with lots of crisp flavours to cleanse the palate. It then moved into a quail and pancetta dish, like an announcement of “now things are getting serious!”, followed by duck with cherry jus that made me never want the bites to finish or the pinot noir to end. It finished with triple cream French brie and chocolate cake and sherry. I didn’t even know I liked sherry! I like sherry.

It’s not cheap, at about $300 for two. But jeez, for a more than four-hour meal that sent me into the most wonderful food coma, it was worth every penny. Clean flavours. Local, in-season produce. Fancy wine. A chance to dress up nice during the day. Aesop bathroom products. Lots of silverware. Views of vineyards. Service by people who aren’t earning minimum wage. The naughty feeling of spending the equivalent of 30 lunches on just one. Plus, way cheaper than if I’d done a similar style degustation in the city.

Go on, you deserve it. Or maybe you don’t, but indulge yourself anyway.

For a bit of stately inspiration:

Sirromet winery, near Brisbane. $105 p.p for their seven-course degustation menu, including wine.

Must winery in Margaret River, WA, are having a special “rock lobster and chardonnay” degustation lunch On March 21, $145 p.p

Penfolds, Barossa Valley, SA, has a seven-course degustation for $140 p.p, plus an additional $75 for wines or an extra $165 for matching “super premium” wines.

Hungerford Hill winery in Hunter Valley, NSW, has an eight-course degustation at their Terroir restaurant for $110 p.p, plus an extra $50 to match with their own wines.