Find your perfect match in Rutherglen
Planning a holiday is EXCITING, but deciding where to go and what to do can be overwhelming. JOCELYN PRIDE test-drives a quiz to home in on where to eat, sleep and play on a WEEKEND ESCAPE to Rutherglen.
IT’S been a while between drinks, but Rutherglen is like an old friend – always ready to welcome you back. Only this time, there’s a lovely twist to a long weekend break with my husband to reconnect with one of Australia’s oldest wine regions tucked into north-east Victoria. And it’s all thanks to a nifty quiz devised by Explore Rutherglen.
Designed to generate a personalised itinerary, structured around the key requirements of any traveller – Meet, Eat, Visit, Taste and Experience – one answers a few clever ‘Would you rather...?’ questions and voila, there you have it – the basis for an idyllic Rutherglen escape.
To make it even easier, we have added accommodation recommendations.
MEET: “Rutherglen is well-known for big reds and fortified wines, but the climate and soil here means we can also branch out to make different styles,” says fourth-generation winemaker Nicholas Brown, head winemaker at All Saints Estate, a landmark Scottish turreted castle built in the 1880s. “How about a rosé named in honour of my grandma?”
Rosa – in a pretty pink bottle complete with a glass stopper is an immediate attention grabber, but it’s the crispness and balance of fruit that lingers, specifically on the palate.
EAT: As well as producing outstanding wines, the consistently hatted Terrace Restaurant at All Saints Estate is the spot to create that ‘Remember-when-we-hadthat-lunch-at-Rutherglen?’ moment.
Everything on the menu is seasonal and as locally sourced as possible. My eight-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder raises the best-ever bar – estate-grown, sweet, tender and falling off the bone.
VISIT: As one of Australia’s 10 First Families of Wine, the handmade brick walls of Campbells of Rutherglen speak volumes.
“We have old barrels filled with knowledge and character,” says Jane Campbell whose great, great grandfather planted the first vines here in 1870.
TASTE: Durif soon became my fave varietal. Campbells’ Barkly Durif is named in honour of John Wallace, the bold owner of the Star Hotel who during the height of the gold rush announced he’d shout the bar if people agreed to change the town’s name from Barkly to his Scottish home town – Rutherglen.
EXPERIENCE: When cycling popped up as a match on our itinerary, my first thought was, ‘Yay Rutherglen is dead flat’ – ideal for Pedal to Produce. A highlight of exploring the 12.5-kilometre self-guided trail at a leisurely pace was a visit to Anderson Winery.
ACCOMMODATION: Lovingly restored original cottages are dotted throughout Mount Ophir Estate, located five kilometres from Rutherglen at a 56-hectare working farm. Stay in The Tower – a true fairytale French Provincial tower for two, meticulously styled and complete with a spiral staircase and 360-degree views.
Create a custom itinerary to see Rutherglen your way at explorerutherglen.com.au