Nagambie

I picked this destination because I could see there was a lake by the township. Nagambie is situated about 125 km north of Melbourne between Seymour and Shepparton. I noted there were vineyards nearby, including Chateau Tahbilk which was established in 1860, so that looked like a second good reason for going there.

It was getting towards lunchtime as we approached Nagambie so I consulted the tourist brochure on the area. I spied an old grocery store on the High Street and read that it was the cellar door for Goulburn Terrace vineyard,and also stocked local produce and organic vegetables as well as specialty food items.

We were soon inside chatting with Mike Boudry and Greta Moon, owners of the boutique vineyard. Winemaker Mike talked us through their wines. We also learned about the old store with its Bushells Coffee ad on the door. Greta has some old Bushells coffee jars on the counter. Manyvisitors recall having similar ones in their homes as they grew up.

The shop's large counter is a recent acquisition and was from an old drapery store. A give-away is the yard measure channel at the serving edge.

We inquired about lunch as Mike pulled a loaf of crusty bread out of an oven and placed it in a basket. Greta said she would "fix something". Bread and cheese - something like that would suit us fine, we said.

We browsed the store and tasted the wines before settling on a glass of chardonnay to have with our snack. We enjoy unoaked or lightly oaked chardonnays and this one was a treat.

Greta's "something" materialised and I have to say for a vineyard owner, she's a pretty good chef! Individual cucumber mousses appeared, prettily garnished with little mounds of red pepper edging the plate. These were followed by a plate of portobello mushrooms cooked to perfection, some Puglia olives, a little goat's cheese, and locally pickled morello cherries, an eggplant dip and a plate of that crusty bread.

Splendidly fortified, and with a couple of bottles each of the chardonnay and the Midnight Shiraz under our arms, we set off to follow Mike's instructions for driving to Chateau Tahbilk, one of Victoria's early vineyards, founded in 1860..

This winery features some really interesting architecture and the tasting room is a step back in history with some of the old wine presses and other trappings on display. Tahbilk chairman John Purbrick, now retired from fulltime duties at the winery, was on hand selling the Purbrick and Crawford range of pickles and preserves launch by him and his wife Kay Crawford. I think he must enjoy dabbling in the kitchen as he has quite a selection of recipes on the website.

As The Spouse was driving, I did the wine tasting and we settled for a couple of bottles of the 2005 Marsanne to take home. The winery runs a wine club with a 10 percent discount for members and there was no shortage of tasters when we called.

Recently the Wetlands Cafe was opened and there are daily cruises on the Wetlands Reserve, something we plan to return for another time.

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