A place to be tempted

If you ask Lyndsay Sharp, a director of successful winery Leura Park Estate, the Geelong wine region is an “uncut diamond”. And that unadulterated nature is one of the region’s biggest attractions.

Mrs Sharp and her husband David took over the Bellarine region winery, which produces premium cool maritime climate wines, in 2007. It had been established in 1995. They had immediate success, with their hand-picked 2007 Shiraz winning the Best Shiraz award in last year’s Geelong Wine Show.

Although her husband’s background is in agriculture, Mrs Sharp’s is in marketing, particularly food and wine, giving her a good eye for a region on the move.

“We feel this region is evolving all the time, just bubbling along and ready to really take off as an iconic food and wine destination,” she says. “The quality of the wines and the calibre of the owners, winemakers, restaurateurs and chefs is just remarkable.”

The Geelong area is no newcomer to wine-making: the region produced Victoria’s first commercial vintage in 1845.

But in the late 1800s, a combination of politics, the 1890s recession, and a fatal disease destroyed the vineyards. Phylloxera, imported in vine roots, struck the region and every vine in the area was uprooted.

A wine-making hiatus of nearly a century followed. Then, in the 1960s, Daryl and Nini Sefton replanted in the Moorabool Valley on the site of an old vineyard. Other winemakers followed, taking advantage of soils and climates that had already been proven to produce great wines.

Demand grew quickly for the pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and shiraz that are specialities of the region. The past few years have seen an explosion of new wineries, both small and large, and the industry is flourishing again. The region’s popularity with holidaymakers and day trippers has further encouraged wineries to open cellar doors and build restaurants with views to the vines.

Lethbridge Wineries, north-west of Geelong, is one of the most successful in the region. The winery, which produces European- accented wines, was the major winner at last year’s Geelong Wine Show, taking out the Williams and Jackson Best Wine of the Show trophy with their 2007 Allegra Chardonnay.

The James Halliday Wine Companion 2008 scored Lethbridge’s 2004 Indra Shiraz 96 points out of a possible 100 and labelled it an “Outstanding Winery”.

Co-owner Ray Nadeson came to the industry from an academic background – researching and teaching neuroscience. His passion for wine led him and partner Maree Collis, together with physician friend Adrian Thomas, to establish their own wine company. They investigated the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley and the Macedon region before settling on Geelong.

“We quickly realised that Geelong was a really great area with the best soils for cool climate wines,” Mr Nadeson says.

“The region needs more investment in the industry and to further promote itself as a serious wine region in its own right. It’s important that the wine is the focal point.”

Ms Robyn Fitzpatrick, chair of the marketing and promotion committee for the Geelong Wine Region and an owner of Pettavel in Waurn Ponds, said the Geelong region’s Surf Coast, Moorabool Valley and Bellarine create a diverse wine region, unlike anything else in Victoria.

“After so long without producing wine, the region has done so well to get going again in a relatively short time,” Ms Fitzpatrick says. “It’s only in the past 25 years that Geelong has re-emerged as a wine region. It’s important the wineries cooperate and market the region together. We’re all family owned – there are no big corporate players – which means the wineries all have a personal touch. When visitors turn up at the cellar door for tastings or to ask questions, chances are they are asking one of the winemakers or owners.”

Given there are many small players who simply do not produce the volumes required for export or to break into supermarkets and liquor stores, cellar door and online sales are the top ways to sell.

“In the past five years the number of cellar doors has quadrupled so it was important that we established a regional association,” Ms Fitzpatrick says. “Tourists heading down the Great Ocean Road are often very wine savvy and are looking for new regions to explore. We also have a lot of day trippers and mini-bus visitors.”

Andrew Noseda is one of three partners who own Otway Estate, about 10 minutes from Colac to the south-west of Geelong. Once just a vineyard, the estate now produces wines, beers, ale, stout, cider, preserves and sauces.

The trio took over the vineyard with 1.2 hectares of vines 10 years ago. Since then, they have developed it into 5.2 hectares of vines and added a café, conference facility, winery with cellar door and shop, gallery, cabin accommodation and micro-brewery.

“Finding recognition as a small winery can be difficult amongst the bigger players, so we’ve diversified and it’s working well,” Mr Noseda says. “We have been mainly selling through the cellar door and shop but soon will be establishing an online retail as well.”

Visitors who enjoy good wine usually want good food as well. That demand is being answered by Winchelsea couple Tony Phelps and Rochelle O’Mara. He has a business background, and she is a former teacher with a passion for cooking and skills in design and packaging. Their online and retail business, A Taste of the Region, offers quality local food and beverages.

“We’re always seeking new products through visiting farmers’ markets and new producers,” Mr Phelps says. “Our makers create boutique, seasonal ranges that are changing all the time. If people like something, we encourage them to order it because it might not be available next time. Unlike mass producers, we can’t guarantee availability or make large quantities. But that’s what makes it special.”

The couple, who had been living overseas, were keen to settle in the region for family reasons. “We were looking for something we’d both enjoy,” Mr Phelps says. “Rochelle is a fine cook and we researched various producers and how we could source the products. We sell products from Warrnambool to Ballarat to Geelong. It makes all the difference dealing with the producers – you just get a feeling for what’s good and what’s not.”

Also doing well on the food front in the region are the Highbury Tea Gardens, 30 minutes north-west of Geelong, which featured in the RACV list of the top 101 things to see and do in Victoria, while Matildas at Inverleigh won two major categories in the Golden Plate awards for the region. Chef Tyler Vakidis was highly commended and judges noted that much thought had gone into the creative and adventurous menu at Matildas.