Peninsula Visitors Guide, April - October 2014, Page 076 (transcription)

T Gallant In MaIn RIdge Climb the Ridge for killer ocean and bay views, fragrant wines of great length, apples of great crunch, strawberries, with great flavours there s something in the sea breeze here.
As Memphis is to country music, T Gallant is to Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio and winemakerKevin McCarthy is the Hank Williams of winemaking turning out beautiful examples ofthese varieties long before it was fashionable todo so.
T Gallant is where you can sit down andenjoy the rolling hills around the winery and theItalian food.
The menu constantly changes butoffers rustic Italian fare such as pasta dishes ravioli and field mushrooms or spaghetti withgorgonzola- and hearty veal ragus.
For quickersnacks, such as sausages and polenta or pizza, head toward the Spuntino bar with a morevillage market feel.
For fifteen years this hasbeen one of the Peninsula s most celebrated food and wine destinations, the rustic atmosphere, friendly staff and laid back feel ensure it will remain so for a long time to come.
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April to October 2014 Main Ridge Estate - If there is a Godfather of winemaking on the Mornington Peninsula, Nat White would fill the role of the Don other winemakers turn to for advice and or inspiration.
Nat is a congenial, ebullient and philosophicalman who glides through life like a sloth on acalm sea the perfect temperament for dealingwith the capricious Pinot Noir grape variety.
Nat and his wife Rosalie White established Main Ridge estate in 1975 in the high corner ofa bushland track in Main Ridge.
Specialising inhigh quality pinot noir and chardonnay wineshas been rewarding for the Whites as they are recognised for producing the region s very best wines.
The Pinot noirs have complex, lengthof flavour, delicacy with power, and cellaring potential for more than ten years.
Made in a simple and traditional manner, with low-cropped vineyards, and minimal intervention in thewinery the wines display flavours which arecharacteristic of the region and their individual Acre and Acre sites.
Located on a beautiful MorningtonPeninsula property, Myrtaceae vineyard andwinery is situated in a small picturesque valehigh on Arthurs Seat.
The Truemans at Myrtaceae Owned and operated by John Trueman viticulturist and wife Julie winemaker Myrtaceae specialises in producing elegantwines with strong varietal character.
John and Julie began planting their vines in 1985 eversince they have grown the grapes, made the wineand conducted the tastings.
The winery produces high quality single vineyard Chardonnay andPinot Noir and the vineyard site has a greatmaritime climate and excellent soils for wine growing.
The mild temperatures and absenceof extreme heat produces medium bodied PinotNoir that is quite perfumed.
The cellar door provides wine tastings with spectacular viewsacross the hills and expansive garden.
The Trueman s enthusiasm is infectious and you are bound to meet one or both of themat cellar door where the Myrtaceae Chardonnayis not to be missed.
JOIN uS - FRIENDS OF THE VIGNERONS When the wine industry here on the MorningtonPeninsula was in its infancy in the early 80s thewine makers themselves seemed to an outside observer me to be a particularly enquiring, committed and cooperative group of people underthe benevolent leadership of Nat White of Main Ridge Estate.
Very soon they formed a group now known as the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association and shared their experiences and even their marketing.
One such marketing venture involved taking a marquee at the RedHill Show to display their wines and woo devotees to thecause of a Mornington Peninsula wine industry.
Theyinvited a group of disparate people who had shown apersistent interest in their wines to join them on the nightprior to the Show to taste the wine they would be showingthe following day.
We eagerly accepted and many came along some complete with babies and dogs.
Rosalie White of Main Ridge Estate and Noel and Brian Stonier of Stoniers then had the idea of forming a Friendssupport group and these Red Hill Show attendees formedthe nucleus of this.
Ken Fyffe became the first president in 1989, advertisements for members were placed, a constitutiondrawn up and we were away.
Our aims were to help thevignerons where we could in both an advocacy role and inpractical ways, and to learn more ourselves about wine inthe Mornington Peninsula region.
We began by visiting wineries.
One such early visit was to Moorooduc Estate oneFebruary.
When Richard McIntyre owner and winemaker asked if anyone would like to help pick grapes at vintagehe received such an eager response that his wife, Jill, feltthe need to explain that we would really have to work But we loved it and were amply rewarded both in feeling part of the vintage, tasting the fruits of our labourand partaking of a great gourmet lunch cooked by Jillamazingly on a tiny electric hotplate in the winery and oneBBQ outside.
Many of us went on to pick at other wineriesand we still help out when and where we can you mayhave seen us helping at the Winter Wine Weekend at the Red Hill Showgrounds where it all began.
We help at the seminars and do the glamorous jobs such as filling thewater jugs on the vignerons stands and we enjoy being part of this special day.
We also held, hold, social and educational functions.
In early years the vignerons used to hold aChristmas break-up at Noel and Brian Stoniers home above their vineyard in Merricks where they erected amarquee each year.
We still have great functions.
This year we held afunction at Lindenderry after the International Pinot NoirCelebration, and we have just held a Comparative Tasting where we compared Mornington Peninsula wines withequivalent ones from the Tamar Valley in Tasmania over a long lunch with speakers from both regions.
We have an Annual Dinner where we enjoy Mornington Peninsula wines from our own cellar and winery tastingsand other social functions throughout the year.
So we have a varied program, help our vignerons and we have a lot of fun.
If you like Mornington Peninsulawines too, or are interested in learning more about them, why not come along and join us.
You can do this by contacting our membership secretary, Patricia Pound, at fmpvinc13 gmail.com.
- Jacki Hill, Secretary, FMPV 076.indd 1 1 04 14 10 28 PM

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