The Gundaroo Gourmet Gallop – a.k.a. The Tallagandra Hill Run
27 August 2013 / Word and Photos by Ken Keeling
Well, really more of a canter actually…. A winter day outing to sample some of the gastronomic delights hiding in the near-Canberra countryside.
Our Sunday Gourmet Foray was to comprise of three discrete elements:-
- firstly, a drive to Gundaroo for a pleasant and interesting lunch at the Capital Wines Cellar Door and Café with;
- a second stage for wine tasting and/or coffee & cake at Tallagandra Hill Wines vineyard and;
- a grand finale comprised of a demonstration of the art of creating fine hand-made chocolate (and the tasting thereof) at Chocolate d’Or near Nanima.
On a beautiful winter morning (10°C and sunny) on Sunday 25th August a (not so) hardy group of 21 in 12 cars of the Canberra Chapter gathered at Maccas by EPIC for an early-ish start for our outing. Well, OK it was really 11am – but quite a lot of us are retired! And at this time of year it tends to be a bit frosty if one rises too early. As is usual for such events, all the careful prior planned arrangements almost fell to pieces when 6 more than had RSVP’d expressed belated interest in the run. However, a late phone call from the start point rendezvous to the lunch venue had the necessary additional seating promptly organised and all was well.
The first stage was a casual meander of some 45kms by back roads to Gundaroo for a late breakfast/early lunch at Capital Wines’ Epicurean Centre and Cellar Door Café, located in The Royal Hotel’s former stables. The old converted stables with a warming wood fire burning, samples of local produce and the friendly staff provided a great ambience.
Canberra Region Goodies @ The Cellar Door Cafe
From the feedback received, the enticing food selection offered on their Winter Menu was well and truly up to expectations and (for those who sampled) the wines most palatable. Unfortunately, because we not only needed to be responsible regarding the wine aspects but also had a time schedule to keep to, it had been pre-decided that the interestingly matched food and wine comprising the Epicurean tasting menu was off limits. Nevertheless, I am confident that quite a few of our Sunday’s group will be making repeat visits independently to the Cellar Door Café in the future.
The Cellar Door Café – on a quieter day
Stage Two required a only short 15 minute drive to the cellar door for Tallagandra Hill Wines where we broke into two groups - the starters for the wine presentation and those who were craving their post main-course coffee and something sweet.
At Tallagandra Hills Winery
Our host provide a very informative description of each of the various wines comprising Tallagandra Hill’s current market selection. We learned of the background to (and tasted) several interesting dry whites (including one rather reminiscent of the White Burgundies of yesteryear) derived from Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris through reds of Shiraz, Cabernet Franc and Viognier origin, plus a rather nice Sparkling Shiraz Viognier, before finishing with a late picked dessert Riesling.
Ahhh! – the Sparkling Shiraz Viognier
The “wine tasting” was a very worthwhile learning experience and was well presented by someone obviously interested in and knowledgeable about the product of their labours. An hour well spent. The coffee drinking cake-eaters felt the same way about their interlude!
The last part of our outing was also about a further 15 minutes’ drive away and we arrived at Chocolate d’Or on the Nanima Road in good time for the scheduled 3pm demonstration by Robin Rowe of what makes a prize-winning handcrafted confection.
In addition to the high-grade Belgian Callebaut couverture that is the foundation of these works of gastronomic art, a surprisingly large amount of physical effort is involved in working and blending the melted chocolate to a glossy state prior to moulding, filling and finishing. Robin incorporates into her confections a wide variety of products sourced from the Canberra region, ranging from honey and home-grown walnuts to a locally produced Muscat desert wine. And all of those finished chocolates we sampled were truly delectable treats!
Robin with some of her just-made chocolate cases destined for soft-centred treats
I think that during the demonstration and sampling we all acquired a better understanding of why handcrafted chocolates taste so much better – and cost considerably more – than the usual store bought variety. Most of us left Chocolate d’Or carrying some small delights – and will now no doubt need to renew our interest in exercise activities.
Probably un-surprisingly, the suggestion of finishing off the day with an ad-hoc visit to the Gold Creek outlet for a local home-made gourmet ice-creamery met with no takers at all…
From the comments received, it seems everyone enjoyed not only the good food and wine but also the group’s camaraderie and the relaxed top-down cruising to our three venues.
It is always a reward in itself when one’s efforts to organise something come together as well as our Gundaroo Gourmet Gallop, especially when the winter weather was so benign.
