I loved the look of this roadside stall just outside Batlow, a pretty town on the western slopes of the Snowy Mountains of NSW, and couldn’t resist taking a photo. Some of the bags of crisp locally grown apples sell for just $2/kg. Batlow is famous for its orchards and you’ll also find fresh stone fruit, pears, berries and cherries for sale when in season. The farmgate stall reminded me of the folksy displays I once saw in Vermont, north-eastern USA, of gigantic pumpkins surrounded by a cornucopia of autumnal produce. Those Americans always do everything bigger and bolder, though that doesn’t necessarily equate to quality. I well remember biting into a large shiny red apple in Sausalito, a pretty bayside village just outside San Francisco, and instantly spitting it out because it was so floury and tasteless.
In fact when winemaker Chris Thomas first arrived in he Batlow region, he was knocked out by the quality of the wine grapes being grown just down the road in Tumbarumba (or Tumba as the locals refer to it).
“They were like black and white pearls,” he told me. “Their quality was just so superior, but they were losing most of their quality in transportation.”
He’d spent the past few years making wine in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California, and was astounded that local vignerons were transporting these pearls across the country to be processed elsewhere.
That was in 2004, the year in which he joined forces with Tumbarumba Grape Processors, a group of five local vignerons, and began making wines on site on their behalf. The following year he established his own ‘Kosciusko’ label which includes chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot noir, merlot, cabernet shiraz and a sparkling (which won the 2007 Canberra Regional Show trophy). According to wine connoisseur James Halliday, Thomas is making some of the most underrated wines in the country. His 2009 Riesling, fragrant with citrus and lemon blossom, and destined to age beautifully, is proof of that.
“Tumba’s cool climate is similar to Burgundy,” he said. “We’re able to make truly dry wines which taste sweet on the palate because the fruit quality is there to begin with.”
While not yet a wine-hopping area, examples can currently be tasted at three cellar door facilities: Glenburnie Vineyards, Kosciusko Wines and Lankeys Creek Wines. Stuart Barclay of Mannus Wines is also due to open a cellar door at his vineyard, 9 km out of town.
“We’re very excited because it ties in with the proposed rail trail which will go right through these beautiful hills, linking us with the town,” he says.
Work on the 20km rail trail is about to start. Similar to the one in north-east Victoria, it will be suitable for walking, cycling and horse riding and is to be constructed along the disused railway corridor from Tumbarumba to Rosewood through the stunning Glenroy Valley.
“Give us a year and there’ll be another three cellar doors open in Tumba,” adds Barclay.
Local wines can also be tasted at the annual Tumba Fest, a celebration of music, wine and food held each year in February and the IGA store in the main street sells a range of locally made wines. Autumn is a great time to visit the area as the trees are turning colour – and it’s then that you just might spot a roadside stall with a pumpkin or two.