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.

Tim Kirk, winemaker extraordinaire

A very loud rattling sound greets me as I drive up the dusty road past the vineyard to Clonakilla, a multi-award winning winery at Murrumbateman, 40 minutes north west of Canberra.  Even with the windows firmly up to keep out the fine dust, the rattling grows louder and louder by the second.

As I pull up near the cellar door, I realise the noise is coming from a long mobile bottling truck which is sitting out the front of the winery.  Winemaker Tim Kirk is busy supervising the bottling and cheering on the staff.

It’s an intensive operation as the sterilised bottles are filled, labelled and sealed and then packed into cartons, but Kirk is chuffed with their progress.

“I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as this fellow,” he says, pointing to a young tanned muscular worker.

Kirk himself is no slouch.  Since 1996, when he left his school teaching job to work full time in the family business as winemaker and general manager, Kirk has put Clonakilla on the map.  He launched the shiraz viognier blend in this country, a wine described by James Halliday as “an icon…one of the best in Australia.” His straight viognier, riesling and Hilltops shiraz are viewed as rising stars – and the winery itself, which was established in 1971 by his father John, has put the modest cool climate wines of the Canberra region on the world map.

It’s this dedication to quality combined with the willingness to take a risk which is the common thread of the people who live along the Poacher’s Way.

“We’re a group of like-minded people,” explains Susan Bruce, the driving force behind the Poacher’s Way brand.  “Family-work-life balance is important to all of us. There are many fantastic small producers and businesses in the area, but the special thing about the Poacher’s Way collective is that together we offer a unique experience.”

There are 25 members, including wineries (such as Jeir Creek and Shaw Estate), restaurants, cafes, potteries, art galleries and a day spa.  Six are in Murrumbateman, six in Canberra, four in Gundarroo, three in Hall and a couple each at Lake George, Yass and Bungendore.

Bruce is a real mover and shaker.  Together with her husband Robert, she turned the family grazing property around in 1991 by converting one of the buildings into a country smokehouse.  Demand grew and Poachers Pantry was born.  It’s now home to the award-winning Smokehouse Café and Wily Trout Vineyard, and you can easily while away an afternoon here sampling a variety of dishes and tasting the  wines.  I highly recommend the smoked chicken with tarragon and lemon (currently on the Qantas 1st class menu) and the smoked lamb cutlets.  The kangaroo prosciutto is pretty good too.

Not far from Poachers Pantry is Geranium House, located on 135 acres of bush on top of a hill at the end of a long winding road.  Run by Sue Butt, this swish up-market spa caters for both men and women, many of whom bolt here from high-pressure jobs in Canberra.

“They love the privacy,” says Butt.  “And they also love the drive out into the country.”

A further half hour drive through gently undulating countryside is the quaint village of Gundaroo, a favourite weekend destination with cyclists from Canberra.

“They ride out here then eat my cakes,” says Bridget Hinves of Cork Street Café.  “Or they get stuck into the pizzas.”

The cafe is situated down a leafy laneway in the historic police stables and is renowned for its tasty pizzas and   fresh organic produce. At Grazing in The Royal Hotel, just down the road, almost all the produce is grown in the wonderful backyard garden where you can wander around and see what’s on the menu.  The food here is simple and unpretentious with a strong seasonal accent.  I especially enjoyed the pumpkin gnocchi with burnt sage butter.

Pialligo Estate

Just ten minutes down the road is Old St Lukes Studio, a pottery specialising in wood-fired ceramics set in an old sandstone church. Potter Ian Jones will show you around and can arrange pottery-making demos for large groups.  If you’re heading back to Sydney, stop off at Lerida Estate on Lake George for a taste of Jim Lumbers’ pinot noir or at Lynwood Café for homemade scones with Robbie Howard’s luscious jams. Or if you’re heading into Canberra, drop into Mount Majura vineyard for a seated wine tasting, then wander out to Pialligo for lunch at Pialligo Estate or at Podfood, both set in leafy green gardens offering a real delight to all the senses.

I was a guest of Tourism NSW

Destination: Murrumbateman is 280Km south west of  Sydney along the Hume Highway (3 – 3 1/2 hours by car); and 40Km north west of Canberra (30 – 40 minutes by car).

Stay: Country Guesthouse Schonegg – Evelyn and Richard Everson run a very professional operation and Richard is a wizz on the pans.
381 Hillview Drive (en route to Helm winery), Murrumbateman
Ph. 02 6227 0344
www.schonegg.com.au

More:
www.thepoachersway.com.au
www.canberrawines.com.au

The first time I saw a dragon fruit, I could hardly believe my eyes. Hanging from a prickly cactus vine, this ornamental egg-shaped fruit with a pinkish skin looked like something from another planet.  When cut in  half, its subtle perfume and brilliant red flesh, flecked with tiny black sesame seeds were a revelation. I’d never seen or tasted anything quite like it.

As with many exotic fruits, its flavour is best appreciated when just picked. While some (such as lychees, mangosteens and rambutans, all with sturdy skins) have become more readily available, they’re really at their peak when tasted close to home, as most do not travel well.  One example is the exquisite white sapote, a sweet white-fleshed fruit with a thin green skin. When ripe, the flesh is soft and luscious and tastes like fine vanilla custard.

Most originated either in South America or South East Asia but are now grown in similar tropical regions in northern Australia.

On a recent trip to Tropical North Queensland, I visited a number of enterprising eateries open to the public where you can taste these fruits.  In this region are numerous micro-climates, each with different rainfall, soil and geographical conditions which provide the essential factors required for growing and producing a year-long supply of  tropical fruits. In fact, more varieties of exotic and tropical fruit now grow in TNQ than almost anywhere else in the world and locals refer to the region as the “exotic fruit bowl of the world”.

At the Cape Trib Exotic Fruit Farm, deep in the heart of the Daintree rainforest, ten different fruits (including solo papaya, black sapote, sapodilla and rollinia) were available for tasting on the day we visited. Owners Alison and Digby Gotts grow much of the fruit themselves and part of the visit involves a tour of their eco-certified permaculture orchard. The property borders the world heritage rainforest and if you’re staying in one of their delightful cottages, you can sit out on the verandah and feast on tropical fruit for breakfast, and – if you’re lucky – spot a Cassowary wandering by near the creek.

“The equatorial climate at Cape Tribulation means we can grow rare and exotic tropical fruit from the Amazon, South East Asia and the Caribbean,” says Alison. “We have more than 150 species of exotic tropical fruit collected from around the world, and our orchard now has more than 2000 fruit trees.”

It takes a good hour from Cape Tribulation through dense rainforest and winding roads to the car ferry over the Daintree River. Along the way, we passed a number of roadside stalls selling local produce, and numerous signs warning us to watch out for Cassowaries. Once over the wide muddy Daintree, we took a slight detour north to the Daintree Tea House Restaurant for tea and scones before heading south to Mossman.

Signs to the Karnak Playhouse and Rainforest Sanctuary, Diane Cilento’s acclaimed playhouse, led us up the majestic Whyanbeel Valley through fields of sugar cane and sparkling creeks. Built in 1992, the stunning open-air theatre hosts world-class productions of opera (next year it will stage ‘Madame Butterfly’), dance and cabaret.  Judy Garland’s daughter, Lorna Luft, was a recent act, performing “Songs My Mother Taught Me.” Cilento grows a wide range of tropical fruits on her property, including gigantic black sapote trees.

“I love them, though a lot of people go ‘yuck’,” she says. “They’re also called chocolate pudding fruit and we make cakes and drinks with them for Karnak cafe.”
Cilento moved to the valley in 1975 and started planting a range of exotic tropical trees in 1977, the fruit of which is used in various dishes at the cafe.

“But unless someone like Oprah Winfrey talks about these fruits, people won’t even try them,” she adds. “We live in a Wow/Yuck world.”

Just down the road from Karnak is the High Falls Tropical Restaurant. Over 80 different varieties of fruits trees are grown here and you can tour the orchard and taste their yummy tropical fruit sorbets made with soursop, jakfruit and sour apple, though bookings are essential.

We were in a hurry to get to Port Douglas, but made time to drop into the Shannonvale Winery where up to 12 tropical fruit wines are available for tasting.  I rather liked the medium sweet Mango Wine, Black Sapote Port and Orange Port, though it was ‘Yuck’ to some of the others.

I’d aimed to finish the tropical fruit trail with a ‘Flames of the Forest’ dinner, held in the Daintree by candlelight, but the chef was ill. Fortunately, there was a table available at Nautilus. Set on a hill under a canopy of palm trees above the main street of Port Douglas, this has to be one of the most stunning restaurant settings in the country. The food’s pretty stunning too – and the soursop daiquiris (available when the fruit is in season) are to die for.