Geelong wine lists among our country’s best

WITH CAM O’KEEFE

It’s always pleasing to see Geelong hospitality institutions considered as some of the nation’s finest.

Earlier this week, Australia’s annual Wine List of the Year Awards took place in Sydney, which celebrates the wine (and drinks) list content (as well as excellence in staff beverage service) that many of our country’s better dining and drinking establishments strive to deliver. Many in the drinks industry acknowledge the awards, which have been running for decades, as the peak achievement when it comes to recognition, right up there with receiving a coveted Chef’s Hat from The Good Food Guide.

I’m happy to report that our greater Geelong region has fared very (very) well in this year’s awards, notably by restaurants Moonah and Brae (Connewarre and Birregurra, respectively) alongside two local Torquay wine bars, Torquay Wine Store and Mr Archer Wine Bar. The two restaurants mentioned above featured as finalists across multiple national awards, including Best Country Restaurant Wine List and Best Wine List in Victoria (for Brae) as well as Australia’s Best Small Wine List (for Moonah). Incredible, given both places combined have a mere 38 seats available to dine in at any given moment. A huge shout-out should go to Point Lonsdale steward Noble Rot too, who have successfully received a three-glass rating (the highest achievable score) for more than 10 years. What a feat! Good on Jordan and the team there. Please get in and support them if you’re down on the Bellarine.

While on the subject of vino, a special mention should be made to one of my favourite home-grown producers, Bannockburn Vineyards, who celebrated their 50th harvest just this autumn gone. The winery is currently undergoing a major refurbishment, which has plans to host a string of events with their ’24 vintage wines when they become ready to release next year. The wines and brand have set the standard for premium wine growing in our region and we should be extremely proud of the presence the winery has placed Geelong on the national (and international) wine stage. Quite the achievement.

However, third generation Angus Pollard had the following to say while looking to the future: “All the decisions we make today are informed by the aspiration to celebrate the next fifty years… staying true to the foundation of quality, sustainability and a respect to our in place in the Moorabool Valley.” Well said, and let’s look forward to the winery’s 50th release wines (ie the ’24 vintage) when they become available to taste.

It’s a case of same place, new name for Manifold Heights favourite, Iberia. Nestled in Shannon Avenue’s small foodie strip, along with Funk, Sakuratei Japanese, and Fresh Land Food (one of my go-to Asian supermarkets) the venue has undergone both a name change and slight refresh, to now be known at Mano Deli – obviously a nod to both its location and increased offering. Continuing will their loved breakfast options, as well as their usual range of tasty toasties and sandwiches, but also added to the mix will be a broad range of take-away options like low intervention wines, craft beers, coffee beans, pastry treats and deli sweets. By night, the place can also be booked for private function hire as a bar or restaurant space, which (to my knowledge anyway) is probably the only one of its kind in Mano Heights.

Geelong’s iconic live music venue The Barwon Club has changed hands. Its new owner is a neighbouring publican, whose Belmont Hotel is about to undergo a major refurb. I’m told it’s business as usual for the time being (thankfully) with new gigs continuing to be booked. With the death or change of direction of a few CBD band hotspots (vale The Workers Club, Pistol Pete’s and the “Nash” among others) it seems now more than ever, the BC remains such an important spot for Geelong’s music scene, giving both local and touring bands a place to perform.

A pleasant find in Barwon Heads this past week, with a simple yet flavourful meal had at Hanoi Kitchen. Found on the corner of Hitchcock and Bridge, this neat little local has undergone a minor switch-up to its main theme over the past couple of weeks, now offering a fairly extensive street food style take-away menu to its inhouse dining. Dishes enjoyed were pho tron (fish noddles with spicy sauce) banh xeo (Vietnamese pancakes with pork and prawns) and, of course, a classic char siu pork banh mi. All great value, delicious and fresh. Thom ngon (or yum!)