Taste your tipple made naturally in Ballarat

TERROIR and provenance, two French words which describe the importance of where something comes from and what is its story, are often referred to when talking about drinking and eating.

Chris Pratt, co-owner of Kilderkin Distillery, part of a blossoming of craft distillers across Australia, said telling the story about his gin is part of the unique and exciting taste experience.

“People welcome the opportunity to visit the distillery in Alfredton, taste a flight and speak with us, the people who make the drink,” he said. “They love to know our story, while they are prepared to pay for our gin, they want to know where it’s come from.”

Kilderkins’ Original Larrikin gin is distilled entirely through a process call vapour infusion.

An alcohol and water mix is heated and the vapours are channelled through baskets that hold all the botanicals, which produces a light easy drinking spirit.

“Other than the juniper, which has to be imported, all the other botanicals are Australian,” he said. “This gives the gin its own unique flavour.

“Ballarat has a fantastic history, the very first distillery in Victoria was here, so it’s great to be recreating and re-introducing gin made right here in the city.”

Red Duck Brewery shares not just the same the location as Kilderkin, its owners Scott and Vanessa Wilson-Browne share a similar philosophy.

Mr Wilson-Browne explains Red Duck is a small brewery, making beer which is traditional and all natural.

“When people visit us, we can explain the process, show the equipment and then put up a paddle for tasting,” he said.

Terroir, mostly used when talking about wine, describes how a particular region’s climate, soils and terrain affect the taste.

It could also apply to the production of other beverages.

“The most important ingredients in beer is water and barley,” Mr Wilson-Browne said. “Ballarat water is perfect for brewing and we get 90 per cent of our barley from a small maltster here in the city.”

One of the reasons Red Duck was set up was the Wilson-Brownes considered there was very little choice for beer drinkers.

The big brand beer producers were buying up the smaller brewers and then homogenising the product to make sales, marketing and production easier.

“A lot of creativity and uniqueness was lost, I used to go to the pub and think I don’t want to drink that beer I don’t like it,” Mr Wilson-Browne said. “So, I thought let’s be part of helping change the landscape, let’s be drivers and get into it.

“I wanted to see choices and flavour and characteristics come back.”

Winemaker Owen Latta’s minimal intervention wine is a true reflection of terroir, the character of the region, the climate and the vine at his Coghills Creek winery.

Mr Latta believes fruit grown using organic or biodynamic methods is the best way towards a natural product.

“Eastern Peake, the winery my parents established, has always leant towards a hands-off approach, this what my parents and I have always believed in,” he said. “Latta Vino uses no preservatives and biodynamic grapes and its white wines are fermented on their skins.

“Normally white wine grapes are pressed off and removed from its skins over a four-hour process. What we do is leave the skins on while fermenting from one week to up to a year.”

It is a combination of his personal taste and his wine-making methods which guides the wine produced for the Latta Vino range.

“I am just making wine the way we always have, there are no tricks, no fuss, everything has always been unfiltered, unfined and not tampered with,” Mr Latta said.

“If people like it that’s great.”