WINE > Elanto Pinot Noir, Balnaring (18/20)

Mornington Peninsula is home to many fine Pinot Noir wines but it has been quite a few years since the industry got quite so excited about a new vineyard. Elanto has only released two vintages of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to date and they are already receiving outstanding reviews from the biggest names in wine. …

ByCrispy2 days ago0Comments

EAT > Cape, Cape Schank (17/20)

Cape Restaurant at RACV Cape Schanck remains one of the Mornington Peninsula’s most compelling reasons to drive that extra stretch of highway after dark: dinner here still feels like an occasion, but an unusually relaxed and generous one. AMBIENCE > Cape’s room is still that familiar dusk-toned amphitheatre of glass, timber and bottle-light, only now…

ByCrispy3 days ago0Comments

EAT > AUSTRALIA EAT > MORNINGTON PENINSULA EAT > VICTORIA WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Ten Minutes by Tractor, Main Ridge (19/20)

Ten Minutes by Tractor has always felt like the Mornington Peninsula restaurant that most confidently blurs the line between winery dining room and serious destination restaurant; under new head chef Craig Lunn and an evolved wine program led by head sommelier Noah Rozenfeld, it now reads as a sharper, more self-assured version of itself. AMBIENCE…

ByCrispy3 days ago0Comments

DRINK > WINE DRINK > WINE > Pinot Noir

WINE > Valli Bannockburn Pinot Noir, Central Otago NZ (2021)

There are Pinots that gently introduce themselves, and then there are Pinots that make the room go quiet for a moment: Valli’s Bannockburn sits firmly among the latter. Bannockburn, the original Central Otago subregion for Pinot Noir, is famed for clay-schist soils and sun drenched, cool-climate vines—and winemaker Grant Taylor’s assured touch means every bottle…

ByCrispyJuly 20, 20250Comments

DRINK > WINE DRINK > WINE > Pinot Noir

WINE > Quealy Musk Creek Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula Australia

APPEARANCE & AROMA > A luminous garnet in the glass, Musk Creek Pinot Noir immediately impresses with its clarity and vibrancy. The nose is beguiling—florals, wild strawberry, and a touch of rose petal, underpinned by exotic spice (think Sichuan pepper) and forest floor. There’s a sense of autumn leaves and earthiness, lending complexity and…

ByCrispyJune 14, 20250Comments

STAY > MELBOURNE

STAY > Jackalope, Mornington Peninsula (18/20)

When you mention a weekend on the peninsula you get questions about where you are staying, what you are eating and the wineries and beaches you might visit. Mention Jackalope and you get ohh yes that place is fantastic and there is a good reason for that, they try very hard to make something a little…

ByCrispyMarch 16, 20250Comments

EAT > MELBOURNE

EAT > Cape Restaurant, Cape Schank (18/20)

This has to be my 4th visit to ‘Cape’ at the RACV Cape Schank Resort. The venue is a large hotel with an excellent golf club located at the far end of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula (about 1.5 hours from Melbourne by car). It might not be the most luxurious accomodation on the peninsula or…

ByCrispyDecember 1, 20240Comments

DRINK > WINE DRINK > WINE > Pinot Noir

WINE > Hurley Lodestone Pinot Noir 2020

THE VINEYARD The original Hurley Farm was established by Irish settlers (William and Johanna Hurley) in the 1860's, but it is the current owners Tricia Byrnes and Kevin Bell who first planted vines at the Balnarring property on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria in 1998. Their the sole intention was to establish single vineyard pinot…

ByCrispyApril 18, 20230Comments

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