EUROPE IN YOUR BACKYARD Steve Wroe
T
he first time I drove through the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges region, I turned to my wife as we meandered past vineyards and through small villages, and asked: “what place does this remind you of?” “Burgundy,” she said, recalling a time, pre-kids, when we settled into this beautiful part of France for a few days. That’s what I was thinking as well. Indeed, the region has a long association with Europe. Back in the mid1800s, many Swiss Italians moved into the area. To this day, their cultural impact is celebrated with the annual Swiss Italian Festa, and a proliferation of community members with Italian surnames. Today, the food and wine industry also have a strong European feel. French-style restaurants abound, such
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as Midnight Starling, Colenso and Source Dining in Kyneton and Bistro Terroir (and newly opened ‘Coq’) in Daylesford. The Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs produces mouth-watering Mediterranean fare, as does Mount Towrong Vineyard, in Mount Macedon. Beppe in Daylesford serves up great Italian food, and the iconic Lake House is inspired by Executive Chef, Alla WolfTasker’s formative years as a young chef in France. Of course, there’s also du Fermier in Trentham, and Le Péché Gourmand in Creswick. Alla Wolf-Tasker has, for decades, been a driving force in ‘food provenance’ long before it became a hipster trend. We’re lucky here; the climate, soil and mineral water all combine to provide farmers with the ideal environment for growing amazing produce. And many of our restaurants use predominantly locally-grown ingredients.
The ‘terroir’ (a French word, referring to the local environment, mainly soil, topography and climate) is hugely important, and also means that the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges region produces some exceptional wine. Pinot and chardonnay are the most popular grapes, yet many little-known grape varieties are also produced, including a very rare Italian grape that was carried over by boat, in the form of a cutting, a few generations ago. We’re also lucky enough to be home to 80% of Australia’s mineral springs. In Europe, the health benefits of these springs have drawn visitors since at least Roman times. Here it’s much the same; indigenous people have been coming to the springs for thousands of years and, more recently, European settlers have been ‘taking the waters’ since the mid-1800s. You can visit one of the many spa centres for a dip, use the numerous pumps
