ShadowFax Vineyard, Werribee

Saturday 4 June

How our life has changed. If we had an old friend round to our house back in the UK, the options in the immediate vicinity would have been limited to a pint of warm beer in the local pub at the end of the street, followed by a soggy pizza at the very average Italian at the top of the hill. In Werribee, we have a vineyard, a fabulous Open Zoo, a stately mansion and park, and an 18 hole golf course just ten minutes away. What's more you could visit all of them in a day and probably have change from $100 per person, if you had the energy. Throw in an evening stroll on South Werribee beach, and you can finish off the day in style.

We took the option of relaxation and culture when Marko paid us a visit on Saturday, choosing the Shadowfax Vineyard for afternoon lunch and wine tasting. Shadowfax is a cellar door with style, its open steel and glass high roofed dining room, complemented by live acoustic afternoon sessions at the weekend. The menu is uncomplicated with choices down to excellent antipasto, salads and wood fired pizza, but it is served so well, that you admire if for its simplicity. The pizzas have creativity in thought, Alison's potato, ricotta and rosemary pizza sounded a little strange in conception, but tasted delicious. My simple margarita was so good, and the basil so aromatic, I was momentarily transported to the back streets of Naples. Marko loved his pork sausage, fennel, mozzarella & thyme too. The winter sun filled every corner of the restaurant through the stylish windows, creating a lively and bright setting, with terrific views onto the terrace and greenery beyond.

You can amble to the grand bar at your leisure for a wine tasting session, with 7 wines included with your lunch. A further $5 allows you to go deeper into sampling some of their more expensive vintages. We all agreed the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc was the best, and ordered a bottle with lunch, and at just $20 was also the cheapest wine they had. Perfect for our pizza, so perfect in fact, I picked up another bottle to take home with us.

We had the most wonderful afternoon, staying long after the band stopped playing, but enjoying it so much, we barely noticed.... and not a pot of warm beer in sight.

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