This personal tour started at Sutton Forest Estate Wines,

Sutton Forest wine & food

famous for their Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and antipasto plates. They are right next to the Sutton Forest McDonalds (see my article – Would you like a Chardonnay with that?) but their cosy cellar door with an open fire, fine wine and homemade Tiramasu is a world away from burgers and fries.

Anyone for chess?

Then it was onto the expressway heading north, off at the Berrima exit, cruising through bustling Berrima past Mrs Oldbuck’s famous Jam Shop, cafes and craft shops, turn left at Greenfields Road and left again to Blue Metal Wines. They are named after the local rock, but their barn-styled cellar door is, you guessed it, made of metal (Bluescope Steel perhaps?). Inside, with a trendy cafe and plenty of room to sip wines and chat, they were doing great business.

Next it was back to Greenfields Road and up to Joadja Winery for their Cool Jazz event. Joadja is the oldest and

Jazz in the winery!

 most rustic boutique winery in the Southern Highlands, so it was amazing to see about 100 parked cars flanking the entrance. Inside it was easy to see why: there was a jazz quartet playing in the winery itself, surrounded by relaxed people and tall stainless steel fermentation tanks. You can’t help thinking those Joadja wines are going to have a cool laid-back feel with lingering sax and a hint of trumpet! The cellar door itself was three deep with keen wine tasters, outdoors there was expresso coffee, and everywhere there were people sipping on Joadja’s finest cool-climate wine.

McVitty Winery views

After a couple of enjoyable hours at Joadja listening to the music, and a lunch of Indian food cooked on site, it was time to head just down the road to McVitty Grove and take in the misty valley views from their stylish cellar door and cafe.

A few kilometres closer to Mittagong at Kells Creek we dropped in to Bousaada Wines before going across the road to Tertini, who scooped the pool of prizes at the 2008 Southern Highlands Wine Show.

Tertini Winery tasting

Their cellar door was pretty busy, and we were invited into the winery itself to sample the Tertini range amid racks of patiently aging wine barrels. One of the special treats was to try the new Arneis white, made from a grape variety grown in only a few dozen vineyards worldwide. Notoriously dificult to cultivate, Arneis seems to have taken a liking to the Southern Highlands and is producing prize-winning wines. Meanwhile, the Tertini Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon are also winning medals, and their Pinot Noir took Silver in the Shanghai International Wine Challenge!

St Maur cantina style cellar door

After tasting the full range of wines at Tertini, we continued our Wine Trail adventure via the sophisticated Centennial Vineyards and Southern Highland Wineries at Bowral and Sutton Forest, finishing up close to home at the atmospheric St Maur Estate cantina in Exeter.

Not a bad way to relax on a Sunday!

St Maur's cantina style cellar door

Towards the southern end of the Southern Highlands Wine Trail is St Maur Estate, a unique vineyard and cellar door with the feel of a Northern Italian cantina. 

St Maur is at the corner of Old Argyle Road and Sallys Corner Road at Exeter, about five kilometers from the well known Sutton Forest service center, Roadhouse and McDonalds on the Hume Highway halfway between Sydney and Canberra. The estate itself goes back nearly 200 years to the days of the famous Australian explorer John Oxley. Since 1976 the land has been owned by the Panizzutti family, who planted the St Maur vineyard.

St Maur Chardonnay

The St Maur cantina cellar door is a delightfully atmospheric place to stop for a glass of wine and a chat, and the wines are among the best in the Highlands. Best known for their Pinot Noir, which is stocked by some of Sydney’s finest restaurants, St Maur also produces a Cabernet Merlot and an outstanding Chardonnay.