Mt Nathan Winery
When you drive through Mt Tamborine and the surrounding mountains, you're met with incredible scenery, some great little fudge shops, and wineries.
So. Many. Wineries.
It'd be a feat to visit them all, but gosh it'd be worth it! So I'm trying, I really am. I've gotten around to a lot of them, and haven't been disappointed yet! The wine is delectable, the people are lovely, and the atmosphere is nothing short of remarkable. But there are some standouts, of course. One of which is Mt Nathan Winery.
My original purpose of going was to get a novelty bottle of champagne for my close friend whose surname happens to be Nathan. But my was I treated to a whole lot more than that.
We walked in an hour out from closing (check the closing times before you go to any winery!), and asked a worker cautiously if we had come too late. "No no no, please come sit outside, it's much more nicer. Are you wine tasting? You should do wine tasting! We will get you a cheese platter," the lovely little Asian lady replied, and we were whisked out to a lovely table on the patio outside, overlooking farms of alpacas and some beautiful mountain views.
Shortly after cleaning off our table, she returned with a cheese platter and a list of their wines (including their winter wines!), and asked us to choose 6 to try (yes, 6!). After making our selection (with her added "oooh, that's a good one!" and "Yes, that's my favourite!"), she decided we hadn't chosen enough, and made up select one more. She then scampered off to gather the grape juice.
She came out with all the wines, gave us our sampling glasses, and we got started. Beginning with the whites, we tried the bubbly, Chardonnay, and Sav Blanc. After our first sip of each of these, we had to eat some cheese to 'enhance the flavour' (which it did!). The Chardonnay was easily the best, followed by the Bubbly and the Sav.
We then transitioned across to reds, which included the Cab Sav and the Merlot, both were absolutely divine. It was here that she taught us about the sniffing and swirling techniques, and what that achieves (apparently it's NOT just to look fancy!). She was so full of knowledge and enthusiasm, I felt like I walked away knowing more about wine than I ever thought I could!
We settled on finishing off our cheese platter with a bottle of Chardonnay, and it was delicious. It was such a lovely Spring afternoon, and we were the only ones there, making it serene and enjoyable in every way. She came and checked up on us several times, refilling our glasses and making sure we had enough crackers. And then she was more than happy to give us a discount as we were Brisbane locals.
If you're looking for a really good afternoon with a group of your closest girlfriends, I would absolutely recommend making your way to Mt Nathan!
**They're currently going through a refit for the shop front, so don't be turned off by the construction out front! Make your way through the oversized wine barrel, and you'll feel like you've jumped down a rabbit hole to a whole new world!
