Tractorless Vineyard/Bellbird Dining
Casula Powerhouse
1 Powerhouse Rd
Casula, Sydney
Who doesn’t love a little “wine time”? We know we sure do! We were fortunate enough to attend a wine tasting hosted by Jeff Aston from Tractorless Vineyard at Bellbird Dining & Bar within the Casula Powerhouse, and it was divine!
Tractorless Vineyard produces a number of award-winning wines created thanks to Jeff’s dedication to using old world winemaking skills and techniques, and his desire to not rush the process to allow flavours to develop as they should.
Each place at the table was set with a tantalising line-up of six wines and a little later on, a plate of carefully crafted canapes to match thanks to head chef Federico at Bellbird.
We started with a heavenly Aleatico Moscato, which had the sweetest peachy aroma and delicious hints of rose Turkish Delight and lychee. It wasn’t overly sweet but VERY easy to drink! The moscato was paired with an absolutely melt-in-your-mouth duck liver parfait atop a piece of crispy sourdough and topped with a sliver of salty prosciutto.
Next up was the Pinot Grigio, a crisp white with notes of pear and a slight acidity that cut nicely through the sweetness of the Jerusalem artichoke and truffle soup with which the wine was paired.
The third wine was a Chardonnay served alongside a 63 degree egg and crab sausage. The wine offered fresh fruity flavours and was also deliciously buttery with lovely oak notes. The egg was perfectly runny and creamy which not only balanced the wine but also the light, sea-salty crab sausage.
We then started on the reds with a Pinot Noir which was described by Jeff as having “forest floor flavours”. It was rich and vibrant with a velvety finish – perfect for a cool afternoon! This wine was matched with a quail ballotine and mushroom duxelle which was a lovely balance of salty, sweet and hearty.
The second red was the Cabernet Sauvignon paired with smoked brisket and horseradish aioli. The wine was also quite rich with interesting hints of tomato leaf and capsicum, along with berry notes. It was deep and warming, which was especially lovely on a cold afternoon! The meat-based canape was also hearty and the tangy aioli cut through the heaviness nicely.
We finished the tasting with the vineyard’s 8000 Vintages which had a sweet, Christmas cake-like flavour and was just about a dessert in itself. The matching canape was a Willowbrae goat cheese & caramelised onion tart which was a great finishing touch to a delectable line up of food and wine.
The pop up was the perfect little insight into the Tractorless Vineyard and Jeff’s passion for good wine! We think a little road trip to the vineyard is on the cards for us…
The Countesses dined and drank as guests of Tractorless Vineyard.