A picnic at Kerri Greens

Joan has new sunglasses. They're too big for her face, covering more than half of it when she wears them, yet somehow they manage to stay perched on her sweet little nose. Since Ben bought them for her a week ago, they've rarely left her face or hands. She takes great pride in putting them on (and only sometimes wears them upside down), and then, when she's finished, she'll carefully fold and place them on the table, frames facing up. 

Last weekend we were invited to the cellar door launch of a new winery on the Mornington Peninsula. Joan wore her sunglasses, of course, and the three of us headed off on a family date. Kerri Greens is run by young, talented winemakers, Tom Mccarthy and Lucas Blanck, and their partners, Sarah and Alyce. We toured the cellar door and barrel room, which are made of cement water tank-like structures - so cool and clever. They are also powered by solar, and their electricity bill in the previous year was less than $10. Again, so cool and clever. They don't use preservatives in their wine, everything is organically grown, they just use the land, their skills and patience.

I grew up working in various vineyard restaurants across the Peninsula, but never gained a good understanding of the winemaking process. Tom and Sarah talked us through their different wines (we even got to taste some Hickson Chardonnay directly from the barrel - AMAZING) and for once I felt like the entire wine-tasting thing was approachable. Not to mention, insanely delicious. Ben and I bought 5 bottles to take home - some to keep and some to give some as gifts this Christmas. First, though, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the lawn. Every weekend over summer, Kerri Green's cellar door will be open and you can come and enjoy a glass or bottle while enjoying the beautiful, green view. They encourage you to BYO picnic goodies (how rad is that?!) or you can pre-order picnic hampers from The Long Table, as was kindly provided for us, and pick them up on your way to the winery (or gather goodies from nearby Red Hill Cellar and Pantry). They have two more summer sessions running, with live music and Hop Nation beer - head over to their website or Facebook page for more details. I wasn't asked to do a blog post on our experience, but I wanted to write about it because I am truly so happy that Kerri Greens are making wine on the Peninsula. Good people doing good things. I'm also truly excited about more summer days like this one.
 

Heidi xo