Wine X Sam
Star Cellar Door
The name says it all, really. ‘Sam’ is Sam Plunkett, and he and his wife, Bronwyn, are about to do something that few have ever envisaged for a cellar door. No, it’s not a restaurant, and there will be no distillery on the side (although there promises to be excellent coffee and some cheeses). In the new Wine x Sam cellar door, which has been coming together for the best part of a year inside a former dye works factory in the heart of Seymour, you – the wine lover – will have the best seat in the house, deep inside the centre of operations otherwise known as the winery. Here, you can enjoy a glass of wine or a coffee and/or a cheese platter while seeing, up close, winemakers going about their daily work. Questions can be asked, a tour organised and even tastings out of barrel can be arranged. “People just want a stickybeak ,” says Sam. “I’m doing this because it’s the kind of stuff I enjoy. It’s all about the wine with a degree of education.”
You might have heard of Sam before. He and his family are Strathbogie Ranges pioneers – they started Plunkett Wines, then joined with the Fowles family to make a splash as Plunkett Fowles, and then uncoupled themselves a few years back. And here he is, continuing to explore great, mineral-driven “Bogie” shiraz and riesling under his The Victorian label and a host of suitable varieties, including savagnin.
The new Wine x Sam winery was up and running for the 2017 vintage and the cellar door will be open from May. Expectations are high indeed and the wines spot on, hence the star rating. This will be one special cellar door experience. JENI PORT
OUTSTANDING WINE: 2014 Wine x Sam The Victorian Strathbogie Shiraz, A$20