Fergusson Winery – Yarra Valley

Fergusson winery restaurant

We were kindly greeted by Jason, the front house manager, who seated us next to the fireplace. They use this fireplace to cook their spitroasts on during the weekends. Wayne, the chef who has been cooking in the kitchen at Fergusson for over 20 years, explained to us how they prepare this spit roast.  They purchase a beef leg which usually weighs between 60 – 70 pounds, and they put it over the fire at 6am. It takes around 6 -7 hours to cook, so it is cooked in time for lunch. we missed out on trying the spit as we arrived too late in the afternoon, but we did see them taking the roast away.

chandelier in restuarant

They specialise in their lunch buffets to cater for the large number of tour groups they get through, but they also do  a la carte menu too. We tried a couple of dishes.

Salad of Avocado

This is the avocado salad with deep fried camembert cheese, drizzled with port & red currant glaze. The camembert cheese was nicely coated and definitely goes well with avocado. I especially loved the port & red currant glaze, the rich flavour just made this dish so special.

Porterhouse Steak

The porterhouse steak was served with a mushroom & muscat cream sauce, onions, cracked pepper mash and greens. We always love a steak cooked to perfection, and this certainly did not disappoint, I could definitely do with some of that muscat cream sauce at home.

House Made Bread with herbed butter

Being a winery, you can’t have a meal and not order some of their wines. We started off with a glass of Ned’s Red Cabernet Merlot and also Fergusson Estate Jeremy Shiraz. These were beautiful tasting reds, and the great thing about it is you have the opportunity to purchase these wines when you leave.

Restaurant Dining Area

Fergusson Winery is a family owned and run business, Louise Fergusson is now in charge of running the business while her sons are busy cooking in the kitchen of the restaurant. They have even named their wines after the members of the family, even naming one after the dog Bronson! Here is a list of the Wines and who they are named after:

2008 Victoria Chardonnay – Daughter (a twin with Jeremy)

fergusson open fire place

2008 Shiraz Rose Faye – Mum

2006 Louise Pinot Noir – Louise is the manager

2005 Jeremy Shiraz – Son (a twin with Victoria)

2005 Benjamyn Cabernet Sauvignon – Son

Bronson Forte Cabernet – Dog

And a new wine which they are still currently preparing is “FABWAH”  Pinot Gri – named after Jason.

We were lucky to try the Louisse Pinot Noir with our dessert before we left. This had a beautiful rich flavour, not to mention the aroma of the wine, sensational!!

Vanilla Panna Cotta

For dessert I ordered the Vanilla Panna Cotta which was served with a brandy snap filled with cream and a berry sauce drizzled on top. Compliments to the chefs on this fine food.

As some of you may be aware, last year in February when bush fires engulfed much of Victoria, this area was hard hit. It’s been 20 months since black saturday and the mountains and trees around the area are still black. Fergusson Winery was lucky to survive, with the fire coming up only 20 metres from the restaurant. Because of the extreme fires and smoke they lost their vines, so they were not able to produce wine in 2009. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get back to where they are now. The vines are starting to come back and begin making more wine.

I highly recommend you visit this beautiful place, they haave so much to offer, including accomodation, chapel, and functions. If you plan to dine here on Sundays they suggest you book in advance, as they are usully fully booked out.