On The Grapevine

with David Ellis

Tasting success of café culture

Sydney lawyers and viticulturists, Ivan and Susan Judd, have joined the many who today consider an on-site café just as important as their cellar door for keeping the books in the black - and customers coming back.

Juggling professional careers and a longing to own their own vineyard, in 2001 the Judds bought Majors Lane vineyard in the Lovedale area of the Hunter Valley. The property had started life as a vineyard in the 1920s, seen its vines pulled out after the Great Depression in favour of grazing, and then in 1987 was re-planted to Semillon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and 700 olive trees.

After the Judds took over they invited Alasdair Sutherland from Capercaillie to make their white wines and David Hook of Pothana their reds, and while Ivan still commutes to Sydney for his legal practice, Susan now runs the cellar door full-time, and helps create innovate menu ideas with chef Ben Sales, whose flair is providing a mouth-watering enticement to drop into Majors Lane.

In 1995 Hunter-born Ben became the-then youngest qualified chef in NSW, after balancing an apprenticeship with school studies.

"The apprenticeship was with a group of restaurants up the coast who had in mind using me at these as needed," Ben recalls. "But they'd forgotten one thing: I had qualified at under-18, and was too young to get a driver's licence to get from place to place!"

Ben's dishes (priced from $13-$22) are based on fresh fruits, vegetables, premium meats and seafoods, and local speciality cheeses - plus olives from the winery's own trees.

Try his Thai-style salmon and shellfish cakes with tomato and basil salad and citrus mayonnaise (match with Majors Lane '03 Semillon from the cellar door); lamb fillet pie with roasted garlic mash and eschalot jus (match with '03 Shiraz); and mascapone and raspberry cheesecake with mint and chocolate anglaise (team with the 2004 Rosé.) Phone (02) 4930 7832 for trading hours.