Indulgence at Mount Cotton

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Commandeering a vehicle, we head south-east and are soon driving through thick bush and pleasant five acre lots near the edge of Moreton Bay. Our destination: the Sirromet Winery at Mount Cotton ......

The winery is testament to the work of its owner, direct marketing guru Terry Morris. Sirromet is only a few years old but already its wines are making connoisseurs take notice.
The winery combines wining with dining and we are suitably impressed when we walk into the imposing stone and timber building, perched on a hill, and take our seats in Lurleen's restaurant. There's a view of rolling pastures with a glimpse of Moreton Bay and North Stradbroke Island.

I'm tempted by the roasted green lentil and tomato garbure (a thick winter soup) with a smoked lamb merguez sausage but the piece d'resistance is the seared market fish (this being barramundi) on crispy pancetta wafers, braised tomato fondue and North African saffron sabayon.

The entrée is washed down with Sirromet's sparkling 1996 vintage pinot chardonnay and the main meal with the fruity Teewah (named after a beach near Noosa) - a blend of shiraz, semillon, sauvignon blanc and cab sav. After lunch, I feel gastronomically complete.

The word Sirromet might have French connotations (it's pronounced Sirromay), but the big secret, as revealed by our guide, is that the name is taken from the owner's initials and last name - T. E. Morris - spelt backwards. Lurleen's restaurant is named after his wife.

The wine is pure Queensland. Most of Sirromet's grapes are grown in two of Queensland's most productive wine areas - the Granite Belt and the South Burnett - with chambourcin grapes grown at Mount Cotton itself.

We head off for the cellar door and are offered samples of about 10 out of Sirromet's 22 wines. We're told there's a spittoon behind us but we take little advantage of it and are slightly wobbly by the end of the taste testing.

So we buy up big and with our handy designated driver behind the wheel of our car, we reminisce on our big day out as we head back into Brisbane. 

For more information:
Sirromet Winery
Tel +61 7 3206 2999

Story courtesy of Tourism Queensland