What is a trip to the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast without a stop-over to a local Vineyard? The weather was perfect (well, perfect for a taste or three) of something to warm the cockles of your heart!
Flame Hill Vineyard - Image: Elaine de Wet
And, along came the Flame Hill Vineyard and Restaurant - a superb locale four hundred and twenty metres above sea level and at the highest point in Montville, on the Blackall Range. Flame Hill creates one hundred percent estate-grown wines, hand-harvested and sourced from plantings up to eighty years old. Flame Hill has a range of their own farm products, an award-winning Restaurant, on-site luxury cottage accommodation and specific signature events, like the annual Stomp grape harvest festival, which all assist to boost the Queensland wine-tourism experience.
'Flame Hill is a true paddock-to-plate venue, where cuisine, wine, scenery, setting and hospitality are all in harmony' - thanks to Flame Hill's website.
Rich, warm, welcoming colours - Image: Elaine de Wet
The exterior of the Cellar Door and Restaurant were fairly unassuming, but upon entering, the colours would blow your mind - in case, you'd never noticed, I love colours, anything in a colour immediately appeals to me. Hubby asks me, what car would you like, I respond I don't mind as long as the colour is right; choice of any alcoholic beverage for me, the colour is usually the deciding factor - a real connoisseur.
Wines and Gifts on Display - Image: Elaine de Wet
Decorated in warm shades of red, with a very welcoming indoor fire place all lends itself to a vineyard offering true hospitality with a welcoming ambience of kindness, service and of course, wine.
Fireplace to warm the cockles of your heart - Image: Elaine de Wet
As we had already had lunch, the Restaurant was a no-go area, but we settled back to enjoy some incredible wine tastings - three on the house or six for $6 and what superb wines these were. With the weather being a bit cooler, I opted for something a little more on the sweet side:- a Pinot Gris - a little on the dry side for me, but beautifully refreshing; a Summersault - which is a blended white wine dominated by Muscat Blanc from Flame Hill's Kurrajong vineyard, perfect for drinking with a cheese platter, it was light, very palatable and refreshing; and the Wild Child (don't you just love the name) - an aromatic off-dry, perfect for summer wine that would definitely appeal to the playful nature in all of us.
Cenosillicaphobia - the fear of an empty glass - I can definitely relate - Image: Elaine de Wet
Needless to say, we didn't walk away empty-handed, coming away with an extra four bottles of wine - our wine rack is a bit low since our last overseas visitors is our argument and we're sticking to it.
A tasting of Flame Hill's farm products - Image: Elaine de Wet
Flame Hill Vineyard offers guests a selection of cottages, from one bedroom to three bedrooms, so if you're looking for somewhere special to stay, with the most extraordinary views, 2.2kms outside Montville Village, I would suggest this would be the perfect spot - convenient enough to be able to access everything this fantastic area has to offer, but away from the general busy-ness of the tourist strip that is Montville Village.
Surveyor of the Vineyards - Image: Elaine de Wet
