Merilba Estate is a vertically integrated vineyard, winery and cellar door business operated by the Cassidy family. Situated at Kingstown, it is central to the major centres of Inverell, Armidale and Tamworth and has recently gained national recognition in James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion and the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide.
In August, Merilba Estate was awarded a four star rating in the prestigious Halliday publication. Two wines from the Merilba Estate stable received the highly desirable score of 90/100. Wines scoring these points are judged by the publication to be ‘highly recommended wines of great quality, style and character, worthy of a place in any cellar’.
This month the Merilba Estate Cellar Door was awarded a score of 13.5/20 in the 2012 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. With the Cellar Door open for just over twelve months, it is quite an achievement to score so well as a new listing. The publication stated, ‘..it is quite something to walk into the historic shearing shed and be greeted by the owner’s welcoming smile.Recycled timbers abound and picture windows frame painterly views of the Honeysuckle Range. Kassy has sensibly kept things simple and created a small but appealing lunch menu that complements her husband’s wines’.
The Cellar Door is the final stage in the development of the Merilba wine business and it is where the family’s concept of food and wine partnerships really come together. As much produce as possible is sourced from the family garden – eggs from the hens and other produce sourced locally where possible. When asked about the concept, Shaun Cassidy (winemaker and Managing Director) said, “Our Cellar Door is a relatively new addition to our wine business. From the outset, we wanted to marry food and wine. To receive the wonderful reviews from Halliday and the Good Food Guide is recognition of the success of the concept. It is exactly what we wanted to achieve at Merilba, and is a sign of what the whole region has to offer.”
The Merilba notion of food and wine is further demonstrated at events like The Butcher, the Baker and the Winemaker held in June and the Milonga at Merilba on the October long weekend Sunday, where local beef and pork featured on the Argentine grill and the Tango music floated into the afternoon.
The Merilba vineyard and winery consists of 30 acres of vines including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc and the largest winery in the region. It sources fruit such as Tempranillo and Gwurtztraminer from other high altitude vineyards in the New England region. It processes and bottles its own product on site and also processes fruit on a contract basis for other local vignerons situated in the region.
