Paringa Estate

Chef Julian Hills (ex-Courthouse Hotel, North Melbourne) has lifted Paringa several notches. The food is ambitious, without being overworked, with a lightness of touch and refined technique. Dunk warm house-baked rolls (sourdough, olive, a malty dark roll made with Red Hill beer) into local olive oil or smear with white anchovy butter. Adventurous touches - perhaps yellowfin tuna paired with translucent calamari (confited sous vide, and shaved) or local berries with a light, crumbly sheet of dehydrated choc mousse - add interest. Quail breast might come boned, rolled and cooked to a deep pink, then cut into three fat little coins, and served with a 'brulee' of foie gras and morello cherries. For mains, duck may be a twice-cooked breast and a braised leg. For dessert, sticky lemon cake and wild blackberry sorbet may feature. The dated, low-key dining room with terracotta tiled floor and cellar door sales at the rear lacks the wow factor of other winery restaurants and was being tweaked at press time. But the outlook compensates, with vines and a flock of waddling geese.