Murrumbateman 2023

Murrumbateman is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Only a short drive from Canberra, Murrumbateman is a cool climate wine region offering 20 world-class boutique wineries.

Having made a brief stop at Murrumbateman on my month-long Sydney-Melbourne-Sydney road trip, I was taken aback by the quality and range of wine that the region had to offer. I knew that I had to plan an entire weekend to soak in the full experience and try more wineries. Only a month later, I saw myself back at Abode, a stylish accomodation that offers everything from clean rooms to a pantry as well as free bikes! This time with friends - Adi, Dhwani and Manmeet.

On friday, we began our drive in the morning from Sydney, driving through the city traffic until we hit the motorway. As we were jamming to the road trip playlists and having deep discussions about life, we started to feel hungry - realising we all were starving since the night before. Having already drive to Murrumbateman before, I suggested driving through Berrima - a cute historic town full of character and charm. At Baked in Berrima, we drenched our sugar cravings and continued driving until we got to the iconic Trappers Bakery for some pies and some photos with The Big Merino! Following the hot pies, as is culturally appropriate, we walked to the nearest Maccas to get a caramel sundae.

Murrumbateman only has one decent food option and it is not open for dinner. There are also no convenience stores barring a petrol station. So, it is a good idea to carry groceries or food beforehand. With this in mind, we got some Subway sandwiches and other snacks for later in the day.

As we closed in on our destination, the weather started to worsen, blue skies turned into grey clouds and the drive over the next 20 minutes was dominated by a scary thunderstorm. Luckily, we were not too far out and we got through without any mishaps. We rested and unpacked for a few minutes before driving to Four Winds Wineyard to try some of their wine and the Woodfire pizza. Unfortunately, we were a tad late and they were not taking any more food orders. We finished our wine tasting at the cellar and drove back to our accomodation slightly disappointed. We got some wine from the pantry that we really enjoyed while playing board games. After a few drinks, we all were pumped up to deal with some "Cards Against Humanity". Following a few hours of laughs and giggles, we devoured our Subway sandwiches and watched a movie before we fell asleep.

The next morning, we walked to the Farmer's Market to experience what the region had to offer and were pleasantly surprised with the volume and variety of the local produce. We took our time to soak in the live music, walking around the park enjoying home-baked French desserts and coffees, and conversations with some very welcoming locals.

After a few hours at the market, I got on a push bike to go wine tasting while the others went ahead in the car. After a challenging uphill ride, I was finally able to catchup to the group at Shaw Wines where we had a complimentary wine tasting from Abode. Shaw Wines boasted a large estate - the biggest in the region with a fancy restaurant. The wines were not something I would usually drink but the staff was hospitable and showed us a good time.

After a few standard drinks, I decided to drop the bike back and continue the rest of the day in the car. As opposed to the grandeur of Shaw, our next stop was at a young, new-ish winery, The Vintner's Daughter. Smaller in size, yet, a gorgeous vineyeard with warm, cosy seating and lots of puppies. The owner generously offered us some blankets to go with the heaters so we could enjoy our wines next to the flourishing vineyard. I enjoyed some the wines and ended up buying some to bring back to Sydney.

At night, we continued drinking wine at the accomodation and finished the movie from the previous night before going to bed early - tired and tipsy 😛.

Next morning, we decied to use the opportunity and time on our hands to spend some time in Canberra. We left Murrumabteman early to beat the morning traffic and we made our first stop at Eighty/Twenty for a delicious brunch. We were all extremely happy with everything we got. I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh hollandaise sauce with my eggs benny.

On a bright sunny day, after a perfectly well balanced brunch, we got some electric scooters and rode around the block bringing out the kid within us experiencing innocent childish joy. After 30 minutes of reliving our teenage years, we parked the scooters and drove to the Parliament House. There, after taking some pictures, we headed onto to the rooftop to get a panoramic view of Canberra and spend some time lying down in the green grass soaking the sun. Having been to Canberra before but never to the National Art Gallery of Australia, we decided to visit while it was open and spent some time there.

Our last stop before heading back to Sydney was at Le Bon Melange where we had some of the best cheesecakes we've ever had. Freshly baked on the day, with a well balanced mix of flavours and depth, the cakes made for the perfect ending to our weekend getaway. As the sun set over our trip, we drove through a beautiful sunset and got back home feeling rejuvenated and already looking forward to our next trip.