The Grampians wine region is just over an hour up the road from Ballarat, it has a long history of producing exceptional Shiraz and Riesling. More recent plantings of Spanish and Italian varieties are producing some amazing wines.

In 2025, we managed to get our hands on a parcel of Tempranillo from the Toomey Vineyard between Ararat and Great Western. The wines were fermented in small open fermenters using a mix of wild and innoculated yeasts. Aged in 40% new oak (Sirugue and Francois Freres) and bottled without fining or filtration.

The resulting wines have gorgeous primary fruit charcters of blueberries and dark fruits, with lovely moderate tannins that sit somewhere between Pinot Noir and Shiraz. This would be a great combination with Lamb Shoulder.