“A light shiraz with a lovely hint of cherry on the nose and in the finish. It didn’t overwhelm the flavour of the venison. Top marks.” Wine columnist RICHARD CALVER enjoys a a 2017 Madman’s Gully Syrah.

One of my favourite places for bushwalking is around Beechworth in northeast Victoria. 

On a recent three-day stay there, a friend and I walked trails in Beechworth and Bright. 

We ate and drank well, staying in the heart of the Beechworth village that has more than 30 National Trust-listed buildings, providing a glimpse of what life would have been like in the mid-to-late 19th century. 

The first night in town, we went to Tanswells Hotel for dinner, a pub that started in the 1850s and which has been well maintained architecturally.

On offer was a wild-venison schnitzel served with a wombok (Chinese cabbage) and pickled ginger slaw. Having had venison in a number of forms before and enjoyed the rich, gamy meat, I chose this special, as did my friend.

When the saucer-sized schnitzels arrived my friend remarked: “Must have been a bloody big deer.” 

Neither of us could finish the meal. And we didn’t even get a buck off. 

Venison is a leaner meat than beef and so we looked to order a Giaconda Nantua Shiraz with its full fruit characteristics and many pinot noir elements, ideal for gamy meat. Alas the pub was out of stock of this wine. Instead the server suggested a 2017 Madman’s Gully Syrah, also a local wine.

It was cheaper than the Giaconda and a good complement to the venison. It was a light shiraz, almost translucent in the glass but with a lovely hint of cherry on the nose and in the finish.

It was delicate but mouth filling and didn’t overwhelm the flavour of the venison. Top marks.

I called the mobile number listed on the Madman’s Gully website, but there was no response. It seems the winery has been sold. 

Following the next day’s bushwalking, we didn’t feel like wine. A refreshing beer was the better choice. We headed to the Beechworth brewery, Bridge Road Brewers, that serves mostly pizzas but has a range of other Italian food on offer as well as a large range of beers. We ordered a pale ale and gnocchi. 

The next day we had a chance to compare the Bridge Road pale ale with the same beer made by Bright Brewery.

After walking two trails that followed the swollen Ovens River, we were again thinking more along the lines of a beer than a glass of wine.

The Bright regular IPA was hoppier than the same brew from Beechworth and not to our taste. But the MIA IPA was very, very pleasant after exercise. with bright citrus, and with a hoppy flavour but not as overwhelming as in some IPAs. We sat on the brewery’s expansive verandah and enjoyed the end of the Indian summer day.

The journey between Beechworth and Bright, fraught because of the number of potholes. My friend said that this had become an election issue, given the poor condition of Victorian roads, including along the Hume Highway.

We passed the Gapstead Estate winery entrance with a prominent “for sale” sign. Many wineries seem to be closing or removing their vines, which is a pity.

I recall, during a cycling trip more than a decade ago, sitting at a table at Gapstead enjoying a lunch platter with a glass of dry High Country prosecco and enjoying the feeling that just one glass brings after hard physical work. 

“No matter how deeply you come to know a place, you can keep coming back to know it more.” –Rebecca Solnit, author. 

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