Pankhurst Wines — Attraction in Wallaroo

The second of two wineries my friends and I visited that day, Pankhurts impressed us with its personal touch, intimate setting, exceptional view and very charming owners.

We arrived in the afternoon and were greeted by Christine, who has a very friendly demeanour, quiet pride and patience in scores. The tasting was done by both Allan and Christine. Allan was so warm and once we started asking questions, was full of wonderful passion and personal anecdotes about the wines. Of course, 7-month old Jed is hard to beat, with his incredibly gentle nature and endless energy. While Allan and Christine generously offered to move him away from the 6-month old baby we had with us, Jed was gentle and curious with her.

The tasting ($15pp) covered whites, rose, reds and a sparkling red to end the experience. Overall the wines were full of personality and very different to each other. For me, the whites were a standout, although the sparkling and plum reds were both very special. For our friends not participating, they brought beautiful glasses of sparkling non-alcoholic options - beautifully fruity but not too sweet.

The cheese boards ($30 for 2-3 people) were a surprising standout. A combination of large lavosh crackers, jam, and Tilba and Meredith Dairy cheeses, not a crumb was left. The cheeses paired beautifully with the wines and the non-alcoholic option - similarly to the wines, the cheeses chosen had personality and we were fighting over the last bits.

If you're after a pared-back, personal and unique experience, spend the day in the sun...

Stunning wines! Lovely friendly service by the owner too. He joined us for tastings on a beautiful (albeit quite windy) sunny saturday. Very passionate and knowledgeable and happy to talk is through all the selection. Had a great amount of tastings of lots of new and old favourites, down to a lovely dessert wine. The place has an outside table at the front and some places to sit inside but the space is the back of their shed where you do tastings so no kitchen for coffee or meals. They do cheese platters (I believe). Worth a stop...

Went here for fireside wine tasting with cheese and wine platters. What a gorgeous place! Scenery was beautiful and Christine was a wonderful host who explained each wine and cheese pairing with warmth and not a hint of pretension. My friend and I loved each wine tried with particular favourites being the Semillon Sav Blanc, Marsanne and Cab Merlot. Also highly recommend the Pinot Chutney! We went away knowing a little more about the wines in the Canberra region and definitely recommend coming here...