Jon McDonald of Dear Prudence at Verity Lane Market is excited to bring boutique Tassie wines to Canberra. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
There’s a certain synchronicity between Canberra and Tasmania wine regions. Both are cool climate, and specialise in similar varietals – chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir, shiraz – and are populated by small, boutique labels.
Both are often overlooked for the larger, better known regions like Barossa and Hunter Valleys or Margaret River but punch above their weight when it comes to quality.
Verity Lane is celebrating Canberra and Tasmanian wines with a one-night-only urban cellar door event: Southern Oscillations x CBR Cellar to City.
Jon McDonald from Verity Lane’s wine bar Dear Prudence comes from a background in wine purchasing and worked in Tasmania for several years, so he’s well placed to facilitate these connections.
“There’s a real affinity between the regions, so it will be interesting to see the comparisons and ties between the two,” he told Region.
“These are all tiny operations, many of them family run. It’s a chance to shine a spotlight on small producers, which is a similar approach to how we platform local wines at Dear Prudence.”
Southern Oscillations showcases eight Tasmanian wineries you don’t often see in Canberra. Photo: Supplied, Southern Oscillations.
The event will be held upstairs at Verity Lane in its functions space.
It will feature eight Tasmanian winemakers and five Canberra winemakers and will run over two sessions. The open format is casual: attendees will receive a premium wine glass on arrival and can taste their way around the room over two hours.
Snacks will be provided by the Verity Lane team. There will be the opportunity to purchase bottles to take home on the day and Dear Prudence will also be selling wines by the glass if you’d like to settle in with your favourite drop once the event is done.
The Tasmanian wineries include small-batch, low-tech winemaker Future Perfect, certified organic Utzinger Wines, Sonnen Wines (the side project of highly regarded viticulturist Luke Andree) and premium sparkling specialists Henskens Rankin.
Rivulet Wines – made by Young Gun of Wine 2023 finalist Keira O’Brien – will also be attending, bringing wines made from Tasmania’s oldest commercial chardonnay plantings.
Dear Prudence wine bar at Verity Lane Market showcases a range of boutique wines. Photo: Supplied, Verity Lane Market.
While reticent to choose a favourite, Jon has a few wines he’s particularly looking forward to trying.
“They’re all great wineries, but I’m most excited for Future Perfect because you don’t often get to see their wines in Canberra – they’re so niche. I’m also excited to see some of the new stuff from Canberra labels Vino Friendo and Stratosphere.”
Vino Friendo is a Canberra region boutique winery by Angus Raddon and Stratosphere wines are made by Lewis Martin, son of renowned Canberra winemaker Bryan Martin of Ravensworth Wines, who is also attending. They are joined by Linear and Mada wines.
If you’re not familiar with many (or any!) of these wine brands then that’s kind of the point. This is a chance to show off some brilliant wines who don’t make it to the shelves of large retailers, or on the wine lists of many restaurants.
Sip, compare and chat to the winemakers to find out more about this niche operations.
The event runs on a Friday evening: perfect for an after-work, or after-dinner drink.
Southern Oscillations will take place at Verity Lane Market, 50 Northbourne Avenue, on Friday 14 August. Sessions will run at 5 and 7:30 pm. Buy tickets and find out more. Follow Verity Lane Market on Facebook or Instagram.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
