Wine And Dine In Albany – Great Southern
As a part of Taste Great Southern, I was invited to attend a number of wine-focused events, but it also meant that I had some time to go off exploring.
I was hungry for Albany produce and local wine and I wanted an equally gorgeous setting, which, let’s be honest, isn’t that hard when you’re based in Albany.
I took to Google and searched away to find myself a lovely lunch spot and Garrison was my choice.
Perched on Mount Clarence, next to the ANZAC memorial, Garrison offers lovely views of Frenchman Bay.
Lunch And Wine At Garrison
When I arrived at Garrison, I made a bee-line for the window seat, just so I could catch a glimpse of the Bay.
Before getting to the food menu, I always peruse the wine menu and I was feeling like some Dukes Riesling after hearing about his recent success with James Halliday and Ray Jordan.
Next up was the food menu.
And there were plenty of options to try some local produce.
I opted to try a few small dishes as I was having lunch on my own and I wanted to taste as many different Albany treats as I could!
And boy was I full afterwards
First up was the Albany Sardines placed on top of a celeriac puree, Spanish tomatoes sauce and rocket.
Now I will have to admit, after having this dish, I will most likely not need to order Sardines again.
Not because it wasn’t a great dish, but rather the Sardine flavour, as I have found out, isn’t really my thing.
The celeriac puree, Spanish tomatoes sauce and rocket work perfectly and help me get through eating the Sardines, which I did eventually polish off
Second up was the crispy tofu, chickpea and turmeric batter with a chilli and ginger dipping sauce.
This was delicious. I’m a big fan of tofu and chilli and I thought that this would work perfectly with my glass of Riesling.
My third and final dish was by far my favourite. Generally, whenever I see dumplings on a menu, I’m going to order them.
The Dumplings contained cod, ginger and lemongrass with a black vinegar and chilli sauce. I could have just ordered these and I would have been one happy girl.
Southern Song Cocktail at Liberte
From Garrison, near the peak of Mount Clarence, I moved into town and found myself at Liberte.
Liberte is most recently known for their win at the 2019 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards, where they picked up Bar Of The Year. Not too bad for a regional venue in WA’s Great Southern.
Keryn Giles and the lovely team at Liberte in Albany created a cocktail specifically for Taste Great Southern: “Southern Song”.
You may have seen on the Travelling Corkscrew Facebook page that my partner and I had a couple of sneaky cocktails at the Taste Great Southern media launch at Must Wine Bar in Mount Lawley, so it would have been rude of me not to drop in, say hello and grab another delicious cocktail.
And who doesn’t love a wine cocktail!
If you’re looking to recreate this cocktail yourself, you can follow the recipe below:
Taste Great Southern Southern Song Cocktail
Ingredients
- 3/4oz Gin
- 3/4oz Suze
- 3/4oz Great Southern Riesling (we were treated to Low Boi, based in the Porongerups)
- 3/4oz Lemon Juice
- 1/4oz Passionfruit Shrub*
- 90ml Tonic Water
Method
- Shake and strain into a Collins glass.
- Top with Tonic Water.
- Add ice.
- Garnish with the pulp and juice of half a passionfruit
*To make the Passionfruit Shrub
- Muddle fresh passionfruit** with sugar. Use enough of each so that the mixture is quite dry.
- Add a good pinch of salt and leave overnight for the sugar to extract out the last of the juices.
- The following day add vinegar (equal parts to the sugar you used).
- Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Strain out the pulp.
**Tinned pulp can be substituted if fresh isn’t available.
Sparkling Wine at Due South
To end my day, I took a short stroll over to Due South, which worked out to be about a 7-minute walk (thanks Google!), where I opted for a glass of the Ferngrove sparkling at $9 a glass while I watched the sunset over the water.
And although I was on my own for the day, the staff at each venue were lovely, accommodating and friendly. A huge reason as to why I will be returning to Albany very soon (but with friends next time).
