La Baracca Trattoria

T’Gallent Winery

1385 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Main Ridge

Last weekend as the sun began to shine and Melbourne revelled in its first taste of spring for the year we thought it was an opportune time to head south and into the peninsula heartlands. After zig zagging our way through Red Hill, stopping at various places to sample the local cheese, wine and even beer, we arrived at our final destination, T’Gallent Winery.

T’Gallent is a beautiful, rustic, Italian inspired winery. There are two separate areas in which visitors can either sit down and enjoy a bite to eat and a glass of pinot at La Baracca Trattoria, or alternatively try the Spuntino Bar which offers a more casual space and serves homemade pizzas straight from the wood fired oven.

Today we have a booking in the trattoria and after sampling the delicious wines at the cellar door we make our way over and take our place for the afternoon. We have decided on a chardonnay today, not a wine I would typically order but this variety, along with the Pinots, are the stars of the local area and hard to resist on a warm spring day. The restaurant is simple and rustic as is the winery itself. We are seated in a large open room with concrete floors and corrugated tin roof, and I feel as though we are sitting on the veranda of an old country home.

We start by ordering the daily pizza special with a topping of pesto, feta, potatoes, leek and asparagus, an unusual choice for us but a good decision as it is fantastic. The base of the pizza is thin and crispy, the potatoes are soft and seasoned to perfection while the pesto, feta and leek bring the dish to life. I’m not sure where the asparagus was but if forgotten it was not missed.

As we sit and wait for our main meals to arrive we take in the atmosphere of the winery around us, the place is alive with the buzz of people all out enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful wine. One thing is for certain, T’Gallent has a lovely, relaxed vibe and I am suddenly feeling very comfortable.  

Our mains arrive and we eagerly tuck in. Today I have ordered the spinach and ricotta gnocchi with slow-braised duck, mustard fruit and spinach. The portion is quite small and the gnocchi is placed one by one circling the brazed duck with a large amount of thin, gravy like sauce that unfortunately overpowers the rest of the dish. My first impressions are positive but do not knock my socks off. The gnocchi is a little firm for my liking and does not have the same melt in the mouth texture that I was hoping for. The sauce itself is very sweet and as the mustard fruits melt away it becomes quite sickly and I start to understand why the small portion. Also ordered was the pan-seared steak ‘of the moment’ which today is a sirloin accompanied with chats potatoes. The steak is tender but a little over done for the medium that was ordered.

Taking our time we decide to share a desert while we sip on the last of our chardy. We order their take on a lemon meringue pie, a mixture of lemon curd and crushed meringue pieces served in a glass tumbler. The desert is tasty, however, call me old fashioned but I do like the traditional version much more.

It has been a truly relaxed and enjoyable afternoon and as we make our way to the car park, via the pig pen at the rear, I am already looking forward to re-visiting, perhaps this time in the Spuntino Bar for some more of that delicious pizza.

Rates 12 O’s out of 20