The Cellar Kitchen at Avani Wines
Indian$$
A cellar door bathed in midday sun and the warmth of a family enterprise.
Since 1998, the Singh family have tended the vines you see from your table. After five years hosting many of Melbourne’s most exciting chefs for pop-ups in the mud-brick cellar door, they’ve now added a permanent menu of their own. Taking traditions from across India, the kitchen spins them in new directions. Aromatic chilli jam dresses milky burrata cheese, while a more classic Goan snack sees soft white rolls packed with clove-enriched chorizo.
Gorgeously alive wines, spanning nutty chardonnay to juicy syrah, match the likes of chana dhal decisively spiced with garam masala and star anise. A dry curry of lamb holds surprising lushness, courtesy of generous quantities of ghee; fold it between curls of hot paratha.
A help-yourself bowl of lemons sits at the entrance, steel tanks of wine ferment behind you, parents and children wander up and down the deck: a perfect day out.
Good to know: Tasting flights start at $50 for four pours, and can be paired with snacks from the menu.
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