Jessica Audas’s hospitality journey took her through the doors of some of Australia’s best big-city restaurants – Sydney heavy-hitters Rockpool and Momofuku Seiobo among them – before taking a Victorian country turn in 2017 when she swapped the urban world for the vines, settling in Gippsland with her husband, James, and turning their passion into produce with ARC Wines.
Now, as Head of Revel, she gets to bring all that experience into one role. She’s all about celebrating great food, better wine, and the people who make it all happen, and that’s exactly the energy she’s bringing to Mould x Pinot Palooza, which brings together the country’s biggest pinot party with its favourite cheese festival. The hoedown comes to Melbourne on the weekend of 4 and 5 July, but in the meantime here’s Jess with her take on drinking well in Victoria.
The last three delicious Victorian things I drank were…Seaview Ridge Bullswamp Syrah drinks like northern Rhône, but made by the extremely talented Simon Jones right here in Gippsland. Schmolzer & Brown Obstgarten Riesling Selection is a kabinett style riesling from the wonderful hands of Tessa Brown. And Gurney’s Tepache – a traditional Mexican pineapple drink with a cider twist! This is an ode to Francesco from Trulli Meeniyan, who doesn’t like pineapple on a pizza, and I happen to like both – this pineapple cider drink and pineapple on my pizza.
When someone hands me a drinks list, I order a cocktail and then head straight to the riesling section; I opt for a dry or off-dry style perfect any time of the year. When we go out we like to play options games where we all select three bottles of wine and we order the one that we overlap on.
As far as I’m concerned, the defining place to get a drink in Victoria is Old Palm Liquor in Brunswick East. It’s the perfect place to find the up-and-coming producers of Victoria. They have a large selection of wines on offer and the staff are always keen to recommend their favourites as well.
My favourite place to buy wine is Mr West, in Footscray. They always have a great wine selection and diverse selection of craft beers. The guys always do great pop up events supporting the drinks industry, too.
I’d love to see us planting more chenin blanc in Victoria. I think it’s a variety that could be really suited to wider plantings across my home region of Gippsland. I love that it produces a wine of fresh acidity and versatility as a white grape. It’s also suitable for making sparkling wines in the cooler years through to dry chenins and even sweeter styles. Need I say more?
My guilty pleasure at the bar is an Espresso Martini. If you’ve ever sat and had a drink with me at a bar you know I’ll be the first to order one. I like mine made with Grada Coffee + Spirit, it’s the best, and you do not need to add any other product, just shake it over ice. (If you want to go deep, I suggest a dryer style of ice to shake it with, poured straight into a chilled glass.) She’s smooth, silky and hard to stop after one.
The Victorian spirit I’m loving most right now is Starward Whisky’s Nova. It’s a single malt aged in red wine barrels. They distil in Port Melbourne where you can visit them and have a drink at the bar. I love it neat, but I’m also fond of a whisky and lemonade (don’t come for me).
The best or most important change to the way we drink in Victoria in recent years has been that we care more about what we’re drinking. I find that younger consumers want to know how the drinks are made, how they’re farmed, and who’s making them. They crave a connection to the makers and want to know their stories; are they farming or buying fruit, what are the farming practices, what vessels they use and why? I think this has become the pinnacle of how we drink and importantly we want to share these stories with our friends and family when we drink.
The other most important change has also been an increase and interest in no- and low-alc drinks in recent years. I think this comes back to people caring about what they are consuming and with this comes balance and choice to opt for an alternative. I absolutely love T.I.N.A drinks for this reason, and they make some seriously delicious canned options.
Speaking of cans, I should also flag alternative packaging as an important trend. We produce an immense amount of waste in the packaging of our products, which has prompted producers to look more at canned, keg or cask options over bottles
For me, the most inspiring person in the Victorian drinks world is any woman who manages both a family and a business. Lisa Jenkins from Fleet Wines has been a tremendous source of inspiration through my wine journey, particularly when I ran our vineyards, and winery and I have total admiration for her and the brand she and her husband, Justin, have created. Their cellar door and farm in Leongatha is a true testament to their love of the land and how they too want to leave the parcel of land in a better condition than they were handed it. A holistic approach to the wine world – truly inspiring.
Mould x Pinot Palooza Melbourne, 4-5 July, Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, from $59, pinotpalooza.com.au, @mouldcheese, @pinotpalooza