Hunter Valley winery Brokenwood Wines will launch a restaurant and casual eatery, with hospitality veterans Andrew and Janet Wright to run the two new dining offerings, The Wood Restaurant and Cru Bar + Pantry.
The new additions, set to open on 7 December, are part of Brokenwood’s redevelopment, which centers around a fresh Cellar Door featuring tasting bars — known as “pods” — plus an expansive outdoor terrace, two private tasting rooms, two private dining room and a wine museum.
UK-born husband and wife team, Andrew (head chef) and Janet (front-of-house) have operated The Cellar Restaurant in Hunter Valley Gardens for the past 18 years.
As the Cellar Door’s modern dining room, The Wood Restaurant will serve up contemporary Australian dishes, many of which will be cooked in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven. Using local Australian produce wherever possible, the space will also present fresh seafood form the Sydney Fish Market in a market-style display. The extensive wine list will offer Brokenwood wines, as well as “friends of Brokenwood” from across the globe. The food menu has been designed to pair especially well with Brokenwood’s flagship wines, the Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz and ILR Reserve Semillon.
Casual eatery, Cru Bar + Pantry, will serve a selection of shared plates, cheese and charcuterie, wood-fired pizza made to order, coffee, homemade pies, toasties, sweets, and picnic packs. The café will also feature an Enomatic self-serve dispenser which will serve a selection of premium and rare wines that would not ordinarily be available for tasting.
“We have an amazing relationship with Iain [Riggs AM, managing director and chief winemaker] and the Brokenwood team,” says head chef Wright. “The Cellar has been our home for the last 18 years, but we’re ready for a new and exciting adventure and couldn’t think of a better place to do that than at Brokenwood.”