Winery: Producers of McLaren Vale
126 Branson Road, McLaren Vale
http://www.producers.net.au/index.html
Function: Hallelujah
A Leonard Cohen Pre-Concert Lunch

Prior to the magical concert of Leonard Cohen for A Day on the Green
with Paul Kelly & Augie March at Leconfield Winery, we had a long leisurely lunch at Producers of McLaren Vale.

There were 7 of us in the group including my children.

On arrival, we were greeted with some fantastic Riesling. Three vintages were offered: 2006, 2007, and 2008. The 2006 was by far the best, and complimented beautifully the goat curd on crostini with Producers olive oil drizzled on top.
We were also served a lovely duck liver pate on crostini and olives. They were very generous with the wine, and our group left with a few bottles of the "Wally's Block" Riesling 2006 ($20). "Tori", who organised the function, was very accommodating and friendly with my children which I really appreciated. She made sure they had something to drink and that they were happy.

We were seated at a long table, in a room with a lovely view over the vineyard and the Willunga Hills. The group was smaller than I would have imagined, with less than 30 taking advantage of the close proximity to the concert.

The lunch was served as a cold lunch, which being such an incredibly hot day, was a perfect idea.

Mt Compass Tenderloin served with Horseradish Cream. The cream was perfectly light, with just enough horseradish for a bit of bite. The tenderloin was cooked perfectly. A lovely tender medium rare.

The potatoes were lovely, crunchy and light.

The green beans were presented in the most unique way!! Cooked fantastically, they were then topped with almonds and grated egg. The whites and yolk were grated separately, giving a stunning presentation with the green white and yellow combination.

This was my absolute favourite! I love beetroot and this dish was perfect with goat curd and pistachio nuts. YUM!

The chicken was cooked beautifully and was perfect served cold.

In general the lunch was fantastic. The price of $80 a head was very reasonable considering the wine that we drank. Not only was there never- ending riesling offered with the crostini, we were also offered Cab Sauv and Shiraz during our lunch. I did find the price for the kids at $70 excessive, however I understand that if they were occupying a seat that could have been filled by an adult, they would have to charge that.

The buffet style of serving the food as it seemed to "cheapen" the experience. I think someone serving each person seated, then placing the food on the table, would have been better.

After such a long lunch, and a few glasses of wine, we would have really appreciated a coffee. Especially when they served us decadent mulberries and Alexandrina cream, but it was not offered.

After having lunch here, I visited their web site (as above) and was really excited to see they had wine and cheese making courses and so much more. Take a look at the "Producer's Calender"... so many fantastic things to offer!