Address: 249 Western Avenue, Montville 4560
Contacts: (07) 5478 5920
W: www.flamehill.com.au
Holiday Hours: Open seven days over the December and January Holidays 10.30 -5.30pm
Flame Hill Vineyard, cellar door and restaurant at Montville has raised the bar for the wine industry in Queensland.
Inspired by the standard of cellar door hospitality in places like Margaret River, owners Tony Thompson and Sharon Hogan have created a quality experience for food and wine lovers in Queensland.
Set high on a mountain ridge overlooking the lush Sunshine Coast hinterland with views to Mooloolaba, Flame Hill Vineyard delivers the whole experience of good wine, quality food and professional service.
The couple have stylishly renovated a country house with a series of French doors opening onto wide wrap around verandas and terraces, creating a sharp modern finish in a dramatic red, charcoal and timber palette
The complex, which houses indoor and alfresco dining, tasting rooms and private retreats, is set on their 100 acre vineyard and cattle property at Western Avenue, Montville.
The paddock to plate concept is imperative to Flamehill, with herbs, vegetables, fruit, beef and game birds all raised on the property for use in the kitchen.
French chef Patrick Bender has created menus and wine matches using local produce sourced from the Sunshine Coast and hinterland (well done Patrick!)
Patrick has taken a sea change to the Sunshine Coast after a career in four and five star hotels in St Moritz and Interlaken in Switzerland and Sydney. He has manned the stoves in the Observatory Hotel, Holiday Inn Menzies and Lord Nelson in Sydney.
The menus offer diners a range of food and wine experiences, including an a la carte menu, four course degustation menu, picnic on a plate, tapas tasting platter, cheese platters and even ‘prawns on the lawn’. (yummo!)
All options are accompanied by wine matches with the range of red and white estate grown wines made exclusively for this Queensland wine label. Twenty per cent of Flame Hill wines are made from estate grown grapes from their Montville vineyard by wine maker, Jason Hannay.
Five different tasting experiences are hosted by Sharon and her trained cellar door consultants, catering for groups from six to 25 guests.
These include four wine tastings, private cellar room tastings, food and wine matching, wine education tastings and tastings combined with the various lunch options.
“There are plenty of cellar door tasting operations, but few integrate the tasting experience into all areas of the menu,” said Tony.
“We believe that our concept appeals to guests because it celebrates the true marriage of wine and food, as the Europeans do.”
That marriage can be as simple as the cheese platter or as luxe as the chef’s degustation menu.
The menu features five simple but well crafted dishes using local stars like prawns, avocado, scallops, beef and macadamia, which can be ordered as entrees, mains or platters to share.
“Patrick makes everything from scratch, and the small menu assures diners absolute freshness,” said Tony.
Prawn and avocado salad with passionfruit vinaigrette, scallop raviole with Asian infused crustacean emulsion and entrecote with butter Marchand de Vin, are matched with wines available by the glass or bottle.
‘Prawns on the Lawn’ has proved popular offering a pound of prawns, crusty baguette, butter, house made aioli and a bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc Semillon ($55 for two people).
The ‘Picnic on a Plate’, with ten delicious charcuterie, seafood, chicken and antipasto items is matched with Sauvignon Blanc Semillon or Summer White ($47.50 for two people).
Reds include Barbera, Reserve Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Crimson. Whites in the range are Semillon, Reserve Chardonnay, Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Summer White and Cordon Cut, and Fortifieds include White Liqueur Muscat and Tawny Port.
Tony and Sharon also cater for weddings, functions and corporate events with a number of packages available. In February next year, Flame Hill will host ‘stomp’, an all day harvest festival.
Tony, who hails from the Southern Downs has the agri-business and tasting role, plans to develop more produce on the property to advance his passion for ‘terroir’.
Sharon, who has a background in the creative industry, plans to host art related events and activities and local artwork such as Deborah Eddy’s ‘First Impressions’ which is currently on show at Flame Hill Vineyard.....enjoy....
