Aravina Estate

When we visited Aravina Estate in autumn I was immediately captivated by the landscape of rolling hills and 28-year-old undulating vineyards. With lush hydrangea-filled gardens dappled with light filtering through, and a restaurant and function centre overlooking a picturesque lake, I could see this would be a splendid location for a wedding or corporate event.
We were offered an Aravina sparkling wine (Pinot Chardonnay) on arrival (definitely my kind of place) and a basket of freshly baked breads. We had a platter of freshly baked sourdough bread, served with truffle butter, and locally grown olives. We were seated in the covered outdoor terrace, a recent addition providing an extra eighty seats for a la carte dining, overlooking the estate.

It’s a seasonal menu at Aravina, where only the freshest of ingredients are used. They source local produce and use fresh herbs and vegetables from the kitchen garden on the estate.
After our delicious appetiser of bread, olives and truffle butter we tried the sashimi. The sashimi of the day was fresh tuna – line caught from Rottnest Island and served with ginger jelly and asian omelette on a bed of sushi rice. Marinated in herbs and lime juice, this was well matched with the 2013 Aravina sauvignon blanc semillon. this was one of my favourite white wines and would go well with most fish or chicken dishes.
The sommelier is most knowledgeable with wine selections and is happily to recommend wines to match your selected meals.
We had an entreé of Marron with apple and cucumber, caviar, remoulade, lime juice and capers served on brioche and garnished with macadamias. The brioche was light and crunchy and the cucumber and apple super fresh. The 2013 Aravina semillon went well with this dish, with the seasoned oak bringing out the peppery flavour.

For main course we had slow cooked Chudo wrapped chicken: chicken breast wrapped in vine leaves, stuffed with prosciutto and creamed leek, served with seasoned greens and pickled grapes. This was a dish where every ingredient belonged together. We enjoyed a 2012 Aravina chardonnay with the chicken.
Our other main dish was steamed Duck Yellow Curry, crispy skin, fried peanuts, pickled chilli, and herb salad. While we had the 2012 shiraz temparanillo with the duck, Liam said the 2011 vermintino also goes very well with this dish.
For dessert we had Cabernet Chocolate Cake, bitter sweet chocolate, marquis red wine gel cherries, peppered with dark chocolate, grapes and cherries soaked in cabernet. Liam introduced us to a dessert wine – a late harvest 2011 Botrytis semillon, a killer wine – metaphorically speaking.

The estate, established nearly four years ago by businessman Steve Tobin, is located close to Dunsborough and the famous Yallingup surf. With a sports car gallery boasting a collection of fine cars, boys of all ages will salivate over this lot, including Ferraris, a Porsche, classic Australian muscle cars and a host of others. A gift shop with an array of car and wine related gifts and home wares makes for pleasant browsing. Aravina is family friendly, with a dedicated children’s menu and a fully fenced, state of the art playground.
You can happily spend a day at Aravina Estate – we just did!