There are few wineries that have it all. Incredible food at a reasonable price, a large selection of high-quality wine, a beautiful view of the vines, housemade preserves that you can take home, a large amount of indoor and outdoor seating with a view, unique events with live music, the occasional arranged bus so you don’t have to worry about driving, a venue suitable for weddings and private events, and a seasonal menu that features local produce with a focus on native ingredients. Contentious Character has everything listed above – they’re one of the few wineries that have it all.
There are many unique facts about Contentious Character and one of them is that they grow all of their grapes and make their wine onsite, this is rare in the world of wine. Tony, Ross, Ben and Jeremy opened Contentious Character in 2017. It was previously known as Lambert Vineyards but the team rebranded, added their contentious flair, and took over from the previous owners who had been running it for 24 years.
The age of the vineyard and the variety of grapes the Contentious four have to play with allows them to create a variety of Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, sparklings, Rosé, Dessert Wines, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Merlot and a few specialty wines including the Union and some reserve Shiraz.
We visited on a Sunday and spent 3-4hrs leisurely hours there. It’s a short drive that takes about 35minutes from Canberra city. The bitumen road to the winery allows you to get a glimpse of the vines as soon as you turn off the main road. Contentious Character sits at the top of a hill so you have a beautiful view of the vines and the surrounding hills from the large verandah. There’s plenty of parking and you can choose to sit in one of the many indoor or outdoor spaces.
We arrived at about 12:30pm and there were a few full tables. We started with a wine tasting. You can taste 6 wines for free or pay $10 to taste 14. We were lucky enough to have our tasting with Jeremy, the Chief Winemaker and Co-owner of Contentious Character. He guided us through the tasting, which includes wines from the Founder’s Museum collection (from the previous owners) and the new range of Contentious Character wines. They were all exceptional and we had favourites from each range.
The Picker’s Platter arrived mid-tasting and oh my goodness. This board of gourmet food products is the biggest and best platter I’ve ever ordered! It was filled with cheeses, cured meats, housemade preserves, homemade focaccia, vegetable chips, breads, pâté, terrine, olives and grapes. It. Was. Amazing.
We enjoyed a glass of sparkling merlot with the platter. I really enjoy red wine in winter but I find it hard to drink when it’s hot. Sparkling red is another story. It’s really enjoyable when it’s warm and has become a favourite of mine in this hot weather.
The man in charge of the kitchen is Tom Stoneman who hails from the UK and is one of Canberra’s top Italian trained chefs. He moved to Australia to take the lead at Jamie’s Italian. So he knows how to add an Aussie twist to classic Italian dishes. The dishes at Contentious Character have English, Italian and Australian influences and the team at Contentious Character are all about paddock to plate dining.
There’s a big focus on sustainability with local produce being sourced wherever possible. Higher welfare meat and sustainably sourced seafood is what you’ll be served when you visit. The menu at Contentious Character also features native ingredients so they can source products from Australia instead of importing them. There are also gluten free, dairy free, vegan and vegetarian options.
So what did we eat? Well, sit back with a glass of wine in hand (one from the Contentious Character range would be appropriate) because I’m about to take you on a trip down flavour lane.
We were impressed with the Picker’s Platter and couldn’t stop raving about it. But it was time to move onto the main courses. We finished our fabulous wine tasting and moved to one of the tables by the window inside. It overlooked the vines so we had a great view. Tables were filling up quickly by this time and many happy visitors were enjoying tastings, eating lunch and soaking up some sunshine on the verandah, with a glass of wine in hand.
A glorious plate of velvety, smoky tomato risotto soon appeared. Globs of creamy mozzarella sat on the bed of the perfectly cooked moreish risotto. The smokiness of the tomatoes shone through and we learnt that they smoke them in house, along with the bacon that features on their menu. The dish was topped with pepper berry (Tasmania’s native ‘pepper’) and drizzled with basil oil. I’ve never tasted a risotto like this. The different flavours of each ingredient matched with the textures of the rice and the cheese is a winning combination.
There’s a suggested wine for each of the dishes on the menu. Tony, one of the Co-owners, poured us a 2008 Pinot Noir that he recommended we enjoy with each of the main dishes as it would work with all of them. He was right. It’s a robust Pinot in its prime. It was nice to enjoy the same wine for our meal after tasting so many. We enjoyed it so much that we ended up walking out with a bottle (and two others) when we left.
A gorgeous plate of duck and a succulent piece of Dewsbury pork in a silky, dark, sweet, rich gravy arrived next. The duck was plated beautifully and sat on a bed of lentils with raisons, pinot noir and mandarin. The round piece of pork was cooked perfectly and was framed with crackling. Both dishes were faultless and the gravy that the pork was served in was divine.
Next up was dessert. We were lucky enough to try each of the desserts and agreed that the strawberry gum and basil trifle was the standout. It looked beautiful and the sweet strawberry jelly complimented the creamy custard. It was a really nice summer dessert.
We also tried the chocolate fudge brownie with cinnamon myrtle ice cream and the wattleseed ice cream affogato with amaretto. I tried all three of the dessert wines. I usually find dessert wines too sweet but I found one I liked because there were three options that were all different.
You can visit the website to see the full menu.
So why is it called Contentious Character? You’ll have to ask the team about the name when you visit… But let’s just say they don’t mind stirring up a good debate whether it’s a conversation between friends, preference of wine and anything in between.
Our visit to Contentious Character ticked all of the boxes and we’re really looking forward to returning. We walked out with 3 bottles of wine and will be purchasing more to add to our wine collection (that includes many Canberra region wines) when we go back. Their wine is also available at Woolworths and BWS throughout the ACT region, including Cooma, Dan Murphy’s in Tuggeranong and Phillip, Page Bottler, Plonk, Ainslie Cellars, online via their website, Wine Selectors, Just Wines, and of course from their cellar door when you visit for a tasting.
Contentious Character also host a range of unique events and will have a special Native Herbs N’ Spices BBQ Menu available for Australia Day from 25-28th January.
Their Summer Sunday Sounds series kicks off on Sunday 3rd February and will run until 31st March. The events will go from 4-8pm and guests will be treated to a seasonal changing menu, lots of wine and live music. It sounds like the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I’ve already booked a table for 3rd February to celebrate my birthday with friends.
You can find out more about their events by visiting their events page.
If you haven’t been to Contentious Character then you need to run, not walk. Or you could just catch the bus to one of their Summer Sunday Sounds events.
Details
Address: 810 Norton Rd, Wamboin, NSW
Opening Hours
Cellar Door
Wednesday – Sunday 10am-5pm. Cheese and meat boards can be made available.
Lunch
Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm
Dinner
Friday from 5-8pm. Enjoy a weekly seasonal menu and happy hour.
You can book a table online or contact them via email on info@contentiouscharacter.com.au or call 02 6238 3830.
Visit their website to see upcoming events.
This is a sponsored post but all opinions are the author’s own.
Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.