A big heart in the desert
Words by chegs chisholm
Desert Heart is off the beaten track. Well sort of. It’s down the well-trodden track that is Felton Road, but you need to go past the more prominent cellar doors to find this hidden treasure.
Comprising two container buildings – one a kitchen, the other a tasting room - with tables spilling out on to rolling green lawns dotted with bean bags, there is an air of casual irreverence to this damn fine winery and there’s food to match. Food that is designed on the day (possibly of the minute) to meet the season and the cook’s whims. Owners Jane and Denny are a gorgeous couple who are warm, welcoming and extremely pragmatic. They have been in the wine game for many years and are very good at what they do, but there is none of the pretence that can come with such experience.
We first came to Desert Heart for a business meeting – a bit of an excuse to drift about Bannockburn for the afternoon. We had our son with us and were well aware that for this excitable, energetic nine-year-old, a winery visit is akin to a prison sentence - the food too serious; the social requirement to sit still, agonising. But Desert Heart is different: He could take his dog, his big dog. The dog ran free and was patted vigorously by the canine-loving hosts. The boy could pretend to chase the dog, all the while seeking out apple trees and tomato vines and sneakily helping himself to a few home-grown treats. He could sink into a beanbag and relax into his Minecraft session and no one looked at him sideways. When the food on the menu didn’t suit his ‘discerning’ palate, out came a mini apple pie presented in a ‘look-what-we-found’ fashion, but it was obviously made specially. For our part, we got to enjoy our ‘meeting’ and while away the afternoon over an impressively generous platter and a few glasses of Desert Heart’s very drinkable chardonnay.
So successful was our first visit that four months later, when asked where he would like to go for his tenth birthday, the boy said, “Desert Heart.” Why? “It’s kinda an adventure but with awesome food.”
Desert Heart Estate, 182b Felton Road, Bannockburn is open Thursday to Monday 11.30am to 4pm.
Ph 03-445 3258. desertheart.co.nz