Coralie Gelot is the drinks boss at the Windsor Group. Hailing from the sun-soaked region of Provence in the south of France, she grew up in the bustle of her family’s beach restaurant and says she was practically born with a corkscrew in her hand.
But it wasn’t until the final year of her master’s degree that she really caught the wine bug, and after moving to Australia, she dove headfirst into the world of wine, working around the country at places like Frogmore Creek, Mona, and Saffire before eventually coming back to Melbourne to join the Blackhearts and Sparrows team, followed by a stint at Bibendum Wine Co.
Fast forward to now, and she’s running the beverage program for the Windsor Group; here’s what she drinks when she’s drinking Victorian.
Looking at the Victorian drinks world from the outside in, I think its key strengths are diversity and quality. We’re lucky to have an incredible amount of craft and small-batch spirits made in Victoria, lots and lots of cool and interesting breweries, and so many climates and soil types when it comes to wine. The different climates alone makes Victoria so attractive and special. We are also so lucky to have so many independent winemakers and vignerons focusing on quality rather than quantity.
The last three delicious Victorian things I drank were…
2022 Place of Changing Winds Larderdark Chardonnay. Place of Changing Winds is a high-density and organically farmed vineyard in Macedon, one of Victoria’s coldest regions. To me, this is an exceptional expression of cool-climate chardonnay. So much precision, tension and freshness, yet still remarkably powerful.
2023 Traviarti Chardonnay. Yes, I like chardonnay – especially Beechworth chardonnay. Simon Grant is known for his nebbiolo (some of the best in Australia), but he also makes a cracking chardonnay. Powerful and textured yet so fresh and elegant. Citrus and stone fruits, gentle spice and some clever use of oak; so good.
2022 Fairbank Sangiovese. I rediscovered the wines of Fairbank in a tasting not long ago and all were so incredibly approachable and delicious. Medium-bodied, juicy and bright filled with bright notes of ripe cherries, soft, dusty tannins characteristic of sangiovese. Good value for money, too.
When someone hands me a drinks list I generally order a drink first, most likely a beer or a Martini. I am famously slow and indecisive when it comes to picking a wine (or a dish) so a drink is needed.
If I’m with friends, I generally ask what people want to drink before diving into the wine list. In any case, you’ll find me checking out the salty and/or textural whites, and the chardonnay page is never too far away either.
As far as I’m concerned, the defining place to get a drink in Victoria is… That’s such a hard question to answer and I don’t think I can name only one place. I work in the city, so City Wine Shop, Kirk’s Wine Bar and Embla are all go-tos for a drink after work. I also have a soft spot for Grana in Brunswick East; their wines by the glass list changes all the time and is always interesting. You can also buy a bottle there and drink it in the venue. Order a pizza and pick a bottle, or the other way around.
There’s no better value on drinks list or in a bottle-shop in this state than Terrason Aligoté. Year in, year out, this is always a delicious and interesting drop. All of that for $40 retail.
My favourite place to buy booze is Blackhearts and Sparrows, of course. And again, Grana.
I’d love to see Victoria brewing/distilling/planting more savagnin, chenin blanc and Italian varieties like catarratto and carricante. There are a few wineries already working with savagnin like Arfion or Crittenden Wines, and they are both great examples of what can be done with this variety here in the New World.
My guilty pleasure at the bar is a dry gin Martini. Can’t beat it. I particularly love the freezer Martini from Caretaker’s Cottage.
The Victorian spirit I’m loving most right now is Animus Gin. We have so many great distilleries in Victoria and Animus is right there at the top for me. I like the use of Australian native ingredients. The Davidson plum gin (their take on sloe gin) is also worth a taste; just add some soda or tonic water, et voilà!
The best or most important change to the way people drink in Victoria in recent years has been the support given to local producers by consumer. People often request to drink wines that are made locally. They recognise and appreciate the quality of wines, spirits and beers that are made locally. Most people today would order a G&T with a gin that is made locally rather than some international brand. Same with wine. I feel like a few years ago, people automatically associated wines from the Old World with quality, whereas now people really enjoy drinking locally and request it more and more.
For me, the most inspiring person in the Victorian drinks world is Moira Tirtha. Moira started Veraison, a magazine dedicated to open discussions around wine and the industry, and making it more accessible to everyone. As the wine world can feel a bit unapproachable and closed, it is very exciting to see someone like Moira sparking conversations and challenging the status quo.