‘That woman thrives on activity. It takes a lot to make her need a rest.’
Kenzie headed back upstairs to put away her laptop and to change into something a little nicer for a winery visit. Her wardrobe was limited, mostly because she’d only planned to be away for a long weekend, but her always-prepared-for-an-emergency tendencies that her family teased her about had actually come in handy this time. On top of how many days she would be away for, she always packed for the possibility of an unexpected night out, unseasonal weather and a natural disaster that would require more pairs of underwear than you’d normally need. Thankfully, this gave her at least one option of an outfit suitable for an unexpected vineyard tour.
Thirty
They followed the dirt road from the house back towards the road they’d come in on until they reached a fork with a large timber-slab sign with the winery’s name. They drove down the road a few hundred metres until they came across a huge grey shed with timber windows and large barn doors, which were open.
Wine barrels made into planters sat out the front, filled with brightly coloured petunias, and a scattering of tables filled a small grassed area, where a few couples were seated, eating cheese platters and scones with cream.
They parked off to one side in the carpark and walked inside through the barn doors. Kenzie took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust after the bright sun outside, sliding her sunglasses on top of her head.
Off to one side was a long bar with shelves of glasses and wine bottles. On the other side was a glass-fronted counter with food and an impressive coffee machine, where people were ordering from a big black chalkboard on the wall behind. In the centre of the entrance were shelves of produce: honey, biscuits, eggs, sourdough breads, jams and preserves as well as cheeses in a small, refrigerated display cabinet.
‘Wow,’ Kenzie said, trying to take everything in. It was so much more than she’d been expecting.
‘Yeah, Floss is like Mum, never does anything by halves,’ he said fondly.
Another shed expanded behind into a massive open area with vats and barrels filling the space, which she assumed was for visitors to go on guided tours and see how the wine was made.
The interior was a mix of rustic farmhouse and industrial chic and it all worked perfectly. On the walls hung old farming memorabilia—as well as black-and-white photographs of what Kenzie assumed was the original property, noticing the early homestead in one of the photos.
Floss spotted them as she walked out of a door markedOfficeand waved. ‘I’m glad you made it,’ she said, walking across to them.
‘This is really impressive,’ Kenzie said, looking around.
‘Thanks. As you already know, Joe is the brains and brawn behind the whole thing. I’m just the front desk, so to speak.’
‘Don’t listen to her. Joe may be the man behind the wine, but this one is definitely the visionary behind this whole place.’
‘Well, if it’d been left to Joe, we’d be standing in the paddock sipping wine out of plastic tumblers,’ she agreed with a small wince.
‘This is fabulous. I love how you’ve included the local farm shop,’ Kenzie said, looking around.
‘That’s one of my passions,’ Floss said. ‘Showcasing local produce. We try to support as many local farms and families as we can. All the meat on the cafe menu comes from families in the area—poultry, pork, lamb and, of course, Campbell beef,’ she added, sharing a look with her brother.
‘Of course,’ Ewan grinned. ‘Dad would shut the place down if you used the neighbours’ beef.’
‘The cheeses are all produced locally. We have an amazing local lady who makes all her own cheese, soaps and moisturisers from goat milk. And another who makes all our sourdough and bread, as well as utilising the garden up at the house,’ Floss said, wearing a chuffed look.
They moved across to a side door that led out to a paved patio with more tables and chairs that overlooked long, tidy rows of grapevines.
‘How big is the vineyard?’ Kenzie asked.
‘We currently have thirty acres under vine, producing cabernet and shiraz grapes. After our recent win at the awards night, we’re hoping to wrangle a few extra acres from Dad to put in some more.’
‘Think you’ll get him to agree?’ Ewan asked.
‘If we manage to catch him in a good mood,’ Floss said optimistically.
Kenzie’s recent conversation with Callum in the den came to mind. She hadn’t mentioned it to Ewan. The previous interactions she’d witnessed between father and son had been tense enough—she didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire, and, since he hadn’t brought it up, she’d assumed Callum hadn’t approached Ewan with his request for a DNA test either.Yet.‘Would you like to taste a few of our wines?’
‘I’d love to,’ Kenzie said, eager to sample a few of the vineyard’s different wines after enjoying the ones she’d been having with dinner.
The heady mix of ground coffee, oak and wine hit her as she walked back into the cellar, and she breathed deeply. Taking a menu from under the front desk and beckoning them to follow her, Floss led them across to the wine bar. Walking behind the counter, she began selecting a number of bottles and glasses, placing a small amount of the different wines in front of where Ewan and Kenzie were perched on stools on the other side of the bar.
‘Have you had much experience with wine tasting?’ Floss asked Kenzie.
‘I took a weekend course a few years ago on a wine-tasting tour of the Hunter Valley, but I wouldn’t say I’m any kind of expert.’
