Oakridge Wines is one of Australia’s top destination wineries, known for its wine, its vines and its food, a shining example of the Yarra Valley lifestyle. Members will share in this quintessentially Australian experience during the visit of Oakridge Wines’ Chef Matt Stone that culminates in the Oakridge Wines Gala Dinner at the Happy Valley Clubhouse.

At 30-something, Matt Stone has the perfect job for a chef dedicated to truly sustainable food. Nothing – literally nothing – goes to waste, a practice he began when working for zero-waste campaigner Joost Bakker’s restaurants in Perth. When he was picked as Head Chef for the Oakridge Wines restaurant, Stone was given a free hand: gardens where he grows his own fruits and vegetables and even a composting system.

Stone constructs his seasonal menus based on what’s thriving in his organic kitchen garden, what he’s found on one of his many foraging trips (he recently took a number of top chefs on an expedition), line-caught fish and beef, lamb, eggs, chicken and cheese from trusted neighbouring farms. Flour and grains are freshly hand-milled on site and he’s a great advocate of the traditional farmhouse arts of pickling, fermenting and brining.

Stone’s philosophy matches Oakridge Wines’ own. Originally founded in 1978, Oakridge Wines shifted to its current location in Coldstream in 1998 and returned to private, family-run management in 2007. While many winemakers carefully select the best harvests from surrounding vineyards, Oakridge Wines takes it a step further: each grape varietal is grown on the soil type best suited to it.

The “produce first, technique second” approach respects the personalities of the grapes. Oakridge Wines uses traditional winemaking techniques to bring out fresh wine styles that let the grapes speak for themselves. In 2012, this approach won Oakridge Wines three outstanding accolades in one go from Nick Stock, wine writer for The Age/The Sydney Morning Herald and author of the annual Good Wine Guide: Chardonnay of the Year, Wine of the Year and Winery of the Year.

This new Chardonnay with its leaner and more acid-driven style sealed Chief Winemaker David Bicknell’s reputation and changed the way Australia made Chardonnay. Another innovation is its award-winning 864 series of exceptional vintages of a single varietal from one block of land in just one vineyard.

Of the eight wines selected for the Gala Wine Dinner, three are from the 864 series and are deserving of special mention. The 864 Chardonnay Funder & Diamond, Drive Block in magnum is a rich and creamy wine with layers of ripe, full, almost opulent fruit. The 864 Hazeldene Vineyard Block 1 Pinot Noir is, on the nose, a soaring, pure varietal and the 864 Cabernet Sauvignon in magnum, a wine that critics have praised for its purity and power. Members will also sample wines from the Local Vineyard Selection series.

Members may wish to take advantage of both the regular dinner services on 25 and 26 August and the Oakridge Wines Gala Dinner on 27 August to fully immerse themselves in the Yarra Valley experience.