First Look: Hunter Valley Winery Harkham Keeps the Party Going With Blood Orange Margs and Spaghetti

After 20 years of dreaming, winemaker Richie Harkham opens his first, eponymous restaurant. “We have this tiny cellar door that’s filled with so much energy that people never wanted to leave,” Harkham tells Broadsheet. “This restaurant is a bigger extension of that, we just wanted to keep the party going.”

A sense of community flows through the cellar door and restaurant, seeded into every element of the place. From the Wall of Fame – filled with photos and memories of everyone who’s helped Harkham in his endeavours – to the share-style menu (created by head chef Shaun Nash) using local produce paired with beautiful ingredients from further afield.

The menu is filled with Harkham’s favourite foods, with a heavy Italian lean. “I’m inspired by the restaurants in Italy,” he says. “Where the grandfather makes the wine, nonna makes the food, and the kids serve in the restaurant.”

But both winemaker and chef agree that the menu will be ever-evolving. For the moment, expect fried olives stuffed with goat’s cheese, saucy meatballs and a snacky Jatz-and-sardines plate. Among the pastas there’s a spaghetti aglio e olio fired up with peperoncini, plus a caviar service if you’re feeling fancy. For dessert? A secret-family-recipe tiramisu. “I’m trying to source as much produce as I can from the Hunter Valley and New South Wales,” Nash says. “[There’ll be] beef skirt from [Hunter Valley farm] Nolan’s alongside local veal.”

The drinks also highlight the locality, with Harkham “borrowing” blood oranges from friend and fellow Hunter winemaker Usher Tinkler for the smoked chilli and blood orange Margarita. The tight list is all about “people pleasers”, created together with Trolley’d co-founder Byron Woolfrey using native ingredients foraged on the property. The Espresso Martini is jazzed up with a potent house-made chocolate liqueur, roasted wattleseed, cacao and local honey. Even the water jugs, crafted by Sydney-based ceramicist Love Ryan Ceramics, use dirt from the vineyards mixed into the clay.

Harkham showcases this ethos throughout the restaurant’s wine offering by bringing the best of the best from all over the world – and not only pouring his own natural drops. Wines made by friends in the Hunter and colleagues he’s visited around the world, and those sourced from longtime friend Andrew Guard, all sit alongside back vintages and, of course, favourites of Harkham’s own wines.

The wine list – along with the restaurant itself – is a love letter to the wine industry. “Wine is global, universal, and it crosses borders,” Harkham says. “It’s shared by people and breaks down barriers.”

Harkham’s
266 De Beyers Road, Polkolbin
+61 426 432 090

Hours:
Thu midday–5pm
Fri midday–11pm
Sat 8am–11pm
Sun 8am–6pm
The cellar door is open Thursday to Sunday from 10am till 5pm.

harkham.com.au/restaurant
@harkhamwines