Giant Steps ‘Sexton Vineyard’ Chardonnay @ Innocent Bystander, Healesville

Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander is a fabulous modern industrial warehouse style building on the Maroondah Highway in Healesville.

Whilst there is no green vineyard to gaze upon, it really doesn't matter as there's so much to distract you. on the premises…. taste their wines, freshly baked produce, cheeses and genuinely flavoursome food menu.

As I'm a long time fan of Innocent Bystander's Moscato and Prosecco, for this lunch with a family member, I opted to try a non-sparkling beverage for a change. I'm also a big fan of chardonnay and as we were already seated for lunch, our warm and friendly waitress allowed us to do some tasting at our table, making what I knew was going to be a great experience even better.

My dining companion on this day was more of a red wine drinker so she chose one of their Merlots. My tasting consisted of Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay and Giant Steps 'Sexton Vineyard' Chardonnay, both of which were lovely, but Sexton was the winner for my palate on this day. Dry, smooth and not overly fruity, just the way I love my Chardonnay. And interestingly, it was a little paler than I expected and lighter in flavour, so it worked well on a warmer day. This is definitely one I'd order again next time I return.

Their menu is sophisticated, modern and clever. Designed for sharing either tastes, small plates, larger plates and what they're so well known for – their wood fired pizzas.

Between us we had their Smoked ham croquettes w. pickled cabbage slaw (delicious), Grilled lamb + pine nut koftas w. cucumber + cumin yoghurt (super tasty), and Zucchini, basil salad w. chilli vinaigrette (superb, so fresh, so simple).

Our pizza of choice was actually the Roast mushroom, fontina, black truffle oil, garlic + parsley, however the waiter who took our order brought us what he had said was his favourite – the Puttanesca (White anchovies, San Marzano tomato, capers, black olives, dill + buffalo mozzarella). It must really be his favourite as he couldn't get it off his mind enough to order what we'd actually asked for! However, given it was a long weekend and extremely busy, we just didn't have the heart to return it to the kitchen. Plus, having been there before, I knew that ANY pizza that came out was going to be good. And it was.

After our deliciously fresh lunch, on this long weekend, they had a huge barrel hall sale as well so we wandered through the complex and out the back to find where the sale was happening.

There's something so magical about barrel rooms. So dim, peaceful, calm, organic with all that wood in curved shapes of the barrels. And all stacked up high for a totally majestic spectacle.

Thinking we might grab a bottle or two, we left with a car boot full of boxes….Merlot, Moscato and Prosecco at insane prices. Even if we had not stopped there for lunch, it was certainly worth the drive just for the wine sale.

For more about Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander visit : http://www.innocentbystander.com.au