POKOLBIN boutique winemaker Wild Ren Wines is taking its wine and chocolate pairing to the next level during the Easter long weekend.
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The cellar door in Pepper Creek Village will offer an Easter tasting flight in collaboration with local French patisserie Gigi & Chix that will pair eight Wild Ren wines with a selection of mini desserts.
Three daily sessions will be held on the Easter long weekend.
The Easter tasting flight is an extension of the cellar door's popular chocolate and wine tastings that pair Wild Ren's wines with Gigi & Chix's handmade French and Swiss truffles.
Wild Ren Wines founder Renee Burton says the flights are designed to complement both white and red wine.
"People are often surprised and say, 'Oh, I didn't think you could have chocolate and wine together' but it really works," Burton says.
"With the whites, we can bring out some beautiful citrus which semillon has and we have a nice, buttery chardonnay as well which pairs nicely with a passionfruit macaron and the lemon meringue tart which has that nice zestiness.
"For the reds, we are pairing that with a caramel tart and chocolate truffle, so there's a bit of sweetness there but it's not overpowering."
Group sizes are limited to six and the tasting costs $35 per person. They will also offer a kids Easter tasting flight, with a choice of sparkling water or juice paired with cake pops, macarons and cookies.
Burton's journey with Wild Ren Wines began in 2021. She launched the brand in September that year ("I say to my customers that I was the crazy woman who opened a business in the middle of a pandemic," she laughs) and opened the cellar door in November.
Prior to Wild Ren, Burton was previously an owner of Pokolbin's Gundog Estate with her ex-husband before she sold her share of the business in 2019 and began planning her next move.
"I have two little girls so I had to pick things up. I did consulting so I could have the flexibility and still stay within the industry - until COVID killed that," she says.
"I was like, 'Well, I've got to do something and be a bit creative' and, look, there probably were times where I could have backed out because there were a lot of hurdles to get through but I had gone too far into the brand so I had to keep going."
Her perseverance led to the launch of Wild Ren Wines, taking on the role of creator, director and CEO.
Burton and her winemaking team, comprising Aaron Mercer and Kiri Irving, predominantly use Hunter-grown grapes, with a focus on traditional and modern styles.
"We wanted to keep it small production, small batch wines and showcase traditional styles in the Hunter and do those well but, really, I love the alternate varieties and different styles, too," she said.
"I've got some semilions which we do as a nice little skin-contact wine, so it's still showcasing a beautiful Hunter fruit but it's a different style as well."
Wild Ren Wines shares its space with Charteris Wines. Burton says she didn't plan to open a cellar door but when the building in Pepper Tree Village came up, she jumped at it.
"We signed the lease just before the start of the second lockdown in 2021 but it had a silver lining because it gave us time to renovate," she says.
"We kept it as a beautiful open space but with a little partition so that people can meander between the two.
"As soon as we could open the doors, we did."
- Wild Ren Wines at 1946 Broke Road, Pokolbin is open Sunday to Friday from 10am to 4pm, and Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Book an Easter tasting flight online at wrenwines.com.au
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