The Age Epicure September 1, 2009 

Best Country Restaurant Wine List

You can become really thirsty driving from Melbourne to the Royal Mail hotel in Western Victoria - it will take at least three-and-a-bit hours. Fortunately, the gastronomic experience is well worth the effort. It starts with that first, quenching, glass of Philiponnat non-vintage rosé, which has become the restaurant's welcome bubbly of choice.

You could order a bottle of vintage Jacquesson instead and be just as content or peruse the extensive 72-page wine list for something different and older - vintages of all styles and varieties are a highlight. It features the finest rieslings from Australia, Germany, Austria, France and New Zealand, a staggering Burgundy and Bordeaux section and plenty of star producers dotted through the tome from Vega Sicilia Raveneau to Gaja. Ultimately though, this is a focused, refined list that takes into account every diner's budget to satisfy the desire to drink, and eat, exceedingly well. That's why the Royal Mail has won this award. It's fitting that the guide now recognises and rewards country restaurants for their wine, partly in recognition of that extra effort needed to create a stunning list in circumstances where availability and transport may be a challenge. Of course, it appears there's effortlessness to the Mail's list. Wines by the glass are not an afterthought and neither are the wine matches to the degustation-only menu. There's always something delicious and different on offer.