A Long Lunch at The Zin House


Located on the Lowe Wines vineyard just off Tinja Lane in Mudgee, the Zin House is an eclectic gastronomic affair showcasing some of the best Mudgee has to offer. They grow their own food, and source the rest from nearby farms and producers and pair it with a selection of matching local and regional wines. Designed to be enjoyed over a relaxing long lunch or dinner, set aside a few hours to sit back and enjoy what this amazing team brings to the table.

The Zin House is a modern converted farmhouse overlooking the rolling vineyard of Lowe Winery and out beyond to the hills of Mudgee. It's nothing short of stunning. The menu is set, so all you have to do is sit back and wait for the courses to arrive. Being in one of NSW's best wine regions, there is an extensive and rather impressive wine list; though it's probably easiest to select the matching wine flights that have been hand-picked to complement the current menu available.

The menu changes from week to week depending on what's in season. Our meal began with an amuse bouche of roasted pumpkin soup cappuccino. Delectably smooth and creamy, it was matched with a deliciously light, crispy Cuvee from Lowe Winery, which is exclusively available from Zin House. This was followed by the first official course, a board laden with homemade sourdough, freshly whipped butter with a slither of truffle on top, and some local olives, award winning olive oil and dukkah. The best things on earth are the most simple. The bread and butter alone were otherworldly, and it's at this point when the bread and butter are so stand-out good, that you realise you're in for a real treat.

Now, I don't want to ruin the surprise of every single course by describing it to you step by step, but two of them in particular stood out. One was a house made Orecchiette pasta with mushroom & white wine sauce and nettle pesto with fresh curd. The Orecchiette was perfectly al dente, and the creamy white wine sauce married up with the nettle pesto & curd in a way that will leave you nodding and making happy noises of appreciation. If you have any left over bread from the first course, it will come in very handy at this point to mop up any left over saucy deliciousness.

The other stand out was the generous cheese platter. If it is an option, and you like cheese, I recommend indulging a little. We were treated to four outstanding cheeses; one was an aged cheddar from the Hunter Valley, and the other 3 were all from in and around Mudgee. A Portland Chevre, a High Valley Rouge and a local Blue Cheese along with some muscatels, fresh quince jam and honeyed pecans. This was served with the 2013 Lowe Zinfandel, their flagship wine with syrupy sweet tones of raisin which perfectly complements the different notes in the cheese.

Just when you think you can't possibly eat another thing, out comes dessert, a voluptuous portion of short crust apple & orange pie with a side of homemade honey ice cream. Miraculously, it was devoured, because it was absolutely divine. I can guarantee you will leave feeling fully sated in both your appetite and your senses. For a tiny little nook in the corner of Mudgee, this place is amazing. The food is spot on and the hospitality is second to none. The SMH Good Food Guide recently awarded them a Chef's Hat for the second year running, and we'd like to give them two big thumbs up.