Eighteen Sixty

Overview

Family-run Nagambie wine bar Eighteen Sixty has one clear mission: to celebrate and showcase the wide-ranging vinous delights of the Nagambie Lakes, Strathbogie Ranges and Goulburn Valley. Named in a nod to the region's lengthy viticulture history, which dates right back to 1860, the venue pays homage to the local wine scene, with more than 50 drops available to sip and an impressive rotation by the glass. Familiar labels and undiscovered emerging acts star alongside a tidy crop of beer, cider and spirits.

To match, you'll find a lineup of simple, Italian-accented fare, also celebrating the region's best ingredients. Here, you can pop in to enjoy refined drinking snacks like a duck and sour cherry terrine ($15), kingfish crudo with fennel and lemon ($24), or focaccia matched with whipped lemon ricotta ($7). Crostini might come topped with the likes of asparagus, broad bean and goats curd ($10), while those with heartier appetites can tuck into pasta dishes including a squid ink linguine ($29), and pappardelle in a Tuscan-style beef cheek ragu ($27).

The space itself is one you'll happily settle into for a few hours, complete with a rustic charm, whitewashed brickwork, a heated courtyard and a woodfire taking pride of place at its heart. And if you swing past between 3pm and 5pm Thursday to Sunday, you can look forward to prosecco, beer, spirits, wine and snacks for $5–10 as part of the venue's Apero special.

Images: Parker Blain