BONNEYVIEW WINERY: In the Riverland region of South Australia

Lake Bonney at Barmera provides a stunning backdrop for Bonneyview a local landmark on the Sturt Highway which has played an interesting role in the development of the Riverland's wine industry. Jeff Tanko, of Bonneyview Winery shows some of his produce. A couple of decades ago in Australia the variety - Petit Verdot.. would only have been known to drinkers of Bourdeaux reds from France and maybe a few committed wine buffs. Now it features in numerous blends and has played an important role changing perceptions about the Riverland. Jeff explains:

"I guess we were known as bulk wine distributors throughout Clare and the Barossa and all over the place because we basically provided seventy five percent of the grape juice in the country. And now with better cultivating and managing of the blokes we've become a premium wine grower. The medals show that.".

Jeff Tanko's role at Bonneyview, the first boutique winery and restaurant in the Riverland, is very hands on. You may find him in the kitchen whipping up local dishes for diners who want to eat inside and those who choose the relaxed alfresco setting. And sometimes he's out in the vineyard among Australia's oldest Petit Verdot vines, planted almost a quarter of a century ago by Bonneyview's first owner.

"It was planted in 1979. Robert Minns actually managed to get a couple of cuttings from the Loxton CSIRO before they discarded them. He brought them over here and built up his own vineyard with Petit Verdot. Now they're fundamental to a lot of the blends in the Riverland - probably becoming the largest blending wine outside of Merlot."

The seven acre acre vineyard also contains currants which Bonneyview uses in it's famous Currant Liqueur. It's quietly working its magic in oak barrels in the shed up the hill while diners are quietly working on Jeff's culinary creations which always have a local Riverland feel. Like Jeff Tanko's yabbies in chilli sauce. Once the yabbies are cleaned they're ready.

"We throw our yabbies in… toss them around. There's already a nice aroma coming from them now and in this dish there's a light Asian flavour. Just throw in some nice onions, some red capsicum, a segment of lemon and a bit of carrot for colour. Our spices are lemon grass, garlic, chives, lemon balm and chilli to give it that little bit of heat and of course some ginger."

Toss the mixture in the wok and there you go - yabbie's in Chilli sauce. It's just one of the many dishes on offer at the Bonneyview Winery and restaurant. It's located on the Sturt Highway at Barmera and is open daily.