With its setting among the vines on a 20-ha property in the Mornington Peninsula, it’s not perhaps surprising that a superb wine list is one of the big draws at La Pétanque.
That list includes numerous selections from the local area, of course, fine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the likes of Garry Crittenden, Paringa, Kooyong, and Ocean Eight, among many others.
But there is plenty on offer from other parts of Victoria and the rest of Australia, too, fine producers from Mount Mary and Domaine A to Clare Valley’s Grosset and Tasmania’s Spring Vale. And the French origins of chef-patron Philippe Marquet are far from hidden in an extensive collection of Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Rhône wines.
The wines—French, local, domestic, and international—provide a companion for Marquet’s southern French-inspired, modern Australian cooking, which features such dishes as Port Phillip Bay snapper fillet, capiscum puree, zucchini ribbons, chorizo crisp, and black garlic puree; and slow-cooked Flinders Island lamb shoulder, sautéed estate wild mushrooms, bok choy, pumpkin espuma, and lamb jus.
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