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AMBITION: Andreas and Henni Greiving.
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Some of the best dishes evolve by serendipity.
When Henni and Andreas Greiving chose the Heathcote region to establish their Domaine Asmara vineyard and restaurant, the idea of yabbies was far from their thoughts.
But a little way into their ambitious plans to put their Toolleen estate on the Central Victorian wine and food map, the humble yabby forced itself into the picture.
“I was watching the dam one day and saw these bubbles rising,” Andreas says.
“Friends told us they were yabbies, and because one of the things we want to be known for is good regional food, we decided to experiment.”
Thus was born Domaine Asmara’s specialty dish, Tom Yum Yabby Soup, which those in the know now come from far and wide to sample.
The secret ingredient (no longer secret now that Andreas and Henni have decided to fess up) was added at the suggestion of foodie and fellow Heathcote winemaker Peter Russell-Clarke.
“He came to eat at our bistro and tried the yabby tom yum, and he liked it very much but said, what it needs is just a dash of red,” Andreas says.
So now, when in season, the fresh Domaine Asmara yabbies are teamed with a “kiss of Domaine Asmara Shiraz” to create a soup that will also give diners a hint of Henni’s home-country cuisine.
Henni is Indonesian, from Jakarta, where she trained as a dentist.
Andreas is German, a chemical engineer who has worked all over the world before finally achieving his heart’s desire to establish a winery.
With their son Benjamin (now 7), they chose the Bendigo region, and moved into town a couple of years ago while they built their house and the stand-alone restaurant, with a bed-and-breakfast attached, at Toolleen.
Surrounded by a string of excellent wineries (many of which will be part of the Heathcote on Show long weekend coming up), they set themselves the goal of making fine wines.
They will celebrate their first anniversary with a food, wine and music event, the kind of thing they are gradually becoming known for.
They now call Heathcote their “new place of belonging”.
Asmara means “love and passion”, Henni says, and admits that, coming from a non-wine-drinking country, it took her a while to develop the same love and passion for a full-bodied red that her German husband had almost instinctively.
Andreas remembers collecting blackberries and gooseberries as a child so he could try to concoct his own wine.
His own 30 acres of vines are already producing a shiraz, such as their 2008 Infinity, which has gained the approval of critics such as James Halliday.
With a well-fitted out kitchen catering to diners seven days a week, cellar door tastings, the B&B, and, most importantly, the year-round work on the vineyard, the couple look a little dazed by what they have taken on, out there in the rolling hills.
Andreas, for sure, has already come to love the very soil in which his beloved vines are growing.
Henni admits that the bush is something of a shock; the wide open spaces are so very different from the press of Jakarta and the cities of Japan where she has also lived.
But Domaine Asmara is their passion and commitment, and they are determined to make it work.
“We just hope the people of Bendigo will give it a try,” Andreas says.
In the Chinese zodiac, Andreas is a dragon, and Henni a tiger, so they are both fiercely determined people, working tirelessly on their new venture.
Their son Benjamin was born in the year of the sheep: of course they’d bring him to grow up in the wide-open spaces of Australia.
Andreas and Henni Greiving will be hosting Opera@Domaine Asmara, with singer Merrin Torpy and pianist Cheryl Long, on Saturday June 11, 6.30-10.30pm, $45, call (03) 5433 6133 or 0432 501 135.
This event is part of the Queen’s Birthday weekend festival, Heathcote on Show, with tastings, talks, tours and music in 30 locations. Program details at www.heathcoteonshow.com.au.
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