Melbourne's love affair with premium Western Australian wine has never been more alive. The Great Southern region - and Frankland River in particular - is producing some of the most exciting, terroir-driven wines in Australia right now, and Melbourne drinkers have noticed. So when one of WA's most celebrated family producers comes to town for a single evening, you pay attention.
On Wednesday July 29, Mr L's Bar & Restaurant on Toorak Road, South Yarra, will host an exclusive five-course wine dinner with the legendary Alkoomi Wines from Frankland River, Western Australia. Just 50 seats are available at $150 per person - intimate, considered, and already building strong interest. This is one of the best-value premium wine events we've seen this year, and with only 50 covers, it will not last long.
→ Book your seat here now — details below
| Event | Alkoomi Wines Dinner |
| Venue | Mr L's Bar & Restaurant, 23–25 Toorak Road, South Yarra |
| Date & Time | Wednesday 29 July 2026, 6:30pm |
| Menu | Five courses with matched Alkoomi wines |
| Price | $150 per person |
| Availability | 50 seats only |
IN THIS ARTICLE
→ The Evening: What To Expect
→ The Menu: Five Courses
→ The Halletts: A Family Wine Story
→ About Alkoomi Wines
→ Frankland River: Why This Region Matters
→ The Alkoomi Collections
→ Mr L's Bar & Restaurant
→ How To Book
→ FAQ
THE EVENING: WHAT TO EXPECT
This is not a generic wine dinner. Five courses, 50 guests, the winemaking family in the room - evenings like this have a quality of occasion that's hard to manufacture and impossible to replicate later at a bigger table.
The menu has been specially curated by chef Deepak Mishra, whose "West meets East" take on Modern Australian cuisine brings bold flavour and creativity to every dish. Expect dishes built on premium regional produce and executed with restraint, confidence and technical precision - the kind of cooking that earns its place alongside serious wine rather than competing with it. Each of the five courses will be matched with wines from Alkoomi's acclaimed collections, tracing the breadth and character of Frankland River across the table.
The evening will be hosted by Melbourne media identity Kara Monssen (above), whose warmth and genuine knowledge of the wine world will keep things moving beautifully. Guests can also look forward to giveaways throughout the night - including a magnum of Alkoomi wine - which adds a little extra excitement to an already exceptional evening. Well-known Melbourne PR Consultant Nerida Conway has brought out Sandy and Laura from Alkoomi from WA for this special dinner occasion.
At $150 per person for five courses and matched wines, this represents exceptional value. Premium wine dinners of this calibre typically cost significantly more.
THE MENU: FIVE COURSES BY CHEF DEEPAK MISHRA
Chef Deepak Mishra has built a five-course progression that moves confidently from delicate to rich, drawing on premium regional produce throughout - Peninsula goat's curd, Yarra Valley salmon roe, Hervey Bay scallops, WA Davidson plum - and finishing with a dessert of real elegance. Each course is designed to sit alongside Alkoomi's wines rather than compete with them.
| Course | Dish |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Grilled Sourdough Duo Wattle seed cultured brown butter, Peninsula goat's curd, local honey |
| Entrée | Spanner Crab & Yarra Valley Salmon Roe Tartlets (NF) Citrus crème fraîche, lemon aspen, finger lime |
| Second Course | Twice Cooked Pork Belly & Hervey Bay Scallops (NF) (NGI) Root vegetable purée, apple miso glaze, hispi cabbage, five-spice essence |
| Main Course | Free-Range Duck Breast (NGI) (NF) WA Davidson plum gel, charred baby carrots, smoked beetroot purée, blood orange & mountain pepper emulsion Alternative: Beef option available for guests who do not eat duck |
| Dessert | Belgian 70% Chocolate Crème Aux olive oil, hazelnut soil, spiced vanilla ice cream |
Dietary key: (V) Vegetarian | (NGI) No gluten ingredients | (NF) Nut free. All dishes may contain traces of nuts, dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, sesame and shellfish. Please advise of any dietary requirements when booking.
The progression is beautifully considered. The sourdough with wattle seed butter and Peninsula goat's curd is a graceful opener - local, aromatic and immediately evocative of place. The spanner crab tartlets with finger lime and lemon aspen bring native Australian botanicals into conversation with premium seafood. The twice-cooked pork belly and Hervey Bay scallops - surf and land united by apple miso and five-spice - is the kind of mid-course that earns applause. The duck breast, with its WA Davidson plum gel and blood orange and mountain pepper emulsion, speaks directly to the Alkoomi wines that will accompany it. And the Belgian chocolate crème with hazelnut soil and spiced vanilla ice cream is a measured, elegant finish. This is a kitchen at full confidence.
THE HALLETTS: A FAMILY WINE STORY WORTH HEARING
Wine dinners are always more memorable when the people talking about the wines are the people who grew them. On July 29, Sandy Hallett - a legendary figure in Australian wine - and her daughter Laura Penniment (33), who represents the next generation of Alkoomi, will travel from Western Australia to Melbourne to host the evening in person.
Sandy's parents, Merv and Judy Lange, founded Alkoomi in 1971, planting the first vines in Frankland River when the region was barely on the map. Sandy grew up on the property - she was born into Alkoomi's red soils - and in time took over the winery alongside her husband Rod Hallett. Together they have built on Merv and Judy's extraordinary foundation, growing Alkoomi into one of Western Australia's most respected and best-loved family wineries across four generations. Laura now carries that story forward with the same passion and a clear modern vision for what Alkoomi can be.
Warm, engaging and immensely proud of their family history, Sandy and Laura bring something to the table that no sommelier can replicate - the lived experience of place. Sitting with them as they talk about vines planted over fifty years ago, about seasons and decisions and the particular character of their patch of Frankland River, transforms the evening from a wine dinner into something genuinely special. This is the real drawcard of the night.
ABOUT ALKOOMI WINES
I've enjoyed Alkoomi wines for years. They're favourites among several of my wine-mad mates and bottles I've regularly encountered on some of Melbourne's best wine lists. There's a particular premium quality to them - elegance, balance, and a sense of place.
Alkoomi means "a place we chose" - a name with deep roots. The 1,220-hectare property was first purchased in 1946 by Sandy's grandparents, Vic and Netta Lange. It was Netta who chose the name, derived from the local Noongar language. In 1971, Sandy's parents Merv and Judy made the bold decision to plant the first vines - just one hectare each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Shiraz and Malbec - and a winery was born. That first vintage came in 1976. Today, 2025 marks Alkoomi's 50th vintage as a family winery. Those original vines are still producing. Four generations have worked this land. That kind of continuity shows in the bottle.
FRANKLAND RIVER: WHY THIS REGION IS EXCITING MELBOURNE RIGHT NOW
Western Australian wine has been having a moment with Melbourne drinkers, and Frankland River - part of the broader Great Southern region - is at the heart of it. This is one of Australia's most significant cool-climate wine regions, and it has been producing wines of extraordinary quality and character for decades without always receiving the national recognition it deserves. That's changing.
The landscape alone tells you something. Rolling hills, ancient trees, endless rows of vines stretching across a countryside that feels unhurried and genuinely remote. Warm days and cool nights allow grapes to ripen slowly, building the kind of complexity and layered flavour that only patience produces. Gravelly loam soils add structure and a mineral character that gives the wines their distinctive backbone. These are the conditions that produce wines with longevity - bottles worth cellaring and worth paying attention to.
Frankland River is producing some of Australia's most exciting Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz right now. The July 29 dinner is a rare opportunity for Melbourne wine lovers to explore the region through five matched courses with the family who helped put it on the map. Wine writer Ray Jordan once described Merv and Judy Lange as "two of the great pioneers of the WA wine industry" - a fitting tribute to the family that helped establish Frankland River's extraordinary reputation.
THE ALKOOMI COLLECTIONS
The Alkoomi range is built around four distinct collections, each representing a different expression of the estate and its philosophy.
The Grazing Collection delivers bright, balanced and approachable wines made for sharing - easy-drinking and immediately loveable, these are the bottles you open on a Tuesday without ceremony and finish before the evening's done.
The Family Collection sits at the heart of the winery. Elegant and expressive, these wines capture the unique character of Frankland River and reflect decades of experience. This is where Alkoomi's voice is most clearly heard.
The Curated Collection steps things up considerably. Produced in small batches and selected from generations of winemaking knowledge, these wines represent something genuinely special - limited release, highly sought after, showcasing the very best parcels from the estate.
The Icon Range is the pinnacle. Crafted from the most premium fruit from the oldest vines on the property - some dating back to those original 1971 plantings - and each wine named for native trees found on the property: Wandoo Semillon, Jarrah Shiraz, Blackbutt Cabernet Sauvignon and Melaleuca Riesling. These are the wines that define what Alkoomi can be at its absolute best, produced in limited volumes and steeped in four generations of winemaking knowledge.
MR L'S BAR & RESTAURANT, SOUTH YARRA
The setting for the evening couldn't be more fitting. Mr L's Bar & Restaurant has quietly become one of South Yarra's most elegant dining destinations - a venue that rewards the visitor who finds it and keeps drawing them back. Mr L's presents a refined Modern Australian menu grounded in regional provenance, celebrating native ingredients with restraint and technical precision - making it a natural fit for an evening built around wines of equal character.
I've dined at Mr L's and came away genuinely impressed. Inspired by Gatsby-era allure, the room combines contemporary and art deco elements - dark and moody with a romantic quality that makes conversation flow more easily and evenings stretch longer than planned. The stunning light-filled atrium is one of South Yarra's best-kept secrets, and elegant chandeliers add a touch of glamour throughout.
The venue is the latest venture from Lucky Thapliyal and his wife Sheena, who lead Lucky Management Group with a genuine understanding of what makes guests feel welcome. The result is a venue that feels classy without pretension - sophisticated without stiffness. Service is attentive and warm, the kind that notices things without being intrusive about it.
Alkoomi and Mr L's share the same values: family, pride and a commitment to doing things well. For an evening celebrating one of Australia's great wine families, it's exactly the right room.
HOW TO BOOK
| Event | Alkoomi Wines Dinner at Mr L's |
| Date | Wednesday 29 July 2026, 6:30pm |
| Venue | Mr L's Bar & Restaurant, 23–25 Toorak Road, South Yarra |
| Includes | Five courses with matched Alkoomi wines + giveaways including a magnum of Alkoomi wine |
| Hosted by | Sandy Hallett & Laura Penniment (Alkoomi) and Nerida Conway |
| Price | $150 per person |
| Seats | 50 only — book early to avoid disappointment |
With only 50 seats available, this intimate evening is expected to sell out quickly. Book via the link below to secure your place.
ALKOOMI WINES DINNER: FAQ
WHAT IS ON THE MENU AT THE ALKOOMI WINE DINNER?
The five-course menu by Chef Deepak Mishra opens with Grilled Sourdough with wattle seed cultured brown butter and Peninsula goat's curd, followed by Spanner Crab and Yarra Valley Salmon Roe Tartlets with finger lime. The second course is Twice Cooked Pork Belly and Hervey Bay Scallops with apple miso glaze. The main course is Free-Range Duck Breast with WA Davidson plum gel and blood orange and mountain pepper emulsion (a beef alternative is available). Dessert is a Belgian 70% Chocolate Crème with hazelnut soil and spiced vanilla ice cream. Each course is matched with Alkoomi wines.
WHEN IS THE ALKOOMI WINE DINNER AT MR L'S?
The Alkoomi Wines dinner at Mr L's Bar & Restaurant takes place on Wednesday 29 July 2026, beginning at 6:30pm, in South Yarra, Melbourne.
HOW MUCH DOES THE ALKOOMI WINE DINNER COST?
Tickets are $150 per person, which includes five courses with matched Alkoomi wines. This represents exceptional value for a premium matched wine dinner of this calibre in Melbourne.
HOW MANY SEATS ARE AVAILABLE?
Only 50 seats are available, making this an intimate and exclusive evening. Early booking is strongly recommended.
WHO IS ALKOOMI WINES?
Alkoomi Wines is a family-owned winery in Frankland River, Western Australia's Great Southern region. The property has been in the family since 1946 when Sandy's grandparents, Vic and Netta Lange, first purchased it. Sandy's parents, Merv and Judy Lange, founded the winery in 1971. Sandy Hallett now owns and operates Alkoomi alongside her husband Rod, with their daughter Laura Penniment representing the fourth generation committed to the family legacy.
WHERE IS MR L'S BAR & RESTAURANT?
Mr L's Bar & Restaurant is located at 23–25 Toorak Road, South Yarra, Melbourne. It is one of South Yarra's most elegant and well-regarded dining destinations.
WHAT WINES WILL BE SERVED AT THE DINNER?
Five courses will be matched with wines from Alkoomi's acclaimed collections, including wines from the Frankland River estate.
WHO IS HOSTING THE EVENING?
The evening will be hosted by Melbourne media identity Kara Monssen and PR identity Nerida Conway. Alkoomi's Sandy Hallett and her daughter Laura Penniment will travel from Western Australia to attend and share the story behind the wines in person.