Re'em at Helen and Joey Estate Yarra Valley - Eat Out

Mar 22, 2024

Take in elegant Asian-inspired dishes on a picturesque 200-acre estate then retire to your boutique accommodation.

For many, the new face of luxury is the winery fine-diner. Pair the rolling hills and manicured rows of grapevines with opulent food, (very) local wine, and few experiences compare. The winery restaurant incites the feeling that time is standing still, and nothing whispers luxe like unwinding over a long lunch.

It is this suspension of reality that the team at Yarra Valley winery, Helen and Joey Estate, strive for – a goal they’ve set with the opening of Re’em, a brand new experimental restaurant and 16 room accommodations.

Designed to honour Helen and Joey’s Chinese heritage, the menu is crafted and executed by head chef Abe Yang (Tarrawarra Estate, Levantine Hill) who has collaborated with Mark Ebbels (the Fat Duck, Bacchanalia) to bring the vision to life.

As with most great restaurants, Yang leans heavily on premium local produce, working with the seasons, echoing the temperamental nature of a vineyard harvest. Combined with the subtle but important understanding of the interaction between food and wine, the partnership between the Yarra Valley winemakers and the chef is a perfect and constantly evolving match.

“Without any doubt, thoughtfully crafted beverages complement and accentuate the flavours of the food and enhance the experience. And of course, it certainly works the other way around. I always thought that the dishes featuring chilli would bring challenges in terms of wine pairing due to the numbing (or pain) sensations it may cause.

Yet Helen and Joey’s wines exhibit a juicier, fruitier flavour profile compared to wines from other wineries in the Yarra Valley. I believe Helen and Joey’s wines were tailored precisely for such occasions.”

While the menu will invariably change as the months cool and warm, diners can expect regional Chinese dishes like gently poached Hainanese chicken with chicken fat mayonnaise, grilled chilli sauce and compressed cucumber, to be served with a chilled glass of blanc de blanc.

Or perhaps a glass of voluptuous chardonnay to wash down dry-aged Buxton trout doused in golden shallots, ginger and perfumed star anise sauce.

With seasonality at the cornerstone of his food, Yang has a few tools in his box to allow the produce shine, including an impressive Argentinian Parrilla grill, over which most elements of the menu will cook.

“The flavour we can achieve from the grill is simply divine. We are striving to utilise the grill as extensively as possible, hence many of our menu items are prepared over open flame, including components of our desserts.”

The Helen and Joey vineyard is a pretty incredible place to take in a meal too. Sitting picture perfect on a 200 acre estate, Re’em and its accompanying accommodation drink in panoramic scenes of an ornamental lily-filled lake and a dynamic landscape at every angle.

Wood-panelled booths line the 200-seat dining room where sculptural hooped lights hover overhead and pops of mustard suede contrast with onyx-stained seating and stone counters. Oversized concrete tiles and gunmetal fixtures are softened by recessed lighting, curvaceous sculptural lamps and of course, floor to ceiling windows.

Re’em at Helen and Joey Estate is located at 12-14 Spring Lane, Gruyere. To book your visit or for more details, head to helenandjoeyestate.com.au.