To start, the masterclass showed three pinot gris, three riesling and six pinot noir from different subregions - always interesting, but the rieslings particularly impressed me.
So instead of attempting to taste the 80 or 100 wines on offer around the room, I decided to concentrate on the rieslings which are often overlooked, when it comes to Central whites, in favour of the more easy-going pinot gris.
Not everybody in Central grows riesling, and they often say it's hard to sell, but for those who appreciate its many facets, it's an intriguing and rewarding variety to explore.
In Central, particularly from Bannockburn and Bendigo it's capable of great richness and weight in the mouth while retaining a lively, racy acidity and steely, limy backbone, which tends towards kerosene or petrol (or as one taster said, wet socks) with a couple of years age.
In Gibbston, and some other sites, it's more delicate with a mineral hint of schist, but still retains the lovely palate weight that makes it good with food.
Rieslings can be dry or come in many degrees of sweetness, but reading the residual sugar can be misleading as it's actually a balance between the acidity, fruit sweetness and residual sugar that makes the wine appear sweet or not.
Good riesling walks a knife-edge balance between sweetness and acidity, but on the other hand you don't want a see-saw effect that swings from sweet to sour and back again.
Some rieslings that particularly impressed me were the rich, textural Desert Heart Riesling 2009, the lively, limy Domain Road 2008 and the intense, powerful 09, the tight, minerally Northburn Station 2008, the Peregrine 2008, taut as a violin string with deep undertones, the charming, floral Olssens Annieburn Riesling 2010, the steely, citrusy but mouthfilling Kingsmill Tippets Race dry riesling 2008, the charming, citrussy Hawkeshead 2009, and the beautifully expressive Gibbston Valley 2010.
On the way round the tasting tables, I couldn't resist a taste of the rich, intense, and slightly bitter Ellero Gewurztraminer 2009, a variety that's a treasure but is sadly little planted in Central.
A quirky wine was Aurum Port Molyneux 2010, a white port or vin douce naturel style of fortified wine, intense with a bite, and their first sparkling wine, a blanc de blancs.
