Australia, London, Melbourne, Melbourne Cemetery, Healesville - what's the connection?

I was looking at this wine bottle label and trying to trace the location and names of the places mentioned, Healesville in Victoria, in Australia? This moscato is sparkling and different muscat grapes vary. Let's nor worry about that now - it's enough of a challenge for us in the UK to work out where to find Victoria. After a brief diversion into what I've just been told about Rutherglen Muscat, which I'm typing up because I want to remember it, I shall tell you what I've found about Melbourne, Healesville and the snooker gravestone.

Northern Victoria is also known Rutherglen Muscat, a sweet wine. 

(You may know Rutherglen muscat. I am informed by my local UK expert, that the local clone is Brown muscat making red not white musket. Some wines are made in a solar system like sherry blending vintages and flavours to get a consistent flavour over the years. A third local characteristic is raiseined grapes in an area with lots of heat and not so uch water.

I've been to Australia, to Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, but Healesville?

Let's start with what I know, Victoria in London is named after Queen Victoria and Victoria in Australia must have been founded and named after her in her era.

Australia, Captain Flinders, His Map and That Cat

The name Australia is related to the English man, Captain Matthew Flinders, who mapped Australia and gave Australia its name. His statue was placed on Euston station in London this year (2014). See pictures of Flinders and his cat statue in my earlier post by doing a search for the word Euston.

Melbourne

Melbourne was named after Queen Victoria's minister, Melbourne, who was living in London and having an affair with a lady, immortalised in the line, 'would you like to sin on a tiger skin with Eleanor Glyn?'

Healesville

Healesville is an area north east of Melbourne, Australia. Healesville is named after one of its first VIPs. Ironically he was a teetotaller campaigning for temperance. I wonder if the vineyard realises that their address immortalises and recalls him?

What became of him? He was buried in Melbourne Cemetery. So were other VIP founders of Australia, or early members of the government.  But the most amusing gravestone in the cemetery is that of the snooker player below. 

Walter Lindrum, Australian Billiards Player

The grave is of Walter Lindrum in Melbourne General Cemetery. (I found the photo in Wikipedia when I researched Healesville.)

Enjoy contemplating this whilst drinking your Moscato, from Healesville, Australia. (The UK importers are mentioned in the previous post on this blog.)

Walter Lindrum OBE, Australian billiards player

Moscato Wine From Austrlalia - if there visit the vineyard

What's Moscato? Is it the musket grape, my favourite, a guarantee of a great sweet dessert wine to go with my pudding and coffee? The wine looks pink and it tastes deliciously sweet - very more-ish. I'm watching my wine intake, because it's lunch time, I might drive later, and I would like to stay awake the rest of the day and, besides that, I am on a diet. All wine contains calories and sweet wine even more so. The words Innocent Bystander are embossed on the glass of the half bottle. Yes, it's a half bottle. On the back label it says375ml. That's half a bottle. Next to that information, before that, is the news that it's only 5.5% vol (alcohol). That's more than some beer but less than most wine.

In small letters above the word Moscato the label on the front of my bottle says Victoria 2013.

This wine is made from Gordo and Black Muskat 'from the old vine Muscat vineyards situated along Victoria's Murray River' says the label on the back.

Having decided I like the wine, my next question is, can I visit the vineyard for tea and tasting, or lunch and tasting and shopping for souvenirs?

Yes. According to the website, they serve food, organise wine tastings, and sell tee-shirts for men and women. If you are outside Australia you can get on their mailing list for news. If you are in Australia and have made a purchase you can get even more offers. 

If you want to visit the vineyard, it's north east of Melbourne. More about Healesville and Melbourne Cemetery in my next post.

Innocent Bystander
336 Maroondah Hwy
Healesville
Victoria 3777
Australia
www.innocentbystander.com.au

Imported (to the UK) by

Liberty Wines

London SW4 6LY

UK

www.libertywines.co.uk

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and author. See books of comic poetry and quotations in Lulu.com.
Angela Lansbury B A Hons, a former English teacher and tutor, also gives talks and workshops, speech-training and speeches.