Mitchelton Winery Drive with Club MINI
17 February 2019
Zagame’s facility for the repair of exotic and prestige cars is astonishing. It’s located in the enormous, former “The Age”, building near the airport. BMW Drivers Club Melbourne and clubMINI Victoria joined for a tour of the facility on 17 February, attended by about 40 people. In a hall running the length of the building is a state-of-the-art repair facility with multiple sealed paint cubicles, sealed restoration rooms, panel preparation area and a large assembly/disassembly area. Behind that is an enormous parts warehouse for Audi and other brands, and behind that again is storage for 500 cars undercover where predelivery detailing can be performed. We were also treated to a preview of their upstairs repair area for supercars, with yet more sealed repair and paint cubicles and two bays with simulated daylight to ensure precise colour matching. Zagame have recently added BMW to their approved repairer appointments.
After the tour, most of those present headed off on a convoy drive to Mitchelton winery near Seymour. We travelled via the enjoyable Wallan-Romsey road then had a brief stop in historic Lancefield. Our route then took us via Pyalong to Seymour, through part of the volcanic countryside of the area with stark, rocky outcrops on hilltops and ridges. The roads offered excellent scenery and good cruising, with some twistier sections for entertainment.
To call Mitchelton a winery is to greatly undersell it. The complex is on the banks of the Goulburn River and has a large cellar building, an administration complex, a two storey hotel, a café and the restaurant where we had a good, if overly slow, lunch. And it has its own 3-storey tower too, offering outstanding views of the river, the surrounding vineyard and the distant hills. Under the tower is a large gallery that was empty of people but full of large, expensive aboriginal artworks. Everyone seemed to enjoy the good company over lunch and most of us had a bit of a look around the complex before leaving. One couple even stayed in the hotel to make a relaxed long weekend of the trip. A simple drive home down the Hume wrapped up a very interesting and enjoyable day.
Peter Williams | Member #36
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
