A Taste of the Southern Highlands: Dawning Day Wines Comes to Wharf St.
There’s something particularly exciting about discovering a small wine producer doing things their own way — growing carefully, making wine in small batches and creating bottles with a genuine sense of place.
On Thursday 15 October, we’re bringing one of those producers to Forster for our next Wharf St. Wine Dinner, as we welcome Dawning Day Wines from Exeter in the NSW Southern Highlands.
And this one is going to be a little special.
From Exeter to Forster
Dawning Day is a family-owned micro-vineyard founded by Mike and Katrina Archer in the picturesque village of Exeter, around 15 minutes from Bowral.
The property sits within one of NSW's emerging cool-climate wine regions, where elevation and cooler growing conditions are particularly well suited to varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
At Dawning Day, the estate vineyard is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay, while the wider range explores fruit sourced from carefully selected vineyards across NSW. The result is an eclectic collection of small-batch wines that doesn't take itself too seriously, while remaining very serious about what's in the bottle.
That sense of personality is one of the things that drew us to Dawning Day.
These are interesting wines made by interesting people — exactly the combination we want our wine dinner series to introduce to Wharf St. guests.
Wine With a Bigger Purpose
There is another part of the Dawning Day story that makes the winery stand out.
From the beginning, Mike and Katrina wanted their vineyard to be about more than simply making wine. Supporting people and organisations within the community has become a central part of the business, with Dawning Day directing a meaningful portion of its wine revenue toward charities and community groups.
It's a philosophy summed up rather neatly in their own words: making wine that makes a difference.
Their approach in the vineyard follows a similarly thoughtful path, with a focus on sustainable and regenerative farming practices and allowing the character of their cool-climate site to come through in the wines.
Meet the Winemaker
For our dinner, owner and winemaker Mike Archer will be joining us at Wharf St.
That's an important part of these evenings for us.
Rather than simply putting four glasses of wine beside four plates of food, our wine dinners are designed to give guests the opportunity to meet the people behind the bottle.
Mike will take us through the Dawning Day story, the Southern Highlands, the vineyard and the wines we're drinking throughout the evening — without turning dinner into a wine lecture.
Expect plenty of conversation, a few stories and, most importantly, some excellent wine.
Four Courses. Four Wines. And a Few Extras.
Our kitchen will create a four-course menu specifically for the evening, with each course designed around a selected Dawning Day wine.
We're also expanding the format for this dinner.
The evening will begin with a Wharf St. aperitivo cocktail on arrival, before moving into four Dawning Day wines across dinner.
And because Dawning Day's talents don't stop at wine, we'll finish with a taste of their Southern Highlands limoncello alongside dessert.
The limoncello itself has a suitably regional story: it's handmade using local Southern Highlands lemons and a traditional recipe originating from Sorrento, Italy.
So, in short: arrive with a cocktail, settle in for four courses and four matched wines, meet the winemaker, then finish with a little limoncello.
Not a bad way to spend a Thursday night.
Dawning Day x Wharf St. Wine Dinner
Thursday 15 October 2026
Wharf St. Distillery, Forster
Arrival from 6:00pm
Dinner from 6:30pm
$169 per person
Your ticket includes a Wharf St. aperitivo cocktail on arrival, four courses from the Wharf St. kitchen, four matched Dawning Day wines, Dawning Day limoncello with dessert and the evening hosted by owner and winemaker Mike Archer.
Our previous wine dinners have regularly sold out, and these nights deliberately remain intimate so everyone gets to be part of the conversation.
If you love discovering great Australian wine — or simply enjoy a very good dinner with a few excellent glasses along the way — we'd love to have you at the table.
Seats are limited. Book your place for Dawning Day x Wharf St. now.
