My first ever interstate 'No BS' Wine dinner, held at Grasshopper Asian Kitchen on May 13th, 2010, really couldn't have been much better in my opinion. I guess the case of wine I shipped up from Sydney for the event a full week ahead of time could have arrived at the restaurant, but a near total disaster was avoided when it was found lying out the back of the nearby Post Office! Brisbane weather was also on my side and this meant it was also my first alfresco event!
Not knowing an awful lot of people in Brisbane I was always worried about how many total strangers who only knew about the event via my Twitter updates would actually turn up on the night. Thankfully, I had a healthy table of sixteen (including myself) and from just a pure networking point of view, with everyone mingling over a glass of the Taltarni produced, Clover Hill Blanc de Blanc, the evening was off to a great start!
Without any structured theme for the evening I really just wanted to introduce everyone to a group of quality wines that would not only complement the Asian influence of the food but I also hoped that my guests would be trying something new. I was in luck as no-one, except the owner of the restaurant had tried more than one of these wines before and most guests had never had any of them previously.
As mentioned above, we kicked off with the Tarltani, Clover Hill, 2005 Blanc de blanc - A 95 point Halliday rated sparkling white made in Tasmania from 100% premium Chardonnay grapes. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sparkling white is far from a style of wine I choose to enjoy outside special occasions and even then it's usually just a glass for the toast before l move on. I must say though that this was very nice. I've had maybe only one or two blanc de blancs previously and I certainly have enjoyed them more than the more traditional blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
So with the drink that I choose to leave for women and weddings out of the way it was on to the proper stuff. With our entrèe options mainly seafood and pork I chose to pair them with previously tried and tested Aja blend and an all time favourite, the Capital Wines 2009 'The Whip' Riesling. I've talked about both these wines before so I'll stick to the comments amongst the group. Both wines were enjoyed by all and, as it was designed, many people commented that the Aja was the one that went the best while actually eating their food while, as a stand alone drink, the Capital Wines Riesling was a stand out. In fact both the owner of the restaurant and the wine bar next door and a wine maker who actually makes a great Riesling himself both commented on how much they enjoyed this Riesling!
With the more substantial main meals arriving I wanted to show off a Rosè I tried recently at Sean's Kitchen ,in Sydney, which I instantly feel in love with. The Amisfield 2008 Saignèe Rosè is up there with the top three Rosès I've ever had. The beautiful colour of this wine is evidence that, unlike any Rosè I've tried before, is made from Pinot Noir grapes. No surprise then that this high quality Rosè, using Pinot Grapes, is from Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island - a region well known for top quality Pinot Noir. Honestly, I could drink this wine all day long and I even noticed that it was even better at a slightly higher temperature than that I am sure most Rosè drinkers are used to. Even after being in my glass for while it was still superb!
Next to the Rosè we had the multi award winning Collector Wines 2008 Marked Tree Shiraz from the border of ACT Districts and NSW. I had previously reviewed the 2006 vintage of The Marked Tree Red Shiraz which I loved and the 2008 is easily as good, if not better! Sitting across from me that night was an ex-Adelaide girl who quietly admitted she doesn't actually like Shiraz but was really enjoying the Collector Marked Tree Red as it was softer and more delicate than the big, bold, fruit driven Barossa styles she'd grown up with. For the record I like both styles when done well and have said for a while that Collector, for me, make the best cool climate Shiraz I've had to date.
For dessert I brought up something a little unique that came about after a recent trip to Orange and my first visit to the lovely Patina Wines cellar door. Patina make many quality wines but for this particular event I thought the Patina 2009 Sticky Tea Riesling would be appropriate. This sticky Riesling from Patina has a very subtle tea flavour to it and is not at all an overly sweet or gooey wine . It was another hit with the crowd with many of the guests happy I'd brought enough for a second round!
Taltarni "Clover Hill" 05 Blanc de Blanc is $47 a bottle available on-line from Wine list Australia
Aja* is $19 a bottle available on-line
Capital Wines* 09 "The Whip" Riesling is $18 a bottle available on-line
Amisfield 08 Saignèe Rosè is $25 a bottle (rec retail) and often available at Cru Bar and Cellar
Collector Wines 08 Marked Tree Red Shiraz* is $26 a bottle available on-line
Patina 09 "Sticky Tea" Riesling* is $22 a bottle available on line and on the wine list at Grasshopper
I would like to take this opportunity to thank not only all the great people that attended the night but those that helped contribute to the night running so smoothly, such as Todd from Claret House, Keith from Grasshopper Kitchen, Mark from Aja Wines, Jenny from Capital Wines, Alex from Collector Wines, Peter from Déjà Vu Wines and Gerald from Patina Wines.
* At the time of writing none of these great wines have any Queensland Stockists - Get your act together Queensland as your missing out on some of our countries greatest drops!
