Australian Gourmet Traveller – (02)February 2019 (1)

2018 Hungerford
Hill Preservative
Free Semillon,
Hunter Valley, $27
Made with no SO2, this is
a glimpse of what Hunter
semillon might have tasted
like in the past: scents of
apple and pear, textural,
grape-pulpy, delicious.
hungerfordhill.com.au

2018 Giant Steps LDR,

Yarra Valley, $35

The inaugural 2017 vintage

of this pinot/shiraz blend

was good, but the 2018 is

a step up again: pretty

red pinot fruit balanced

by spicy shiraz florals. If

you like juicy Beaujolais,

you’ll love this.

giantstepswine.com.au

2018 Mada Nebbiolo

Rosé, Hilltops, $28

All the wines from this new

Canberra-based producer

are worth checking out,

but at this time of year

I’m particularly drawn

to the beautiful savoury,

crunchy refreshment

offered by this rosé.

madawines.com.au

Prunier VSOP Grande

Champagne, Cognac, $165

Made by one of the oldest

family firms in Cognac, this

is exceptionally complex

brandy: sweet scents of

honeycomb and biscuit,

chestnut mellowness,

some citrus notes, elegant

finish. Imported by

winedomaine.com.au

2018 Logan Clementine

De La Mer, Orange, $25

This lively, slightly cloudy

yellow wine is a blend

of skin-fermented

chardonnay, sav blanc

and riesling, with tangy,

sun-kissed fruit flavours.

Follow the name on the

label and drink by the sea.

loganwines.com.au

country practice of serving

tart, tangy cider, or sidra,

alongside rich, white-fleshed

roasted hake and fried onions.

One of the many things

I’ve learned from drinking

the increasingly popular style

of skin-contact whites, also

known as orange or amber wines, over the last few

years is how incredibly well they go with food that

involves fish eggs. I’ve even converted sceptical wine

folk, convinced they don’t like this style, by pouring

them a glass of, say, skin-fermented vermentino – with

all the cloudy, unfiltered, unfined textural chewiness

commonly found in such wines – and serving some

blini with cream cheese covered with little balls of

salmon roe. Heaven.

Probably the most deliciously unexpected drink

match for seafood I’ve ever come across, though,

was on the Malaysian island of Penang. A local

speciality is fish-head curry, a strongly flavoured

dish that I tried in a beach-side restaurant. And the

owner insisted we try it with some stout – a beer that

turned out to have just the right body and intensity

to match the food. It’s a match I’ve repeated many

times since, with similarly full-flavoured beers such

as barley wine and Scotch ale.

As it happens, these strong beers are also a great

match for oysters.

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Sure, a good
Chablis is a
deservedly
classic match
with oysters,
but consider
instead pairing
them with a
late-disgorged
sparkling wine.
From left: Victor Gontier
Cidre Bouché, Red Hill
Brewery Scotch Ale
Wee Heavy, and 2018
Koerner Pigato
Vermentino.
Drinks
GOURMET TRAVELLER 45