With a blind tasting to match one of three wines at my dinner party we had a lot of fun and some interesting discussion. The idea was simply to pick the wine that went best with the food. The wines turned out to be Ashbrook Verdelho [94 points and $22], Sauvignon Blanc and Ashbrook Chardonnay [94 points and $35].
Most agreed that the spicy Asian soup was best matched by the Ashbrook Verdelho. My friend Andy is in love with the Ashbrook Chardonnay and according to him it was the wine of choice of the night. Our next dish was crispy skin Atlantic salmon on a bed of mash with steamed vegetables. We all chose the Ashbrook Chardonnay.
With a small glass of Vasse Felix cane Cut Semillon and some delicious cheese it didn't take long for discussion to swing to the merits and outstanding value of some great Margaret River wines. We agreed that some of the best wines are the ones 'under the radar' and finding them is a bunch of fun.
We moved on to a Hamelin Bay 2001 Shiraz. I am certain this wine has 10 years or more of life. It is immense and powerful...and delicious, but it needs some time in a carafe to open up.
I love these curiosity, dinners. There is no smarmy quiz, just an invitation to savour the food and wine. I have to say that Ashbrook wine was a lot better than my cooking, but it was a fun dinner that any wine lover can enjoy All you need is enough glasses to allow everyone to sample all of the wines with each dish. We put a colour tape on each glass so that everyone gets the same wine in a specific glass. Loots of fun.
Most agreed that the spicy Asian soup was best matched by the Ashbrook Verdelho. My friend Andy is in love with the Ashbrook Chardonnay and according to him it was the wine of choice of the night. Our next dish was crispy skin Atlantic salmon on a bed of mash with steamed vegetables. We all chose the Ashbrook Chardonnay.
With a small glass of Vasse Felix cane Cut Semillon and some delicious cheese it didn't take long for discussion to swing to the merits and outstanding value of some great Margaret River wines. We agreed that some of the best wines are the ones 'under the radar' and finding them is a bunch of fun.
We moved on to a Hamelin Bay 2001 Shiraz. I am certain this wine has 10 years or more of life. It is immense and powerful...and delicious, but it needs some time in a carafe to open up.
I love these curiosity, dinners. There is no smarmy quiz, just an invitation to savour the food and wine. I have to say that Ashbrook wine was a lot better than my cooking, but it was a fun dinner that any wine lover can enjoy All you need is enough glasses to allow everyone to sample all of the wines with each dish. We put a colour tape on each glass so that everyone gets the same wine in a specific glass. Loots of fun.
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