Wines

Nepenthe Twilight Tasting and High Teas

- Alex 2 Comments

Nepenthe, in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, is celebrating autumn by hosting a series of events at its cellar door in Balhannah.

The first, a very special one off “twilight tasting” is taking place on Friday 5 April from 5pm. Food will be matched with Nepenthe’s wines, so you’ll be able to try, for example, the 2010 Altitude Pinot Gris matched with sweet potato and avocado salsa on rye, and the 2012 Winemakers Cabernet Sauvignon matched with fig and roquefort tartlet. The tasting, of six wines, matched with six dishes, costs $35 per person and bookings are essential.

If a Friday night doesn’t work for you, the cellar door is also hosting sparkling high teas on Wednesdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm. Again, bookings are essential and tickets are $35 per person.

For more details, or to book, contact the winery by email, cellardoor@nepenthe.com.au, or by calling (08) 8398 8899.

Sumptuous – Autumn Issue

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Here in South Australia we’re very lucky to have our own locally produced magazine, Sumptuous, showcasing the best of SA on a seasonal basis. If you live in SA and you want to be in the know, you should be reading it.

I also now have a very vested interest in the magazine. The Autumn issue is out and not only will you be able to read my article on “The New Whites”, you’ll be able to digest my thoughts on seven SA sparklings.

While this is a food blog, you’ll know that wine is something very very close to my heart. I teach the London based Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s courses (check out Wine Academy if you’re interested in knowing more) and I write an intermittent wine blog, Cellared.

I’m an unashamed wine geek and I’m always keen to search out the new, weird and wonderful in the vinous world. I acknowledge that most people drink very much in their comfort zone and I’m almost evangelical about trying to get people to break those habits.

If you always drink NZ Sauvignon Blanc, I implore you to try one from the Adelaide Hills. If you always drink big, fruity reds, try a grape variety with which you’re familiar but from a different region.

If you’re lucky enough to live near a good bottle shop, with knowledgeable staff, tell them what you like, your budget and let them choose something for you. Over time, you’ll end up with an excellent relationship and some great wine experiences.

So – begin your journey into the incredibly diverse world of wine by picking up a copy of the current Sumptuous and finding out about just a few of the different whites produced here.

I’d also like to say a massive thank you to Sumptuous’s editor, Sky, as well as to those producers who helped me out by providing great quotes and insights for the article: Corrina Wright at Oliver’s Taranga, Bec Hardy at K1 By Geoff Hardy, Sam Scott at Scott Winemaking and Sam Wigan at Running with Bulls. You’re all stars!

Giallo, Kent Town

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date of visit: Friday 14 December 2012

Giallo, a wine bar on Rundle St East, has been on my ‘list’ for absolutely ages. Kate and I were trying to line up a drink and, while a work Christmas function chose the date for us (that’s my fault, fitting as much toddler free activity as possible into one evening!) there was some umming and aahing about venue. Both Giallo and Cork worked, with Giallo winning out – largely on the basis of parking and the “I haven’t been there before” factor (on my part).

Giallo has a stylish but not in your fact street front presence. I was walking on the opposite side of the road and if I hadn’t been looking out for it I suspect I might not have noticed it. Hint: it’s next to the post office/depot which you simply can’t miss.

As it was a very pleasant afternoon we sat outside, so I have no idea what the interior is like. The menu and the wine list that are online are not up to date (tututut) but give a very good indication of what you can expect to eat and drink. I began with a glass of Good Catholic Girl Teresea Riesling from Clare. This is a very atypical Clare Riesling: it’s not relying on a steely acid backbone and a ton of lemon/lime at all. It’s a lot more subtle than that. It’s a wine I’d revisit with this in mind, because at the time I was a bit shellshocked by it not conforming to type. Kate tried the Ngeringa Rosé from the Adelaide Hills. Next up, I was tempted to try a Portuguese wine until the bottles appeared and I made a last minute hasty switch to the Fraser Gallop Chardonnay. A really wise move as this is a lovely wine and one I’ll be seeking out in future.

After one glass of wine I was ready for something to eat. Unfortunatley for me, Giallo wasn’t quite ready to start its dinner service but a bit of a chat to our waiter, who had a quick conflab with the kitchen, meant that they were happy to put together something for me. This was probably helped (a lot) by my attitude of “well I eat everything so whatever is easiest will be fine”. I was presented with a beautiful, beautiful plate of salmon carpaccio, dressed with pickled ginger and microgreens. In amongst the dressing (once I decided I could indeed messy up the plate!) were caraway seeds, which not only made a great textural contrast but worked really well with the fish and ginger.

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It was a really delicious plate of food.

Giallo isn’t cheap: the salmon was $22 and the wines by the glass all hover around the $9 mark, but I think you’d struggle to find a venue that’s offering the same things at lower prices. I was also really impressed to see groups with babies and children arrive be made as welcome as those having post work drinks.

Although my visit to Giallo was only brief, I was impressed by the wine list, the food and the staff. Somewhere I’d definitely return for a more leisurely outing.

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