Bay of Shoals Wines - Wine Tasting Night

Friday 22nd June has been locked in the diary.  The Grapenights group will be gathering to taste the latest release wines from Bay of Shoals, Kangaroo Island.  This will include the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 Tawny as well as the new Riesling and 2009 red wines - Hill Shiraz and Beach Shiraz.

Grape Escape to Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend

The Grapenights concept has evolved to a Grape Escape this month.....last weekend the usual suspects and some additional friends departed Adelaide and travelled 2 hours north to the beautiful Clare Valley.
Congratulations to Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend organisers - we all had a fabulous time!!

We started the day with a stop at Mintaro, as we drove through the town the historic cottages caught our eye, with many a comment made.  After a visit to the Maze, we played a giant game of chess before moving onto our lunch stop.
We enjoyed lunch at Stone bridge wines.  We feasted on gourmet wood oven pizzas, a farmyard special, vegetarian and a scrumptious smoked salmon pizza.
The rain stayed away for most of the day, a light shower called for some closeness under the marquee while a local band entertained us.
The third and final stop before returning to Adelaide was the highlight. 
Little Red Grape....a regional cellar door, showcasing over 14 boutique wine producers from the region put on a great show. 

The next Grape nights will be on 22nd June, Bay of Shoals Wines from Kangaroo Island will be showcasing their range and showing us what Kangaroo Island can offer.
Loving the regional evolution!

Kangaroo Island Signature Dish

The 2012 inaugural Kangaroo Island Seafood Feastival was held last weekend in Kingscote, Kangaroo Island.
Saturday 28th April 2012

I was lucky enough to make the trip across the water to attend the opening function, My BBQ Rules dinner by Pete Evans on friday evening and the Feastival on the Kingscote wharf on Saturday 28th April.

As I approached the Kingscote wharf I was taken back by the lighting which has been erected, highlighting the historic wharf area, it looked fantastic. 
Kangaroo Island Spirits were up to their usual delights creating some amazing cocktails, my favourite was the Margarita, although the coriander special was a close second.  The oysters were delicious, freshly delivered to the wharf area.
My BBQ Rules dinner stood out from the crowd,  the entree, fresh figs & sheep's ricotta set the scene for a decedent evening.  The main was cooked at the end of each table, with each table having their own BBQ & chef (Pete of course!!) the whiting with tomato salsa was outstanding.  Dessert was a local Kangaroo Island cheese platter and who could forget the wines - Dudley wines, located on the east coast of Kangaroo Island.  If you haven't been to their new cellar door on Cape Willoughby road, get out there and check out the view, taste some wine and have a gourmet pizza!

Saturday was a highlight for me as I was asked to be a judge for the Tourism Kangaroo Island Signature Dish competition.  As chair of Tourism Kangaroo Island, Pierre Gregor was the master of ceremonies.  Pierre introduced the 4 contestants, each of extremely high standard and it was very difficult to pick a winner. 

The winner was Tony Nolan, here is the description of this dish.  All I can say is, get over to Kangaroo Island, get some local whiting & produce and get cooking - you wont regret it.  Some pictures below to share my weekend....

The winning dish was Kangaroo Island King George Whiting groached (grilled and poached) with False Cape Silver Mermaid, topped with Kangaroo Island Capers and Island Pure Haloumi Cheese flamed with KIS Lime and Ginger Spirit, served with Locklands Potatos, KI Fresh lettuce medley Fryars free range eggs, Latitude 36 homey Mustard dressing and Emu bay chilli chutney, Is Good samphire and KI Pure canola oil aoli.

Alternate Varieties

Our fourth evening.....19^th April, Pebbles was the perfect party host!

The theme – Alternate Varieties.  I find it a nice change to try something different other than the varieties we are all used to drinking on a regular basis.  April represents a change in seasons and this Grapenights was a change to our usual favourites and we had some amazing wines, enjoy!

The wines we enjoyed tonight ranged from sparkling dessert wine to an unforgettable Zinfandel from Barossa Valley and unique varieties in between.  Tonight the food matches were exceptional, careful consideration was given to contrast the flavours and textures of the food with the wine.

The wines we enjoyed were...

2011 Pikes Pinot Gris (Clare Valley):  This wine was very fresh, floral, easy to drink.  Food match was dips plate, natural yogurt based beetroot dip & veggie sticks

2011 Houghton Chardonnay Verdelho (WA): Well balanced wine, chardonnay style with Verdelho provided additional stone fruit flavours.  Smoked salmon & horseradish provided a nice contrast to the flavours in the wine, very tasty!

2010 Tscharke Savagnin (Barossa Valley): This surprised the crowd, demonstrating apricot & oak characters we thought it could be a Viogner, the new variety Savagnin (otherwise known as Alberino) was a good match with satay chicken skewers.

2006 Temple Bruer Shiraz Malbec (Langhorne Creek): The Malbec was distinctive on the nose, blended with Shiraz provided a subtle finish and perfect match with dark chocolate for a post dinner delight!

2006 Irvine Zinfandel (Barossa Valley): A very distinctive nose, beautifully developed fruit characters, a truly great wine.  Food match was toasted sourdough with Kangaroo Island Source beetroot relish, Island Pure Haloumi & fresh rocket.

Nebbilo: In traditional Italian style, this is a light style red wine, good for a summer red or well suited to dessert – caramel tarts & chocolate covered fruit delights.

D’arenberg The Stump Jump Fizzy Sticky (McLaren Vale): A botrytis style, subtle sticky honey flavours, good food match with cheese platter – Mersey Valley cheese & fig paste on lavosh!

Pick of the Day.....2006 Irvine Zinfandel, another great Barossa wine!!

Value Wine........D’arenberg the Stump Jump Fizzy Sticky which was purchased at $11

Special Mention....

To Cherrie – “you can put that on your cornflakes” was said about several of the wines tasted, particularly of the Stump Jump Fizzy Sticky

Our next Grapenight’s is a Grape Escape to Clare Valley for Gourmet Weekend – 19^th & 20^th May 2012.  See you there!!