Wine and food or food and wine?It all depends on your starting point: there are conventional matches for overseas classics such as caviar (Champagne), fresh foie gras (Sauternes, Riesling or Rose), and new season Italian white truffles (any medium-bodied red). Here the food flavour is all important, the wine merely incidental.
At the other extreme come 50-year-old classic red wines: Grange, or Grand Cru Burgundy or, First Growth Bordeaux, or a Maurice O’Shea Mount Pleasant Shiraz. Here the food is, or should be, merely a low-key foil, but at the same time must be of high quality.
In the Australian context I believe not enough attention is paid to the time of year, which - particularly in the southern states - is or should be a major determinant in the choice of both food and wine. And so I shall present my suggestions in this way, always bearing in mind how many ways there are to skin a cat.
| Spring SPARKLING Oysters, cold crustacea, tapas, any cold hors d’oeuvres YOUNG RIESLING Cold salads, sashimi GEWURZTRAMINER Asian YOUNG SEMILLON Antipasto, vegetable terrine PINOT GRIS, COLOMBARD Crab cakes, whitebait VERDELHO, CHENIN BLANC Cold smoked chicken, gravlax |
MATURE CHARDONNAY Grilled chicken, chicken pasta, turkey, pheasant ROSE Caesar salad, trout mousse YOUNG PINOT NOIR Seared kangaroo fillet, grilled quail MERLOT Pastrami, warm smoked chicken YOUNG MEDIUM-BODIED CABERNET SAUVIGNON Rack of baby lamb LIGHT- TO MEDIUM-BODIED COOL CLIMATE SHIRAZ Rare eye fillet of beef YOUNG BOTRYTISED WINES Fresh fruits, cake |
| Summer CHILLED FINO Cold consommé 2-3-YEAR-OLD SEMILLON Gazpacho 2-3-YEAR-OLD RIESLING Seared tuna YOUNG BARREL-FERMENTED SEMILLON SAUVIGNON BLANC Seafood or vegetable tempura YOUNG OFF-DRY RIESLING Prosciutto & melon/pear COOL-CLIMATE CHARDONNAY Abalone, lobster, Chinese-style prawns 10-YEAR-OLD SEMILLON OR RIESLING Braised pork neck MATURE CHARDONNAY Smoked eel, smoked roe |
OFF-DRY ROSE Chilled fresh fruit YOUNG LIGHT-BODIED PINOT NOIR Grilled salmon AGED PINOT NOIR (5+ YEARS) Coq au vin, wild duck YOUNG GRENACHE/SANGIOVESE Osso bucco MATURE CHARDONNAY (5+ YEARS) Braised rabbit HUNTER VALLEY SHIRAZ (5–10 years) Beef spare ribs MERLOT Saltimbocca, roast pheasant MEDIUM-BODIED CABERNET SAUVIGNON (5 YEARS) Barbecued butterfly leg of lamb ALL WINES Parmagiana |
| Autumn AMONTILLADO Warm consomme BARREL-FERMENTED MATURE WHITES Smoked roe, bouillabaisse COMPLEX MATURE CHARDONNAY Sweetbreads, brains FULLY AGED RIESLING Chargrilled eggplant, stuffed capsicum AGED MARSANNE Seafood risotto, Lebanese SOUTHERN VICTORIAN PINOT NOIR Peking duck |
AGED PINOT NOIR Grilled calf’s liver, roast kid, lamb or pig’s kidneys MATURE MARGARET RIVER CABERNET MERLOT Lamb fillet, roast leg of lamb with garlic and herbs COOL CLIMATE MERLOT Lamb loin chops MATURE GRENACHE/RHONE BLENDS Moroccan lamb RICH, FULL-BODIED HEATHCOTE SHIRAZ Beef casserole YOUNG MUSCAT Plum pudding |
| Winter DRY OLOROSO SHERRY Full-flavoured hors d'oeuvres SPARKLING BURGUNDY Borscht VIOGNIER Pea and ham soup AGED (10+ YEARS) SEMILLON Vichysoisse (hot) SAUVIGNON BLANC Coquilles St Jacques, pan-fried scallops MATURE CHARDONNAY Quiche Lorraine CHARDONNAY (10+ YEARS) Cassoulet MATURE SEMILLON SAUVIGNON BLANC Seafood pasta |
YOUNG TASMANIAN PINOT NOIR Squab, duck breast MATURE PINOT NOIR Mushroom ragout, ravioli MATURE MERLOT Pot au feu 10-YEAR-OLD HEATHCOTE SHIRAZ Char-grilled rump steak 15–20-YEAR-OLD FULL-BODIED BAROSSA SHIRAZ Venison, kangaroo fillet COONAWARRA CABERNET SAUVIGNON Braised lamb shanks/shoulder MUSCAT (OLD) Chocolate-based desserts TOKAY (OLD) Creme brûlée VINTAGE PORT Dried fruits, salty cheese |
