Life Begins At.....
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/23233
WINES BEYOND THE DUMP: Christmas Pudding More bad language and gross hyperbole from the Adelaide Hills Millie let out a scream. Actually, it was more like a yelp. “Do you realise how close it is to Christmas?” She was glowering. “Oh, come on, it’s miles away,” I lazily replied. Sorry, it was a scream. This time it was from me. Hell it’s only a few weeks away as it suddenly dawned on me that we going to be entertaining a house full of, how you so ever politely say, family freeloaders! You know the types, the ones that are full of bonhomie and “hale fellow well met” and “what have you got to drink?” types. And they never turn up with anything other than maybe a nasty cleanskin. As I was having pre-Christmas heart palpitations, Millie (2) was gently dissecting the meat from a couple of confit duck legs. Rupert and Sandie were coming over for a BBQ dinner, and she thought a Duck Rillette for entré would be just the thing. You know Rillete, where the meat is shredded, then you add a mountain of duck fat and spices, so you’re essentially making a duck flavoured butter. Bad for the heart but boy does it taste exquisitely fine. Duck Rillete and a glass of Sebastian Dampt Chablis 2009 (approx $38), a real French Chablis that is crisp, bitingly mineral and believe it or not, tastes of fresh oysters. Lusciousness vs crispness, I’m in heaven thinking about this match. Millie as usual was on the fizz. This time it was local one, Deviation Road Brut Methode Champenois 2008 (approx $28): cool climate Adelaide (3) (1) Hills pinot and chardonnay combination, the maker Kate Laurie was trained in Champagne and the wine? Crisp, delicate apple flavours with toasted macadamia nuts and crushed strawberries. A very refined local bubbly. She was also going to pan fry some asparagus wrapped in prosciuto. So easy and very, very tasty. “So what are you going to do?” Millie pointedly enquired as she tossed the asparagus around. Have another drink I was thinking. I was in the middle of decanting a bottle of Best’s Bin 1 Shiraz 2009 (approx $26.50)(1) . Over the last 12 months I’ve been doing a lot of too-ing and fro-ing between Adelaide and Ballarat, and one of the saving graces along the Western Highway is Best’s of Great Western. The place just reeks of history and the wines equally reek of tradition. And if you can ever find it, look out for its quirky Dolcetto, which comes from a block planted in the 1860s. But my thoughts were on the Bin 1, a tasty, spicy almost floral shiraz, a little more rustic than the famed Bin 0, but a cracking drink. But to the matter in hand. Hell! The Christmas guests. “All right, here’s a plan…” I was trying to think fast on my feet. I needed a few wines that were cheap and cheerful but of a quality my “favourite” guests would instantly like. “First of all we need some fizz, both red and white,” I boldly declared. “Well that’s stating the bleedingly obvious, isn’t it?” Millie tersely replied.