In May we had our second wine dinner for the year featuring 6 wines from Jim Barry Wines. Jim Barry wines were established by Jim Barry and his wife Nancy in 1959, in the Clare Valley in South Australia. They feature a range of wines sourced from fruit in the Clare Valley and their Cabernet Sauvignon fruit is sourced from the well regarded Coonawarra district.

When I was planning the menu I realised we would be nearing the end of Autumn so planned the menu around what would be available at the time. Wtih the help of Dearne fro Samuel Smith and Sons we chose wines that matched with our menu. The one surprise being that the Lavender Hill Riesling that we had chosen to go with the dessert actually clashed with the dish and upon trying the drier Watervale Riesling we found our match.

The diners of course enjoyed canapes with a glass of Dunes sparkling before being shown to their seats. Our dishes for the evening consisted of:

Cream of cauliflower soup, chive oil with a blue cheese sphere, paired with Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Riesling.

Cream of cauilflower soup, chive oil and a blue cheese sphere

Sashimi of Kingfish with pickled ginger and wasabi ‘caviars’, paired with Jim Barry Silly Mid On Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon.

Sashimi kingfish, pickled ginger and wasabi ‘caviars’

Sausage of duck and pistachios, braised savoy cabbage with speck, paired with Jm Barry Three Little Pigs Shiraz Cabenet Merlot.

Duck and pistachio sausage, braised savoy cabbage with speck

Braised beef cheek Parmentier with a baby herb salad, paired with Jim Barry The Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon.

Beef cheek Parmentier, baby herb salad, red wine jus

Honey roasted corella pears, warm citrus madeleines almond ice cream, paired with Jim Barry Watervale Riesling.

Honey roasted corella pears, citrus madeleines, almond ice cream

Of course we always have a mystery wine and this time around it was Jim Barry The McRae Wood SHiraz 2007.

Favourites for the night were the dessert and the sausage. Our executive chef bought us a sausage stuffer 24 months prior to this and this was the first time we had actually used it. Worked a treat and will be making more sausages in the future. The almond icecream was SO delicious, made with a base that included almond paste and essence it was a hit.

In two weeks time we have our next dinner featuring the wines from Croser, Petaluma and Bridgewater Mill. We are especially excited for this dinner as we have the head winemaker from the group, Andrew Hardy, coming to talk about his wines.

à bientôt!!