Meet The Maker at Brooks of Melbourne

"The most stunning restaurant wine display, I have ever seen." overheard at the bar, Brooks of Melbourne

The picture above is of a bar that I intend to spend time at, three to four nights per week during the month of July. In the black and white sketch edit, the bottles of wine are lined up, like soldiers. Ready to do their duty in this up-scale restaurant at the smart end of town. That restaurant is, of course, Brooks of Melbourne. Old-fashioned customer service reigns supreme in the superbly decked out basement location. Named as a nod to a gentleman's club in London- you could easily guess that the wines on show are well-aged, high profile French beauties and other, sought after 'drinks'.

The fact is, on closer inspection, that is not the case at all. Sommelier extraordinaire, Matthew Brooke, has one of Melbourne's toughest gigs.. for it is up to Matt to select the wines that will match, and stand up to, chef Nic Poelaert's daring creations from the kitchen.

Fortunately, Matt excels at his task.

colourful labels

During the month of July, (and with a cheeky finale on August 1st), Matt has invited more than 30 wine producers to make a personal appearance at Brooks. Each wine maker will bring along a selection of their wines to sample, and each of the makers will have at least one of their wines available to buy by the glass on Matt's inspiring wine list.

This amazing opportunity is where the Brooks bar seen above, starts to fill with colour. Meeting the maker allows the wine drinker to hear the stories of how these wines came about, what drove the maker to create such wines, and you can even find out how a wine went from an idea- to being bottled- to being served at Brooks.

Mark in your diary at least one afternoon where you will come and sit at the bar, #MeetTheMaker and swap a yarn or two- all over a glass of wine, of course!

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until 1/8/2013.

4:30pm-7:00pm at the bar to meet the makers, stay longer and dine if you wish.

See the wine maker line up here: http://brooksofmelbourne.com/meet-the-maker-dates/

Call +61 3 9001 8755 for dinner reservations or visit: http://brooksofmelbourne.com/reservations/

I will be there (almost) every day- so come and say hi. Feel free to share your pictures and stories of your #MeetTheMaker experience via twitter/instagram @LadyOenotria or email ladyoenotria@gmail.com

fun at the bar, Brooks Melbourne

The Wine Century Club

A couple of years ago I attended my first Fed Square Wine Showcase, right in the city of Melbourne. Apart from being fortunate enough to try some 40+ quality Victorian wines, I happened to meet Darby Higgs from Vinodiversity. Darby has a passion for new and alternative grape varieties and wines, in Australia. I was awed by the knowledge that Darby had and sought to purchase his book:

click to purchase

I also learned that Darby Higgs is a Wine Centurion. The Wine Century Club is "the club for adventurous wine drinkers who've tried one hundred grape varieties or more." Being quite the adventurous type myself, I saw this as a challenge to accept. "The first fifty will be easy", Darby commented. I thought that he must be joking. Turns out, he was right. 50-55 really started to become tricky. So I went and bought myself a De Long's Wine Varietal Table to adorn my office wall.

click to purchase

De Long's Table showcases 184 wine grape varieties, really just the tip of the iceberg in drinkable grape variety land. I haven't been able to tick off 100 different tastes just yet, but I am sure the wait will not be too long. Each new variety is tasted and relished with a little sniff of victory.

Slowly, but surely!

Most recently I was able to try a Mac Forbes (Yarra Valley) Blaufränkisch and a Judge Rock (Central Otago) St Laurent to inch closer to my target. Once I reach the magical 100, I am sure something really special will be 'popped' open and enjoyed!

~Please note: I have not received payment nor compensation from suppliers of the above products, I simply intended to share wine tools that I have come across in my own personal wine journey.

I would love to hear about interesting, new or alternative grape varieties that you may have tried, post a comment below or send an email to ladyoenotria@gmail.com

Unbroken Bonds. Dominique Portet Wines.

The wines that we drink invariably have a great story behind them. Where the vines came from, winemaker adversities, generational tradition, the love between two people or between heart and land. There are thousands of stories. Hundreds of thousands. I like hearing the stories of wines and the diverse nature of "how things came to be". Let me share with you a great story about a winery logo, from the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia.

image from Portet Wines

Julia Portet, wife of winemaker Dominique, tells the story to those who happen to drop by the cellar door when she is there. Julia met the famous Greek jeweller, Ilias Lalaounis and his family when she was a student. A long term friendship flourished and Julia is the extremely proud owner of a pair of earrings created in the form of what is now the logo on her husband's wines. This intricate and unique logo takes the appearance of an arabesque, a sinuous unbroken line that is characteristic of Moorish decoration. The design represents the links and close bonds between generations, families and continents. The emblem style first crafted by Ilias Lalaounis, is as unique and as beautiful as the Portet wines. The jeweller has very generously given his permission for the form to be reproduced on the Dominique Portet label.

images from Portet Wines

As the ninth generation winemaker in his family, there are many, many stories that could be told when you pour a glass of Dominique Portet wine. I, for one, enjoy retelling the story of the logo. A shape which the Portet family will tell you suggests grace, strength, purity of line and unbroken bonds. Qualities the winemaker encapsulates with his beautiful wines.

blogger's own images- a favourite brunch!

• Visit Julia, Dominique and the team at 870 Maroondah Highway, Coldstream, Victoria, Australia, 3770
• Visit the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum at Kallisperi 12 & Karyatidon Str., Acropolis 11742, Athens, Greece
• Visit my Facebook page to keep up to date with my New World adventures ~ https://www.facebook.com/Oenotria.LandOfTheVines

Be-bop-a-lula! It is a PINOT PALOOZA!

Robert Louis Stevenson once said: "Wine is bottled poetry." With this being the case, I dare to say that the fickle, rascally, Pinot Noir grape is then made into "The Bottled Noble Prize in Literature". Of all single varietal wines, Pinot Noir has the biggest 'cult' following. Pinot lovers often call themselves Pinotphiles. On Sunday, I attended PINOT PALOOZA, an event to celebrate the love for this regal, yet rather temperamental grape- and those who covet thy drop.

Pinot Noir fan wearing a Pinotphile t-shirt, bottom right

It is handy to note (for the uninitiated), my accepted definition of Palooza; an all out, crazy party, extravagant event, with a plethora of people and the considered thought that there may just be no tomorrow. Well, Pinot Palooza certainly fit the bill.

all out, crazy party props

Crazy ~ Dan and Ben from The Wine Guide who created and organised the palooza

Extravagant ~ held at the commanding and iconic Ormond Hall, Melbourne

Plethora~ 70 producers brought 130+ wines to TWO sessions of a packed house

Considered Thought~ "try ALL the wines!"

I went along to the Pinot Palooza to try new Pinots, meet the winemakers and see what treasures I could add to the Christmas wine lists of my clients. Success! In  a little under three hours I managed to try twenty-eight wines from seven wine regions across two countries. I met winemakers, vineyard owners and grape growers.

De Bortoli Wines 'Riorret' from their Emu Vineyard
Delightfully surprising, enormously enjoyable.

The passion in the room from both the 'artists' and the attendees was palpable. Pinotphiles and Pinotnoobs were enjoying themselves equally. I have a 'stocking filler' list the length of my forearm and a great time was had by all. Future posts will share more about the people I met and the stunning array of Pinots being produced in the Southern Hemisphere. Until then, feel free to share your Pinot Noir stories and favourites with me here, or via email LadyOenotria@gmail.com