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

Wine List Lust: Maha Melbourne

I recently visited Maha Restaurant in Melbourne to explore their new wine list. I perched myself at the bar, opposite the Enomatic machine, just as dinner service was beginning. The plan was to try as many wines as possible. Thankfully, the new wine list coincided with the installation of an Enomatic machine and wines poured by the half-glass.

First up was a 2010 Robert Weil 'kiedricher' German Riesling in honour of the commencement of #summerofriesling. I moved in to a 2010 Tapanappa 'tiers vineyard' Chardonnay and by the time I was on the 2007 Alluviale 'dada 1'  Sauvignan Blanc/Chenin Blanc blend I decided to order some eats.

All manner of muddling, shaking, stirring, popping and pouring was going on beside me and I was mostly oblivious- despite my splendid attendant Darcy exclaiming, "ooh, Turkish Delight Martini! It is going to be a good night!" (after some particularly vigorous muddling.)

With my veggie dish going down a treat, I made my way through a 2005 Le Cinciole Chianti Classico (makes a great Sangiovese moustache if you stick your nose in too far!), a 2006 Marsovin 'Grand Maitre' (Malta's pride and joy- grown on the site where the Maltese fought off the Turkish invasion), a 2009 Santa Duc 'Gigondas' and a 2009 Chateau Musar 'jeune'. That ticks off wines from Germany, New Zealand, Australia, France, Italy, Malta and Lebanon. Not a bad effort for one night in a single venue!

As my evening came to a close with a 2002 Domaine Des Baumard Coteaux du Layon 'clos st catherine' which is a butterscotch-y Chenin Blanc sweetie. {My notes say there were tastes of crème caramel and honey-soaked raisins.. but blonde raisins. Is there such a thing? Maybe that's what unicorns eat? Perhaps, more simply, all that wine was going to my head and I meant to scribe 'dried apples' instead.}

butterscotchy Chenin Blanc sweetie

I perused the remainder of Maha's wine list and decided that I had an extreme case of wine list lust. There were all manner of varietals that I have yet to try; real Prosecco from Italy plus sparkling from Malta. My absolute dream wine on my 2013 wishlist was there, a 1996 Salon Champagne. Wines from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal adorned the list as well as a cheeky little Moscato from Mornington Peninsula.

I was enjoying a 1909 Domaine Sainte Crouix Rivesaltes by the time I noted dessert wines on the list from South Africa and Israel among others. It was about that time that I decided to tell you about the Fortified wines another day. Have you been to Maha? What wines did you try? Comment below or email LadyOenotria@gmail.com

Tears of Wine or Wine Legs

Last night I finally was able to grasp the term, 'Tears of Wine'. I am not talking about getting all melancholy when you drink either. What I have always known as wine legs, other people call tears of wine. A bit like eggplant and aubergine. I was at Maha Restaurant in Melbourne to celebrate and embrace the installation of a brand spanking new Enomatic machine. This is a device which helps open bottles of wine keep fresher for longer, enabling establishments greater flexibility with their wines by the glass.

Maha Restaurant, 21 Bond St Melbourne

As I am not a professional wine reviewer or critic, (my notes for the 2005 Le Cinciole Chianti Classico say "berries and bark"), I'd rather highlight a couple of Wine Appreciation 101 points. Firstly, the flavours that any one individual can taste in wines are based on previous experience and memories. I have never tasted gooseberries, nor fresh mulberries, so I would not be able to pick those flavours out of a wine.

Berries & Bark

Along with the memory triggers, come thoughts, feelings and emotions. Sometimes, wine critics say that a wine "moves them". When this happens to me, the wine goes straight to the top of my favourites list. I now have a new favourite thanks to the fabulously innovative technology of the Enomatic machine at Maha. I was able to sample a wine that you could normally only buy by the bottle, for $420. A half-glass goes for $45, a much more affordable way to try wish-list wines. The 1909 Domaine Sainte Croix Rivesaltes. 16%.

Yes, that is the year, 1909

Here's my blurb:

Bright red, with rust-coloured edges. A bright, fresh nose of understated Christmas plus alcohol- but in a good way, not the beer-soaked pub-carpet kind of way.) Smells of sugar and spice and all things nice. I detect ginger, allspice, cinnamon, clove, sultana, raisin, currants, warmth and hugs. It has rippa legs and a lighter mouth feel than I expected. It tastes warm, fruity, spicy and yum.

{yum is THE most advanced wine tasting jargon on the planet}

A late harvest grenache, partially fortified and aged in large oak tanks for 98 years.

The next thing I tasted was boiled pineapple fruitcake which made me squeal on the inside. My most treasured recipe from my Grandfather- who was taken from this life far too soon, is for his boiled pineapple fruitcake. We used to make it together in the lead up to Christmas. As this truly fond memory came to me I held up the glass. I noticed that the wine legs were moving incredibly slowly. So slowly that the beginning of each leg formed the shape of a tear and then rolled off the Maha logo. I had to check that it wasn't me who was crying, then looked at the glass again. The tears of wine were forming and rolling steadily now. I finally understood where the term came from.

For interest's sake, Jancis Robinson, MW says the 1909 is one of the few wines that happily partners chocolate. [www.jancisrobinson.com Purple Pages] I would enjoy this with a mild to medium flavoured hard cheese or even some pressed pork belly!

Enomatic machine, top left of photo.