The Awards Long Lunch at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show is an occasion to celebrate the diversity of new Australian wines, accompanied by some fine regional food.

The 2008 Awards Long Lunch was held at Trentham Estate, a winery located on a superb site overlooking the Murray River.

As usual the wines presented at the lunch included were all Gold medalists from 2007. The food was provided by Trentham Estates restaurant and each course was carefully matched with the bracket of wines presented.

The menu is presented here to stimulate your interest and imagination

The Menu

Appetisers and Canapes

• Blackbilly Pinot Gris 2007
• Brown Brothers Vermentino 2007

First Course
Rabbit and chorizo terrine with chutney

• Robinvale Wines 2002 Kerner
• Matua 2006 Shingle Peak Reserve Pinot Gris

Second Course
Coulibac of Murray cod with sauteed leek and mushroom duxelle served with sauce creme and fish roe

• W Wines 2007 Viognier
• Yalumba 2006 The Virgilus Viognier
• Tahbilk 2005 Marsannne
• Tahbilk 2003 Marsanne

Third Course
Rosemary and Garlic marinated quail on spicy ratatouille with a drizzle of jus

• Cobaw Ridge 2006 Lagrein
• Mount Langi Ghiran 2006 Nut Tree Hill Sangiovese
• Freeman Vineyards 2003 Rondinella Corvina

Fourth Course
Duo of succulent Beef with truffle scented mash, vegetables and herb jus

• Tar and Roses 2006 Nebboilo
• Pizzini Wines 2002 Nebbiolo
• Tscharke 2006 Montepulciano

Fifth Course
Selection of cheese with garnishes and house pastes

• Casella Wines 2006 Yendah Vale Durif
• D’Arenberg 2005 The Sticks and Stones Tempranillo Grenache Souszao

A full list of the results for the 2007 AAWWS can be found here

Clafoutis - a Traditional French Cherry Recipe.

Fresh cherries come into the shops in late spring and you can use them for this dish. However I like to make this dish all year round so I often use jars of pitted black cherries.

Cherry Bowl

Simon Steele

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Clafoutis recipe

Ingredients

Use fresh unpitted cherries if in season, other wise use well drained bottled or canned cherries.

• 500 grams cherries
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon of butter
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup Self Raising flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 tablespoon of Kirsch or cherry brandy
• Extra cream for serving

Method

• Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.
• Butter a shallow heat proof serving dish, and spread the cherries evenly over the base
• Beat the eggs lightly. Add the caster sugar and the flour and stir gently. Gradually stir in the the milk, cream and brandy to make a smooth batter.
• Pour batter over the cherries.
• Bake for 25 minutes until batter has risen and the top is just starting to brown.
• Serve warm with the extra cream.

Wine Suggestion

This dessert will go well with a rich full flavoured sweet or semi sweet wine. Use a late picked Pinot gris, or perhaps a Gewurztraminer.

Variation
In late summer after the cherries are all gone you could use blackberries or raspberries.

Pinot grigio and Pinot gris are two wine styles made from the same grape variety. Grigio, the Italian version is typically more acid and has a lighter body. Gris, the French style is fuller and has riper flavours.

How does this happen? It starts in the vineyard. To make the gris style the grapes are allowed to ripen just a little more. A different group of flavour compounds develop, the acid levels drop, the tannins in the skins and seeds of the grape ripen, and there are is a little more sugar.

Then the winemaker takes over, controlling such things as the time the juice is allowed to remain in contact with the lees, the type of yeast used, the temperature of fermentation and dozens of other details. Hence every wine is different.

Pinot Grigio

Louise Max

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Pinot gris/grigio is a very popular wine in Australia, but until the early 1990s there was virtually none grown in the country. Vinodiversity lists nearly 300 Australian wineries with this variety.

Pinot Gris/Grigio and Food

This can be a bit tricky. Grigio styles match well with seafood, Italian foods and antipasto. Pinot gris styles may be best paired with seafood with richer sauces, chicken dishes or perhaps creamy pasta sauces. You may also find late picked Pinot gris which could accompany desserts or soft cheese.

The Australian Alternative Variety Wine Show is held annually in Mildura. The Awards are presented at a Long Lunch, which is a degustation menu for the gold medal winning wines of the previous year. This event gives an opportunity to showcase the best alternative varietal wines with some of the best cuisine available.

Here is the menu for the 2006 Awards, served with the gold medal wines from 2005.
See also the 2006 gold medal winners.

The menu for the 2006 AAVWS Awards presentation

Starters
Eggplant fritters with spicy tomato salsa

• 2005 Redbank Sunday Morning Pinot Gris
• 2005 Yalumba Y series Viognier
• 2004 Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier

First Course
Basil and lime cured ocean trout with rocket, fennel and citrus salad

• 2005 T’Gallant Pinot Grigio
• 2004 T’Gallant Inmogen Pinot Gris
• 2005 Murray Darling Collection Murray Cod Vermentino

Second Course
Roasted tart of potato, roasted capsicum, leek and capers served with proscuitto and basil pesto

• 2004 Cassella Yellowtail reserve Pinot Grigio
• 2005 Brown Brothers Pinot Grigio
• 2004 Yarra Burn Pinot Gris

Third Course
Gnocchetti with veal and porcini ragout

• 2006 Murray Darling Collection Negro Amaro
• 2004 Dunn’s Creek Estate Barbera

Fourth Course
Braised local beef cheeks with soft polenta and gremolata

• 2004 Yalumba Tempranillo Grenache and Viognier
• 2004 Stuart Wines Tempranillo- Buddhas wine

Fifth Course
Extra mature Limestone Cheddar with Peccorino Romano and local muscatels

• 2003 Westend Durif
• 2003 Ferngrove King Malbec

Dessert Course
Summer Berry Pudding with creme anglaise

• 2005 Trentham Estate La Famiglia Moscato

Pinot Grigio Louise Max Buy This Print From Art.com

Olive Garden Spaghetti Delle Rocca

Here is a simple pasta dish that you should be able to whip up in a just 20 minutes or so. I like to use grated Parmesan or Remano Cheese on vegetarian pasta dishes. As there is no meat it would go well with a crisp cool Pinot grigio.
Ingredients

1 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
2 oz. diced red onions
2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
2 oz. quartered button mushrooms
2 lb. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata black olives
1/2 cup pitted green olives
2 teaspoons capers, rinsed
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
Some freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Dry pasta, cooked according to package directions
Grated Parmesan cheese to taste
Method

Start cooking the pasta according to the packet directions
Heat oil in sauce pot.
Add garlic, onions and mushrooms.
Cook for one minute; do not brown.
Add cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, parsley, salt and pepper
Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
Drain the pasta when ready.
Combine sauce and drained pasta in a large serving dish while
both are hot.
Top with grated Parmesan cheese; garnish with fresh
basil leaves.

Wine suggestion:
An Italian white, say a Pinot grigio or Arneis.

Recipe modified from e-cookbook library

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Getting the right sauce is an important skill for chef and the serious home cook. This sauce has been suggested by Trentham Estate as an accompaniment to the Murray Cod Recipe.

All you need is the Trentham Estate La Famiglia Pinot Grigio to go with it.

Ingredients

• Celery (Root) 600 grams
• Milk 400ml
• Water 600ml
• Thyme 1 Sprig
• Celery salt 5 grams
• White Truffle Oil 5 ml
• Pepper
• Cream thickened 40ml

Method

• Peel and dice the celery, cook until soft in milk and water with thyme.
• Puree and pass through a fine sieve, put back on stove and let dry a bit more if necessary to get right consistency.
• Season with celery salt, pepper and truffle oil and finish off with the cream.

Serve with Murray Cod Recipe

Murray cod is a fine river fish that grows to large sizes. Conservation measures and seasonal flooding or drought mean that these fish are not always available, but when you can find some you should try it.
This recipe has been supplied by Trentham Estate to accompany their ‘La Famiglia’ Pinot Grigio. The winery overlooks the Mighty Murray river so it is appropriate that they suggest using one of Australia’s freshwater fish as the basis for this recipe.
Ingredients:

• Murray cod portions - 4 x 180 gr
• Vegetable oil 10 ml
• Butter 10 grams
• Lemon 1 small
• Thyme sprig 4
• Celery puree 400 grams (see separate recipe)
• Baby vegetables - 400 grams (use baby carrots, French beans, snow peas etc)
• Butter 100 grams
• White wine 100 ml
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

• Fillet the fish into portions.
• Butter oven tray and season the fish with thyme, salt and lemon
• Cook in oven on 185*C for 5-8 min (or you can pan fry the fish).
• Peel, trim & blanch the baby vegetables.
• Heat butter and wine in sauté pan and tos toss through the vegetables
• Heat celery pure and arrange on plate.
• Season to taste.

Wine suggestion Trentham Estate ‘La Famiglia’ Pinot Grigio