Nepenthe Sauvignon Blanc Wine Celebration, Aria
Nepenthe was recently the recipient of the Trophy for the Best Australian Sauvignon Blanc under 10 pounds, awarded at the Decanter World Wine Awards. When Prue and Brett of The Mint Partners extended an invitation to attend the celebrations, with Howard the cripple still down for the count I was more than happy to accept despite my elementary at best wine palate.
The celebrations were held at Aria, and a brisk walk across Circular Quay soon found us at the restaurant, walking inside we were offered a glass of the winning Sauvignon. This is going to be terrible but I’m about to use every phrase I’ve ever mocked for wine descriptions… The white was light and bursting with a fruity flavour which made for lovely drinking. In my estimable glory I may have mentioned to Suze that it smelt like wine. Connoisseur I am not.
2008 Nepenthe Sauvignon Blanc
The crowd tonight seems a mixed group of Nepenthe employees, restauranters, wine critics and bloggers and I soon spot Helen, Lorraine, Mel and Suze. My glass of white is more than enough to get my empty stomach tipsy and Suze and I keep an eye out for the entree platters floating about the room, the entrees for the night are being prepared by Aria and the sight of all the platters soon has me starving.
Smoked Salmon Rolls
Cockle Bay Oysters
We soon realize that the best thing for us to do is to situate ourselves at the far end of the room to intercept the plates before they are decimated by the masses or ourselves. I don’t think bloggers are commonly at wine events as the waiter staff are initially startled when the cameras come out but after a few rounds are pros at assuming the outstretched arm position, even going as far as moving into better light for us.
Deep Fried Prawns
The prawns on the night have been deep fried and are served in individual cups and I found them great fun to eat. Deep fried things are often overly oily or still soft but the prawns give a great crunch in a tiny mouthful, head and all!
Agadashi Tofu
The crowd tonight a decided interested one and seem more amused than anything else by our food blogger antics and flash happy hands. Suze soon finds herself a fan as Sean, the manager of Jonas comes over to proclaim his love for her pannacotta video and for the dessert. He confesses that the sight of the pannacotta moving over the restaurant floor always results in a 10 minute flurry of, ‘I want what she’s having!’.
Lamb Rolls
I have to confess that I may have had 3 of these mini sausage rolls… Wonderfully nutty they were like a balm to my stomach.
Cheesy Profiteroles
I personally find it very easy to be quiet in situations like this but people in the crowd are genuinely interested in what we do and more than a few come up to introduce themselves to us and to ask just us just what is a Blogger? In return I ask for a couple of tips on how to develop my wine palate and am cheekily informed by Michael from Nepenthe to refer to the cheat sheets provided. The sheets list out berries, forest floors and chocolate. I’m smelling the berries at least!
Maguro Tuna
The tuna is easily my favourite dish of the night, done up very simply sashimi style with a choice of Soy sauce or a mild curry sauce. I find myself going for the curry each time as it adds a nice kick to the flavour.
Blue Swimmer Crab Cake
The wine is flowing freely throughout the night and we partake of a glass of the Shiraz, Pinot Gris, and the Pinot Noir. Somewhat over enthusiastically I twirl my glass to the point that it twirls out of my fingers and crashes onto the ground (spilling a fair amount onto Suze on the way! Sorry Suze!). I’m tipsy and embarrassed but my blogger instincts get the better of me and I find myself taking a photo of the damage. The waiter cleaning things up does not look impressed at me. Oops!
It is here that I finally make the acquaintance of Prue, whom we have communicated to various times but never had the opportunity to meet in person. She teasingly mentions that Matt Moran is indeed about the premises but may not make it to the celebrations as he is currently filming the Masterchef finale! Matt does manage to make it to the celebrations towards the end of the night and is gracious enough to take us into the kitchen (cue fangirl cries) and poses for a few photos.
Matt Moran
Super thanks to Prue and Brett for the invitation for the night. Wines are a part of the foodie world which I am still woefully ignorant of, the Sauvignon Blanc is definitely one of the best white wines I’ve tried and one I’ll be looking out for next time I go to a dinner party.
Eat Show & Tell was a guest of The Mint Partners at the Nepenthe Sauvignon Blanc Wine Celebration at Aria on the 2nd of July, 2009.
ARIA Restaurant
1 Macquarie Street
East Circular Quay
Sydney 2000
Ph: (02) 9252 2555
Fax: (02) 9252 2666
Web: http://www.ariarestaurant.com/
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By Minh
Minh is a food, photography, tv loving girl who on occasion likes to think that she can cook. I can't hold my drink for what its worth and have an unhealthy obsession with green tea products.
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This article was written on 06 Jul 2009, and is filed under Events, Sydney, CBD.
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Lol @ you photographing your spilt wine & damage! How awesome that the event was at Aria, the canapes look yummy!
.-= Betty´s last blog ..Lotus – Merivale Winter Feast 09 =-.
Hehe, very nice photos, even of the broken glass. I like it when waitstaff come to the party and suggest ways of improving the photos.
.-= Belle@OohLook´s last blog ..Good Food and Wine Show – and a blue trolley =-.
LOL that’s hilarious that your first instinct was to take photos of your broken glass mess! Now that’s a sign of a true food blogger haha! Looks like a nice even though, the tuna looks delicious.
.-= Steph´s last blog ..Eastwood Garden Peking Restaurant =-.
I am so sorry I didn’t go! I loooove Matt Moran, like seriously, looove him and his food….
.-= Reemski´s last blog ..Bathers Pavilion, Balmoral =-.
How cute are the smoked salmon rolls?!?!
Sounds like a fab event – and yay for an Aussie sauv blanc making some headlines!!!
.-= Tina´s last blog ..Does a fish have a face? =-.
Nice to get a chance to talk with you more Minh! It was a fun night with delicious finger food
.-= Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella´s last blog ..The Big Rig Diner, Darlinghurst =-.
LOL @ the spillage!
The maguro tuna looks divine! Something about sashmi that always gets the best of me. And when you mention mild curry sauce makes me curious as to what it would taste like.
.-= Leona´s last blog ..Cake Connoisseur – Minature cupcakes =-.
bwahahaha mmm it tastes like red… and mushrooms!
hehehe i like the image of you dropping the wine glass, and then as the waiter comes over, quickly taking a photo!
I’m not normally a sausage roll lover, but these nutty little ones sound pretty good.
.-= Arwen from Hoglet K´s last blog ..Quark Cake =-.
Betty: It was my first time at Aria! I’ll have to go back for dinner someday, the view was amazing.
Belle: Isn’t it great when they’re happy to pose? I like to think we’re their evening amusement lol
Steph: Haha, yeh I don’t think I’d even realised the glass was gone before going click!
Reemski: Sorry you didn’t make it! We turned into such fangirls the moment we realised he was there.
Tina: Yay for aussies! I was really surprised how great the wine was (tho shouldn’t have been considering why we were there!)
Lorraine: Was very glad to have bumped into you that night
! I had a lot of fun that night.
Leona: The maguro made me droooool every time it came near us. Sashimi does the same for me too!
Chocolatesuze: hahaha shush you! mmm Shrroooms.
Chris: It was so embarassing lol, it’s the first glass I’ve broken in such a dramatic fashion.
Arwen: We couldn’t stay away from them! They were wonderfully flaky as well, very nice.