Mike Bennie shares his six favourite pairings for wine and meat.
Old-schoolgood- school, fullerflavoured red wine from one of Australia’s great family estates. This is all dark berry and plummy fruit with a whiff of eucalyptus and judicious oak seasoning. Pitch perfect with lamb roast.
From certified organic vines, this is a juicy, bright and slurpable red of sweetripe fruit character, ideally matched to more savoury gamey flavoured dishes, though it drinks a charm in its own right.
Skin-fermented white wines, aka orange wines, work a treat with garlic-laden dishes. This wild-edged expression is vivacious in herbal and citrus scents and flavours, with just-right pucker in the palate to match with the juicy meat.
From a wonderful family (the Brodericks) in the bucolic hamlet of Basket Range in the Adelaide Hills, this sustainably farmed red is silky-textured, medium bodied and generally charming to drink. Decant before you do.
A blend of six red grape varieties adds to this fresh take on easydrinking red wine, though you’ll find more interest than expected with its layers of spice, bright fruit and crunchy texture. Drink with a light chill.
Their earthy, sweet and buttery taste add another dimension to many dishes in a variety of cuisines.
It will come as a surprise to many that pinot gris grapes actually have purple skins, so when you immerse them in their own juice you can produce wines like this, effectively a rosé style. It’s fragrant, crisp, refreshing and ideal with oily fish.
