When it comes to dishes with big flavours, like this goat’s cheese with candied fennel and walnuts, there’s a whole host of drinks to be had. Mike Bennie and Merrick Watts chat through the range, from sweet whites and a textural red to ales that do a stellar job.
Mike: This is the kind of dish you actually have – for once in your life – with a semi-sweet wine. Which is kind of weird because most semi-sweet wines are gross. Slightly sweet riesling or a slightly sweet aromatic white wine would go well. As long as it’s got enough acidity. Another thing I thought was Calvados.
Merrick: Let’s go back in time to the end of the second World War and have a victory drink, and that is Calvados.
Mike: That’s what I thought. Goat’s cheese and Calvados is probably one of the finest combinations in food-and- wine pairing. And for an Aussie take, it’s got to be Belgrove Distillery – a Produce Awards trophy winner in 2016. It’s a Pommeau made from salvaged apples turned into a semi-sweet Calvados-style spirit.
Merrick: Here’s the thing, you’ve got goat’s cheese, which I love. Then you have fennel, which is a divisive ingredient; I love it. I remember when I was a kid, I saw the parents of a kid I used to play football with, down at the railway track near where I live, picking fennel. I thought they were cleaning up the tracks, but I realise they were harvesting fennel. It was later in life when I realised they’re delicious!
Mike: I used to drive to Canberra for work and as you approach the ACT, there is wild fennel growing all over the side of the freeway. I used to rip out entire plants and put them in the back of the car.
Merrick: Good to go! So I was thinking about the fennel…
Mike: You have been thinking a lot about fennel! What’s your drink?
Merrick: For a wine I’d have something with a bit of salt to it, and something that’s got a bit of texture and depth. I was thinking like an Albarino. Or you could have a cheeky red like a Seven Hills Barbera. With all the different elements this barbera would be perfect.
Mike: I like the idea of a high-acid white wine with this dish. Great to cut through the creaminess.
Merrick: Love that! Actually, with the fennel and the cheese how about stout, something creamy but a bit bitter? The Invalid Stout from Carlton or Tooheys Old would be great.
Mike: The Sheaf Stout could work, too.
THE CRITIC’S PICKS
Yangarra Blanc 2020, $26
A refreshing blend of Rhone Valley white-grape varieties but made from a biodynamic-farmed vineyard in McLaren Vale. It’s crunchy and fresh with lemon juice-squeezed-on- green-apple flavours. It cuts the creamy texture of the cheese perfectly. Yum.
Belgrove Pommeau, $48
It weighs in at a relatively low 20% alcohol and is made from distilled apple cider with apple juice blended in. It’s bright, gently sweet and utterly seductive drinking. Best served over ice on its own, though a splash of soda is also fine.
Sobah Davidson Plum Gluten Free Ale, $5
This is a great match with this dish, showing tart and sweet Davidson plum flavours, a gentle sourness that’s refreshing, light and zesty. It’s great to drink with the pleasing bite to the cheese.
THE COMIC’S WILDCARD
Ale and cheese are old mates, but fennel has been invited to the party so the dark, gently bitter nature of this beer will act as the mix tape to get this house party started.
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