Kev + Michael's Super Gourmet Dinner

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Dinner - Saturday March 14th, 2009. A wonderful dinner was enjoyed by 50 guests on Saturday March 14th in the WineBar Cafe for a wonderful feast designed by Michael Lambie (of Taxi Dining Room) and our very own Kevin Henderson. Following canapes of parmesan & anchovy cheese straws and salmon & basil tartare on cucumber with our TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir Rose 2007, guests were treated to a dramatic weather show, when large thunder clouds rolled in accross the Estate very quickly and low to the ground. Once seated in the warmth of the WineBar Cafe, an amuse bouche of warm pumpkin & miso soup with seared Atlantic Scallop & chive toast was served with our newest addition to the range, the TarraWarra Estate Marsanne/Roussanne/Viognier 2008 (MRV for short). Michael and Kev had just that morning picked the pumkins from our very own vegie garden for this dish. General Manager, Simon Napthine let our guests in on a little secret around this time - all profits from this dinner would be donated to the local Healesville CFA in recognition of their tremendous efforts during the recent bushfires and to show our support going forward. Again, we thank all of our guests for making this possible. Entree was king prawn filled zucchini flowers with an asian coleslaw and spicy tomato jus, matched perfectly to a bracket of the Estate's Chardonnay's, the highlight being the highly awarded TarraWarra Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2005 (you can read more about this great wine here...). With the stormy weather brewing outside, the aged fillet of beef with parsley salad, confit shallots foie gras parfait and Madeira jus was a welcomed main course. Perhaps the highlight of the wines on the night was the bracket of TararWarra Estate Pinot Noir that complimented the main course. Starting with the latest release, the TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir 2008, the TarraWarra Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 and finishing with the limited 'Cellar Release' of the TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir 2003. With all of our guests having a lovely and lively time Simon decided to pull out some older gems from the cellar that included the TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir 1988 and TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir 1998, both of which were drinking really well and demonstrated the ageing potential of Pinot Noir. The night's feast concluded with a selection of Victorian cheeses matched to the TarraWarra Estate Tin Cows Shiraz 2005 and TarraWarra Estate Tin Cows Shiraz 2004. This was a really lovely and relaxed evening shared with good friends, great wines and fantastic food. Thanks to all of our guests for joining us and to Darren and the WineBar team for a superb job, as always.