South - wine and food from Australia and New Zealand

Why Martinborough Pinot Noir gets overshadowed by Central Otago

And it does! And the folks in Martinborough in the North Island of NZ quite rightfully have a chip on their shoulder about it too. Martinborough has been around as a wine region longer than Otago. So why do so many people think Otago in the South before Martinborough? Well I don't think it is about the wine, they are both stellar regions for Pinot (Martinborough generally produces a more nuanced, structured style of Pinot while Central Otago, can have longer summer days so often riper and more fruit driven). But lets face it, from all reports, Central Otago is one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world and they have done a great job marketing that along with their wines (this photo is of the spectacular Rippon Vineyard, imagine getting up to that every morning?).  

I was in Martinbrough a few weeks ago and tasted some exceptional wines (Ata Rangi, Martinborough Estate, Alana, Dry River to name just a few...) Martinborough has a lot going for it too, it is an hour from the capital Wellington, a quaint small town designed with streets in the shape of a Union Jack (which I thought was slightly a nice throwback touch in itself). It has an exceptional restaurant (Wendy Campbells French Bistro) and nice little cheese shops and cafes and great coffee, which is essential on an extended wine trip. Added to that, all the best vineyards are a  convenient 10 minute drive from the square and their are some good accommodation options like the Martinborough Hotel which is centrally located.  

Even as it was gearing up for vintage, Martinborough is a quiet little town; it feels more like a rural stop than a sophisticated wine destination. So I suspect that is why is get treated a bit like the red headed stepchild of Central Otago. Certain winemakers I spoke to (who shall remain nameless) hate the constant comparison given their vines are generally older (and they believe their wines better of course). So my way around it is to let the wines speak for for themselves;  I'll take Martinborough Pinot tonight and Otago tommorow night, anything wrong with that?

Pinot across the Tasman- October wine club

Abel Tasman, was a Dutchman and the first European explorer to discover Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. He came by way of Mauritius, a rather circuitous route but we’re glad he took the time. His bosses at the Dutch East Trading Company thought it kind of a bum find so no one bothered to go back to the islands for more than 100 years until James Cook made his big discovery (although some intrepid folks did bump into mainland Australia by accident every now and again). Now Tassie and Kiwiland produce some of the best Pinot Noir south of Burgundy.

this months wines

Cooralook, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, 2005 Bright youthful red fruits dominate followed by secondary notes of forest floor. This wine is in its prime. A great example of what Melbourne’s coastal neighbor can produce.

Seven Terraces, Pinot Noir, Marlborough, 2006 Red and black fruits underpinned with sweet spices and autumn leaves. A very distinctive Pinot Noir that is drinking very well now and will cellar for a couple more years.

Pirie, ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir, Tasmania, 2005 Bright red raspberry notes complimented with underlying dark cherry fruit flavors. Plenty of cellaring potential. Drink now until 2015.

Two Paddocks, ‘Picnic’, Pinot Noir, Central Otago, 2006 Generous red and black cherry notes with subtle hints of vanilla bean and five spice. A great balance of vibrant fruit and mouthwatering acidity.

Stand by innocently

On Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting the Yarra Valley, arguably one of the best places in Australia to grow the great grapes of Burgundy (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). Our first stop, 10 AM sharp was the winery of Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander where we caught up with the wonderful Steve Flamsteed, the winemaker of those 2 brands. Owners Phil and Allison Sexton made the unusual choice of building the winery smack bang in the middle of Healsville, a town of the Yarra Valley. Its a stunningly modern building, all angles and iron, with a restaurant looking straight into the winery barrel room, giving the wine tasters and eaters a feeling of being in the middle of the action. I love people who take risks in the wine world like these guys do. But interestingly enough, their winemaking techniques are very traditional and would be at home in a chateau. Hand picking, gentle pressing, gravity flow. If the winery wasn't so spanking clean , modern and deviod of dust and mould, it could be run by a Frenchman...

I will review the estate Giant Steps wines later but for today, Innocent Bystander is the focus. I love this name. The label is a nod (well jab) to the  unbiquitous large wine corporations who dominate the wine trade, leaving the smaller guys, looking on from the shadows.The Sangiovese Merlot is very popular at South (we serve it by the glass in and sell it on www.TheSouthShop.com ). I was also extremely impressed with the Shiraz Viognier too. The Shiraz Vineyard is 85 years old so the quality of the juice is killer. This Cote Rotie blend is more common in other areas of Australia like Canberra (than the Yarra) but I found it to be exceptional.

The guys at Giant Steps have opened a marvellous restaurant attached to the winery with a dedicated cheese guy serving up French and Australian cheeses, a baker making fresh bread and a pizza guy slinging some serious dough into the large woodfire ovens. The restaurant interior is industrial chic, the best part is you are sitting smack bang in the middle of a winery, with loud music playing, cartoon faces of the staff on the walls and a lot of people working there looking like they are having a bloody good time. This is a place that takes its wine and food, but not itself, too seriously.

My baby is 6 months old, time to go to a winery!

Its been awhile, having a baby will do that to you. But I'm back on board, with a baby sleeping through the night and some help during the day. Back to the land of the living! So time to get back on the blog horse, and into the winery saddle. So what better way to kick off my return to blogging than to share a photo of my little one visiting Charles Melton Winery last week in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. In fact, he has been to about 10 wineries already in his short life and has the photo trail to prove it. We plan to document all his childhood visits for fun and to instill in him an appreciation of fine wine (but hopefully not a drinking problem). A word from the little man (or what I thought he was thinking....) Cheers, Liz

"Mum told me Anna likes serve the Charles Melton sparkling shiraz at South to all the Americans. They think cold sparkling red wine is strange at first but then they like it (mum reckons Anna can make anyone drink just about anything). Dad was on the phone for a long time so mum eavesdropped on the Poms tasting next to her as they argued loudly about which wines were the best. Mum met the very nice Virginia Melton there and bought some of her namesake Rose of Virginia. They talked about how it is a good hot summer night on the verandah wine, whatever that is?"

Luke cooking at Charlie Palmer's Pigs + Pinot event

Luke cooked at Charlie Palmer's Annual Pigs and Pinot event to benefit Share our Strength last month.

Hosted at the Dry Creek Kitchen, each course featured the culinary creations of a renowned chef – Charlie Palmer, Michael Ellis, David Burke, Luke Mangan, Nancy Oakes and Philippe Rispoli – paired with two limited production Pinot Noirs from a highly acclaimed winery including Rochioli, Kosta Browne, Dutton Estate, Diamond Valley from Australia, and Domaine de la Vougeraie and Jean-Claude Boisset from Burgundy.

Food and Wine Magazine cover

Well its been way too long since we have posted but we are back on track. There has been moves, new houses, imminent new babies, the works. A few other exciting things have happened too. This month South's lamb cutlets  are on the cover of Food and Wine Magazine and we have lanched our new website.

The cover features one of our favourite wines too that we sell at South by the glass, the Wynns Black Label Cab from Coonawarra. Its excellent value for the money from a superb cab region of Australia.
Cheers!

Vote for South for best restaurant of 2007

Hi all, today the voting came out for the Top 3 restaurants of 2007 from Daily Candy. We feel very honored to be in such great company, you can click on this link to vote for South if you would like to support us. Cheers and Happy Holidays to all..

http://www.dailycandy.com/sweetest_things/2007/san_francisco/taste.jsp 

 

Day four of the Sweetest Things is upon us. It’s time to drown out the noise and hang out with your buds — taste buds, that is.

We’ve given you food for thought. Now give us your vote for the hottest new chef, baker, or other foodie front-runner.

And the nominees are…

  Chef Mark Sullivan
Spruce

Chef Mark Sullivan of Village Pub fame proved to be a master of upscale seasonal American cuisine at his long-awaited neighborhood restaurant in Presidio Heights.

Nate Appleman and Daniel Holzman
SPQR

Co-executive chefs Nate Appleman and Daniel Holzman taught us to eat and drink as the Romans do at the sister osteria to A16 on Fillmore.

Anna Weinberg, Liz O’Connell, and Luke Mangnan
South

Owners Anna Weinberg and Liz O’Connell joined forces with Sydney superstar chef Luke Mangnan to bring the fresh flavors of antipodean food and wine to SoMa.

Anna on ABC TV on Friday

San Francisco Magazine editor Jan Newbury and Anna shot a live story from South Friday about hot new restaurants opening in San Francisco. Sous chef Josh also starred in the 3 minute piece (he was very nervous but both he and Anna did a great job). Check it out at

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/food_wine&id=5836266

corked wine in the restaurant

More than half the wines on the South wine list are screw capped wines. We love them for a few reasons.

1. It makes it much quicker for waiters to get drinks out to people, we hate people waiting (I hate waiting for drinks!)

2. Wines are NEVER corked (because they have no cork of course). You still need to make sure they weren't spoiled by heat or some other issue but that is highly unusual.

3. Its easier to seal them during service to retain freshness (for wines we serve by the glass)

On Tuesday night we had a big group of doctors in ordering one of our expensive Cabernets and 3 out of the 4 bottles were corked. In this situation we send it back to the distributor and they are usually good about replacing it but unfortunately the guest is disappointed (particularly after their first bottle was spectacular) and we don't feel comfortable continuing to open more bottles so we need to change wines. We can always recommend an alternative of course but still we'd rather the wines weren't bloody corked! This is not the fault of the winery, but the cork itself which is infected with bacteria. Wineries can be careful about choosing high grade cork but there are no guarantees that the more you pay, the safer you are. The Portuguese cork producers say the incidence has decreased and that they are solving the problem (see this article) but the jury is still out there. Some industry pundits say that up to 10% of wines are tainted by cork to varying degrees and the Australian Wine Research Institute leads the world in the research into screw caps, cork and cork taint and synthetic corks. My humble experience in the restaurant is about 5-7%.

New Zealand led the way using screw caps commericially back in the 90's and Australia followed. For white wines meant to be drunk young, there seems is no downside to screw caps, they are fresher and seal better but the argument continues for ageable reds. Time will tell on that. Now most of the reds and whites in New Zealand are screw capped, in Australia almost all of the age worthy reds of note are still sealed with cork including the best wines like Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace. Most of the winemakers you talk to however would prefer to use screw caps but their marketing people are against it fearing backlash from luxury wine drinkers in the US. 

Interestingly, we have had very few negative comments on the amount of wines in screw caps at South from our guests. I think I had one email about it  where I customer said if she was paying $40 for a bottle of wine, she thinks that screw caps are tacky but South customers seem to be absolutely fine with it, the tide has turned with the discerning US wine consumer I am pleased to say.  Or perhaps it is just the very smart people that come to South :-)

Wine Spectator blog on South

Harvey Steiman At Large

Looking South

Posted: 02:45 PM ET, December 03, 2007

Those who have been there know how well Australia's food scene has kept up with the wines in quality and innovation. Surprisingly few Aussies have ventured to this side of the Pacific Ocean to show us what they can do, however. Now one of the best has gained a foothold in San Francisco.

Luke Mangan, whose restaurants in Sydney (and now Tokyo) get high accolades, is the culinary mind behind South Food + Wine Bar, which opened in November in SF's trendy South of Market district. The 50-seat bistro has a casual vibe, an all-Australia, New Zealand and South Africa wine list, and a real taste of Oz.

Mangan's partners in South know what they're about when it comes to things antipodean. Liz O'Connell, born in Perth, grew up at her parents' winery, Mandalay Lane. She left her vice president's position with Foster's, Australia's largest wine company, to pursue this project with New Zealand-born Anna Weinberg. She most recently managed Ame, husband and wife team Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani's San Francisco sister restaurant to their Napa Valley-based Terra.

Carved out of what had been a deli in a warehouse-type commercial building across the street from the Caltrain station (and two blocks from AT&T Park, where the Giants play baseball), the space is fitted out with tables made of jarra, a beautifully grained Australian hardwood, and wood-lattice light fixtures designed by New Zealander David Trubridge.

"We didn't want any koalas or kangaroos," Liz said. The restaurant's designer, Chloe Warner, based her wall mosaic on Anna's carved Maori necklace.

The buzzing crowd scene attests to how well these partners have thought through what they're doing. For example, Mangan obviously can't be there all the time, so he installed Nicole Ferguson as chef. She worked with him for six years, and most recently opened a resort in South Africa for Richard Branson of Virgin. She runs the kitchen between Mangan's visits, planned for every couple of months.

Ferguson encloses whole New Zealand green lip mussels in delicate dumplings, floating them in a mildly spicy coconut broth, pefect for a fresh white like Leasingham Riesling Magnus 2004 ($28). "Rozelle Spices," an aromatic blend from Australia, flavors grilled fillets of barramundi, a white-fleshed fish, nicely enhancing Vasse Felix Chardonnay Adams Road 2005 ($46).

A good way to start is with the Bushman's Plate, ($13 for two), a platter of interestingly cut and seasoned grilled vegetables, salame and lamb sausages. It's the sort of thing you see served at Australian cellar doors (what they call tasting rooms). The salmon sashimi, made from pure-tasting Tasmanian salmon and drizzled with lime cream, also mates well with the Southern Hemisphere's crisp, aromatic whites.

I also recommend the barbecued baby chicken, redolent of ginger, the pieces arrayed around a generous mound of pickled cucumber that's been cut into long strips. High marks, too, for the New Zealand lamb cutlets, which are really double chops with mint-infused chimichurri. If you're a squash fan like me, don't miss the curry-roasted butternut with goat cheese. Spectacular.

Limited storage keeps the wine list at 80 options, rotated among 300 wines on a master list. High-end wines such as Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series 2001 ($130) and Clarendon Hills Syrah Hickinbotham 2004 ($165) offer better value than the high markups on the lower end (sometimes four times retail). But you can sample a glass of this or that for around $12 and buy a bottle for less than $50.

I asked Liz about this. "It's true, the bargains are on the high end," she said. "I'm comfortable with the markup at the low end. Most people come and want to try something new. They know Australian Shiraz or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but they don't realize the regional differences and the less familiar wine types. Aussies come in and most of them know [the wines], but there'll be conversation about what they should have with 75 percent of the people."

Indeed, perceptive wine lovers can find Jansz Rosé NV ($44), a nice pink fizzer from Tasmania, or Innocent Bystander Sangiovese blend 2004 ($44) from Yarra Valley, or Mount Langi Cliff Edge Shiraz 2002 ($46) from Victoria.

"Where it's possible, I highlight smaller producers, and regionality," Liz added. That's fine, but my experience with too many of the choices (especially among the New Zealand wines) is that better wines exist at similar prices.

Still, South delivers a happy, buzzy dining experience. The welcome and the food make you smile, and careful choices from the wine list can create a perfect meal.