Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food 

A warm, early spring day for our lunch.  Hal Epstein was chef de jour, and it was the third time this year that Hal had been in the kitchen.  Hal’s first protein was pork, second time it was veal, and the protein of the day this time was fish.  Bucking an evolving trend of corralling other members for assistance, Hal put today’s lunch together solo.

Canapés

Three canapes were served.  The first were fried prawn meat spoonfuls which were seasoned with soy and fish sauce.  Sweet chilli, if desired, was on the side.  Secondly, Hal had prepared prunes stuffed with cream cheese and topped with a whole roasted almond.  The third was lump fish caviar on a cucumber ficelle bread base.

The canapés were abundant and light, and a good match for the reliable Pike’s Reisling.

Main

The main for today was “whole rainbow trout with an indigenous touch”.  Hal apologised that some of the fish supplied were way too large to serve whole, so some were filleted to make plate presentation possible.  Nevertheless, little or no mention was made of this, detracting from what was a splendid main meal.

The whole rainbow trout was brushed with olive oil infused with crushed juniper berries, then baked in foil.  The fish skin was finished with a sprinkle of lemon myrtle before serving.  The trout came on a base of mixed salad leaves, topped with orange slices and whole new potato.  The leaves were seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper, and additional lemon myrtle/juniper flavours.  The bread was baguettes from Baker Bleu Double Bay, sliced diagonally.

The flesh was baked to the perfection of a leading fish restaurant, with the only debate being whether lemon slices are better than orange ones.  Oranges came up trumps, their sweetness and citrus being a great match for the trout flesh.

Cheese

Today’s cheese came from the Berry’s Creek range: Tarwin Blue in the southern Gippsland.  In theme, Berry’s Creek is indeed a minor trout fishing locale in Victoria; the pools yielding rainbow trout of similar size to those served today.  Berry’s Creek is a tributary of the Tarwin.  This cheese has been served at the Society before and was the fromage presented at Wal Edwards’ memorable100th birthday in 2016.

All the Berry’s Creek cheeses are handcrafted using fresh milk from specially selected local farms.  Under the natural rind, the rich buttery texture develops distinct green-blue veins as it ripens in the maturation rooms overlooking Wilson’s Promontory.  After two months, the cheese has developed a creamy texture with a subtle earthiness and delicate hints of spice.  The Berry’s Creek stable has amassed a sizeable portfolio of distinguished pedigree cheese awards nationally and internationally.  Accordingly, today’s cheese was appreciated by the Members.

Wine

We sat down today with reduced numbers, 20 odd, to a delightful meal of baked Snowy Mountains trout prepared by one of our ever-reliable Chefs, Hal Epstein, who did a terrific job in getting all the meals out about the same time, all beautifully cooked and hot and ready to go. Some delicious canapes got our taste buds on a roll beforehand. Well done, Hal, please come back again soon.  Despite the small numbers, the mood in the room was warm and convivial, and all who were there had, I am sure, a jolly fine time.

We got the party started with a Pikes 2022 Clare Riesling @ 12% with the canapes. For the second week in a row, I am going to award the canape wine as my pick of the wines for the day. This was a truly excellent Riesling, gleaming bright yellowish with a trace of green in the colour, excellent fruit, plenty of acid but balanced well with the fruit to deliver a delightful crisp, clean finish which remained on the palate for some time. A very appealing drink, perfect for the canapes. In my view, this wine, the standard Pikes Riesling, is only marginally inferior to Pikes Flagship Riesling, the Merle, which we drank a few weeks ago, with rave reviews by all present. I have been drinking Pikes wine over the years, and I have no doubt that their wine making skills with Riesling have gone in an upward trajectory in recent times, now producing their best ever Riesling.  Well done, Pikes.

First of the luncheon wines was the Schmolzer & Brown Pret A Blanc 2024 @12 % from the King Valley operation in Victoria. The French term translates into “ready to drink white wine". This wine was a real cocktail of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sav B and Sylvaner. This United Nations of grape varieties produced a light-bodied, clear, slightly sweetish wine, enjoyable on the palate and pairing well with the delicate flavour of the trout. The wine was restrained in the flavour department, not a bad thing when being consumed with food of mild flavour. 

Second wine, the Sinapius Gruner Veltliner 2018 @ 13 % from Tasmania, was a wine I did not enjoy. Probably drinking well past its prime, the wine had a deep yellow colour and a rich mouth filling taste, bordering on unctuous. Far too big a wine to drink with the delicate flavours of trout, perhaps would have paired better with chicken, but no matter what food accompanied this wine, it would remain a wine of diminishing appeal, with acid falling away and becoming flabby.

Final wine enjoyed by all was the Helen's Hill Yarra Valley Shiraz 2021 @ 14.8 %. This was a powerful wine with an excessive amount of alcohol. Medium bodied with deep red and black fruit colours, the first sip was slightly sweetish on the front palate with ripe fruit flavours, settling down to eventually finishing with a firm dry finish. Despite the huge alcohol component, the wine was quite enjoyable and not too unbalanced, tannin and oak blending in well. The wine paired well with the delicious Berry's Creek Blue.