Let there be no doubt - the Austrian’s know how to throw a party!
The opening event of the Austrian Wine Festival 2012 was the biggest big bottle wine dinner ever held in Singapore. Themed “Balthazar Night” the eight course dinner accompanied by impressive big bottles of wine, a.k.a. Balthazar bottles, heralded the beginning of a full month of wine fun all over Singapore.
The night got off to a festive start with guests enjoying one of Brasserie Wolf’s best aperitif wines – the NV Brundlmayer, Brut Rosé. Everyone sipped, chatted, mixed and mingled with a delegation from the Austrian Consulate bedecked in traditional Austrian garb before being ushered in to the restaurant with triumphant Austrian music blaring.
Michael Thurner – Asia’s Austrian Wine King, entreated everyone to “enjoy the food; enjoy the wine,” before introducing the real stars of the evening - the balthazar bottles!
What lovely big bottles they are. Each bottle – 6 balthazars, 2 imperials, and 2 magnums – was showcased before the dinner along with an offer for those with thicker wallets than mine: For a hundred dollar donation to Singapore Children’s Society, anyone at the event could pour the first decanter of wine from each of the massive bottles with the money going directly to the charity.
With that, the dinner began and the first donor poured a decanter of the first big bottle wine – the Jurtschitsh Gruner Veltiner Loiserberg ’10. This simple and delicious white was sweet and mild –it paired off well with the first two courses of the meal, Rot-Weiss-Rot (beets) and a “Pressed Pigs Head Terrine.”
The culinary stage for the rest of the night: honest, simple, a little rustic but delightful food.
Balthazar #2 was the Tement Sauvignon Blanc Grassnitzberg ‘07. Again, a charitable guest offered up the hundred dollars for the chance to pour the illustrious bottle; in fact someone did for every bottle thereafter. Paired with salmon and barley, the crisp, light, lemony Sav Blanc did wonders for my palate and allowed the rustic simplicity of Austrian cuisine to shine forth beautifully.
The Markowitsch Pinot Noir ’09 came with our fourth course – a mild, soft, and clean pinot. The raviolis, all two of them, danced on my tongue, sharp light bites. The acid in the tomatoes – strong and acerbic, brought everything, the wine especially, to a triumphant zenith.
Next was the Weninger Blaufrankisch Alte Reben’07 a big, fruity wine native to Austria that was my absolute favourite. It was paired with the Duck consommé, two dumplings, and miniature ice cream scoops of vegetables served in a cappuccino cup. The experience brought me back to a childhood of chicken noodle soup – perhaps the ultimate American comfort food – even if wine wasn’t part of my comfort menu as a kid.
With great fanfare and more importantly - success - a young girl who was probably twelve years old, poured the sixth bottle, JR Reinisch St Laurent Frauenfeld Reserve ’07. Where she got the $100 or the strength to pour that bottle was a mystery! With expert form she didn’t spill a drop.
This wine accompanied braised veal cheek, beets, and mashed potatoes - my second favourite dish and ultimately the strongest pairing of the night. The wine, big and tannic, brought out the best in the meat and veg.
The evening’s challenge on conventional food/wine matching came when a white wine, Huber Gruner Veltliner Alte Setzen ’10 was married with the main course of lamb. The sommelier clearly wanted to play it safe so also served a more traditional back-up red, Arachon TFXT Evolution ’04 along with the main.
Both pairings worked well, which proved that Grüner Veltliner is like a pairing stunt-double for most any dish. The sweetness in the Grüner countered the fattiness of the meat quite well. Still I enjoyed the red pairing more. A bias towards red wine aside, the TFXT Evolution was everything you could want and more; big enough to handle the meat, but restrained enough not to overwhelm the flavours.
Intermission in the meal was a high-roller auction supporting Singapore’s Children Society. Tement Winery donated a 12L Balthazar bottle for the cause. The auction started low, at $500, but quickly rose to an astonishing $2600 dollar for the bottle. Everyone joined in the fun (if not the auction) such that by the end people were yelling and cheering the last two competing bidders.
The final course brought the whole night to a successful close; the sweet desert wine, Tschida TBA Samling ’06, delivered more than a spoon full of sugar to the table. The desert – ice cream, cheese, and a nougat dumpling – was a study in textural diversity and flavour. Nothing was too sweet, everything was perfect and pretty. I couldn’t have asked for a better little treat to top the night off.
With loads of wine and wonderfully delicious, rustic and enjoyable food everyone had an amazing time. I’d sum it up this way: If the food was good, the wine was great…and if the wine was great - the night was grand!
The Austrian Wine Festival is off to a helluva start! Go out and enjoy an evening of it!
Contributed by Ansel Ashby, TLN Blogger/Writer
