Wine Chat

By Niall Roeder.

Vino. The good drop. The elixir of the gods. Most of us love the stuff, some of us know a bit about the stuff and a select few of us know all there is to know about the stuff. One of those people is Shun Eto. He’s the QT Sydney Wine Curator and the man everyone wants to be best mates with… Understandably. I caught up with him to talk about which wines are coming into season, which wines we should be drinking with what food and how to diffuse an awkward celebrity dinner with wine.

Which wines are coming into season now?

Blends! GSM (Grenache + Shiraz + Mataro), Aussie Dry Claret (Shiraz + Cabernet) and textural Field Blend Whites with a touch of skin contact. In my opinion single varterial wines e.g. Pinot Noir, can be lonely sometimes… Blends offer more character and different flavours, kinda like a full orchestra, as opposed to a solo artist. They taste wicked when they harmonise and grow old together…

And what are we matching those sorts of wines with?

A great match with the textural Field Blend Whites are beautiful seasonal veggies. I’m talking cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, and brussel sprouts with a rich 63-degree egg with a buttery sauce. For the blended reds go gamey red meat. Think emu, wallaby, venison, duck, or juicy wild boar.

Which Aussie wines should we keep an eye out for?

Margaret River is killing it at the moment. Almost anything from this region is delicious, especially their Chardonnay (personal fave) and Cabernet Sauvignon. Check out L.A.S Vino, Cullen, Moss Wood, Domaine Naturaliste, and Vasse Felix. They are good value compared to their Napa Valley and Bordeaux equivalents, and will last for many years in the cellar as well. Also, watch out for the 2014 wines from Mclaren Vale. Great examples are coming from Cape Barren, Yangarra and Hickinbotham Wines. They are all going to be kick-ass.

Tell us about your favourite drop at the moment?

I was just in Mosel and Pfalz last month, so German Riesling is currently my wow wine. It has an ability to hyper-evolve in a glass. Most of the top current vintages of top rizza (sommelier talk for Riesling) will outlive us all… Great aged examples are coming from JJ Prum (Sweet Style Wines) and Dr Lossen (Dry Style Wines). If I had to say one wine that I tasted this year, so far, it would be 2003 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Goldkapsel, Mosel, Germany. It was pure, youthful and utterly stunning!

What are some general tips for the average Joe to keep in mind when choosing a wine?

Don’t be afraid to let the waiter know your wine budget, it’s fine to ask which wine is good value. Note – good sommeliers always undervalue the dollar worth of their favourites on a list. Also, we have a #winepolicy at Gowings Bar & Grill that if the wine is less than $100 and you don’t like it after tasting, we will take it back and sell it by the glass to someone who loves it. Life is too short for drinking vino you don’t like.

And what about some tips on tasting and describing wine?

Remember to take your time when you taste. Smell, swirl, smell again, take a good mouth full and really taste it. Leave the juice in your mouth and swirl it around. Then ask yourself, “what does it remind you of?”, “Do I like it?”, “Does it taste high quality?”. This will give you a good idea about the wine and help you put this wine in your taste bank. When you’re describing wine use broad words, like ‘tropical’ or ‘red berry fruits’, opposed to being really specific… no one likes a #winewanker

You’re sitting at dinner with Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Tay Tay keeps squawking about her seven Grammy’s and Kanye keeps rudely interrupting her. You need a champion wine so good, it’ll shut them both up. What do you order?

What a question! Hmm… If I had to throw one wine out there it would be a Nebuchadnezzar of Champagne! I think Armand de Brignac ‘Ace of Spades’ Brut Gold 15L (Jay-Z has shares in this company) would be best choice. It comes in a GIANT shiny gold bottle with an embossed spade on it. No one is going to get upset after a 15L bottle of what is considered by some the best champagne in the world is being cracked.

After the success of last month’s Wine Appreciation Club we have decided to highlight McLaren Vale, another great Australian wine region. Join our Wine Curator Shun Eto and Radek Dunka June 25 (2pm – 3:30pm) to taste some of leading wines from the region. For further information and to book tickets please call (02) 8262 0062