At Ziggy Green, the Daisy Green group’s new “Paired” dinners put winemakers centre stage, blending rare pours, bold Australian cooking and plenty of raconteur charm – starting with a Riesling-led collaboration that proves some traditions are worth reviving…
The idea of having a flight of wines with a tasting menu has become immensely popular over the years and there are now plenty of variations on this theme – sake flights, for instance, at Japanese restaurants. And, of course, you wouldn’t be surprised at these showcasing dinners to find a very knowledgeable sommelier to tell you about the wines he’s chosen to go with the food. Now, however, you can go one step further and get the story from the horse’s mouth. ‘Paired’ is a series of monthly, producer-led Australian wine dinners from Aussie restaurant group, Daisy Green, where the winemakers themselves tell you their stories and introduce some very rare pours along the way.
The first in the series was mostly (though by no means exclusively) about Riesling and the unusual collaboration of two winemaking dynasties – Jim Barry Wines of Clare Valley in Australia and Loosen Wines in Germany’s Central Mosel regions. Represented by Sam Barry (third generation) and Erni Loosen (sixth generation) they proved to be premier cru raconteurs between courses, relating the story of how a friendship between two winemaking families produced the apparently crazy idea of introducing long-abandoned historic methods of making and ageing Riesling (a wine at this point almost always drunk young) on the other side of the world. It might have sounded crazy but it worked – to such an extent, in fact, that the LoosenBarry wines are now among the most acclaimed in Australia.
It could be argued – and it certainly is by both of these winemakers – that Riesling is the world’s most expressive grape, and that is especially true when it is shaped by traditional techniques including wild fermentation and extended lees ageing in German oak barrels (yes, they were shipped over to Australia). At the heart of the evening is Wolta Wolta Riesling and two were served for comparison – the 2021 and the 2018 (just in case we needed persuading on the matter of how well Riesling can age).
These came with the fish course (hake in a crab bisque sauce) that was simply delicious as was all of the carefully constructed menu that married some exceptional modern cooking with an Australian accent. The canapé of choice, for instance, was a choux ball of vegemite and pickled walnut purée! A yellowfin tuna tostada came with one of Barry’s most famous wines, “The Florita” while the BBQ dry aged fillet switched to a very fine red Shiraz “The Armagh”.
The evening was staged – and I use the word advisedly, given these two winemakers could have an alternative career in stand-up – at Ziggy Green in Heddon Street, just off Regent Street and further Paired dinners are going to be held every month around the group’s restaurants including on their barge, Peggy Jean at Riverside Green, and at Larry’s in the National Portrait Gallery. If the food, wine and the craic (did I mention the Barry family come from Cork?) are as good as LoosenBarry, I’d make it a date.
For more information about Daisy Green, including information of forthcoming dinners in the Paired series, and for bookings, please visit www.daisygreenfood.com.
