Things have been a little hectic lately in the life of Alex Mac and the spare time that I would normally use to research all things wine seems to have evaporated just as wine does from my glass. Something that I can talk about without having to do further research is wine bars in Sydney.
Since the liquor laws changed and licences became more affordable for cafes and the like, it seems that there is a wine bar popping up on every corner. The transformation provides the late twenties, early thirties crowd somewhere to go where they can still enjoy drinking the evening away, without the hassle that accompanies monster bars like The Sheaf or the Ivy.
Some of my favourite wine bars in Sydney are as follows in alphabetical order.
Bambini Wine Room 185 Elizabeth St, Sydney
This is a truly stunning wine bar where the decor is fit for a French royalty of days gone by. The wine bar is a small room near the restaurant where more formal dining takes place. There are chandeliers hanging from the beautifully decorated ceiling, deeply enticing wall paper which creates a comfort and sophistication to the room. The wines are good and there are lovely little nibbles to accompany many different types of wine. Value for money is not really the point here though. The extra money you pay on your glass of wine and food goes to maintaining a superb ambience which is why I keep going back.
Bar H 80 Campbell Street Surry Hills
You must know by now that Bar H is one of my all time favourites. Other than the fact that it is literally two blocks from my front door, there is a calmness and elegance of this place that lures me time and time again. The walls are ingeniously decorated with steel frames filled with wine bottles from floor to ceiling. You can sit at the bar and nibble away on some chilli nuts as the lovely sommelier lets you taste some interesting and ever changing wines until you find something you like, have a full meal at one of the cosy booths or watch the world go by from the window. The light is low and warm, and the employees welcome you as if you were an old friend. Perhaps I have become one though...
Bootleg 175 Victoria Street Potts Point
This is a great little bar that I have met friends for a pre-dinner glass of wine. They do serve Italian food and the restaurant is very popular however to date I have not eaten here. The novelty of Bootleg is that they have an enormous wine list and are constantly changing it around. Each week or so they open several white varieties and several red varieties. Customers are encouraged to try some different types of wine to expand their wine knowledge and excite the taste buds with something a little different. I think that this is a pretty cool concept as it forces people out of their comfort zone and enables them to delve just a little deeper into their wine appreciation.
DeVine 32 Market Street, Sydney CBD
This is a little gem in the middle of the bustling CBD. I have again frequented this place. It was here that I discovered the wonderful world of wine from Alsace. It was like a ray of sunlight shone through the window and onto my heavenly glass of wine. There is a wine bar at the front but this becomes absolutely packed after work so you had better get in early to get a seat. The restaurant in the back is also nice but much less social. They have a great selection and the staff know what they are talking about when it comes to wine. Finally the food is definitely value for money. The antipasto plate offers a large assortment of goodies and not just a small piece of parmesan, two olives and some shaved parma ham (hello Felix!).
I have just realised that I am only up to D yet have filled a page more than I expected. I guess it is easy to see where my evaporated spare time goes. We will have to continue with the wine bars in later blogs, as we have only just begun! Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac :)
Monday 18 June 2012
Tuesday 5 June 2012
Wine Club - Oh what a joy!
As avid supporters of Alex Mac Wine Blog you will know that two weeks ago was the second instalment of wine club for the year and boy did we make up for lost time. I was joined by the usual suspects and a few new additions to the fun. We changed things around a little this time and tried to explore wines from different countries that are increasingly becoming apparent on wine lists. As a serious chill has hit the Sydney air we decided to warm ourselves with three different reds and loud belly laughter. Our victims of the evening were Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Tempranillo.
To give you a little background: Pinot Noir is a light style of red wine that is particularly fussy in its growing requirements. I was informed by my friend at the Oak Barrel bottle shop that contrary to my initial thoughts that Pinot Noir is quite different to Sangiovese and Tempranillo which can be used interchangeably. However when I delved deeper into the discussion his opinion of this was primarily based on the growing conditions of Pinot Noir. A Pinot is somewhat like an Eastern suburbs metro sexual. He is sophisticated and elegant almost to the point of being feminine. With his slim appearance he fits in with the stylish crowd and complements dinner party festivities well. On the flip side though he is a little light weight and lets just say in a fight with Sangiovese or Tempranillo he would come out black and blue. While he can offer discussions of culture and history his view is somewhat narrow as his experience of life is limited to the Eastern Suburbs, Burgundy, Tasmania, Central Otago and a few others.
We had a few Pinots to try and they were all delicious. The challenge this time was to match the chosen wine with a suitable plate. We tried Ninth Island Pinot Noir from Tasmania which was super light that cost around $30 and was incredibly easy to drink. Matched with this Ali brought a French brie with black truffle suggested by the assistant at the great little cheese shop on Bourke St, Uccello.
Lovely Lilliana brought a 2009 Pinot Noir from Rabbit Ranch in Central Otago, NZ. We paired this with roasted kangaroo and pesto pasta. This wine had a little more depth and was strong enough to pair with the strong game flavours of the kangaroo. Our final Pinot was from the home of Pinot itself, Burgundy. Laura again brought cheese, some crackers and a little dark chocolate to finish off. The chocoholic in me was duly impressed at her foresight!
Knowing a little bit more about the three varieties we moved onto the Sangioveses. We had two versions of this too and both were again delicious. Sangiovese is a medium bodied grape that is more liberal in the regions that it will inhabit. Sangiovese is the smooth talking Italian who is happy to travel abroad and share the joys of Italy, however he maintains a tight knit allegiance with his home country.
Chloe and Laura (number 2) were the wine clubbers who were seduced by Sangiovese. We tried the 2010 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Sangiovese which was quite rich and dark in colour. It was a delicious wine, but something that you would more try with food in my opinion. The 2006 Montrose Sangiovese from Mudgee was a real delight. Apparently the earliest plantings in Australia of the Sangiovese grape were by Mr Montrose in Mudgee, who would have thought? To go with this little treat that only cost $26 we had traditional Italian antipasti with parma ham, olives and sun dried tomatoes. Yummo!
Finally it was poor little Tempranillos turn and as fate would have it Phillipa and I brought exactly the same bottle. From my last blog you know that Tempranillo is the Spanish grape that defines wine from the Rioja region. From the wine that we tasted, the Calo 2009 Rioja Tempranillo it is easy to understand the confusion on the shop assistants face at the Oak Barrel when I said that we were going to compare Tempranillo and Pinot Noir. The spanish grape is clearly a medium to full bodied wine and will do the flamenco on your taste buds if you are not careful. I matched this wine with some chorizo fried haloumi with lemon.
Wine club was a smashing success once again. Thank you to my lovely clubbers who make learning about wine such a joy.
Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac :)
 |
| Ali, Phillipa & Laura J |
We had a few Pinots to try and they were all delicious. The challenge this time was to match the chosen wine with a suitable plate. We tried Ninth Island Pinot Noir from Tasmania which was super light that cost around $30 and was incredibly easy to drink. Matched with this Ali brought a French brie with black truffle suggested by the assistant at the great little cheese shop on Bourke St, Uccello.
Lovely Lilliana brought a 2009 Pinot Noir from Rabbit Ranch in Central Otago, NZ. We paired this with roasted kangaroo and pesto pasta. This wine had a little more depth and was strong enough to pair with the strong game flavours of the kangaroo. Our final Pinot was from the home of Pinot itself, Burgundy. Laura again brought cheese, some crackers and a little dark chocolate to finish off. The chocoholic in me was duly impressed at her foresight!
 |
| Chloe and her Sangiovese |
Knowing a little bit more about the three varieties we moved onto the Sangioveses. We had two versions of this too and both were again delicious. Sangiovese is a medium bodied grape that is more liberal in the regions that it will inhabit. Sangiovese is the smooth talking Italian who is happy to travel abroad and share the joys of Italy, however he maintains a tight knit allegiance with his home country.
Chloe and Laura (number 2) were the wine clubbers who were seduced by Sangiovese. We tried the 2010 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Sangiovese which was quite rich and dark in colour. It was a delicious wine, but something that you would more try with food in my opinion. The 2006 Montrose Sangiovese from Mudgee was a real delight. Apparently the earliest plantings in Australia of the Sangiovese grape were by Mr Montrose in Mudgee, who would have thought? To go with this little treat that only cost $26 we had traditional Italian antipasti with parma ham, olives and sun dried tomatoes. Yummo!
Finally it was poor little Tempranillos turn and as fate would have it Phillipa and I brought exactly the same bottle. From my last blog you know that Tempranillo is the Spanish grape that defines wine from the Rioja region. From the wine that we tasted, the Calo 2009 Rioja Tempranillo it is easy to understand the confusion on the shop assistants face at the Oak Barrel when I said that we were going to compare Tempranillo and Pinot Noir. The spanish grape is clearly a medium to full bodied wine and will do the flamenco on your taste buds if you are not careful. I matched this wine with some chorizo fried haloumi with lemon.
Wine club was a smashing success once again. Thank you to my lovely clubbers who make learning about wine such a joy.
Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac :)
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