Our surprise dinner with Aussie winemakers

[KatieLoeb]

I really have to tell this tale before the finer details escape my brain. I went to dinner last night at Le Me Toujours in Marlton, which I have sung the praises of here many times. My dining companions for the evening were SouthJerseyEpicurian Gary and the Fentons. I had received an e-mail mid-afternoon from Canal's Bottlestop, which is a rather large wine shop also located in Marlton, NJ and is perhaps a short half mile and right on the way to our dinner destination. They were hosting visiting winemaker/co-owner Michael Twelftree of Two Hands Wines of Australia. He was to be at the shop from 4:00-6:00 PM to talk about his wines and autograph a few bottles for the interested wine geeks. I've had Two Hands wines many times in the past and they are of excellent quality. In fact they're usually sold out by the time I find out that one of the local shops have them in stock, because there's a small cult of folks that know and love these wines and snap them up the minute they hit the market. We used to carry the Two Hand's "Angel's Share" Shiraz on the list at Striped Bass and that's where I was first introduced to Two Hands wines. I called the shop to see if there was any chance that Mr. Twelftree would be hanging around just a bit later so we might be able to catch him for a moment and purchase a few bottles of his wines. The very nice Wine Manager named Rob introduced himself and said to call when we were on our way and he'd be able to give me a better idea if there was still a crowd or if they could wait a few minutes for us to arrive. Alas, when we called, they were just getting ready to leave for their dinner at LE ME TOUJOURS. We stopped a bought a few bottles of the Two Hands wines that Rob had Michael autograph for us and had very kindly put aside. And off we went to dinner.

Kai, the owner/MaitreD' of Le Me Toujours knows me well and knows what a wine geek I am, so he was kind enough to sit us at a table next to Michael Twelftree of Two Hands, Mohammed Ansaar of Fonthill Winery and Wayne Keoghan of Annvers Wines, as well as Ron Sanders of Vine Street Imports, their local distributor. What fun!!! Might as well have been the Rolling Stones at the next table as far as I was concerned. I was in Wine Geek Heaven. All throughout our dinner we were swapping tastes back and forth with the wine guys. They definitely came armed with some big guns too. A 1990 Chateauneuf-du-Pape whose maker escapes me (I should have been taking notes but I was having too much fun to be pedantic), several other examples of Australian wines that are carried in Vine Street's portfolio as well as a wine that Ron tried to stump me with. He poured a lovely amber wine into a glass and asked me to guess what it was. It smelled all the world of minerals, humus and citrus zest . There's one and only one wine on the planet that smells and tstes like this wine did. But my second thought was "what silly fool would share this with strangers" and didn't go with my instinctual first guess. It was Clos de Coulee de Serrant. DAMN!!! Shoulda trusted my gut! In turn we shared some of our Ratzenberger sparkling Riesling and a bottle of Unti Grenache rose that Gary and I had brought along respectively. Turns out that Ansaar's (I believe the gentleman prefers to be called by his surname) Fonthill Winery specializes in Grenache wines and he thought the rose was pretty cool. Wayne and Ansaar eventually came over and sat at our table with us and we shared stories about Australia and their families and children and basically just had a wonderful time. Indeed we were having so much fun that we ended up giving Wayne and Ansaar a lift back into Philly to their hotel which was quite near where the Fentons and myself all live. Way way

Our dinner was also spectacular, lest I forget to mention that here. The highlights for me were the Spicy Shrimp Tom Yum soup (which I always order as it's my favorite rendering of this dish I've ever tasted), the Golden Pouches dumpling appetizer, a Tuna Carpaccio special appetizer that I ordered that had lots of capers and had been marinated in some sort of citrus, Gary's Bronzino that was flaky and delicious and the Raspberry Crusted Rare Tuna dish that I had ordered as my entree that was just about the most perfect thing with the pink wine. Yum!! I barely remember dessert, but I think Beth's mousse-like tropical fruit confection was my favorite. All in all a spectacular evening with inordinate amounts of great food, great wine and great company.

I must book my trip to Australia immediately...

[Andrew Fenton]

It's true: Katie was like a twelve-year-old at a Hanson concert, all screaming, crying, jumping up and down and whatnot. With good reason; all the Aussies (and the Jerseyites) were very cool, and it was great to meet them. By the end of dinner there were so many glasses on the table that you couldn't reach for your fork without playing a little tune. Hooray for wine geekery, I say!

This was my introduction to Me Toujours, and it was every bit as good as I've heard for years now. My bouillabaisse entree was as wonderful a mix of French and Vietnamese as you could ask for: ultra-fresh fish, scallops, shrimp and a lobster tail, with a rich broth, served over cellophane noodles. And the "golden packets" are like little UPS deliveries from culinary heaven ("Why yes! I'd be happy to sign for those packets!")

Absolutely a lovely evening; who could ask for more?

[StInGeR]

YIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE a South Australian finally makes it to NJ. Pity it's not from the Clare Valley tho

Cheers

Tom

[KatieLoeb]

YIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE a South Australian finally makes it to NJ. Pity it's not from the Clare Valley tho 

Cheers

Tom

Tom:

From what I've gathered from my new best friends and a bit of research on my own regarding their wineries, Fonthill has the smallest production at about 200 cases each for their Dust of Ages Grenache wines. All their vineyards are in McLaren Vale. Annvers has holdings in McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek as well as Adelaide Hills and specializes in Shiraz and Cabernet. Two Hands is by far the largest operation with holdings in all the aforementioned places as well as Padthaway, Barossa Valley and your beloved Clare Valley. Although best known for their Shiraz wines, they also produce Grenache, a Shiraz-Cabernet blend and a low alcohol fizzy and sweet Moscato type wine. The Moscato sounds really interesting, and I've yet to see it on these shores.

I didn't have the pleasure of trying any of the Fonthill or Annvers wines since they didn't have any with them, but I will be on the hunt for them so I can try them and e-mail my new buddies and tell them how much I love their wines. I'm pretty sure after hearing them talk about the care they put into it, I'm very unlikely to be disappointed.

[Ted Task]

Katie, I realize that you have a wealth of wine connections. I will still offer some/any advice you'd like , as Mrs. and I spent a three weeks down under two years ago. At the time, I was still active in the industry and visited some wonderful producers. We also had a BALL in the markets in both Adelaide and Melbourne.......gracious Aussies who didn't hesitate to give us a taste or even a mini lecture (did you know that macadamia originally came from Australia?) I did'nt.

So do not hesitate to contact me either thru the wonderful gullet or direct.

G'day mate.

Ted Task

Rockville, Md.

[StInGeR]

YIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE a South Australian finally makes it to NJ. Pity it's not from the Clare Valley tho 

Cheers

Tom

Tom:

From what I've gathered from my new best friends and a bit of research on my own regarding their wineries, Fonthill has the smallest production at about 200 cases each for their Dust of Ages Grenache wines. All their vineyards are in McLaren Vale. Annvers has holdings in McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek as well as Adelaide Hills and specializes in Shiraz and Cabernet. Two Hands is by far the largest operation with holdings in all the aforementioned places as well as Padthaway, Barossa Valley and your beloved Clare Valley. Although best known for their Shiraz wines, they also produce Grenache, a Shiraz-Cabernet blend and a low alcohol fizzy and sweet Moscato type wine. The Moscato sounds really interesting, and I've yet to see it on these shores.

I didn't have the pleasure of trying any of the Fonthill or Annvers wines since they didn't have any with them, but I will be on the hunt for them so I can try them and e-mail my new buddies and tell them how much I love their wines. I'm pretty sure after hearing them talk about the care they put into it, I'm very unlikely to be disappointed.

I'll have to do some research and see who they get their grapes from in the Clare Valley. I'm sorry if I sound a little too pro Clare Valley Katie but I currently live in The Valley and I seriously think it's underestimated and overlooked a lot of the time...... MMMMM Annie's Lane, Leasingham, Taylors, Barry's, Grossets and I believe another 100 boutique wineries. I might have to buy a few dozen and ship them when we move to NJ. Dinner anyone??

Cheers

Tom

Edited June 21, 2004 by StInGeR (log)

[KatieLoeb]

I'll have to do some research and see who they get their grapes from in the Clare Valley. I'm sorry if I sound a little too pro Clare Valley Katie but I currently live in The Valley and I seriously think it's underestimated and overlooked a lot of the time...... MMMMM Annie's Lane, Leasingham, Taylors, Barry's, Grossets and I believe another 100 boutique wineries. I might have to buy a few dozen and ship them when we move to NJ. Dinner anyone??

Cheers

Tom

Nothing wrong with being pro-anywhere, particularly if it's where your experience, knowledge and preferences lie. I've tried some of the Leasingham wines and they are indeed delicious. From what I'm told the climate in Clare Valley (long warm/hot days and cool nights) is quite amenable to grape cultivation. Sounds like a lovely place. I hope I get to visit someday.

Be very careful shipping wine. The extremes in temperature that your cases will be exposed to could completely ruin your investment. Just a heads up. I've had good luck bubble wrapping wine bottles and placing them neatly between my clothes. Better to declare them though, because the Customs agents would like nothing better than to confiscate your stash and live large having an upscale dinner themselves.

I'd be delighted to join you for dinner when you get back to NJ. Not sure where you're located but we could surely meet somewhere in the middle. Or if you're feeling adventurous you could come check out some of the many excellent BYOBs in Philadelphia and do a bit of sightseeing. I'd be honored to play tour guide.

Cheers right back atcha!

[suzilightning]

. I might have to buy a few dozen and ship them when we move to NJ. Dinner anyone??

Cheers

Tom

we could take over plaza bistro in lake mohawk