Progressive Greek Dinner at Longrain, Pei Modern & Gazi
A highlight for The World Loves Melbourne was the Progressive Greek Dinner journeying from Longrain to Pei Modern then to Gazi to showcase a Greek wine promotion set for July. Each of these restaurants will pair a small dish with Greek wine in July.
We were able to experience how Greek wines, soft on the palate, match perfectly with food. It was a revelation to The World Loves Melbourne that food such as Asian cuisine with heat, matches beautifully with Greek white wine.
Douglas Lamb Wines is behind the Progressive Greek dinners in Sydney and Melbourne through July. David Lamb has joined the multi generational family business and was a wonderful host on the night. He specialises in wines of particular nations, including the wines of Greece. The Progressive Greek events wil match food to wines from the Northern Amyndeon region, and the iconic Kir Yianni winery. Greeks have been making wines since the 3rd century BC so they know what they're doing.
The World Loves Melbourne was delighted to gain a preview of the Amyndeon Oenos event, along with select media. In Sydney the restaurants featured in the promotion are Alpha and Danjee.
The question is, should Greek wine be limited to just Greek food? And the Progressive Greek event showed us the answer is "no". We were able to experience Greek wine against a number of different cuisines.
Longrain always delivers in terms of fresh, Asian cuisine and killer ambience. The challenge was to match Greek wines with the hot Asian cuisine. The Sashimi of Kingfish, caramelised cashew nut nahm jim, trout roe, micro herbs with a ton of heat went surprisingly well with the 2013 Kir Yianni Petra.
The Kir Yianni Petra actually matched with all the Asian dishes we enjoyed at Longrain.
The World Loves Melbourne noted the solid number of diners at Longrain on a lazy weeknight...
Here we have Longrain in its element. How can you come to Longrain and not have some of the Eggnet. It was a flavour explosion of Filled eggnet, prawns, peanuts, caramelised coconut, cucumber relish. And superb with Greek wine. I found the Kir Yianni to be something like Sauvignon Blanc with straw characteristics.
The Prawn salad, mint, chilli, lime and roasted rice matched perfectly to the 2013 Kir Yianni Petra. This was the designed match for the evening, as the strong flavours of the salad matched with the Kir Yianni Petra - low in alcohol and higher in acid.
After a fabulous time at Longrain we walked a short journey to Pei Modern on Collins Street. Here we experienced a wonderful Greek red in the 2012 Kir Yianni Paranga, with 50% Merlot and 25% Syrah, not to mention 25% Xinomavro. I loved this wine to drink on its own, but the flavour was heightened with the matching of Pei Modern's fine cuisine.
Here we have the Paranga...
Pei Modern thrilled with this Duck Egg, Jerusalem Artichoke & Truffle. What a dish. Indulgent yes, gooey and oozy. And with generous serving of truffle sauce. The Greek wine matched perfectly, and was pure and utter bliss.
This photo highlights the truffle...
We were enjoying the progressive dinner ride and the exceptional wine and food matching.
The Beans a la Grecque w Wood Grilled Killara Rise Lamb was another highlight of the evening, again matching perfectly with the Paranga. And such beautiful presentation.
Gazi was the final stop of the Progressive Greek Dinner, this vibrant and eclectic venue.
Greek Wine showed its party face with this pink fizz, the 2012 Kir Yianni Akakies Brut Rose. Note the deep rich red/pink colour. Such a fun wine to go with Gazi amazing Acropolis Now Strawberry Mousse, coffee and mastic.
The World Loves Melbourne concluded that the Greek Wines showed their versatility in matching with food, and the July promotion at iconic restaurants Longrain, Pei Modern and Gazi, is not to be missed.