Five-course cause for wine celebration

BAIE Wines recently launched its 2017 new vintage release to 100 diners at a Queenscliff eatery.

The winery matched its new sauvignon blanc, shiraz, pinot gris and rose to a fivecourse degustation at 360Q. It was the first time the winery has launched a drop at a restaurant outside of the Curlewis cellar door.

Coming off the back of two sell-out vintage releases, the highly anticipated release of the 2017 collection was met with praise.

“We released four new wines on the weekend, we have a sauvignon blanc which is a fresh, fruit-driven style as sav typically is, bit a little bit more refined, not too grassy or herbaceous,” Baie Wines’ Nadine Kuc said.

“Our signature wine, or what we’re best known for, is our pinot gris ... when we pick the grapes 30 per cent of the juice goes into French oak barrels, which doesn’t give it an oaky flavour but more of a creamy texture with the pear and nashy fruit flavours you’d expect.

“The shiraz has been in French oak for 18 months and has all the plum and pepper spices. And then the rose is our gorgeous, savoury, French dry style, which is soaring in popularity.”

Chefs at the Queenscliff restaurant prepared a degustation based around the four new releases.

Diners were treated to Coffin Bay oysters, seared scallops, ham hoc with pistachio nuts and a confit duck leg.

“The food was just next level,” Ms Kuc said.

“I was really blown away. When a restaurant is pumping out 100 meals you kind of think it will be like a wedding, but every course was just ‘wow’.

“The quantity and quality and how it was cooked was just amazing.”

While the winery only opens its cellar door to the public occasionally for “pop-up cellar door days”, people can purchase the new vintage release at some local wine stores and restaurants, and through the winery’s website.