But if the venue was easy, recruiting the diners proved much trickier, since almost all of my wine drinking acquaintances seemed to have a scheduled medical appointment or health related matter in Townsville, Mackay or Brisbane. Browny, on the other hand, has a wider community of acquaintances to draw on, and we ended up with twenty-something diners arranged around three tables to sample a menu that lined up remarkably well with the wines Steve had delivered.
A reduction involving the best part of a bottle of Merlot Noir probably explained the match with the main course, Kimberley Red (Eye Fillet medallions rubbed in a Middle Eastern inspired spice, layered between a colourful melange of marinated vegetables and creamy mashed potato).
The Baked Brie entree, served warm on a sourdough bread with a Rocket and prosciutto salad and a sticky quince and fig jelly worked remarkably well with the Big Men in Tights, and samples of the 2009 Chardonnay, 2008 Merlot Noir and 2007 Shiraz seemed to go down very well with those present.
Close to a fortnight after the event I’m not sure whether the dinner has translated into increased sales of Bloodwood wines, but in any case there’ll be another couple of dozen headed towards the Little House of Concrete before summer hits us with the need for a few Big Men in Tights.
