BYO. Those three letters represent one of the great Aussie dining traditions. How great is it to arrange to meet friends at a restaurant and pick up a bottle on the way?
My last BYO was at Dainty Sichuan a couple of weeks ago and I bought a bottle of Cattier Champagne for under $40 from Little Bourke Vintage Cellars. I don’t remember paying a corkage fee but if there was it wouldn’t have been much – I was after all on a chilli high and had knocked off a fair bit of a bottle of bubbly.
On most wine lists around town, you’ll struggle to find a cheap, straightforward local wine, let alone a champers, for that price.
Don’t for a moment think I’m writing this column to moan about wine list mark-ups – I’m the first to enjoy poring over a list and am happy to pay extra at a restaurant, especially when the service is great and the list well thought-out.
But there are times when dining doesn’t need to involve crisp linen and I just want to drink whatever I want, and so do my friends.
BYO also suits a diverse range of drinkers at the same table – some people I know just want to drink sav blanc, no matter what the food is, while others like to plan their meal around the wines they’ve brought. BYO gives you that flexibility.
There is also the time when you have that special bottle of wine you want to enjoy with a special meal. City restaurant Brooks has added a twist to BYO and started the reverse sommelier night on Tuesdays. Diners pay $100 a head for a five-course meal and chef Nic Poelaert and sommelier Matt Brooke will devise a menu around the wines they bring.
“We do a five-course menu every night of the week, but instead of you choosing the dishes and then choosing the wines, you bring the wines and we’ll choose the dishes,” Brooke says.
“People rock up and they’ve got Burgundy, riesling, Barolo – you’ve got to create an order out of the wines and then look at the food. You really need your thinking cap on. People have been digging into their cellars and bringing amazing booze.
“Our menu’s quite versatile, with 10 seasonal dishes, and we’ve always got a few roasts on so there’s room to improvise. It’s still food and wine pairing, but in reverse.”
Adds Poelaert: “Everyone’s been generous, leaving a taste for staff in the kitchen, which is nice as well.”
THE LIST
I was recently given a copy of a list of BYO restaurants that the staff at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) – the world’s largest pure-play wine company, and based in Melbourne – use for personal and professional dinners. TWE’s Australian and NZ marketing director, Lisa Saunders, who compiled and manages the list, was happy for me to share it.
BYO NEAR YOU
Supper Inn | (Chinese)
Il Solito Posto | (Italian)
Hutong Dumpling Bar | (Chinese)
Flower Drum | (Chinese)
Peko Peko | (Japanese)
La Luna | Carlton (Steak)
Abla’s | Carlton (Lebanese)
La Lucciola | South Yarra (Italian)
Ladro Greville | Prahran (Italian)
Da Noi | South Yarra (Mediterranean)
Quaff | Toorak (Modern Australian)
Bistro Thierry | Hawksburn (French)
France-Soir | South Yarra (French)
Dainty Sichuan | South Yarra (Chinese)
Preserve Kitchen | Glen Iris (Modern Australian)
Trinitas Thai | Camberwell (Thai)
Tea House on Burke | Camberwell (Chinese)
Zen Japanese | Hawthorn (Japanese)
Bangkok Terrace | Hawthorn (Thai)
Sugo | Malvern (Italian)
Satsuki | Malvern East (Japanese)
Remy Bar de Tapas Y Vino Malvern (Spanish)
Amici Trattoria Camberwell (Italian)
Choi’s Hawthorn (Chinese)
Maris Malvern (French)
DOC Gastronomia Italiana | Carlton (Italian)
Geppetto Trattoria | East Melbourne (Italian)
Scopri | Carlton (Italian)
Church Street Enoteca | Richmond (Mediterranean)
Osteria la Passione | Richmond (Italian)
Union Dining | Richmond (Mediterannean)
Old Kingdom | Fitzroy (Chinese)
VicAsia | Albert Park (Modern Asian)
Hunky Dory | Port Melbourne (Fish)
Sapore | St Kilda (Italian)
Chinta Ria | St Kilda (Malaysian)
Sails on the Bay | Elwood (Seafood)
TASTE THIS
Rosemount Estate Balmoral syrah 2012 (McLaren Vale) $75; 14% 5 stars
Rosemount’s wines are in top form at the moment, especially its McLaren Vale reds. Winemaker Matt Koch has taken out the region’s Bushing King award for best wine for the past two years. This spends time in a 50/50 split of French and American oak, most of which is old and adds structure rather than oaky flavour. Blackberry, spice, cocoa and vanilla flavours lead to a smooth texture, with vibrancy and grippy tannins.
Food match | Braised lamb shanks
Rochford syrah 2012 (Yarra Valley) $35; 13.4% 4 stars
From 30-year-old vines, this has won some impressive awards recently. Awards, schmawards I always think: it’s what’s in the bottle that counts, and this is good drinking. Its aromas are meaty, with black fruits – think plum, blackberry, dark cherry – and exotic spice that’s often present in cool-climate shiraz. The dark fruits are present on the sweet palate, along with zippy acid and tannins that offer a decent grip.
Food match | BBQ lamb ribs
Vinero Romsey chardonnay 2012 (Macedon Ranges) $42; 12.8% 5 stars
Made by two top Melbourne sommeliers, Matt Brooke and Liam O’Brien, this is a great example of cold-climate chardonnay. It’s the blend of power and finesse – plus a driving line of mineral and citrus-flavoured acid – that make the wine what it is. The rest of the story includes aromas and flavours of white nectarine, cucumber, cantaloupe rind, grilled cashews, gunsmoke and spicy oak.
Food match | Crab tart
Seppelt Show Reserve sparkling shiraz 2004 (Region) $100; 13.5% 5 stars
Such a complex wine, with bright aromas of raspberry and cherry mixing with earthy mushroom and leather, plus spice. It’s amazingly complex in the mouth, with a creamy mousse plus fabulous structure – great depth of fruit, bright acid and drying tannins are all in seamless harmony. Plum and dark berry fruit flavours come in waves and build in intensity as it flows along the tongue. It’s sealed under crown seal rather than a cork, so this should age for decades.
Food match | BBQ brisket
SO YOU LOVE A BARGAIN?
Coriole Redstone cabernet sauvignon 2012 (McLaren Vale) $20; 13.5% 4 stars
When McLaren Vale cabernet sauvignon is in top form, as it is here, it’s one of Australia’s great opulent wines. While it’s rich, there’s a real balance to the red and black berry flavours, thanks to vibrant acid and the firm, grippy tannins that add structure and length.
Food match | Hanger steak
Follow Ben on Twitter @senorthomas
