Eric and Susan very kindly hosted the group's summer Garden Party and provided a fabulous cold buffet that every one thoroughly enjoyed.
Sue and Wayne presented their choice of wines for 3 courses for a typical summer's wedding from days gone by. The reason for this theme was that it was their wedding anniversary on the day of the Garden Party itself!
As usual, the wine challenge for the attendees was to identify the country and the grape for each wine. Richard and Sylvia were either very lucky or very knowledgeable (I think the latter) in guessing both for all 3 wines. Accompanying the wines on the evening were crackers and 3 really nice cheeses provided by Ron and Pat - Mature Gouda, Red Leicester, and Blue Stilton.
Below are Sue and Wayne's food choices for the picnic and details of each wine to accompany the food.
Starter
| Food Pinwheel bake, Made with vegemite and parmesan cheese. |
| Cheese Mature Gouda |
| Wine Sparkling Rosé |
Main Course
| Food Salmon with fresh vegetables |
| Cheese Red Leciester |
| Wine Reisling |
Dessert
| Food Profiteroles and chocolate sauce |
| Cheese Blue Stilton |
| Wine Ice WIne |
| Country | England |
| Region | Kent |
| Producer | Balfour Winery |
| Grape | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, & Pinot Meunier |
| Year | 2018 |
| Price | Not disclosed |
Balfour Brut Rosé is made from the three classic grape varieties - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. This single vineyard wine is made using selected parcels of the finest grapes from the oldest vineyard at Hush Heath Estate, Oast House Meadow.
Balfour's iconic sparkling rosé is made in small quantities at our state of the art winery in Kent, the Garden of England. Palest pink with crisp English acidity, rich fruit and a refreshingly long finish.
Find out more about the Balfour Winery
| Country | Austria |
| Region | Niederösterreich |
| Producer | Müller Winery |
| Grape | Riesling |
| Year | 2022 |
| Price | £8.50 (Lidl) |
A mineralic Riesling grown on chalky, rock layered soil. It shows fine citrus aromas in the nose and the Reisling-typical stone fruit character on the palate. A perfect food companion to fish, seafood and fried dishes.
Find out more about the Müller Winery.
| Country | Canada |
| Region | Okanagan Valley |
| Producer | Inniskillin |
| Grape | Vidal blanc |
| Year | 2020 |
| Price | Not disclosed |
Inniskillin Icewine, recognized as one of the world's great wines, is truly winter's gift to wine lovers. Harvested at the pinnacle of Canada's crisp winter, the grapes are naturally frozen on the vine and picked when the temperature drops to -10ºC.
Only a few drops of luscious nectar can be squeezed from each bunch, which is then expertly guided through fermentation to achieve this rich and alluring specialty wine known as Icewine.
Find out more about the Inniskillin wineries.