We invite you to indulge in an extraordinary culinary experience, where the art of winemaking meets the artistry of fine dining. The George was delighted to host an exclusive Winemakers Dinner, featuring the distinguished wines of Langmeil Winery and Misha’s Vineyard.
Images by IBK Photography | Words by Isaac Wilson
Crowned with a glistening ruby rim, a teasing bouquet of spiced toffee and sun-warmed blackberry laced with freshly-split cedar lifts from the gently swirled glass creating jewelled, honied legs. Langmeil Orphan Bank Shiraz is the stuff of legend, and we have both Barossa royalty and Australian winemaking history filling our glasses.
Sharing the legend is Langmeil Winery’s Leigh Woodrow, one half of a decadent winemaking double tap heralding the much-awaited return of The George hotel’s Winemakers’ Dinner series – itself the stuff of legend on Christchurch’s culinary scene.
Saved from the bulldozer’s blade by Barossa’s famed, six-generation winemaking Lindner family, 10 rows of ancient ‘orphaned’ Shiraz vines were rehomed in 2006 to a coveted spot on the banks of the Para River, where the now 165-year-old-plus vines produce some of the world’s finest Shiraz.
Starting out as a family passion project, the former ‘Shed Red’ now epitomises the inimitable big noting Barossa-style Shiraz alongside its even more famous sibling, The Freedom 1843 Shiraz, and is the bottled star of our third course.
Executive chef Ryan McKenzie has masterfully matched the iconic Aussie Shiraz with a tricked up take on a classic pairing – roasted duck leg. Wrapped in a crispy, salty skin the fall-off-the-bone succulence of the rich, gamey-sweet leg meat plays beautifully with the Shiraz’s voluptuous, curvy fruit-driven palate. The addition of a candied tang of plum gel is a genius nod to the wine’s Satsuma plum flourishes, while earthen notes of parsnip, both pureed and chipped, sing in glorious harmony with the Shiraz’s sweet, peppery oaken spice, courtesy of 25 months in old and new French hogsheads, drawing out the tight tannin length.
We’re still enamoured and processing our pairing when opera star Leisa Falconer delivers a soaring, goose-flesh-inducing recital of famed mezzo-soprano aria ‘Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix’ from Camille Saint-Saëns Samson and Delilah. The piece, an effort to seduce Samson into revealing the source of his strength, rounds out a perfectly matched multi-sensory seduction and the latest in a long line of peerless, premier dining experiences carefully orchestrated at The George hotel.
The winter evening not only marks the return of Christchurch’s iconic The George hotel Winemakers’ Dinner series, but also the repairing of fine wine merchant Negociants’ superstars Langmeil Winery and Misha’s Vineyard – elevated, as only The George can, with live opera performances between courses by renowned opera legends soprano Donna Alley and mezzo soprano Falconer.
Ensconced in the refined opulence of the country’s leading boutique hotel’s private dining room the sold out evening promises an Australasian terrior tour de force by the glass, on the plate and by ear across five courses and six wines. It’s a celebration of the cool climate aromatics and precise pinots of Central Otago with Misha’s Vineyard’s Misha and Andy Wilkinson, and the Barossa’s famed sun-baked earth, valley floor and ancient vines with Woodrow in an evening curated to both delight and excite.
We’re welcomed with the ultimate Barossa party starter – the multitasking, all occasion Langmeil Stelle Nere Sparkling Shiraz. Also known as the ‘Barossa Berocca’, its nickname belies its champagne-style-with-a-Barossa-twist lineage, more apt is its ‘dark stars’ translation referencing Champagne powerhouse Dom Perignon’s star-drinking discovery. It’s a tight-beaded, fun and fruity crowd-pleaser perfectly matched to the delightfully chewy decadence of a crimson beetroot macaron canape served on a polished river stone. Earthy and sweet with the lanolin freshness of a truffled goat’s cheese whip and topped with the crunch of a beetroot chip, it makes for a bar raising and thrillingly unexpected start to another The George-based, unforgettable degustation and gastronomic odyssey.
There’s an easy rapport and mutual respect between the trans-Tasman wineries and alphabetical neighbours in the Negotiants’ portfolio, as Misha’s Vineyard namesake and Woodrow share and skilfully weave jovial anecdotes and on-tour asides into their tasting and grape-to-glass masterclasses.
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Entree
Our first of five courses starts true with Misha’s Vineyard’s plucky Dress Circle Pinot Gris, named for the vines’ prominent position at the winery. Elegant and refreshing, it’s a delicate, late harvest symphony of toffee apple and tropical fruit sunshine in a glass. Delivering on both the wow and flavour fronts, its perfectly paired with plump, seared scallops, umami punch of miso cauliflower puree, sesame crisp and spark of chilli oil. The toasty, sesame crunch provides a wonderful juxtaposition with the creamy cauliflower and light caramelisation of the scallops, all brought home by a whisper of oak in the wine’s finish. Opening the operatic proceedings, and our ultimate dinner and a show, is Jacques Offenbach’s sweeping lovelorn duet ‘Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour’/Barcarolle’ from his romantic fantasy and final opera The Tales of Hoffmann/Les Contes de’ Hoffmann.
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Main Course
Our second course takes off with high-flying Air New Zealand Business Premier staple and Misha’s Vineyard’s The High Note Pinot Noir brilliantly married to a blushingly tender lamb rump atop silken kumera puree, sauteed mushrooms and Alley’s liberating performance of Giacomo Puccini’s famous Madama Butterfly aria ‘Un bel dì, vedremo’. It’s a hit in the glass, on the plate and in the ear. The respectfully plated earthen, bucolic providence of the cooked-to-perfect Lumina lamb playfully vollies with the exquisite length of plummy tannins in the ruby-hued pinot, while hints of dark chocolate are emboldened by the peppery fresh finish of basil microgreens. It’s another masterclass in seduction, as is Alley effortless taming of ‘Un bel dì, vedremo’.
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Dessert
Sumptuous decadence is the MO for dessert and McKenzie delivers artistry on a plate with a bitter–sweet dark chocolate tart symphony. Its brilliantly buttery short citrus crust melts into an unctuous, mouth-coating bitter cacao-driven filling. Spiked with jewels of piquant orange gel, it’s a revelation in its paring with the inky, forged in iron bitter chocolate, blackberry, smoky leathery notes and full-bodied heft of Langmeil’s Blacksmith Cabernet Sauvignon. Falconer and Alley duly command the room with an en pointe powerhouse finale duetting Léo Delibes ‘Flower Duet’ from Lakmé, the haunting beauty of which sees us transported to the water’s edge alongside Lakmé and Mallika.
We send our opera stars off with rapturous applause and our final course is announced. In a fitting finale, Misha’s Vineyard pours their resident “show off” wine The Cadenza Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. It’s another next level cool, crisp golden-hued aromatic full of swagger, exotic fruits and the delicate hum of ginger and, true to its name, it holds a lingering refreshing palate. There’s an unrestrained elegance to its pairing with the creamy nuttiness of the Whitestone brie, subtle spicing of the accompanying peach relish and caramel toastiness of the delightful, shortbread-like oat biscuit – it’s perfection, simplified.
As I pull on my jacket and say my farewells, I realise I’m only one of a few actually leaving. My more astute dining companions are staying the night, and why wouldn’t you?, I think, albeit too late. Stepping out into the cool evening air I immediately wish I was back inside, continuing conversations, perhaps enjoying a nightcap in the bar before retiring to the five-star luxury and comfort synonymous with The George hotel. Easily the most perfect way to extend a most perfect evening.