The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2016 were recently held in New York and this year’s festivities had a distinctly Australian flavour with the announcement that Melbourne will host the awards in 2017. More than 1,000 of the world’s culinary elite were in attendance at the awards ceremony and the launch of the Melbourne event, which took place at a brunch hosted by Tourism Australia at New York’s NoMad. Guests at both of these events experienced some of Australia’s finest food matched with Australian fine wine currently available in the key US market.
“This event and our support of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards and event program give us an incredible platform upon which to showcase Australia’s regionally diverse, terroir-driven, premium wines for the world’s most celebrated chefs and international media and influencers.”
Stuart Barclay, General Manager Marketing, Wine Australia
Australia's finest food matched with Australia's finest wines
For the celebratory launch we developed an Australian fine wine list that complemented the menu full of fresh, local produce which was prepared by some of Australia’s finest chefs, including Peter Gilmore, Dan Hunter, Ben Shewry and Neil Perry AM. Guests were greeted with a glass of Jansz NV sparkling wine from Tasmania, a classic Australian aperitif with layers of honeyed citrus and green apple flavours. It was the perfect introduction to the bold and vibrant Australian fine wines that were to come.
Ben Shewry, of Melbourne’s Attica, served a food and wine match that brought together two Australian icon: the kangaroo and the Barossa Valley. Kangaroo on the bone was matched with Cirillo Estate’s The Vincent Grenache 2015. Barossa Valley Grenache represents the new Australia and reveals bright, vibrant and refreshing tones with lively cherry, raspberry and aniseed flavours. This made for an engaging and intriguing foil for the rich and earthy flavours of this dish.
Dan Hunter, chef and owner of Victoria’s Brae, served a series of small bites, including raw pea and lemon aspen tart, which was matched with the Pewsey Vale Riesling 2015from Eden Valley in South Australia. Aromas of white flowers, lime, spices and a hint of talc are an alluring introduction to this classic Australian Riesling. The fresh and vibrant citrus flavours of the wine cried out to be matched with the freshest simply prepared Australian produce.
Rockpool Group’s Neil Perry manned the barbecue on the balcony at the NoMad Hotel, grilling a selection of Australian seafood including Skull Island tiger prawns with kombu butter matched with the Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2014 from Margaret River in Western Australia. Bold and assertive, this wine has both power and finesse. Bright pear and lime flavours helped cut through the rich buttery flavours of this dish while the smoky spice and clove characters took the barbecue grilled prawns to another level.
Quay and Bennelong’s Peter Gilmore presented Australia’s world-class David Blackmore Wagyu in his serving of raw beef, fermented rye and raw fungi matched with Moorooduc Estate Pinot Noir 2013. Enticing bright aromas of citrus zest, red berries and amaro herbs introduced this zesty wine from the Mornington Peninsula. The succulent, exotic fruit flavours combined with wonderful line and length gave a delightful interplay with this dish.
The Great Aussie Brunch at the NoMad presented by Tourism Australia featured delicious food cooked by top Australian chefs matched with Australian fine wine.
2017 World's 50 Best Restaurants: A southern hemisphere first
The 2017 Awards in Melbourne will be the first time that the event has been held in the Southern Hemisphere, with Australia’s growing reputation for food and wine making it the perfect destination. Tourism Australia will work with key partners such as Wine Australia and William Reed Media, the event’s organizer, to create a bespoke program of events to showcase the breadth and depth of Australia’s sophisticated food and fine wine offering.
We spoke about the opportunities this represents for the Australian wine community with Wine Australia’s General Manager Marketing, Stuart Barclay. Stuart said that events like this and collaborating with partners like Tourism Australia to build international awareness, understanding and appreciation of Australia’s sophisticated food and wine culture is vitally important to position Australia as the world’s preeminent fine wine producer.
‘We’ve been a proud partner of Tourism Australia’s Restaurant Australia campaign since its inception and we’re delighted that Australia will host these prestigious awards next year in Melbourne. We will work closely with Tourism Australia on next year’s event and it will give us the chance to show more of the world’s most influential food and wine professionals our diverse offering of wines.’
‘We hope to also give many of the guests who fly out for the awards the chance to get out and experience the natural beauty of our wine regions and the warm hospitality of our grape and wine community.’
For media enquiries please contact:
Rebecca George – Wine Australia
Senior Communications Manager
e: rebecca.george@wineaustralia.com
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