Tuesday 22 March 2016

Boom! The Way to Good Wine.

Brought to you by Nuffnang and Vinomofo

If you follow me on Instagram (instagram.com/blackcat20), you'll know I have quite a passion for good wine. But along with a love of good wine, I also like to keep a close eye on my budget and that means hunting for bargains. That's where Vinomofo comes in.

Vinomofo is an epic wine site where they only sell the wine they absolutely love. If they don't like it, they don't sell it. Once a wine is selected by their team, it hits the website for a limited time, and often sells out before you can blink. If you want a wine, you click buy, and Boom! It's yours.


My favourite part of Vinomofo is the secret and black market deals. These are great wines sold "nameless" to bring you the best price; you get variety, location, and often a few other details which means you might just be able to work out what the wine is. But because the name isn't advertised, you get a fantastic deal. Some of my most favourite wines have been purchased as secret deals, from the Fox Gordon Hannah's Swing Shiraz, to the Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon, to the Mule Shiraz from Innocent Bystander.


One of my most favourite purchases to date has been the Hungerford Hills Cab Sav; it's hard to beat any good red from the Coonawarra.


What makes Vinomofo even more unique is that they not only sell wine, but they also co-produce some of their own branded wines that you can't find anywhere else. These wines are always in stock, and have funky names like The Orgy, and Art of War.


And the best bit? If you don't like a wine, just call or email Vinomofo and they will arrange a no-questions-asked return. With that guarantee, what do you have to lose?

To sign up and take advantage of a new member credit ($25), head on over to Vinomofo and treat yourself to some fantastic wine, because everyone deserves a Champagne lifestyle on a beer budget.

Tuesday 15 March 2016

La Festa d’Autunno at Church St. Enoteca

This week we attended an Entertainment Book members dinner at Church St. Enoteca, our first visit to the restaurant.  The evening was advertised as a celebration of classic Autumnal Tuscan produce, chestnuts, mushrooms, honey, and the king of the festival, lamb, and presented a 5 course tasting menu with wines from McWilliams.
 
The menu looked good and the reviews were promising, so we scuttled off in the rain to attend what promised to be a good evening.
 
Of course the weather delayed a few people, but it wasn't long until we were enjoying a glass of champagne while we waited.
 
Once the evening kicked off, freshly baked bread was bought around to nibble on. By then the champagne was long gone and there were no offers of a refill. So bread and water is was.
 
Then came the tortellini, with a Yarra Valley chardonnay. These were delicious, with a creamy goats curd filling, and a perfect match for the crisp wine.
 
 
 
Second course was the wallaby; I was a little apprehensive about eating this native animal but it impressed along side the Tasmanian Pinot Noir.
 
 
The third course was my least favourite. I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms and this dish did not sit well with me. The Pinot served was heavier than the previous one and very pleasant, but the only win for me.
 
 
It was nearing 9.30pm and I was starting to tire. It seemed a long wait between courses, particularly as they were all on the very small side. I had envisioned a lovely fillet of lamb for the main, and was disappointed when the following was placed in front of me. The disappointment was short lived; the lamb was sensational! There just needed to be twice as much of it. The Heathcote Shiraz was a big miss; decanters were seen on the wine table but went unused, and the wine was young and not that enjoyable to drink. A little time in a decanter would have made all the difference.
 
 
And then it was finally time for dessert. The pannacotta in a glass was very enjoyable, as was the matching dessert wine. However by this point in the evening I was well and truly over it, having taken over three hours to be served five courses. The food was amazing, though a larger serve here and there would have been well appreciated, but I found the wine matching a bit of a miss. The bottles seemed to be labeled with "home brand" type labels leaving us mystified as to what they actually were should one want to purchase them later.
 
 
Overall? A protracted evening, with good fine and average wine. I'd go back to the restaurant again, but wouldn't bother with this sort of evening as the wine really did nothing for us.

 


Church Street Enoteca Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato