Taste Great Southern Wrap Up 2018

During the month of March 2018, Taste Great Southern came to life with many dynamic events all over the region. Singlefile enjoyed hosting two special events that saw food and wine lovers converge on our Denmark estate and Albany’s Princess Royal Sailing Club. Sally Francis, owner and head chef of Runes, crafted the menu using food from local growers and producers for both events.

Runes is a newly established catering business providing fine food catering for the region. Sally spent time at the award-winning Wild Duck Restaurant in Albany, and then at Jacksons Restaurant in Perth.

Here, the Singlefile team looks back at the super successful events. Several events are in planning mode right now, so look out for tickets when they become available to avoid disappointment.

A Sense of Place at Singlefile Estate, Denmark, Sunday 11 March 2018

This event was designed to showcase the Great Southern region’s amazing produce when matched to Singlefile’s wines. Our team members invited guests to take a tour through the Denmark property revealing the estate’s hidden gems, where they enjoyed six Singlefile Wines paired with Sally Francis’ food inspirations.

Guests were greeted outside the cellar door with NV Great Southern Sparkling paired to beautiful Manjimup trout with lemon crème fraîche on dark rye crustini. The creaminess of the smoked trout and light crème fraîche was a perfect match for the bubbles, with its citrus and stone fruit characteristics with a slight brioche finish. Beautiful acidity to cut through the rich trout flavours.

From there guests walked to the VIP room at the bottom of the house where the 2017 Great Southern Riesling was served with Bremer Bay scallops with cucumber jelly, lemon purée and crispy potato strands. The delicate scallop with slight citrus notes and cool cucumber made a perfect match for the soft Riesling, with its subtle citrus notes and apple blossom characteristics.

As the sun came out to play guests wandered over to the Chardonnay vines where Singlefile’s co-owner Viv Snowden awaited their arrival. Fittingly, the 2017 Single Vineyard Denmark Family Reserve Chardonnay was served with a beautiful Baldivis confit rabbit and macadamia terrine with peach chutney on an olive oil wafer.

As the event fell right in the middle of harvest time, Viv discussed the outlook for vintage 2018, removing the nets from the vines so guests could taste the grapes in their current state. Many were surprised by their sweetness and many posed questions thick and fast – are the berries always that small? Are they ready yet? They seem very sweet? How do you control the abundant vine growth?

Back at the VIP room for the next course, we poured the stunning 2017 Single Vineyard Pemberton Pinot Noir, which was served with Wagin confit duck leg roll and breast. The duck was a perfect match for the Pinot with a touch of perfectly reduced jus and red cabbage purée to provide an earthy undertone.

Next was a special barrel tasting of the 2016 Single Vineyard Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon matched to slow-cooked beef cheek, blue cheese beignets, tender green broccolini stems and red wine jus. The tenderness and natural sweetness of the meat and fat paired well with the Cabernet, which is drinking exceptionally well. It was a great way to finish the mains.

Lastly, we headed back to the cellar door where we served our latest back-vintage release, the 2016 Great Southern Clément V. This wine is currently displaying rich plum fruit and is exploding with aromatic spices and texture. It was paired with a black pepper and spiced plum sorbet alongside a dark chocolate délice and chocolate crumb. This pairing astounded us all with its synergy. 

All in all, the event was a fabulous success, and one that showcased not only Singlefile’s’ wines but also our magical property, providing A Sense of Place. Even the geese made a cameo appearance.

Long Table Lunch at Princess Royal Sailing Club, Albany, 18 March

The Singlefile team and Sally Francis styled the yacht club to the highest degree of detail and Denmark’s The Foraged Posy created stunning native centrepieces for the long lunch tables, which were set with rattan mats and white tablecloths. The same luscious menu of local produce by Sally Francis was served at this event, with the same fine Singlefile wines.

Another stunning day in the Great Southern sub-region of Albany saw us open the yacht club doors wide to enjoy the NV Great Southern Sparkling with the trout crustini on the deck upon guests’ arrival.

The guests then took their seats to enjoy the remaining five courses while we spoke about each wine variety, the vintage year and the sub-regions, explaining the reasoning behind matching each variety to each sub-region within the Great Southern. Foodie Sally Francis also chatted to guests between courses.

A strong Denmark and Albany contingent of guests resulted in a very relaxed afternoon, with Singlefile fans making new Singlefile friends. You can see the rest of the photos on our Facebook page here.

Look out for notice of Singlefile’s upcoming events throughout 2018 – we have plenty of wonderful tastings, lunches and dinners on the horizon.

Thanks Carol Duncan Photography for the beautiful images!