Lola’s Italian & Bar, on Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, turned on a superb meal to match seafood for The Real Review’s first event of 2024: the Seafood & Wine Dinner, on February 20.
Among the diners were three winemakers as well as seafood merchant John Susman of Fishtails, and the director of the Champagne Bureau Australia, John Noble.
Winemakers Nick Kruger of Pepper Tree, Andrew Jericho of Jericho Wines and Matt Koch from Loom Wines were there to shed extra light on their wines.
We started with a bracket of Champagnes—the sort of wine most people probably consider their go-to for oysters.
First Course
Albany rock oysters, scallop mousse, soft herbs, champagne sauce and puffed rice
Wines Jean-Noel Haton Blanc de Blancs NV Lallier Réflexion Brut R.019 NV Lombard & Co Brut 1er Cru Rosé NV
This was a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned (although we did acknowledge that certain famous chefs don’t like Champagne with oysters at all!). Seafood distributor John Susman and Champagne Bureau director John Noble discussed with me the pros and cons of oysters and Champagne, and the consensus seemed to be that the blanc de blancs was the best fit, although the others also drank well and were perfectly fine with the dish. No doubt the incorporation of Champagne into the sauce aided their compatibility.
Susman explained that the Albany oysters, from that part of WA’s south coast, are the same
This Article was originally published on The Real Review
