Recipe: Fino Vino's BBQ Chicken

Recipe: Fino Vino’s BBQ CHICKEN, SWEETCORN, BLACK BARLEY, MISO BUTTER

Fino Vino, originally of Willunga, and then Seppeltsfield fame, is a delightful wine bar and restaurant in Adelaide’s CBD.

The Shaw + Smith vintage crew took over Fino Vino earlier this month, celebrating the official end to an excellent vintage. A stand-out dish from this lunch was Fino Vino’s take on BBQ Chicken. A brined and butterflied chicken which Executive Chef and co-owner David Swain steams and grills to absolute perfection, this is like a warm hug, a true comfort dish. Our new release 2020 M3 Chardonnay is a great match for this white meat masterpiece.

Tip: this recipe calls for overnight brining, make sure you start your preparation a day in advance.

BBQ CHICKEN, SWEETCORN, BLACK BARLEY, MISO BUTTER by FINO VINO
David Swain, co-owner, Executive Chef

Serves 4

STEP ONE | Brine solution

INGREDIENTS

1 litre water
60g salt
40g sugar
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
7 coriander seeds
1 clove

METHOD

Place all ingredients in a pot, bring to the boil. Remove from heat and place in your fridge until completely chilled before using.

STEP TWO | Preparing chicken for brining

INGREDIENTS

1 whole free-range chicken

METHOD

Find your favourite chicken and ask your butcher to butterfly it. 

Place chicken in brining liquid ensuring it is fully covered in liquid. Place in refrigerator overnight (about 16 hours).

Remove chicken from the brining liquid and pat dry with absorbent paper. Set aside.

STEP THREE | Preparing corn and barley

INGREDIENTS

2 corn cobs in their husks
1 cup black barley, cooked al dente
250mls chicken stock
10g white miso paste
50g unsalted butter
1 bunch chives, finely sliced
Salt and pepper

METHOD

Steam corn cobs in the husk for 15 minutes. Once cooked, peel and char over a hot barbecue until charred. Remove from heat, slice kernels from the cob and set aside.

STEP FOUR | Cooking the chicken

Pre heat a lidded barbecue to 200℃.

Place the chicken skin side down and cook until the skin is nicely caramelised. Turn the chicken over, reduce heat to medium or low, cover and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes until done.

Remove from barbecue, cover with foil, rest the chicken for 15 minutes.

STEP FIVE | Assembling the dish

In a pot, combine corn, black barley, chicken stock, miso paste, chives, butter and seasoning to taste. Bring to the boil.

When almost at boiling point, carve the chicken and arrange on a serving plate. Remove corn and barley mixture from the heat and spoon over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Africola's Kingfish Nayeh

Africola hosted our Shaw + Smith member dinner late last year, in Adelaide's east end, and one of the stand-out dishes on the night was their kingfish entree, fresh and flavoursome, and a beautiful match with our 2018 Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay. 

This Raw Fish recipe is shared from Africola's new book, Slow food, Fast words, Cult chef:

"Duncan Welgemoed's food is exciting some of the most exacting palates. He cooks African-inspired vegetables, grilled and smoked meats, flatbreads, pickles, ferments, vegan-inspired desserts and serves cocktails and natural wine. The food and the experience he recreates links directly back to his South African birthplace, Johannesburg. The food is all about using sustainably sourced, low-impact-on-the-earth ingredients (carefully sourced meats, fish, vegetables, grains, pulses, seaweed, algae, shellfish) to create dishes that have big, powerful flavours, are punchy, bold, butch and that 'open another box in your palate and in your mind'."

This is an excellent dish to prepare when it’s sweltering hot and you don't really feel like eating, let alone cooking anything. 

RAW FISH by Africola

INGREDIENTS

85 g (3 oz) white fish fillet (such as snapper, kingfish or cobia), trimmed, bloodline removed
Good pinch of sea salt
3 tbsp lime juice
3 red Asian shallots, sliced
2 lemongrass, trimmed and finely sliced
1 handful each of mint and holy basil leaves, torn (not chopped)
5 bird's eye chillies, halved, seeded and sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp coconut cream

METHOD

Slice the fillet in half lengthways down the centre, then slice it finely crossways – one serving should be about eight slices.

Combine the salt and lime juice in a bowl, add the fish, and mix well to marinate. Allow to stand for 3–4 minutes to cure.

Combine with the remaining ingredients and finish with the coconut cream. It should taste sour, salty and spicy. Adjust little by little as necessary, and serve.

Christmas Gift Guide 2020

With Christmas fast approaching, we have compiled a list of gift ideas that our team love. While Christmas is about togetherness, we still want to gift something special and considered. We hope that you find these ideas useful or inspirational. 

Friday Table Gift Voucher $240 per person, buy
Come behind the scenes at Shaw + Smith with our Friday Table, a hosted tour of our winery and vineyard followed by a comprehensive tutored tasting including current releases, limited and single site wines, then a two course lunch.

The Champagne Guide 2020-21 by Tyson Stelzer $59, buy
“Tyson Stelzer’s annual Champagne Guide is essential for anyone with a keen interest in Champagne. Nothing comes close to it in terms of detail, currency or depth.” Michael Hill Smith MW

Africola by Duncan Welgemoed $49.99, buy 
This highly anticipated book by Duncan Welgemoed features bold and exciting recipes, inspired by his South African heritage, from his award winning South Australian restaurant Africola.

Code38 P-Type Pro Wine Knife from $455, buy
For the wine lover who has everything, the new P-Type professional series is the Stradivarius of wine knives. A truly beautiful tool.   

2018 Lenswood Vineyard Pinot Noir, gift boxed $93 + delivery, buy
In the words of David Sly: This is a model of winemaking restraint, allowing the vineyard to speak, with fleshy cherry and hint of tart mandarin providing a comforting tone, but its firm acidity and ripe, stalky grip ensuring good discipline is maintained in the shape and structure of a svelte flavour profile. 97 Points.

Brian Hirst Wine Decanter from $250 + delivery, buy
A leading figure in the Australian studio glass movement for more than 40 years, Brian Hirst creates distinctive hand blown decanters of deceptively simple form. His Penguin decanter is a favourite of sommeliers Australia wide.

Champagne Republic Limited Edition Print from $208 + delivery, buy
Signed, limited edition giclée prints on fine art paper by artist Belinda Aucott. A favourite among the Shaw + Smith crew is the ‘2005 Louis Roederer Cristal Muselet’.

Mould Cheese Collective monthly cheese subscription $75, buy 
Four unique, curated, artisan cheeses delivered to your door every month. Featuring a mix of styles, milks and regions from some of the best cheese producers in the country. Ships Australia wide.

2020 Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc 375ml bottle, available in 3 bottle gift packs from $51 + delivery, buy
Your favourite Sauvignon Blanc is now available in half bottles. The 2020 has all the hallmarks of a cool season; floral and pink grapefruit aromas, intensity and texture on the palate and bright, lifted acidity. Just add a straw! Build your own 3 bottle gift pack. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz half bottles also available.

Tyson Stelzer's Champagne recommendations

Tyson Stelzer is one of Australia’s most respected and prolific wine writers. In addition to tasting and reviewing thousands of wines each year, Tyson also specialises in Champagne, and is among the world’s foremost experts in the field. Here are five of Tyson’s top picks for summer!

Louis Roederer et Philippe Starck Brut Nature Rosé 2012

Louis Roederer’s inspired (and more than courageous) ‘infusion’ method of rosé cofermentation produces a soft, silky harmony like nothing else. The inaugural Philippe Starck Rosé has an altogether distinct mood to everything to emerge from this hallowed house to date, fusing juiciness and spiciness with tension like never before. A masterful triumph and downright delicious.

 

Bollinger PN VZ15 NV

A bright new star has arisen from deep within the pinot noir firmament. Departing Bollinger’s home on the southern slopes of the Montagne de Reims, the house tactically jumped over the hill to the cooler northern aspect of the fabled grand cru of Verzenay in the warm 2015 vintage. Glittering, crystalline energy brilliantly contrasts the exacting pinot noir DNA that is Bollinger. 

 

Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2008

Categorically the finest Billecart Vintage yet, this is a cuvée of laser line and immortal structure that rejoices in the lightning energy of 2008 and the exacting precision engineering of the house. A cuvée to age for at least another 20 years (and it will easily live for 50). In sheer, breathtaking purity, monumental chalk minerality and endless longevity, this is one of the champagne buys of the decade.

 

Krug Grande Cuvée Edition 168 NV

Krug is older and more complex than ever, its latest iteration a blend of 198 wines from 11 vintages from 2012 back to 1996. And yet it is the most profound declaration of the grand contradiction that is Krug: brighter, paler and fresher than any Grande Cuvée I can recall! Purity and focus lift it to heights not achieved since the epic 2008 base in Edition 164. 

 

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2008

One of the most anticipated releases of the decade, the fabled Comtes 2008 has finally reached our shores. A frothing core of salt minerality bores to the depths of Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, the most mineral of sparkling crus in the known universe. With breathtaking precision, zen-like focus and unmitigated drive,

Recipe: Coda's Quail (or Duck) Sang Choi Bao

This month we’re highlighting our 2018 Lenswood Vineyard Pinot Noir and pairing it to a tasty dish from one of our long-time favourite Melbourne dining establishments, Coda Bar & Restaurant. Coda has been a Melbourne laneway institution since it came on to the scene over ten years ago. The Sang Choi Bao has been on the menu since day one, in the form of Quail or Duck. You can interchange the protein as you wish.

This dish is packed with flavour and juiciness, with sweetness from the Chinese sausage, gaminess and umami flavours from the meat and mushrooms and some saltiness that is courtesy of the dressing. It screams for good Pinot Noir.

Our 2018 Lenswood Vineyard, only the second release of this wine, provides this; with powerful aromatics and fragrance that is loaded with red fruits, florals and spice. The palate has impressive volume, fruit sweetness and tannin, whilst showing softness, restraint and delicacy. The red fruit and sweet spice flavour profile and mid-weight flavour intensity will pair perfectly with this dish.

Quail (or Duck) Lettuce Delight with lup cheong, shitake mushroom, coriander and water chestnuts

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

6 iceberg lettuce leaves, trimmed to form cups
1 lup cheong Chinese sausage, finely diced in to tiny cubes
4 spring onions, sliced into rounds
1 brown onion, finely diced
4 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated
6 water chestnuts, finely diced
10 sprigs coriander, picked and washed
200g quail meat, minced
15g corn flour
50ml water
Sea salt, just a pinch
1 free range egg

Dressing

100ml light soy sauce
40ml Shao sing cooking wine
25ml oyster sauce
5ml sesame oil

METHOD

Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Rehydrate your shitake mushrooms by placing in a separate bowl and covering with very hot to boiling water and resting for 20 minutes.

In a third (medium) sized bowl, mix the water, corn flour, salt and egg together. Then add the minced qual (or duck).

Using a hot wok, fry the quail mixture until it is caramelized and fluffy.

Add the lup cheong, spring onions, brown onion, mushrooms and water chestnuts and cook until the onions are cooked through and giving strong aromatics.

Remove from the heat and season with the dressing and coriander leaves.

Divide the mixture evenly into the lettuce cups and serve immediately.

Recipe: Apollo's Wild Weed + Cheese Pie

It's usually this time of year where we are feeling inundated with friends' photos and stories of recent travels to Europe over the summer. 

2020 has proved to be the opposite, and we are now seriously craving the beaches of the Amalfi Coast and islands of Greece, so we thought we would bring a little bit of Greek sunshine to your dining table. 

Spinach Pie, or spanakopita as it is known in Greece, is an everyday staple that can be part of the mezze spread, eaten as a snack or as a main course, with some Greek salad of course!

Wild greens also are an important part of the Greek diet, particularly in the mountainous north. Frequently a spanakopita in Greece won’t have any spinach at all in it, but rather a collection of other greens such as nettles, sorrel, silverbeet etc. 

Our friends at The Apollo in Sydney have kindly shared with us their delicious recipe for spanakopita or Wild Weed and Cheese pie, as it is named on their menu. The nettles in this dish work perfectly with our Sauvignon Blanc. We encourage you to crack open a bottle, throw a fresh Greek salad together and try the Apollo’s pita at home, over a relaxed Sunday lunch. You won’t regret it. 

Wild Weed and Cheese Pie

INGREDIENTS

Filling
1kg mixed bitter greens (such as nettles, sorrel, silver beet, chicory)
150ml extra virgin olive oil
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
Dried Greek oregano to taste
500g fresh ricotta
Salt to taste
1 cup olive oil, extra, for brushing
Plain flour for dusting

Filo
500g plain flour
225ml warm water
1 egg lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt

METHOD

To make the filo pastry, combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until they come together to form a dough. 

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Wash greens and drain. With the water still clinging to them, place in a saucepan then cover and cook over medium heat until just wilted. 

Drain in a colander and squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible. 

Chop roughly and set aside in a bowl.

Heat 150ml of olive oil in the same saucepan and cook onions over a low heat for 8-10 minutes, until soft.

Remove from the heat and combine with greens, then add egg and oregano. 

Gently stir in ricotta, season with salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate. 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cut filo pastry dough in half and roll out one half on a lightly floured surface into a 60cm square. The pastry must be as thin as possible. Place a dinner plate over the pastry and cut a round from the centre of the pastry, then roll out and cut remaining pastry into 8 equal pieces and brush these with the extra virgin oil. 

Place the 8 pieces of pastry on top of one another, top with the pastry round, dust generously with flour and roll out into a 40cm round, trimming the edges to neaten. Place this round on a 26cm pizza tray lined with baking paper. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping with the remaining pastry half, trimming edges to make a neat 40cm round. Set aside. 

Spread filling to edges of pizza tray, then fold excess pastry over filling, pleating sides as you go. Gently gather second sheet of rolled pastry with both hands and place on top of pie, allowing it to fall into folds. Brush with generous amounts of olive oil and bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. 
 

 

 

 

 

Recipe: Post's Pan-Roasted Market Fish with Asparagus and Dill Mayonnaise

September excites us for more reasons than one. Spring beckons with open arms - a welcome relief to the winter lull – and our vineyards hail the first signs of life. It also signals some of our most exciting releases of the year, the Single Vineyard wines. What a fitting time to celebrate (just, because) and awash our glasses with Chardonnay.  

It’s hard to pick a favourite child (or vintage), but the 2018 Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay is delicious. It’s poised and seductive, with lemon pith, creamed cashew and hints of pickled ginger. Elegant, but with power and concentration that renders it an excellent food match.

When looking for a restaurant partner to do this wine justice, we couldn’t go past Post, at COMO in Perth. Their pan roasted market fish with asparagus and dill mayonnaise is exceptional. In a story not dissimilar to the wine, this dish is a modern classic, where the freshest, premium local ingredients are the hero, and the composition is relatively simple. Fish aside, the creamy mayonnaise, with lemon juice and zest, is an absolute game changer with the Chardonnay.  

The great news is that they have been kind enough to share their secrets.
 

Pan-roasted Market Fish with Asparagus and Dill Mayonnaise
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 160g snapper fillets
16 asparagus spears
1 large bunch of kale or cavolo nero
1 garlic clove, sliced
250ml good quality mayonnaise
2 teaspoons baby capers
10 cornichons
1 small bunch of dill, chopped
1 lemon
Olive oil
Diced butter

Method

Finely dice cornichons and combine with the capers and mayonnaise.  Add zest and juice of half the lemon, reserving the other half for later. Add chopped dill, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Lightly blanch asparagus and greens in salted water for 1 minute and strain. Toss greens in a pan with a little olive oil and the sliced garlic, then season with salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes until lightly sautéed. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and set aside.

Pat snapper fillets dry and lightly season with salt and pepper. Add to a pan on medium heat with a little olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, then add a little diced butter to glaze the fish. Add remaining lemon juice to finish and remove fish from pan to rest. 

To serve, place dill and caper mayonnaise on the plate, then add the sautéed greens and asparagus, followed by the fish. Lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Recipe: Orso’s Braised Veal Osso Buco Ragu

It’s August, that time of year where spring is almost within our grasp, but the tail end of winter lingers. Hail Pinot Noir. 

There are abundant reasons to love this wine, and its versatility is just one them. Our 2019 Shaw + Smith Pinot Noir is classically Adelaide Hills – pristine, elegant and dark fruited, but with a powerful, savoury backbone.  Its medium body means its light enough for spring fare, but it has the depth and concentration to set off a rich, slow cooked dish. 

In recent months we have been lucky enough to partner with some of Australia’s flagship restaurants to bring you delicious pairings to recreate at home. When looking for our fix of iconic winter classics, we couldn’t go past Orso’s braised veal osso buco ragu. The sweeter, delicate flavour of the veal compliments the lifted aromatics of the Pinot, while the peppercorn and herbs play to its savoury notes. That aside; Pinot and pasta – it’s a match made in heaven. 

Try your hand at home.  Alternatively, pick up a Chef prepared version from Orso’s next door neighbour, Willmotts Gastronomia. No one need know… 

 

Orso’s Braised Veal Osso Buco Ragu: 
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2kg thick cut veal shin (2-3inch)
500g carrot (large dice)
1 head celery (large dice)
3 onions (large dice)
1 head garlic
Bouquet garnish (thyme, sage, rosemary, bay)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp black peppercorn
1 bottle Pinot Noir (cooking)
4 litres brown chicken stock
Parsley & Lemon zest to finish

METHOD

Season and brown veal shin in a hot, oiled oven proof pot until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add carrot, celery, onions and garlic into the pan and cook out for 10 minutes, then add tomato paste. Cook tomato paste for a further 15 minutes. Add in your wine and reduce by half, making sure you’re scraping all the goodness from the bottom.

Add back in the veal shin, peppercorns and the brown chicken stock. 

Bring to the boil, then turn down and place lid on top. Add the herbs. Move it into the oven at 160c for 4.5 hours.

Remove from oven and check to see the marrow bone slips easily away from the meat.

Remove the veal shin and let cool. Reduce the braising liquid and veg until thick and glossy. 

Pick your meat away from the marrow bone and add back into the braising pot, including the centre marrow from the bones.

Add salt and pepper to taste, a few good rasps of lemon zest and loads of fresh parsley.

Best served with soft potato gnocchi, polenta, or any dried pasta you have in the cupboard.

 

Email photo credit @adelaidefoodairy

Competition Winners | 2020 Adelaide Hills Luxury Escape + Win a Shaw + Smith Cellar

Congratulations to Chris King, the winner of our Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Luxury Weekend Competition, and Jenna Atherton, the winner of the Shaw + Smith $1000 Cellar!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Shaw + Smith Single Vineyard Story

People often ask me what makes the Shaw + Smith single vineyard wines different and the answer is pretty simple. Start with a great site that produces wine with character and delivers great flavour. Then understand that the wine must also show the uniqueness of the season and an ability to age for the long haul. This set of criteria sets these wines apart.

As soon as I arrived at Shaw + Smith we started talking about potential single vineyard wines straight away. We were bothered by that ‘reserve’ style of wine where you just get more of everything: more ripeness, more oak, more alcohol, and we thought…that’s absolutely not what this is about. Our single vineyard wines are instead focused on delivering purity, restraint, elegance and that wonderful ability for a wine to open up slowly and reveal itself over time.

We started with the 2013 Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz, from a close-planted block behind the winery, located on the gentle slope of a hill rich in ironstone. We thought about structure, working with whole bunches and how to build tannin without exposing the fruit to too much new oak. We opened this wine recently at our Vintage lunch and it looked excellent next to a Rene Rostaing Cote-Rotie: spice, tannin, structure, intensity and many more years in the tank.

With the superb 2016 expression from this vineyard we included a little more whole bunch, to match the warm conditions, while dialling back the new oak to only about 15%. The whole bunch just works so well with the fruit from this block; lending spice and tannin to the distinctive red and black fruit profile. It’s powerful but also aromatic, spicy, finely textured and remarkably well balanced. Accessible now, but this wine will only improve with age – it has 20 years ahead of it in the cellar, no problem.

Our Lenswood vineyard is the source for both the single vineyard Pinot Noir and the single vineyard Chardonnay. It was a great site to begin with, and thanks to the work that our viticulturist Murray Leake and the team have put in over the last 8 years, we have managed to unlock more of that unique character over time. We’ve only released one Pinot Noir so far – the 2016 – but the 2018 and 2019 wines are safely tucked away and show the incredible promise of this site. 

The Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay from 2017 is a classic expression: coiled, fine, effortlessly long on the palate. It’s quite different to our M3 Chardonnay, for example, which gives you lots of mid-palate weight and flavour, and can be quite open in its youth. This wine is so finely etched, the acidity is lace-like, the floral aromas so lifted and ethereal. It fluently captures the language of a special place at a particular time.

Our single vineyard story continues to evolve as we have bought a new site in the high, cool sub-region Piccadilly, which we will begin planting very soon. With about 11,000 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines planned per hectare, this represents our most ambitious vineyard project yet. It will be a little while before you see a wine from Piccadilly but the potential is mind-blowing.

These wines mean so much to our team, representing a lot of hard work in the vineyard, and finesse in the winery. I hope you enjoy the 2016 Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz and the 2017 Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay. With small makes each year, we have a Single Vineyard Club, that allows you to receive a guaranteed allocation of these wines from your favourite sites each year. Production will remain very limited so that we can continue to capture the detail, the character and the quality in the bottle. That’s what it’s all about.