For serious gourmets and wine lovers the Masterclass sessions at the Grand Hyatt are undoubtedly the highlight of Melbourne’s annual Food and Wine Festival. This year’s presenters included chefs such as Kurma Dasa, Stephanie Alexander and Greg Brown, while wine gurus included James Halliday, Iain Riggs and Domaine de la Romanee Conti’s Aubert du Villaine.

Languedoc-based, Australian winemakers, Nerida Abbott and Nigel Sneyd conducted one particularly interesting session. The pair took participants through a guided tasting of their Abbotts label Minervois and Languedoc appellation wines, lined up against traditional wines of the same regions.

Judging by the wines tasted Abbott and Sneyd have managed to apply their Aussie know-how to the local terroir to create wines that are more than the sum of their parts. An example was the astonishing depth and complexity of flavour exhibited by an unwooded shiraz, the Abbotts Cumulus Minervois 1998. A style I believe that is already in the process of attempted duplication by at least one Australian wine company.

Michael Hill Smith MW, conducted another top session, his self-imposed task was to convince us that chardonnay could be a "cerebral" rather than a boring and "monodimensional" wine. His sensory evidence included a 1998 Chablis from William Fevre Montmains, a memorable premier cru white that was at once crisp, flinty and complex. The 1998 Mondavi Reserve Chardonnay was big, brash and fruity, the bouquet showing distinct toasted oak. Giaconda’s 1998 Chardonnay was a brilliant blend of ripe fruit, lightly charred oak and impeccably balanced acid.

I thought the nine exhibits for the defence were all prime expressions of the varietal - with one exception, an oxidised Kiwi. But if I did my sums correctly there was a serious hole in Hill Smith’s thesis, the average price of the wines on tasting was well over $60. It seems on balance that chardonnay need not be boring, but only if you’re the proud possessor of a fat wallet.

Sparkling red peaches

I asked Jimmy Watson’s chef Andrew McIldowney for a seasonal recipe based on wine. He offered a dessert, "peaches poached in sparkling red". For six people use 6 ripe peaches - peeled, two bottles of sparkling red, one stick of cinnamon, one small knob of ginger (walnut-sized), one vanilla bean - split lengthways, three whole star anise, four cloves, one and two thirds cups of soft brown sugar and six sprigs of mint.

In a heavy (non-aluminium) saucepan bring to the boil one bottle of sparkling red, then add the cinnamon, ginger, vanilla bean, anise, cloves, sugar and mint. Next add the peaches and bring back to the boil. On boiling remove the saucepan from heat and leave the peaches to macerate in the spiced wine for at least 20 minutes or until soft. Remove the peaches and set aside, then simmer the cooking liquid until it becomes syrupy.

To serve: place peaches in bowls and drizzle generously with the syrup, garnish each dish with a mint sprig and a dollop of pure cream. Drink the other bottle. I suggested to Andrew that the only wine really suitable as both ingredient and accompaniment was the classic Seppelt Great Western Sparkling Shiraz 1994. "What else?" he replied.

Tastings

Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla

Manzanilla is a lighter style of sherry (15 per cent alcohol) from Sanlucar de Barrameda in southwestern Spain. Almost water pale, a clean nutty nose. The palate bone dry with delicate flavours and tangy acidity. Serve chilled as the perfect aperitif. Rating: gold. Price: about $9.50 the half bottle.

Nicolas Feuillatte Premier Cru Champagne

A non-vintage style assembled from 40 per cent pinot noir, the same of pinot meunier and 20 per cent chardonnay. Pale, pale yellow, tiny persistent bead. Floral perfume of apples combines with baking bread aromas. The palate is a medium dry mouth-filler of pleasant yeast lees and generous, developed fruit. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2003. Price: around $44.

© Martin Field