Sydney Wine Centre with Blurb | Pyrmont

We were invited to an intimate glassware master class at the Sydney Wine Centre by Blurb. Blurb is a self publishing platform based in San Francisco, who enables creative people such as foodies, bloggers, designers, makers, photographers and artists to create, share, sell their books and magazines to their primary customer base. If you ever wanted to turn your photos into a book, you should definitely consider Blurb.

Blurb formats include photo books, trade books, magazines and ebooks. You can turn your ideas into professional print books, magazines, or ebooks for iPad and Kindle
Interested? Click here to learn more.

Riedel Glassware Masterclass
Riedel Glassware Masterclass was definitely an eyeopener and very educational. The very point of this educational workshop was to demonstrate the difference the shape, depth and quality of the wine glass can make to the taste of the wine. We had absolutely no idea that great wine can turn into 'not-so' great wine and it had us starting to question every bottle of wine we have finished to date. To prove the effectiveness, we were asked several times to transfer the wine between different glasses and notice the difference. In most cases, the acidic features of the wine were brought forward, causing a very un-enjoyable experience that you simply wanted to spit out. Yet when transferring back to the correct glass, pure harmony is achieved once again.

There is plenty of research and science behind this, I am sure.. but to be blunt, red wines normally require a larger glass to allow greater circulation of air to let the wine breathe better (decanting). 

Throughout the evening, we sampled four types of wine from left to right Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Oaked Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in Vinum glassware. The pleasure of enjoying fine wine starts with the right glass. Did you know that fruit is the backbone for wine? 

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Cabernet Merlot, 2012
When smelling the wine, it was very minty from the intensity of blackcurrant. 
This wine is paired well with dark chocolate and succulent lamb from Vics Meat Market (shot below). It was one of the best tasting lamb we've had. It's so simple. just some salt and parsley! 

Tolpuddle Pinot Noir, 2014
The wine smelt peppery and spicy but has a silky texture from the cherries, raspberry, spiciness and acid profile; creating harmony. This wine is paired well with duck and white chocolate. The white chocolate brings out the caramel taste of the wine. We wanted to continue with a couple more sips (that's what great wine is about)

Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc, 2015
This was paired with fresh oyster from Claudio's Quality Seafood. I'm not a huge fan of fresh oysters (I love mine cheese grilled) but for the sake of enjoying wine, I had one fresh. The aroma from the wine was very grassy, sharp and fruity.

Vasse Felix Chardonnay, 2015
The smell that came out from swirling the wine was capsicum and a slight hint of fruit. Actually, when closely smelling the wine, it smells a little bit like grass. This wine was paired with Delice de Bourgogne, an amazing French classic with triple creme cheese. The cheese is creamy and smooth but fat content is 75%...why am I not surprised? Anything that tastes amazing is so bad for you. The flavour was buttery, mushroomy and tangy. The aroma is quite pungent and strong.

Just a quick recap of what food portion was paired with which wine from starting the top:
Oyster with Sauvignon Blanc, Duck with Pinot Noir, Cheese with Chardonnay and Lamb with Cabernet.

To finish, did you know that swirling the glass does not change the texture or taste of the wine but increases the evaporation surface which intensifies the aroma? That's why you see people smelling their glass after swirling it. Fun fact, there are two types of food where aroma does not necessarily reflect in taste: durian and cheese!

Thank you to Nick and Mark from Riedel, Tim from Sydney Wine Centre and to Jessica, Tyler, Lori and Brenna from Blurb; a self publishing company for hosting and coordinating an intimate event. It was lovely meeting you all. All bloggers received a Vinum tasting set from Riedel. There's no excuse now to not enjoy wine in the right glass!

If you are interested in hosting a private/corporate event or attending a masterclass, head over to Sydney Wine Centre to learn more. They have public tastings and has suitability for all levels ranging from beginners to advanced. Gift vouchers are also available for all events.

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