The Halliday Tasting Team share their go-to dinner party wines below.
Jane Faulkner
I can’t remember ever taking just one bottle of wine to a dinner party... unless it was a magnum. I love sharing wine with my best friends and for a more intimate dinner, I usually take three – a sparkling, a white and red. I adore fizz and Arras is always a ‘wow’ wine, especially the EJ Carr Late Disgorged, followed by chardonnay, perhaps Vasse Felix Heytesbury or one from Oakridge Estate and the red, nine times out of 10, is nebbiolo. Of late, I’ve been opening a favourite vintage, a 2008 from Bartolo Mascarello.
Jeni Port
In my experience, everyone present is really only interested in the main event – the entrée and mains – so sparklings and sweeties are out. I remember once pouring a Champagne and seeing glasses left full, and that was at the start of the night! I pair a meat dish – there is almost always one – and the wine that never fails to impress is the Yangarra GSM, a grenache shiraz mourvèdre from McLaren Vale. It has power, precision and poise – a difficult combo achieved effortlessly by winemaker Peter Fraser. It can manage the richest of meat dishes to the more delicate, thanks to the role of vibrant red and blue fruits and the most delicious spice.
Toni Paterson MW
The Mount Horrocks Nero d’Avola from the Clare Valley is always a winner. It is something completely different, though at the same time approachable and easy to love. The current vintage is wildly varietal with glorious orange peel notes which overlay the snappy cranberry and cherry flavours. The wine is beautifully soft and is enlivened by bright, lemony acidity. A stylish, sophisticated crowd-pleaser.
Shanteh Wale
While it might not claim the most obvious selection, a digestif remains a stellar choice for any dinner soirée, in my opinion. Firstly, aiding digestion is crucial, and secondly, it’s often when the liveliest or most engaging conversations unfold. It sets the stage for post-dinner games, perhaps cigars, or simply unwinding by the fireplace. Plus, digestifs aren’t often brought along, so the issue of too many of the same category is avoided. Then again, maybe I just like to keep the party going? My personal favourites include Heiwa Yuzushu sake, Amaro Montenegro, or Chartreuse.
Mike Bennie
I am all about bringing the most interesting thing I can find for dinner parties, and I particularly like taking on the after-dinner experience. Amaros are a huge part of my remit and something I love drinking. Hence in my current repertoire is this truly artisanal Japanese amaro, Iseya Distillery Scarlet Verde Amaro. It is produced from more than 30 types of medicinal herbs blended into a base of fermented grasses and straws from the distillery’s own fields. Unique, delicious, revitalising.
Dave Brookes
I’ve leaned on this bottle so many times, from dining with friends to poncy wine show dinners, and it has always come up trumps. It’s the Domaine Dard et Ribo Crozes Hermitage C’est le Printemps from René-Jean Dard and François Ribo in the northern Rhône. A syrah released early in the spring following the harvest, it is an absolute joy to drink, with little in the way of artefact obscuring the purest of fruit. I know for a fact that it has inspired more than one Aussie winemaker to try and replicate its style, such is its ease of drinking and endearing nature. Santé!
Marcus Ellis
I wouldn’t have said this 10 or perhaps even five years ago, but grenache. A bottle of thoroughly modern grenache, whether from McLaren Vale, Swan District or elsewhere can make for an incredibly versatile wine at the table. I’m talking the more midweight takes, perfumed with florals, spice and bright red fruit, sans confection and calibrated with sandy, food-friendly tannins and energising natural acidity. They’re collaborative wines with food, complementing and rarely intruding. They also give you a topic of conversation about just how exciting Australian grenache is right now – the word must be spread!
Philip Rich
For the first 20 years of my working life, my go-to dinner party bottle was Guigal Côtes du Rhône. It was $15 in 1996 and not that much more in 2006! It was French, inexpensive and suited Aussie palates. These days, it’s Craiglee Shiraz. The winery is within an hour of wherever I’m taking it to, and the wine always delivers. And if anyone says, ‘tell me about this wine?’ The story begins with a bottle of 1872 Craiglee ‘Hermitage’ that was served at a dinner in Melbourne in 1972, which led to Pat Carmody replanting a vineyard on the original site in 1976.
Katrina Butler
Next to fizz, you can’t go past riesling to satisfy the most discerning party guests. I love Samantha Connew’s label, Stargazer. She makes crystalline riesling from the Coal River Valley which doesn’t break the bank and can effortlessly start or end a meal. There is a certain joy in sharing riesling with guests unfamiliar with the variety and more familiar with the ‘style’ from years past when ‘riesling’ was sweet, cheap, and often made from semillon. How far we’ve come! The Stargazer Palisandar Riesling pairs well with food, generates conversation, and is my go-to for sharing among friends over the silly season.
