Oysters. Wine. Gundaroo. Great company.
It’s as good as it sounds.
It’s another hot February day as we travel down a road which cuts through a – quite literally – sunburnt country. We arrive at Capital Wines in Gundaroo when the land is at peak baking point. Fortunately, Capital Wines is located in the old stables of the Royal Hotel, so it’s relatively cool inside.
My friend and I here for the oysters matched with wines; Boyfriend and my visiting bestie aren’t oyster fans, but there’s still plenty on offer to satisfy their tastebuds (and hunger!).
Sauv Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Rose, Merlot, Sparkling Shiraz
The wines are poured first: all six of them. It’s a little bit of a wait between the wines being poured and the oysters being served – the latter also come all at once. The wines poured all at once is a little strange, and the wait between them and the oysters arriving exacerbates the strangeness: the wines are paired with the oysters, so both should be stand outs. Instead, five cool wines being poured so quickly means they get hot – particularly in the weather. Ideally, the wines either need to be poured just moments before the oysters are served, or each type of oyster should be served individually with the wine.
Six oyster pairings with wine
The wines with the oysters together do make for a very attractive sight. The first dish in line are the nude (or natural) oysters, matched with the sauvignon blanc. I love that the first dish shows off what a great texture and taste the oysters have – as well as being a delicious start, it allows us a good benchmark to determine whether the other flavours complement or dominate.
Nude oysters
The second set of oysters are flavoured with St Agur blue cheese, and matched with the Capital Wines ‘The Whip’ riesling. This is a great wine, matched with great flavours – probably the best pairing of the day. Yum!
Oysters with salmon and creme fraiche, matched with chardonnay
I like the oysters matched with salmon and creme fraiche, but it’s a big piece of salmon, and dominates the flavours – the salmon and creme fraiche are divine, but it seems the mouthful would taste the same whether the oyster was a part of the dish or not. As I’ve said a few (!) times before, I’m no chardonnay fan, and this dish doesn’t change that fact.
Three down, three to go
Soy and mirin, carpet bag (oyster in sausage), and oysters kilpatrick
The soy and mirin oysters are paired with rose: a match which seems unusual, but works well, with the rose able to cut through the sweet and spicyness of the soy and mirin. The carpet bag is my least favourite – again, it’s more sausage than oyster – but the sausage is moist and flavoursome.
And then there were two…
And then one…
Amanda from HerCanberra has warned me that the oysters kilpatrick pack a punch, and she’s right! The sparkling shiraz is a perfect match for the tabasco, worcestershire and tomato sauce mix. This is an equal favourite with the blue cheese and nude oysters. Yum!
Capital Wines has some of the best and best-priced wines in the Canberra region; their willingness to try new things and pull them off cements them as a must-visit.
Date: Sunday, 9 January 2013
Where: Capital Wines Cellar Door and Cafe, 42 Cork Street, Gundaroo
Cost: $40 for 12 oysters matched with six wines
Worthwhile factor: Worthwhile
Want more? Check out the Summerside Festival website for more info on winery events throughout February. For more info on Capital Wines, try here.
In The Taratory 
That’s a good price! Oysters…. mmmmm…. oysters…..