Learning all about Christmas wines at Christina Pickard’s School of Wine

Earlier this month I was invited by Christina Pickard to attend her intimate School of Wine’s Christmas Wines class held at the Butterworth Bar & Kitchen.

I’ve been trying to grow my wine knowledge so that I can better match wines with my favourite foods. It was great to learn from Christina Pickard who has an international wealth of wine experience. Christina writes for Scoop Magazine and is an independent Wine Educator (she’s not affiliated with any particular wine brands). It was awesome! on the evening we were introduced to some boutique wineries I’ve never heard of. Plus, Christina sure has a way with words which makes wine school even more entertaining!

Before I get into the wine and food-pairing tips I picked up at school, these are 5 of Christina’s general wine tips that I found useful…

• Tip #1 Your palate is always changing – all you need is to understand why you like a wine and why you don’t like it.
• Tip #2 Find the balance between food & wine, for example red meat or high-in-protein foods work well with tannic wines like rich reds as they soften the tannins.
• Tip #3 In general, darker colour wines are generally heavier and lighter colour wines are lighter.
• Tip #4 What grows together goes together. For example wine made of grapes grown on the same land as where a cow grazes on will generally result in a perfect beef & wine pairing.
• Tip #5 it is as much about mood as the wine and when choosing a wine consider temperature (i.e avoid heavy, rich reds in summer), company, number of guests and budget.

We started our Christmas Wine school with the whites…

Wine #1 Faber Vineyard Blanc de Blanc, Swan Valley WA 2011 (avail from Faber Vineyard for $33 per bottle)

Everyone loves a sparkling to celebrate the festive season! Our first wine for the evening was the Faber Vineyard Blanc de Blanc which I enjoyed for the lightness.

Christina tells us sparkling wines are made with with white or red grapes (with the skin removed) and that it goes with nearly everything except some red meats.

Sparkling wine go particularly well with pate, cold meats, seafood and christmas pudding if you have any left over!

I was also proud to learn that Swan Valley has some of the world’s oldest vines.

Wine #2 Vasse Felix Chardonnay, Margaret River WA 2012 (widely available at $22 per bottle)

WA’s very own Vasse Felix as most of you know is an older classical winery and their Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock was named the best wine maker of the year in 2012 for their Chardonnay.

Christina explains that chardonnays usually have a subtle flavour and is less aromatic than other whites like sauvignon blanc or riesling. If it has rich, oaky notes, chardonnay is best matched with creamy soups, turkey, chicken, and pork. If it has crisp, lean, more citrus notes, it is best matched with seafood and salads

Wine #3 Quinta do Ameal Vinho Verde, Ponte de Lima Portugal 2011 (avail at Liquid Library or La Vigna at $35 per bottle)

The Quinta do Ameal Vinho Verde is a very young wine with bit of fizz. Christina tells us the fizz was initially an accident but now has become a much loved inclusion in this wine.

Vinho Verde is fairly easy to drink and not widely consumed in Australia. This type of wine is best matched with seafood, sushi, Vietnamese or Thai food and mango.

Wine #4 Domaine Jean-Luc Mader Gewurtztraminer, Alsace France 2010 (avail at Liquid Library or La Vigna for about $40 - $45 per bottle)

This semi dry wine is naturally perfumed with lychee notes and goes perfect with South East Asian Food and my favourite food to match with wine - cheese.

The sweetness of Gewurtztraminer balances the strength of cheese.

Wine #5 Bastide du Claux ‘Poudriere’ Rosé, Provence France 2012 (avail at Steve’s Wine Shop or Swanborne Cellars at $29 per bottle)

My friend Ebony who came along with me to Christina’s School of Wine is a huge Rosé fan and loved Bastide du Claux ‘Poudriere’ Rosé.

Christina tells us that Rosés are usually an after thought. According to wikipedia “when a winemaker desires to impart more tannin and colour to a red wine, some of the pink juice from the must can be removed at an early stage in what is known as the Saignée (from French bleeding) method. The red wine remaining in the vats is intensified as a result of the bleeding, because the volume of juice in the must is reduced, and the must involved in the maceration becomes more concentrated. The pink juice that is removed can be fermented separately to produce rosé”.

So when there’s a good Rosé which is specifically produced, it usually sells pretty quick. Christina recommends Margaret River winery Si Vintners as making one of the region’s top Rosés. She also tells us that Rosés are super food friendly, it goes with pretty much everything from BBQ meats to pastas, Asian food to roast porks and strawberries.

After learning all about white wines, we then moved onto reds which my palate has been loving more in the last couple of years. Christina tells us reds goes well with fatty and salty food as it cuts through the richness. She also mentioned that sweetness in the food can make red wine taste sour…

Wine #6 Lucy Margaux ‘Wild Man’ Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills SA 2013 (avail at The Wine Store and Lalla Rookh for around $35)

Lucy Margaux are proper artisan wine makers and are known for their Pinot Noir - I was impressed to hear they still produce their wine from a shack!

No additives are added to Lucy Margaux’s unfiltered raw wines which gives it a cloudy look. I also thought it was really sweet that the Chief Winemaker / owner Anton hand labels his daughter’s hand drawn labels to his wine bottles…

Wine #7 Castelli Pinot Noir, Great Southern, WA 2009 (avail from Raffles Liquor for around $30 - $35)

Christina tells us that the savoury / salty taste of the Castelli Pinot Noir is softened with is the result of the wine softening with age and losing its primary fruit notes.

When ageing wines, I learnt white wines gain colour and often develop honey, creme brûlée, nutty and dried fruit flavours. Whilst reds can develop more salty/earthy notes and lose colour when they age. It seems however these days there’s a culture of buying & drinking now - Christina reckons we drink our wines too young.

Pinot Noirs can be knocked back on its own slightly chilled or matched with cold meats, pates, goats cheese and grilled vegetables like asparagus or eggplant.

Wine #8 Domaine le Briseau ‘Patapon’, Coteaux du Loir Loire Valley, France 2009 (avail at One Pallet for $29)

Sad to hear the native grape Pineau D’aunis is almost extinct as I really enjoyed this rustic wine.

Christina recommends drinking the Patapon with equally rustic food which she describes as “food you would go and shoot in your wellies” e.g. venison, wild boar, lamb

Wine #9 Swinney Tirra Lirra ‘Ingenue’ Frankland River, Great Southern WA 2012 (avail at The Butterworth for $40)

Christina tells us when drinking WA wines, she enjoys drinking wines from the Great Southern region, particularly in the summer as the cool climate produces wines with excellent freshness.

Swinney Tirra Lirra takes an organic approach to wine making and their Ingenue robust red wine goes well with pulled pork (my signature dish), BBQs, chicken or veggies with spicy tomato sauce, lasagne, pizza and mexican foods.

Wine #10 Domaine de Fenouillet Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Rhone France 2010 (avail at Steve’s Wine Shop or Swanbourne Cellars for $47.50)

I love my dessert wines so no surprises the Muscat was one of my favourite tastings. It had candied orange notes and was nice and light. Best matched with sweet strawberries & cream, apple pies, creme brûlées, coffee or chocolate mousses and bleu cheese.

Christina who is originally from New York is home for the festive season. If you’re keen to learn more about wine or discover new keepers, Christina’s wine classes start up again in the New Year:

• 4 February 2025 & 11 March 2025 - School of Wine Social at Helvetica $55
• 13 February 2025 - Champagne and Chocolate at Raffles Hotel $80
• 20th March 2014 - The Wonderful World of Wine at Raffles Hotel $80

See the Wine with Christina’s website for more details, listings will also be uploaded to my What’s on in Perth section soon.

Now equipped with the notes I took at Christina’s School of Wine, cava & prosecco interview with Rob and our pizza & wine matching night with Jacob Allan – I think I’ve got a pretty good wine foundation. I just need to get some practice in 2014 using my newfound wine vocabulary “toasty, butterscotch texture & notes, gluggable, rich, oaky, chardy” and matching it with some home cooked meals