For those who can’t venture to regional cellar doors, Richmond restaurant, Mr Joe is bringing two of Victoria’s most notable wineries to inner Melbourne with an exclusive five-course wine and dining event. Hosted in collaboration with 2019 Winery of the year winner, Seville Estate in Yarra Valley and Indigo Vineyard in Beechworth, the events are expected to showcase the best of Victorian wine and produce, including an exciting global-fusion set menu.
Mr Joe, renowned for their stunning, global fusion cuisine, is running the ticketed event over four special nights. Over two evenings across April 29-30, Indigo Vineyard – voted best large cellar door in Beechworth by Gourmet Traveller in 2014 – will team up with the venue to serve their award-winning drops for the evening. Indigo Vineyard’s wines are complex and diverse, produced from over twelve varieties of grapes planted in soils which range from granitic sands to clay loams. Then, over two evenings between May 6-7, Mr Joe will be collaborating with the team at Seville Estate – James Halliday’s 2019 Winery of the Year – to create an immersive, wine-matched dining experience. Priding themselves with over four decades of winemaking experience, Seville Estate wines are made with minimum intervention and fermented using indigenous yeasts, making for wine styles that show cool climate complexity and finesse.
Head chef Martin Sun has curated an exciting five-course menu for the event, featuring the innovative, boundary-pushing cuisine that Mr Joe is renowned for. Sun’s dishes will take guests on a sensory experience around the globe, using cooking techniques and ingredients from different countries including yuzu from Japan, gianduja from Italy, tzatziki from Greece and veloute from France. Despite the inherent worldliness of their cuisine, local ingredients are at the forefront of the menu, with wagyu rump from Sher Wagyu in Ballan, lamb saddle from Gippsland and dairy from inner-Melbourne’s only micro-dairy, St David Dairy.
To begin the evening, kingfish will be served with gazpacho sorbet, celeriac crunch, celeriac paper and sorrel to introduce the fusion experience. Sun will continue to excite guests with his experimental marriage of global flavours with dishes including lamb with buttered pine and tzatziki cream, serrano ham crisp with bavarian cream, a locally acquired wagyu rump dish with an Italian speciality, gianduja jus. To complete the tasting experience, guests will be served a Ganache chocolate tart, decadently topped with sweet and savoury miso ice cream, seasonal fruit and green tea meringue.
Alongside the multicultural menu, the winery collaborators have hand selected wines to perfectly accompany the flavour profiles of each dish. The laser-like acidity of Seville Estate’s 2017 Riesling, with an aromatic and flowery taste, has been matched with the kingfish dish to cut through the delicacy, creating a harmonious amalgamation of flavours. Reds like Seville Estate’s 2018 Old Vine Reserve Shiraz – an elegant and complex shiraz produced from their oldest vines will be paired with the Wagyu to complement the bold flavours of the meat and sauce, while their 2019 Reserve pinot noir will be matched with their lamb saddle for a strong combination of rich and delicate flavours. The rich sweetness of Indigo’s Rutherglen Muscat, which is normally only available at their cellar door, will be matched with the chocolate ganache dessert to complete the evening. Guests will be treated to a full cellar-door experience without having to leave Richmond, with winemakers in attendance to chat and introduce their wines.
Continuing to emphasise the venue’s focus on culinary innovation, Mr Joe hopes to put forth an immersive experience that both defines and captures the diversity of Victoria’s food and wine scene. With tickets for the event(s) priced at $135 per person, the events are a celebration not to be missed if you enjoy fine-dining experiences that challenge conventional flavour profiles, and the opportunity to explore the complexity and elegance of local wineries across Victoria.
Get in touch via the website or through details below to purchase a ticket for unforgettable evenings across April 29th and 30th for Indigo Vineyard, and May 6th and 7th for Seville Estate only at Mr Joe.
Mr Joe is located at 362-364 Burnley St, Richmond, Victoria.
Tickets for each event can be purchased here or via emailing Mr Joe.
