There were many reasons to celebrate today! Most importantly, the most amazing woman and celebrity cook, Helen Mouneimne, from The Greek Vegetarian, joined the team at The General Wine Bar and Kitchen. This is also the home of Zonte’s Footstep.

Guests were treated to a private tasting of Zonte’s Footstep wines with winemaker Brad Rey and co-owner Anna Fisher. In line with current COVID requirements, we were all seated as we tasted one of their sparkling wines. Guests have the option of the Regional Tasting, Mediterranean, or Limited Release, however, our hosts didn’t want our wines to overlap with the wines in the Dine Around the World experience, so we tried a varied selection.

We were then off to Morocco for our Dine Around the World experience. It was a three course meal prepared by Gabriel Wilson of Gabriel’s Kitchen, matched with Zonte’s Footstep wines complete with inflight entertainment.

The inflight nibbles consisted of Roasted Spiced Almonds paired with the Zonte’s Footstep Bolle Felici Prosecco NV. The almonds were freshly roasted and lightly spiced, and worked well with the clean, fruity flavours of the prosecco.

First course was the Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini and Dates, matched with the Zonte’s Footstep 2019 Shades of Gris Pinot Grigio. Possibly one of my favourite cauliflower dishes to date. The roasted cauliflower was firm and perfectly cooked. When smothered in the earthy and nutty tahini sauce, it was absolute perfection. The dried dates added a lovely burst of sweetness with each bite. The pinot grigio was refreshing with strong flavours of fresh nashi pear.

Next was the Chicken Kefta with Chermoula, Green Olives and Basmati Rice paired with the Zonte’s Footstep 2018 Love Symbol Grenache. The chicken meatballs were juicy and well seasoned, and the chermoula sauce reminded me of a lightly spiced Thai curry. The grenache had a juicy plum sweetness with a fine grained fruit tannin.

For dessert, we had the Rosewater and Semolina Fudge with Labneh and Stonefruit, matched with the Zonte’s Footstep 2019 Scarlet Ladybird Rose. The aromatic and creamy fudge was balanced texturally by the crunchy pistachio pieces. There was also good flavour contrast with the sour labneh, sweetness of the dried persimmon and scattered mint leaves. All worked well with the fruitiness of the rose.

What a truly amazing day! From a private wine tasting to a dine around the world experience, it really is the next best thing to travelling. The Dine Around the World experiences are designed for 8 to 20 people and organisers are required to give The General Wine Bar and Kitchen one weeks notice as to which country they’d like to travel to. Guests can travel in Premium Economy, Business Class, and First Class. All come with a tailored three course feast with varying levels of wine.

Adelaide Food Central would like to thank Helen Mouneimne, Brad Rey, Anna Fisher, Gabriel Wilson, Kendy Beal and the team at The General Wine Bar and Kitchen, and Zonte’s Footstep for an amazing experience. We look forward to coming back soon to see what’s in store!

WHERE: 55A Main Rd, McLaren Flat