Wine Dinners Galore

Wine dinners are prolific these days. Every hotel and restaurant seems to be getting on the wining and dining action and why wouldn’t they when wine is becoming such a thriving and fashionable commodity among Indonesians.

As a wine lover and a wine writer, it has been a privilege to attend a number of spectacular wine dinners in both Jakarta and Bali. Some of these have been more memorable than others and I don’t mean the ones where I exited the restaurant leaning on the arm of my best friend, slurring the words, “I rooly, truly love you.” One may arrive in a state of sobriety and leave somewhat inebriated but that doesn’t mean the details of the evening are lost in a fuzzy wine fog.

What makes a great wine dinner? I have been privy to a great deal of customer feedback over the years and in the process, have compiled my own catalog of good versus not so good wine events.

Critiques primarily spew forth from two types of people:

1. The Easy To Please Types: those who simply are looking for a nice evening out with friends in a nice restaurant with nice food and nice wine. These are really nice people who are easy to please and must be thanked for their continuing patronage.

2. The Play Hard To Get Types: those who have a deep affiliation with wine or food or both and who can, at times take it all a bit too seriously. What can I say? I’m a shameful Type 2, a fussy wine wench with a list of ‘must haves’ by which the success of a wine dinner is mentally measured.

The list is as follows in no particular order:

Stemware

The vessel, which doth transport the fermented fruit of the vine to our heads, hearts and bellies. It is absolutely imperative, to have a decent glass when drinking anything better than Yellowtail and even then, I’m sure a good glass would improve the taste of that kitsch kangaroo disguised as wine. In any case, a wine dinner featuring stemware from Schott Zwiessel, Riedel or Spielglau gets the thumbs up.

These stemware specialists make the best wine glasses in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit any wine style and grape variety. A good wine glass has a thin rim, a bowl, which tapers inwards to capture aromas and flavours and a nice, long stem. (Holding a wine glass by the bowl is tacky, so don’t do it!).

I have attended wine dinners where Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux was served in ugly, thick-rimmed goblets and as my friend Sherly says, “It’s just not sexy!” You wouldn’t buy a luxurious mansion and then furnish it with Ikea would you? (Schott Zwiessel has opened a new store in Pacific Place and is well worth a look.)

Food

It goes without saying that a great wine dinner demands a decent meal - baked beans on toast just won’t cut it, no matter how delicious and expensive the wine. I must concede however, that when it comes to food, I fall into the Type 1 ‘easy to please’ category, as I am eternally grateful to eat anything, which does not require my own input. As a lover of fine food but a notoriously hopeless kitchen hand, I recognize and acknowledge the skill, preparation and talent it takes to execute a 5 course meal AND pair it with the wines. My opinion on food and wine pairing has been well documented in the past so when it comes to wine dinners, the rules are simple: let the wine take centre stage, not the food. Overall, Jakarta and Bali is blessed with a vastly talented posse of chefs who more often than not, are getting it right at every wine dinner.

Service

A vital element to the success of any wine dinner and a delicate subject which needs to be addressed with some diplomacy. Instead of pointing to what can and has gone wrong at wine dinners in the service department, the use of a positive example will demonstrate how perfect service can be at a wine dinner. The Bulgari in Bali recently hosted a wine dinner featuring two big Bordeaux names, Chateau Gruaud Larose and Chateau Grand Mayne, where the service of the staff was absolutely spot on. The service was highly efficient and attentive, staff hovered without being in your face, wine glasses were filled and refilled without having to ask, if a piece of cutlery was accidentally swiped off the table by a clumsy guest (me), a clean one was rushed to the table in its place, chairs were pulled out and pushed in each time you returned to the table from the restroom and all meals were served at the same time.

It would seem that great service is a by-product of deft training and certainly at The Bulgari on this particular occasion, a special mention must go to Director of Food and Beverage, Radu Cernia who presided over the dining room like a calm and confident General directing his troops from the side of the room. It was brilliant to witness and has certainly set a new benchmark for executing a successful wine dinner in Indonesia.

When it comes to measuring the success of a wine dinner, food and service are two areas viewed with subjectivity. Certainly, my idea of great food and service may not meet your own standards and expectations but I hope we can all agree on the stemware!

+Simone Baldwin

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