Natural wine is all the rage in Sydney’s bar and restaurant scene these days, but for the uninitiated, these unconventional wines – made organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, fermented with native yeast and without fining, filtration or the addition of preservatives – can be a little overwhelming.
To quell the confusion, the team at Misfits in Redfern has wrangled Mike Bennie, writer, presenter extraordinaire and expert on all things natural wine (he co-founded Rootstock festival and is the co-owner of Newtown’s go-to emporium for all things funky and fresh, P&V Merchants) to host an intimate tasting focused on minimal intervention drinks from eclectic, avant-garde makers.
You’ll try eight different drinks on the night, which kicks off with canapés and your choice of a pet-nat (natural sparkling) or wild ferment beer. From there, Bennie will unpack the story behind each and every one of these 'misfit' producers, with a three-course menu to match. Burrata, spiced apricots and jalapeno dust comes your way with a glass of Yarra Valley riesling by Mac Forbes, while beef short rib with charred cabbage and pangrattato goes up against the juicy Rude Boy red blend from Brave New Wine in WA. There might even be a junmai sake in the mix.
If you’ve tried a couple of cloudy curveballs at your local of late and have wanted to expand your knowledge of this weird and wonderful part of the wine world, this night is most definitely designed for you. There are only 28 seats available, so get in quick.
