Vasse Felix Wine Dinner at the Inglewood Hotel, Perth

I am pretty sure my Tuesday night this week was better than yours – 4 deletable courses of food, 5 glasses of top quality Margaret River wine, good company and all at a great setting on a rainy night. It’s definitely not my typical Tuesday, this normally involves ugg boots and a couch! Therefore I am very honoured the lovely folk at the Inglewood Hotel invited myself an a guest along to their latest wine dinner with Vasse Felix ( thank you!).

The Inglewood Hotel are looking to do more wine dinners throughout the year, the next one is with West Cape Howe from WA’s Great Southern wine region on Thursday 10th of August at 7pm. Tickets are only $80 per person which is a bargain! The dinner will follow suit of the Vasse Felix dinner I went to last night with 5 glasses of wine matched with 4 courses. The dinner will be hosted by Senior Winemaker, Gavin Berry.

But enough about the future, let’s talk about what just happened! As mentioned, we had a fabulous night at the Inglewood and I would highly recommend checking out one of these wine dinners. In fact I’ve already registered interest in the next one! Here’s a bit more about the night…

But first I had to have a glass of prosecco to warm up those taste buds..

The Wine – Vasse Felix

Our dinner was hosted by Vasse Felix Estate’s Sommelier Evan Gill who spoke at a couple of points throughout the night about the wines in our glass and Vasse Felix. it’s been a number of years since I visited the Vasse Felix cellar door, so it was good to get re-acquainted with the brand. Evan was really good at speaking on the night, the dinners are held in a sectioned off part of the restaurant and he used a microphone to speak so everyone could hear him very easily.

Throughout the night we also had a quiz we could fill in based on the information Evan was sharing with us, at the end of the night all those correct entries then went into the draw to win a twin pack of wine – something different and who doesn’t love a prize!

So to prove that I also paid attention here’s a few interesting bits and pieces I learnt about Vasse Felix on the night:

• Vasse Felix are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2017 having began in 1967
• Tom Cullity was the founder of Vasse Felix, previous to this he was a respected Cardiologist from Western Australia, therefore we should probably say Dr Tom Cullity!
• The first significant red wine that came out of the estate was a Cabernet Malbec blend which is still made today, in fact the 2013 has just been officially launched (the 2013 is 76% Cab sauv, 20% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot)
• The initial vineyard was planted with 4 acres of Riesling, 2 acres of Cabernet and half an acre each of Shiraz and Malbec
• It’s safe to say Tom Cullity is Margaret River’s ‘viticulture pioneer’ being the first vigneron who planted the first grapes, built the first winery and made the first wine in the region
• The ‘Filius’ range is the ‘son of’ range, therefore they are the everyday drinking wines that are typically priced around the $25 mark

I could go on and on, but alas, I suggest you head over to the Vasse Felix website to find out more about this iconic WA wine brand.

At the dinner we enjoyed a glass of the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, 2016 Filius Chardonnay, 2015 Filius Cabernet Merlot, 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon and ended on a sweet note with the 2012 Cane Cut Semillon. All were wonderful matches for the meal!

The Food

Kudos to the chefs! The food was absolutely divine, from the pillowy, melt in your mouth bread and butter to one of the biggest pieces of steak I’ve ever had, to the divine chocolate and hazelnut brownie to end the night. I really enjoyed every dish and it’s safe to say I left the Inglewood Hotel with one very full stomach!

As I know you all love a bit of food porn, here’s a little something to keep you satisfied…

Cerviche of kingfish with avocado, red onion, heirloom tomato, baby basil & chipolte aioli

Crispy pork belly, glazed & grilled pineapple, apple & red cabbage slaw, with pork crackle

‘Pitch Black’ 200g eye fillet steak, fondant potato, sautéed wild mushrooms, spinach, caramelised shallots & baby carrots, with a black cherry reduction

Warm chocolate & hazelnut brownie, vanilla bean ice cream, honeycomb & salted caramel with toffee shard & blackberry compote

Do you see why I was so full now?

A fantastic menu, great wine matches, what more could you ask! The dinner was set up so you were at private tables – most settings were for either 2 or 4 people equipped with a lovely candle and fresh flowers. We were right in front of the fire/heater that kept us toasty and warm. Before I wrap this up, I also wanted to mention that all the waiters and waitresses that served us were super friendly and fantastic – they looked after us well! A big thanks to all involved!

For more information on upcoming events at the Inglewood Hotel please check out their website or follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.