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There are some moments in your life where you feel a little bit special – no, not helmet special! Actually, happy special. And Tuesday just gone was certainly a very special day. The girls at i8b were invited to the first (but hopefully not last) Brisbane Food Bloggers Dinner, held at Brisbane’s newest Wine Bar, Bar Barossa. The owner of the bar had requested we hold it there in a little exhange of ‘if you scratch my back…’ (and boy did they ever take care of us!). Expecting only a handful of people, we were greeted by 13 smiling faces and a little nervous excitement. Some of us had seen each other’s blogs before, and it was great to meet face to face.  In the crowd there were even a few professional food writers, and next to them, I felt like a pre-schooler,writing about how “I like food, it is nice.” (Julia interjects to say that Sarah is a fabulous and passionate food writer!)

Once we were seated however, our host Darren promptly got us rolling  with the wine tasting, and we started to relax a little – wine always is an effective social lubricant. And when you’re presented with a selection of tasty tipple like we were, you start waffling about the wine. I certainly wasn’t expecting or prepared for the professional wine-related presentation from no less than 3 experts!  We were given a run down on each wine, 5 in total, and given a healthy dollop to taste of each.

First we were presented with a Wilson Vineyard 2008 Riesling. According to our panel of experts Riesling is not a popular wine in Australia. It’s very dry, but fruit driven. My guess is that these days we are so obsessed with stuffing our faces with sugars that we don’t even bother trying a wine that’s labeled ‘dry’. We’d rather a sweet drink (that is, except for Julia!). Regardless, I beg you all to give Riesling a chance. This one in particular is quite a tasty drop.

We also had the pleasure of Marco Cirillo from Cirillo Estate drive up from the Barossa especially to chat to us (well, I’d like to think it was for us, maybe he just happened to be in town…). He is an 8th generation wine maker who has decided to create wine commercially. And I’m glad he has, as his vines were originally planted in the 1850’s, it would be a shame to keep them all to himself!

The first of his wines was a stunning Cirillo Estate old vine 2009 Semillon. It is very pale, and as you drink it, at first it tastes rather… well… mild. The flavour is extremely subtle, but then you’re hit with a fresh lemon-lime spritz once you swallow. It would go perfectly with a fiery asian stirfry.

The next was a Grenache Rose – The “wine drinkers” Rose we were told, and it was a little drier and darker than your usual pink plonk! I really enjoyed it, but I still hold Yellowglen Bella as my favourite (sparkling) Rose. For me, these were the stand out wines… and to be honest, I usually only trust my palate for the first few wines offered anyway. After that, all wines taste like award-winners and you’ll buy a bottle or three. I take it home and drink it again at a later date and realise I was wearing my wine-tasting “beer goggles”.

So, onto the food – the real reason we are here! Firstly their menu was printed simply on parchment, which always pleases me as it means they (hopefully) change their menu according to what’s in season and what they can source. I ordered the Salt and Pepper Quail on Shaved Cucumber and Watercress salad with Barambah Yoghurt Dressing, and Julia had a Half Dozen Natural Coffin Bay Oysters (all entrees $18.00). The quail was perfectly salty and crispy-skinned, but a tiny-touch dry (quail is one the only poultry meats that is able to be undercooked to keep it moist). Julia found the oysters to be very fresh and delightfully creamy.

Natasha Mirosch from the Courier Mail tucked into a delicious looking plate of housemade pasta with scallops, prawns and salmon in saffron salmon cream and pearls. It looked to have the perfect balance of seafood and pasta.

For main, I had the grilled Atlantic Salmon on Celeriac Mash, Steamed Seasonal Greens with Sorrel Beurre Blanc and Pearls. Goodness gracious, salmon pearls (roe) are delicious little burstlets of fun. When you eat them make sure to press each one against the back of your teeth with your tongue to release the pleasant salt-air flavour.  Julia had the Braised Lamb Shank Pie with Careme Sour Cream Pastry on Potato Mash with Green Pea Puree and Shiraz Jus. (all mains $30.00)

Cheese and desserts are available, however, it was a school night, so we decided to call it a night before the sweet delights.

Recommendations: Definitely ask to have a tasting session. It’s quite good value for money, considering the quantity you’re given, and the selection is well worth it.

We’d like to thank Darren and Sandy from Bar Barossa, Marco Cerillo, Rob Jenkins and Chris Elliot for their generous hospitality and for sharing their wealth of knowledge.

And lastly, thank you to our fellow diners: the Brisbane Food Bloggers. We hope to share a plate and a bottle again soon!