JSC X BROOD FERMENTATION
Jervois Supper Club in July brought together chef Kane Wilson and winemaker Jim Brown of Brood Fermentation for a remarkable pairing of food and wine. Chef Kane fine tuned his menu to align with the expressive and energetic wines that Jim had brought along, showcasing just how powerful harmony between food and wine can be. It’s not often you find a degustation where the dishes are tailored specifically to the wines and remarkably, all for $99. In the city, that would typically cover the food alone.
The night started strong with Many Hands, a farmhouse style cider, and the 2023 Forager Chardonnay. On the table alongside them: grilled kahawai with yuzu dashi and spinach, miso barley with koji cream and yukari seasoning, and pork croquette with fermented plum and pickled turnip. Umami rich flavours met sharp, sour edges, with the barley dish standing out as both comforting and contemporary.
The cider was fresh, fizzy and alive, bursting from the glass with notes of lemon rind and honey. The Chardonnay was taut and electric, a clean wine with a pithy citrus edge, white peach, and a generous phenolic grip to finish.
Next up, the 2023 Lemonade Cake Field Blend, a “fruit salad wine” assembled progressively throughout vintage. Skin contact Gewurztraminer and whole bunch pressed Sauvignon Blanc formed the core, but everything else Brood processed that year made its way into the bottle too Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling among them. Crunchy cranberry, orange peel and sarsaparilla met just a touch of wildness.
As the evening continued, more dishes rolled out and the table buzzed with conversation. BBQ beetroot with black garlic and toasted hazelnuts shared space with beef tartare dressed in one year old tamari, served on crisp black rice crackers. A comforting bowl of miso soup with wakame completed the set rich, savoury and slightly sweet, a maypole of intertwining flavours.
Of the reds, the 2023 Sedure Pinot Noir was a favourite. Reminiscent of bright Northern Italian reds, it offered aromatics galore, lifted by whole bunch fermentation. The fruit was crunchy and jubey redcurrant and cranberry, with root beer and tamarillo nuances.
For those after a more familiar expression, the 2024 Orchis Pinot Noir ticked all the boxes: dark, ripe and rich in black cherry and savoury tones. Plum, roasted carrot, sage and a peppery spice rounded it out. Supple tannins and bright acidity made it a crowd pleaser, though for some, Sedure’s lift, and lightness stood out more.
The meal concluded with a simple slice of vanilla parfait, transformed by a drizzle of ponderosa lemon cheong, a traditional fermented fruit syrup, that had spoons scraping across plates for the last drops.
The next edition sees the JSC return on Wednesday 13 August with Lance Ridgewell of Cambridge Road Wines joining forces with chef Lisa Lee and the Ockhee team. Don’t miss it.
