Congress

49 Peel St, Collingwood, Vic
(03) 9068 7464

congresswine.com.au

Cuisine Modern Australian
WINE LIST Katie McCormack
WINES ON LIST 50 (14 by the glass)
WINE PRICES $$ ($11-$17 by the glass)

Some wine lists run to hundreds of wines to represent their interpretation of a modern Australian wine selection. Respect will be paid to Europe, while the core will be reserved for Aussie winemakers combining conventional and less conventional wine styles. Now imagine trying to achieve all of that in just 50 wines or less.

It’s an art to be sure and we salute Melbourne sommelier Katie McCormack for not only accepting the challenge but hitting it out of the park with a list that sizzles with mod Oz brilliance.

From the very first page of the wines-by-the-glass listing the intent is clear. A pét-nat sparkling from the Riverland mixes with biodynamic producer Domaine Simha from Tasmania, followed by a fiano from Campania, then a leading Georgian maker using clay amphorae.

We can only imagine that in a mod Oz world that serves, as Congress does, a pig’s head and green mustard sanga, kangaroo pastrami and ox tongue skewer with chermoula that there is a place for everything from a textural Adelaide Hills grüner veltliner to a honeyed malvasia-based blended orange wine from Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

That falls within our definition of mod Oz and to do it all within just 50 wines is something to celebrate.  

JENI PORT