Adelaide dinner - Friday 17 April 2026

[Mattg]

Thanks everyone who came along, it was a lovely evening!

 

[DC-Treks]

Thanks everyone who came along, it was a lovely evening!

Thanks Matt for organising!! Terrific to chat with everyone !!

 

[VPS]

And other things we learned last night.

When the bottle you bring has a very dry cork and breaks if you push the cork in you can strain it through a teapot and the teapot holds 750ml

 

[Pushka]

And other things we learned last night.

When the bottle you bring has a very dry cork and breaks if you push the cork in you can strain it through a teapot and the teapot holds 750ml

View attachment 503971

Geez @VPS, I told you to stop dumping your throwaway wines at these functions.

 

[VPS]

Geez @VPS, I told you to stop dumping your throwaway wines at these functions.

Mmmm not guilty

 

[Ade]

And other things we learned last night.

When the bottle you bring has a very dry cork and breaks if you push the cork in you can strain it through a teapot and the teapot holds 750ml

View attachment 503971

Some more pics of this much needed tea strainer wine decanting masterclass, taken from across the table

Step 1: Once you’ve decanted the bottle into the tea pot, check the tea strainer for traces of the aforementioned dry cork. This is a very important step as the sediments captured by the tea strainer have a story to tell - stories such as the type of tree from which the cork is made and the vineyard from which this tree is from.



Step 2: once you have assessed the contents of the tea strainer, discuss with your masterclass instructor on what you’d identified and if the instructor concurs with your assessment. The instructor conducts their inspections to see if the student has indeed picked up on the subtleties of the cork type and the vineyard.

This picture, captured at the right time, also shows the decanter’s fork - a highly specialised instrument that breaks thru the half-cut dried cork, to let the red elixir flow thru effortlessly into the tea strainer.



Step 3: check the label on the bottle to see if you’d correctly identified the tree type and the vineyard. This is followed by a thoughtful discussion with the wine decanting teacher as to what you’d misidentified and how to rectify this.

As you can see below, the student indeed identified correctly and the proud teacher shows the back of the bottle to the student for more information.



A true masterclass indeed. And how lucky we were to witness this.

 

[Ade]

Thanks @Mattg for organising another amazing evening enjoyed all the amazing conversations across the table. Also great to put faces to handles @ThePW @henleybeach @VPS @Aeolus @DC-Treks plus 1 and @CaptJCool plus 1

 

[Sprucegoose]

I had a blast catching up with everyone on Friday night! My whirlwind 24-hour visit to Adelaide served as a delightful reminder that it’s still very much a lifestyle city—full of amazing people and not a single grumpy face in sight! The venue was fantastic; the Sofitel didn’t just exceed my expectations—it threw them out the window! The wine and company were so stellar that my glass somehow kept refilling itself, which can only mean one thing: either magic is real, or I need to reconsider my pacing skills! Everyone I met in Adelaide was flashing those beaming smiles like they were in a toothpaste commercial. Honestly, I was half-expecting to see a dolphin jump through a hoop of joy!

I look forward to the next AFF gathering there. Thanks to @Mattg for the organisational flair.

 

[VPS]

Some more pics of this much needed tea strainer wine decanting masterclass, taken from across the table

Step 1: Once you’ve decanted the bottle into the tea pot, check the tea strainer for traces of the aforementioned dry cork. This is a very important step as the sediments captured by the tea strainer have a story to tell - stories such as the type of tree from which the cork is made and the vineyard from which this tree is from.

View attachment 504007

Step 2: once you have assessed the contents of the tea strainer, discuss with your masterclass instructor on what you’d identified and if the instructor concurs with your assessment. The instructor conducts their inspections to see if the student has indeed picked up on the subtleties of the cork type and the vineyard.

This picture, captured at the right time, also shows the decanter’s fork - a highly specialised instrument that breaks thru the half-cut dried cork, to let the red elixir flow thru effortlessly into the tea strainer.

View attachment 504009

Step 3: check the label on the bottle to see if you’d correctly identified the tree type and the vineyard. This is followed by a thoughtful discussion with the wine decanting teacher as to what you’d misidentified and how to rectify this.

As you can see below, the student indeed identified correctly and the proud teacher shows the back of the bottle to the student for more information.

View attachment 504008

A true masterclass indeed. And how lucky we were to witness this.

Well written - thank you