Food News

Wine and kebabs at Mental Notes

The teams from DRNKS, Mary's and Icebergs are throwing a wine party at the Cell Block Theatre.

By Pat Nourse
Jake Smyth, Kenny Graham and Joel Amos
Unique, engaging and "just generally excellent" wines? If you've found the lack of affect in your dealings with Sydney-based wine company DRNKS refreshing, you're going to really like Mental Notes. It's not a tasting, it's not a festival, it's not a pop-up, it's not a symposium - in the words of DRNKS founder Joel Amos, it's a wine party. And that sounds all right to us.
Amos has got together with known wine enthusiasts Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham of Mary's and The Unicorn fame to take over the Cell Block Theatre and the courtyard at the National Art School in Darlinghurst. The Mary's boys will be doing kebabs, and the fellas from Icebergs will be doing grilled mortadella sandwiches. The choice of the 100-plus wines up for tasting, says Amos, comes down to stuff the three organisers like drinking: Australian producers such as Tom Shobbrook, Patrick Sullivan, James Erskine, Brash Higgins, Si Vintners, Gentle Folk and Frederick Stevenson alongside imports from Fratelli Paradiso, French specialist Andrew Guard and Black Market Sake.
The quality of the wine might be serious, but Amos says the atmosphere is all about fun. "We just want people to have a good time.
"In all seriousness, this will be great. Please come along."
Mental Notes, 3pm-9pm, Saturday 30 April, National Art School, cnr Forbes & Burton sts, Darlinghurst, NSW, mentalnotes.co; tickets $55, early-bird price $49.50.