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State Winner Victoria: Taxi Dining Room, Melbourne

Foodies head to Taxi for Michael Lambie’s exuberant, joyful outlook on food. The man is upbeat in his culinary journey that takes in Japan via a circuitous Pacific Rim-Australian route, one punctuated by a side-trip to his old stamping ground, the UK. Wine lovers head here for a wine list that is equally uplifting and well-travelled.

The list begins unexpectedly with an introduction to Japanese sake, featuring sake by the glass, a flight of sake and a range 12 quality offerings that can be matched with everything from Alaskan king crab to wagyu beef. You can linger over the Champagne (a superlative selection) but make sure you check out the sparkling wines of the world, where you will find some of those aforementioned surprises. Sparkling Vouvray, anyone?

Judges were impressed by the brilliant selection of imported wines, especially the Burgundies and pinot noirs. They also noted the list’s diversity, balance and range of wines to suit any budget.

There’s a sense of adventure in listings such as marsanne, roussanne, viognier, et al. Here you have the Rhône Valley trio playing up to the wine lover either in blends or as single varietals and sourced from the northern and southern Rhône as well as Victoria and South Australia.

The latest trends are all present too: albariño, grüner veltliner, the new generation of Greek white wines, Italian grigio, Spanish tempranillo and grenache.

Italian wine lovers are particularly well-catered for, as are lovers of shiraz. But the key to keeping your attention lies on page 38. It’s a dessert wine list that finally treats dessert wines as part of the wine world, not something to reluctantly tag on at the end.

If you can’t find a wine here that excites your imagination and your tastebuds, check your pulse.  

TEXT JENI PORT

This article appeared in the August/September 2008 issue of Gourmet Traveller WINE.