Wine expert from Oz visits Shanghai

"The best way to learn about wine is to taste the very best wine you can with someone who can explain it to you," says Jeremy Oliver.

Luckily, the seven guests at an exclusive wine dinner in Shanghai were in a room with some very good wines - and "someone" who could explain them: Oliver.

The leading Australian wine writer, Oliver was the first host of the Single Bottle Club Dinner in the private room of Char, the restaurant on the top of Hotel Indigo Shanghai on the Bund. The idea behind these gatherings: Guests can book the private room, bring their own bottles from their cellars, share the wine with friends and ask for comment from a wine critic or a winery owner.

Oliver began writing about wine in 1984 with his first book, Thirst for Knowledge. He has since published 14 books, plus hundreds of articles all over the world. Today he hosts many leading wine events in Australia and also works as an ambassador for Australian wines in export markets.

His website (www.jeremyoliver.com) says he "is also in the process of developing some world-leading wine software for consumers".

Ethan Tian, the Shanghai hotel's food and beverage director, said that he wanted to make the dinners casual yet informative, perhaps as often as monthly.

"Good wines are expensive. Maybe you can only afford a few. But here, you can taste around 10 bottles of good wines at a time. In addition, it's a good opportunity to know new friends who are also wine lovers," said Tian, who is also the hotel's head sommelier.

Each time, a maximum of 10 guests will be invited so that the dinner is private and that they can have enough time to talk with each other.

Since many in the hotel's management have Australian backgrounds, the theme of the first dinner was Australian wines. So Tian invited his friend Oliver, who was on a trip in China to promote his new book, to be the first host of the private dinner.

The guests, who were experienced wine lovers or working in the wine trade. Among the wines they brought: Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2009, Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Coriole Lloyd Reserve Shiraz 2007, Craneford No 1 Shiraz 2007 and Yarra Yering Carrodus Cabernet Merlot 2008.

Oliver says that the best Australian wine is changing and is becoming more international.

"I don't look at the wines as old world and new world. I look at winemakers' psyche as old world and new world. There are a lot of wines in Australia that taste more old world than French or Italian or Spanish. You can't label things easily, which is more fun. In Australia, the diversity is greater," Oliver says.

After each wine was served, he led the guests through tasting it and made his comments, making the dinner more like a casual friends' gathering and wine discussion.

For instance, Oliver said that the Coriole Lloyd Reserve Shiraz 2007 can be rated 95 points.

"The smart makers of Australian wines are making wines less heavy, more flavorsome, more elegant and more approachable. This wine," he says, savoring a Coriole Lloyd Reserve Shiraz 2007, "really tastes McLaren Vale, but it's very fine and subtle. It's not too heavy," he said. "In McLaren Vale, it's got hotter in the last few years, but the winemaker has made a beautiful wine in a very difficult year."

Oliver also speaks highly of Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 and Stoney Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005.

"When you smell it, he says of the Stoney Vineyard selection, "you get a typical smell like blackberry jam, slightly smoky oak, a little bit menthol, green pepper, a little bit more minty than Bordeaux. I love this palate, very subtle. The palate is very Bordeaux-like, very fine tannin, smooth and silky. It's very elegant, as a 6-year-old wine, still very youthful on the palate."

The hotel's Australian executive chef Julie Donohoe prepared the dinner. For the Australian theme, she prepared Tajima Wagyu eye fillet and grilled herbed king prawns as the main course. The beef from Australia has a marble score between 7 and 9. Char's signature six kinds of sea salt and vegetable sides were placed in a lazy Susan for sharing.

Oliver says he enjoyed the dinner very much, noting that a wine dinner like this helps people to set up a benchmark.

"It's really important to taste a lot," he says.

"Today, every winemaker in the world is visiting China regularly. Chinese people have a lot of opportunities to meet people making great wine with different philosophies and different techniques. There is a huge opportunity to learn."