a perfect pairing

Renowned for their fantastic food-centricity and fine wines, the Salty Dog, now in their 16th year of business, have undergone a complete wine overhaul, choosing the famed Dunell’s Premier Wines as their sole suppliers.
 
Adopting an entirely personal approach, Dunell’s have taken it upon themselves to customise this popular restaurant’s existing wine list, selecting a series of great wines that are designed to enhance the food and wine experience at the Salty Dog.
 
The new selections perfectly complement Salty’s many diverse dishes and flavours, as well as today’s ever-changing palates. To celebrate this partnership, The Salty Dog played host to not one, but two sell-out wine events last month. The wine evenings took place on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th February and featured none other than Kevin Judd and of course, liberal pourings of his much-loved wines.
 
Regarded as one of the most versatile and knowledgeable personalities in the wine world, Kevin knows a thing or two about sourcing the best grapes, which made him a fitting guest for this exclusive event. Once the pioneer of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at Cloudy Bay (Kevin directed the company’s first 25 vintages) – he now owns his own multi-award winning wine label ‘Greywacke’ – the product of an exciting solo venture motivated by his experiences over the years. Much of which he shared with the diners and wine enthusiasts at both events.
 
Named after New Zealand’s prolific bedrock, each of the Greywacke wines boast Kevin’s famed style – a fusion of ripe fruit, fine balance, great concentration and superb varietal intensity. The selected grapes are vinified using ‘non-interventionist’ techniques and sourced solely from superior, low yielding vineyard sites in and around Marlborough’s Southern Valleys. The end result – wines perfectly suited to a diversity of delightful dishes – many of which you will have already tried and love. A few of the well-found varieties included his superb Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and the utterly delectable late harvest Riesling. Some innovative accompaniments were also revealed at the events – the theme of which surrounded their famous Surf and Turf – which I am sure, many will agree, has to be the best on the island! 
The events appealed not only to wine lovers, but also, lovers of art. Expanding his career into the world of wine and landscape photography, Kevin has published and written several of his own photographic books. If you were lucky enough to attend either of the evenings, you would have received a memento featuring an insight into his evocative images that have appeared in publications worldwide.
 
If you weren’t fortunate enough to attend either event, you’ll be pleased to learn that another wine dinner will be taking place in early November & December. In the meantime, head down to the Salty Dog for some of Jersey’s best food and take a closer look at their new, exciting wine selection.