Australia’s First Families of Wines
At
Brown Brothers, we’ve been making wine in the
King Valley for over 127 years, and while tradition is important to us, we’re also incredibly proud of our innovative approach. We’re always pushing the boundaries, creating fresh styles and introducing new winemaking practices.
We just love this wine! Tempranillo is such a versatile easy drinking varietal and the Graciano adds a whole new dimension. We’ve been growing Graciano at our home vineyard in Milawa since the 1960s, while our first Tempranillo vines were planted in the early 90s. This wine was originally made in our experimental winery, the Kindergarten, after my dad, Ross travelled to Spain and fell in love with Rioja!
We love drinking this wine with a fillet of beef from the local organic farm, and some barbequed veggies from Mum’s garden.
- Katherine Brown
This wine is all about sharing, for us. It’s the wine we open when we’re all together for a special event with extended family and friends. Whether we’re firing up the barbeque or enjoying baked figs and cured meats on a share board, this wine is the perfect complement. Plus, good conversation and great jokes are essential – food and wine always taste better with laughter!
Patricia Brown’s porterhouse with pickled mushrooms and chimichurri
4 x 280g Porterhouse steaks
Pickled mushrooms
20 shiitake mushrooms
2 punnets shimeji mushrooms
(approx. 200g total)
2 punnets oyster mushrooms
(approx. 200g total)
1 cup white wine vinegar
6 brown shallots
1 bunch rosemary
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Chimichurri
½ bunch coriander, picked and washed
½ bunch parsley, picked and washed
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
125g extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Porterhouse steaks
1. Remove steaks from the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking.
(Meat at room temperature cooks more evenly and yields a much juicer
steak when cooked.)
2. Season it well with salt and pepper and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.
3. Pre-heat barbeque or frypan to very hot. Add steak and rotate the beef every 30 seconds to help cook the beef all the way through (cook for 5 minutes for rare, 6 minutes for medium-rare, 7 minutes for medium, 9 minutes for medium-well done, 11 minutes for well done).
4. Using a meat thermometer, test the internal temperature (rare – 50ºC, medium-rare – 56ºC, medium – 60ºC, medium-well-done – 65ºC, well-done – 70ºC+). Once the beef reaches 5 degrees below the desired temperature,
remove the beef from the heat source as it will continue to cook.
5. Rest steaks for 5-6 minutes in a warm place.
Pickled mushrooms
1. Cut the stems from the shiitakes and slice into thick slices.
Cut the shimeji from the bases so they are all loose. Lightly
tear the oyster mushrooms.
2. Peel and very thinly slice the shallots. Cover with boiling water for 5 minutes and wring out dry in muslin cloth.
3. Bring vinegar and 1 cup water to boil in a medium saucepan, add salt and taste (it should taste quite salty like seawater).
4. When liquid comes to the boil, blanch the mushrooms in
3 batches for 2 minutes at a time. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a colander to drain.
5. When all mushrooms are cooked, blanch the sliced shallots and peeled garlic cloves, then add to the mushrooms.
6. Pick the rosemary and mix through the mushrooms.
7. Transfer drained mushrooms to container or jar and cover with olive oil.
Note: These taste best if you leave them for about 3 days
before consuming, but can be eaten straight away.
Chimichurri
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until
very smooth.
2. Serve immediately for full freshness.
To serve
1. Slice steaks and top with pickled vegetables and a generous drizzle of chimichurri.