We call the Nagambie Lakes region of Central Victoria home and believe ours is the most beautiful and historic family-owned winery in Australia. At Tahbilk, our promise is the creation of prestigious wines and experiences worth sharing which celebrate our history and commitment to a sustainable legacy for future generations.
The Purbrick family has had a long running love affair with Marsanne ever since our Grandfather Eric took over the management of Tahbilk and planted the 1927 Madills block. This block is the oldest planted in Australia and one of the oldest in the world and Tahbilk also boasts the largest single holding of Marsanne in the world.
Marsanne is a lovely, fresh unoaked style and, as a young wine, it can be enjoyed on a sunny afternoon lying on the beach, as a pre-dinner aperitif or, particularly as an older wine, treated more seriously with lunch or dinner, especially one featuring prawn and asparagus risotto. Honestly, there’s never a bad time to enjoy Marsanne.
We share this wine and food match with family, friends and anyone who loves – good company...and even more good company...lots of debate, lots of laughs and lots of fun!
- Alister Purbrick
Prawn and Asparagus Risotto
Ingredients
300g green prawns, remove the head, shell and tail and the digestive
tract and chop the flesh into 3 pieces
1 litre of fish stock, warmed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
8 stalks of asparagus, break off the hard stems
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
250g arborio rice
160ml white wine
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup of fresh coriander, chopped
Method
1. Place fish stock and ground coriander in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, add the prawns for 2 minutes.
2. Remove prawns from stock and keep warm. Maintain the stock pot at a low simmer.
3. Bring a small frying pan of salted water to the boil, add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes, drain and cut each stem into 3 pieces, set aside and keep warm.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy pan, when hot, add the diced onion and cook until soft, add the rice and cook until it becomes opaque (about 2 minutes). Add the wine and stir into the rice, cook until nearly all is absorbed. Add 1 cup (250ml) of the warmed stock and the black pepper, stir into the rice. From this point it will take about 20 minutes to cook.
5. When the rice has absorbed the stock, add another cup and stir, when that is absorbed by the rice, add another cup and so on, gently stirring all the time.
6. With 6 minutes to go, add the chopped coriander, asparagus and the poached prawns, check for taste, add salt if required, keep adding the stock.
7. At the end of 20 minutes the rice should be tender with a slight firmness to the taste, if you think it requires more liquid, add a little hot water.
8. Stir the dish 4 or 5 times before serving.