Our Vice-President Peter Kelso was at the stove assisted by Martin McMurray for an Italian inspired lunch.

Canapés. Peter and Martin gave us two seafood based starters. Firstly, cherry tomatoes cored and stuffed with crab and mayonnaise and topped with a slice of olive. Then followed excellent white anchovy on crispy toast and topped with capsicum. Both were well received.

Aperitif wine. Our Winemaster served the Ocean Eight Verve Chardonnay 2009 (their entry level wine) from Mornington. Unusually for an Australian white of a recent vintage it was under cork. There was no bottle variation but most thought it was lacking a little character. One bottle of the Lindemans Sparking Shiraz 1999 from Hunter was also opened and was in fine condition being under crown seal.

Main course.  Peter provided us with osso buco Milanese style served with a startling yellow (saffron) risotto. This was accompanied by gremolata as a side in the traditional mode. The sauce did not contain tomato and was not slow cooked in the style of which many of us are familiar. The Milanese style favours much shorter cooking time so that the meat does not fall off the bone but has more texture. It was delicious with some commenting that their pieces were a bit more gristle than meat. Luck of the draw. So, you can cook Italian without tomato.

The wines.

• Coriole Sangiovese 2009 (Mornington) (screwcap, 14%)
• Angullong Fossil Hill Sangiovese 2009 (Orange) (screwcap, 14.9%)
• DenMar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (HV) (screwcap, 13.5%)
• Blue Pyrenees Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (screwcap, 14%)

It was an all Australian all vintage 2009 day. The Coriole and the Angullong shared a common grape but not much else. There was a divergence of views on which was the more enjoyable wine but most felt the Coriole had more the savoury character of a Tuscan red but still a modest shadow of the original. The Orange wine came across as an Australian wine of indeterminate grape but was favoured by some. Both were solid enough to go with the flavoursome main.

The cheese wines were of a fuller and riper character as befits Cabernets from the Hunter and Pyrenees. The DenMar had a distinctive sweetness and had peaked. The Blue Pyrenees had a better structure and solid in style just avoiding a jammy character.   

Cheese and coffee. For cheese James Healey provided a Mauri Gorgonzola Dolce a pasteurised cows’ milk Lombardy product. The Dolce variation is sweet, milky and creamy with hints of spice. As we have come to expect it was in perfect condition. This compares to the Piccante version of Gorgonzola which some have been known to dislike as it is more aged, piquant and crumblier. A salad accompanied the cheese being radicchio and endive with a vinaigrette dressing.

Spencer Ferrier served us Lavazza and a potted history of Luigi Lavazza who opened his first shop in Turin in 1895. Who knew Lavazza took an espresso machine to the International Space Station in 2015? We had the Crema e Gusto which is a full bodied version.

For the next while Spencer will be alternating between selected beans and commercial blends to provide us with an educational experience.