Wine columnist RICHARD CALVER rounds up three mates for lunch to compare a couple of rosés, but things don’t go to plan. Firstly, only two them turn up.

Four blokes over 60 agree to meet for lunch, but only three can make the date because one has a medical appointment.

This was a revisit to a Thai restaurant at the Kingston foreshore and this time we agreed to compare a couple of rosés, suitable for an end-of-summer drink where the daytime temperatures are remaining over 30C. 

Given we were down to three, I agreed to buy coffees afterwards and let the other two choose the wines. This limited and limiting planning reminded me of the question: how do you throw a party in outer space? You planet. 

One of my mates brought a Chateau Tanunda Dry Rosé 2022.

I’d visited the winery when I was last in the Barossa, a marvellous piece of architecture built from bluestone in the 1880s and fully restored.

It is this building that features on the label. The wine is a blend of cabernet and merlot with a strawberry aroma and a bright pink/orange colour. 

On first taste the acid predominated, but it softened after breathing and the crisp finish made it a good match with the oilier dishes, particularly the chilli prawns.

I later looked up this wine and it retails for around $22, a value-for-money wine given the quality and the refreshing nature of the finish. But we did agree that Thai food went better with riesling.

The other mate brought not a rosé but a Banrock Station Crimson Cabernet 2024.

He said that the rosé he had intended to bring was in a home storage area now blocked by the possessions of one of his sons, so he bought the cabernet instead from a major wine outlet that he visited on the way to the restaurant. 

I thought of telling him a dad joke: “Did you hear about the cat who ate a lemon? Now he’s a sour puss”, but the remark seemed too apt and I just nodded at his story as I inspected the bottle.

This is an $8 Riverland wine with low alcohol (9.5 per cent) and a spritz. 

When I first sipped the wine, I said to my mate that it was like tasting a plum and quince fruit bomb where the mouth explosion was unwanted.

He said he enjoyed the sweet finish and that it would complement the chilli elements in the Thai food. It certainly clashed with the beef massaman curry, but did ameliorate the kick in the food with chilli, albeit the wine was not to my taste. 

In my understanding, Banrock Station is owned by the large drinks’ retailer Accolade, a US entity that is the third largest wine company in Australia measured by revenue in 2024 (the first is Treasury Wine Estates, the second Pernod Ricard Winemakers). Accolade owns more than 50 brands, including Banrock Station. Its portfolio includes wine brands such as Hardys, Grant Burge Wines, Petaluma and St Hallett.

The smaller independent wineries, such as those that predominate in the Canberra District, should, in my view, be preferred by buyers both in terms of quality and for investment in the future of the industry. 

I didn’t at the time share these thoughts with my friend who bought the Banrock Station, but will let him know that the intended light-hearted gathering where he brought the sweet and spritzy cabernet triggered this heartfelt reaction.