Dishery After Dark. A Night with Rockburn.

Dishery

Oct 6

2 min read

Some dinners are just dinner. This is not one of them.

On Friday 16 October from 7pm, Dishery After Dark returns with A Night With Rockburn. Four courses. Four wines. One table built around the idea that when the kitchen and the vineyard are speaking the same language, things get very interesting very quickly.

This is an intimate evening pairing a menu from Executive Chef Steve Sepsy with wines from Rockburn Wines. A barrel-fermented amber pinot gris. A chardonnay from a 500-bottle run. Two single-vineyard pinot noirs most people will never get a glass of, let alone a bottle.

In other words, if you know the difference between a good pinot and a great one, you’ll want a seat at this table.

SOME NIGHTS ARE WORTH PLANNING

Dishery After Dark is built for the people who like their dinners with a little more depth to them.

Not stiff. Not over-explained. Just a genuinely good night out built around thoughtful food, very good wine, and the kind of conversation that tends to stretch beyond the original plan.

The night starts at 7pm. The first two courses arrive, giving you time to settle in. Then winemaker Matt and Executive Chef Steve will take a few minutes to walk through the pairings, the vineyards, and what makes this line-up worth the occasion, before the evening continues at its own pace.

THE WINERY: ROCKBURN

Rockburn has spent over two decades proving that Central Otago can produce wine worth talking about internationally, not just locally. Their approach favours single vineyards over blends and small runs over big volume, letting each site say what it has to say.

THE WINEMAKER: MATT SWIRTZ

Matt Swirtz arrived in New Zealand on what was meant to be a two year contract. Twenty five years later, he's still here, and it's Central Otago Pinot Noir he can thank for that. Since his first vintage in 2008, Matt has built a career on curiosity and a genuine appreciation for wines that taste like where they're from. At Rockburn, he brings that thinking to every barrel he touches. Wine, for Matt, has always been about people and occasions as much as vineyards and vintages, something to be shared, enjoyed, and remembered. A sentiment that fits Dishery rather well.

THE CHEF: STEVE SEPSY

If you’ve eaten at Dishery before, you’ll know Steve doesn’t cook food that sits quietly on the table.

His plates have the kind of detail that makes you lean in before you’ve even picked up your fork. Before Dishery, Steve worked in some of New Zealand’s most respected kitchens, including Aosta, Toast + Oak, and Ahi, cooking alongside Ben Bayly and building the sort of background that gives a chef both range and restraint.

Steve has built a four course menu around Rockburn's line-up, matching the texture and intensity of each wine course by course. Expect the kind of considered, expertly executed plates Dishery's known for, designed to let the wine do some of the talking.