Lunch at Voyager Estate

I'm not into wine pairing at meals often. I prefer drinking wines clean, without food. I care more about how they taste without food. If that sucks, then it's not the wine for me. On this trip, the man and I are more keen to purchase wines from smaller wineries. The one winery we were sure that we would rather taste its food over buying its wine, was Voyager Estate.

We reserved a table at Voyager Estate's restaurant for lunch. The estate and its vineyards sit on an expansive piece of land with sweeping views. I'm not quite into this much landscaping. As eye-pleasing as it is, it isn't my aesthetic. Hahaha. Helmed by head chef Santiago Fernandez, the kitchen accommodated all our dietary preferences and food intolerances. I loved how the restaurant prepped little cards featuring the wines and the food for us to refer to, and to take home as a souvenir. I like paper and will gush over very extra things like that. Hahaha.

We opted for Voyager’s 7-Course Discovery Menu with wine pairing. Our seven-courses were accompanied by five whites and three reds (all cabernet sauvignon). We sat down to a glass of 2018 Project sparkling chenin blanc. There were some fun snacks, all pumpkin, eggs and crunchy. The first starter of kingfisher, oyster, cucumber, finger lime and shiso (with 2016 U10 Project semillon) was delicious. I would have loved a second serving! Oof! I wasn't keen on the second starter of marron, pumpkin curry, kimchi, buckwheat and XO. I'm not a fan of crayfish or kimchi; put together, I couldn't appreciate the flavors.

The pork jowl with abalone, forest broth and shiitake (with 2017 Grit By Sea chardonnay) was excellent! I didn't think I'd like pork done this way so much. Hurhurhur. I loved the fish. They do a good one in grilling the line-caught dhufish with broccoli, lard, avruga and beurre blanc (with 2016 chardonnay). The red meat was grilled wagyu with jerusalem artichoke, mushrooms and salsify. It was served with three kinds of cabernet sauvignon- 2016 Project W5, 2014 MJW and a standard 2014. IMHO, the Project 2016 W5 was quite eeky on its own, but when the oils of the meat sank in with it, it tasted fine. This would be a wine I won't buy. I'd have to pair it with food to make it palatable, NOPE.

It wasn't that sweet, but the first dessert of a fine mess of guava, tamarillo, kiwi, passionfruit and yoghurt was kinda what I had for breakfast, and it's usually what I can find in an açaí bowl. LOL. Nothing mind-blowing about it. The second dessert of chocolate, banana, peanut, miso, brown butter (both with 2018 Project cane cut semillon) didn't do anything for me either. Along with the petit fours, they were all way too sweet. There was one exception- the red wine jelly. I liked that. At the end of the epic four-hour luncheon, I was in a total food coma. Everyone was!

Voyager Estate’s wines are very palatable, and they’re exactly what we expect of a major estate. But my plebeian palate isn't interested in them. To be very honest, I love their food! The prices were excellent for the quality of ingredients, cooking techniques and attention to how the flavors meshed together. Sure, the food were intended to match wine, and took secondary placing to the wines, but this current menu is perfect for my tastebuds. 😬