Wine service wow
Jane Faulkner
Wardens Food and Wine, Beechworth, North East Victoria [©Wardens Food and Wine]
It all began with an elderly waiter and a bottle of barolo. Rocco Esposito watched intently as that man, elegant in his crisp white waisted-jacket, meticulously decanted the nebbiolo over a candle. It was pure ritual. It was all about the allure and respect of the wine.
And it was Italy in the early-90s and a fresh-faced and somewhat naive Rocco, then just 19, almost laughed at the ceremony taking place before him.
“Back then I wasn’t a big fan of wine and this older gentleman was really very angry with me. He said: ‘you have no idea how much work has gone behind this label to make this wine’. It was a light bulb moment for me.”
While Rocco doesn’t remember the vintage, he remembers the wine; a Borgogno barolo. He was hooked.
Rocco started buying wine and tasting extensively, discovering wonderful varieties initially from his region of Puglia such as aglicanico, negro amaro and greco di tufo and then beyond into other regions such as Chianti. Next came the wine courses and the young waiter-turned-wine-lover joined the Italian sommeliers association where he was exposed to even more wonderful wines but this time from across Europe especially Germany, Austria and France. Those nuances and differences were as exciting as the names such as Chablis, Gevrey Chambertin, the Moselle and Wachau.
Fast forward to 2008. It’s been four years since Rocco with wife Lisa Pidutti opened their much-lauded and thoroughly convivial Mediterranean outpost in Beechworth known as Wardens Food and Wine. Another accolade, Rocco recently nabbed the Wine Service Award in The Age Good Food Guide. A great coup for any wine person and a bonus that a country restaurant was duly recognised.
“I was shocked as it was completely unexpected,” says the 33-year-old. Maybe so, but nonetheless well-deserving. Scour Warden’s wine list or the large wine wall to the left of the main door’s entrance and amongst the usual suspects of shiraz and chardonnay, albeit mighty fine Australian and French examples, there’s more rousing stuff too such as nebbiolo from here and Piedmont, greganico and German riesling. It soon becomes obvious that the man who put this together not only knows his vinous stuff but loves it too.
In a relatively short time, Rocco has become a specialist not only in Italian varieties but wines from all over and is especially supportive of the winemakers around Beechworth and the north east region generally. Yet it’s extraordinary to think that when he came here in 1998, he barely spoke any English. By reading wine books, magazines, watching the news and working alongside the embracing Bortolotto family, first at their St Kilda restaurant then at Cecconi’s when it originally opened at Crown Casino, this determined fellow mastered the language and at the same time, garnered an appreciation of the rewarding but tough hospitality industry.
No doubt his English also improved as he kept having conversations and coffee with the lovely girl from the Bulgari shop next door. Yes, that was Lisa, now wife and business partner. She especially has an artistic eye for detail that shows in the restaurant’s understated yet stylish decor.
Wardens was once a corner country pub (aren’t they all?). It’s a majestic old building but these days people mill around first thing in the morning as Rocco makes excellent espresso, something the local winemakers are particularly pleased about. This is where they come for their morning heart-starter taken with a dose of harmless gossip.
As for wine, well, a wine list is rather redundant if what’s on offer doesn’t complement the food. Rocco understands that better than most. While the excellent menu is the creation of chef Douglas Elder who shows a lightness of touch to the largely Mediterranean-inspired dishes, Rocco wants wine to highlight not dominate the food. Or vice-versa.
So what’s next on the agenda? At the moment, Rocco seems content with his lot and while he considers undertaking further study perhaps the rigorous if time-consuming Master of Wine, or teaching wine courses at Wardens, time is actually something he doesn’t have too much of these days especially as he now has a young family.
“But hospitality will always be our thing,” says Rocco. “It can be challenging work and hard but Wardens is still our house.” And always a very welcoming one at that.
Wardens Food & Wine
32 Ford Street, Beechworth
Phone 5728 1377
Open Wed-Sat 9.30am-late; Sun 9.30am-3pm.
Jane Faulkner is a wine writer and the country co-ordinator of The Age Good Food Guide. She judged the wine service award.
Regions
- Beechworth (VIC)
- North East Victoria (VIC)
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