Curated wine flights and the fresh flavours of the Mediterranean make Cellar Door, in the Arts Centre, perfect for a night of culinary adventure.

Sometimes a meal out is just that; other times it’s an adventure. Working our way through a curated wine flight while revelling in the flavours and textures of the Mediterranean at Cellar Door, the Arts Centre’s new wine bar, was definitely an adventure to repeat.

Cellar Door is in the same location as the legendary Annie’s Wine Bar, where for several decades Annie Edmond helmed one of the city’s hottest haunts. Her legacy is alive and well in the hands of Tim Ogle and Kate Hide, who see themselves as guardians of the room’s past as well as steering it to a new future.

Honouring that past goes all the way back to when the room formed part of Canterbury College School of Art – among the art on the walls are reproductions of works by famous alumnae Olivia Spencer Bower and Evelyn Page.

The room’s original brick walls and lunette windows remain. Elsewhere the new owners have made their mark, with one interior wall painted a restful olive green, another clad with rustic wine barrel staves. These are also used on the front of the long bar, which is topped with a single piece of Californian redwood. Following the vineyard theme, wine barrel hoops have been repurposed as light fixtures, while most of the lighting comes courtesy of ‘chandeliers’ of suspended wine bottles.

First things first. Wine ‘flights’ are the point of difference in Cellar Door’s offering. A flight is a group of wines tasted alongside each other for comparison. The Cellar Door team have curated sets of wines to demonstrate differences in style, grape variety, regionality and various other themes. Each flight is four 40ml glasses, adding up to a little more than a single glass of wine.
We opted for ‘Everything Happens for a Riesling’ and ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buttery’, one of the two chardonnay flights on offer.

The first captured the full sweep of what a riesling can be, from a bone-dry offering from Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River, Western Australia, to a Fromm Spätlese Riesling from Malborough that captured the sweetness and acidity of a traditional spätlese from Mosel. Whether from familiarity or a preference for a dry riesling, the Pegasus Bay Estate Bel Canto 2017 shone through. The rare opportunity to sample a Karl Erbes Riesling from Mosel was most welcome, though.

The ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buttery’ flight is for those chardonnay fans who know the variety only as oaky and buttery, and for those who prefer chardonnays from the earthy end of the spectrum. All four were New Zealand chardonnays, with the 2016 Carrick Bannockburn from Central Otago being the only one with any butter to speak of, and the 2017 Mt. Beautiful Chardonnay from North Canterbury taking the prize for earthy.

As we tasted and compared notes, we also perused the menu. Constantly changing, this leans towards Mediterranean ingredients and flavours, with a good mix of meat-based and vegetarian options.

We chose several dishes to share. The first to arrive was the raw marinated fish crudo with Spanish onion, shaved Florence fennel, orange and just a touch of crème fraîche. The fennel and orange combined to draw out the delicate flavours of the fish, with the crème fraîche adding texture and weight.

Next was the sublimely-balanced zucchini ribbons marinated with lemon oil and chardonnay vinegar, pine nuts and goat’s cheese. The dish’s simplicity was its strength, with each ingredient bringing something different but essential to the overall effect.

We had toyed with ordering a fourth dish but were glad we hadn’t after an absolutely delicious plate of scallop, lemon and fennel risotto landed before us. Whole fresh scallops, plump and perfect, sat upon a bed of al dente Arborio, the dish elevated to another level by the sweet perfume and anise flavour of the fennel.

With the last flavours of the risotto fading on our palates, we thanked our hosts and stepped out into the Gothic splendour of the Arts Centre, glad that its restoration now includes a very passable Annie’s 2.0.

Note: Cellar Door menu updates with the seasons, and has changed since this review.

Cellar Door
Arts Centre,
1 Hereford Street
cellardoor.nz