As much as we live for a bad date story, this is not one of them.
Everyone has a bad first date story. I once read a post from a woman whose date surprised her by taking her to his grandma’s funeral. She was wearing ripped pleather pants and a Cradle of Filth t-shirt (the woman, not his grandma). Our latest event, Date Night with Dan’s Daily, was (thank god) nothing like that. Landing somewhere between royal banquet meets speed dating meets SXSW panel, it was just about the dreamiest first date anyone could hope to write about in their journal. For those who weren’t there, here’s everything you need to know.
Picture the sophisticated warehouse vibes of Melbourne’s Lilac Wine Bar, a long table lined with eclectic floral arrangements inspired by the Dutch Masters, fruit and veg candles from Nonna’s Grocer giving off sexy ambient light, Derrick Gee spinning tunes like nobody’s business. Then there were the 25 tastemakers (from across the food, drinks, arts and music industries) who filled the room, cocktail in hand, swapping guesses for what exactly it was we had planned for them that night.
After a short break – while we feasted on the likes of black garlic chicken mousse eclairs, fishermans paté, pickled veg, and savoury mince on toast – our guests were introduced to their second date for the evening. Kim Chalmers is an integral part of the iconic Chalmers Wine family. They’ve supplied vines and fruit to countless famed and cult-favourite producers over the years, but also produce their own knockout wines.
We could have asked her 20 billion questions, but the main topic on our minds was Italian grapes. Why? Because the Chalmers are especially celebrated for introducing so many alternative wine grapes to Australia, particularly Italian varieties, and it’s hard to overstate the impact she and her family have had in this space. We legitimately have them to thank for grapes like vermentino and nero d’avola (for which I, for one, am very grateful) and Kim captivated us all with tales of how and why they’ve played this role. Did you know that when you import a vine to Australia, that teeny baby plant sits in customs for two whole years? Neither did I. Kim taught us about how Italian grapes take on very different characters when grown in Australian soils and turned into wine by Aussie winemakers.
Her hot tip for the next big grape? All of them. She predicts it’s going to be less about one dominant style as more and more people start to appreciate diversity. Of course, our meal was accompanied by the Chalmers Vermentino, Fiano, Rosato and Nero d’Avola – four exceptional wines that tell a story of Australian wine unlike any other.
From there, more food arrived (roasted fish with warm tartare and seaweed, duck fat potatoes, porchetta with apple sauce, and asparagus with gribiche and hazelnuts) and with it our final date – the inimitable Derrick Gee. Derrick is a music journalist, radio host and curator whose sincere curiosity and deep love of music is seriously contagious. He’s the opposite of a ‘gatekeeper’, sharing his genre-agnostic knowledge, new discoveries and thought-provoking ideas with his hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok, as well as on his brilliant podcast. The welcoming, humble energy Derrick gives off in his videos? Absolutely the same IRL. As Derrick dove into the concepts of passively versus actively engaging with music and playing to the energy of a crowd, we all looked on with googly eyes, falling head over heels for his genuine passion. Not only did Derrick speak, he also manned the DJ booth throughout the night. The truly wonderful news? We’ve got his three playlists for you here.
