Best wine list and regional restaurant: The Courier-Mail Food Awards 2018

HERE is where you will find Queensland’s best wine list and regional restaurant, as judged by The Courier-Mail Food Awards experts.

HERE’S where you will find Queensland’s best wine list and regional restaurant, as judged by The Courier-Mail Food Awards experts.

Stay tuned to couriermail.com.au today as we announce Queensland’s best restaurant and top chef at 7pm.

And don’t miss our special Food Week edition of Taste in Tuesday’s The Courier-Mail.

Brisbane’s best cafe, bar and service winners in The Courier-Mail Food Awards

Queensland’s top 50 cafes of 2018

WINE LIST OF THE YEAR

Aria Brisbane

1 Eagle St, Brisbane City

Three blokes walk into a bar and each pay $1000 for a rare bottle of Italian wine.

It sounds like the start of a joke, but it isn’t. Actually, they walked into a restaurant.

It was Aria restaurant in Brisbane’s CBD and what took their fancy were three different vintages of Poggio de Sotto Brunello di Montalcino, the oldest a 1999. They decided to stay for lunch and quaffed the rare Tuscan reds with veal and duck.

Sommelier Ian Trinkle and chef Ben Russell at Aria, Brisbane.

And that’s the appeal of Aria’s wine list. Sure it contains the better-known French and Australian classics, but also a set of hidden gems such as the Brunello di Montalcino, made from sangiovese grapes harvested south of Florence.

It’s one reason I believe Aria’s wine list is the best in Queensland.

The other reason is that it has many examples of Queensland wine; not just from the big producers like Ballandean Estate and Symphony Hill, but from artisan producers such as Bent Road.

Aria’s head sommelier Ian Trinkle, a historian who was born in Philadelphia and studied winemaking in Washington DC, has assembled 1200 bottles that speak of place.

The dining room at Aria Brisbane.

There are oodles of wines available by the glass, and thanks to the Coravin system they include old-timers such as 1994 Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz, a 1990 Nikolaihof riesling from Austria and a 2015 By Farr Cote Vineyard Chardonnay.

And there are what the Ian Trinkles of the world call the “unicorn” wines; rare champagne offerings such as the Jacques Selosse Sous le Mont Premier Cru.

Honourable mentions:Blackbird Bar & Grill, Brisbane; Otto Ristorante, Brisbane; Nineteen at the Star, Broadbeach; Urbane, Brisbane.

REGIONAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

NINETEEN AT THE STAR

The Darling, Casino Drive, Broadbeach

It has been star by name and star by nature for this glitzy restaurant and lounge bar atop luxury new hotel The Darling on the Gold Coast.

Owned by restaurateur and culinary trend setter Simon Gloftis and nightclub king Billy Cross, Nineteen has become the talk of the town and the dining destination and party place of the rich and famous.

The Patagonian tooth fish at Nineteen at The Star.

Boasting slightly kitsch Glitter Strip-themed decor and views across the hotel’s pool to the Pacific as well as the Gold Coast hinterland, it has attracted celebrities such as Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, Australian swimmers Cate Campbell and Mack Horton, and the biggest names in Australian television during the Logies after-party.

But you don’t need to be a celebrity to dine at this flashy establishment.

The restaurant offers a refined and sophisticated menu with a focus on luxury.

Think Beluga caviar, truffle risotto, their signature lobster bolognese and a 9+ marble scored

wagyu for two at $350. It also lays claim to the most expensive dessert in the state – a smoked white chocolate and Oscietra caviar creation for $44.

Usain Bolt dines at Nineteen during the Commonwealth Games.

While prices may be high, the food is as elevated as the restaurant’s position on the 19th floor, with expert cooking and the finest produce coming together to create memorable dishes.

Service is just as polished, with knowledgeable, personable and charismatic staff running the floor. The wine list offers a clever collection of interesting and uncommon labels from around the world. This is a restaurant with serious star appeal.

Honourable mentions:Nu Nu, Palm Cove; Emeraude, Hampton; Harrisons by Spencer Patrick, Port Douglas; Wasabi, Noosa; Rickys River Bar & Restaurant, Noosa; Sum Yung Guys, Sunshine Beach; and Lupo, Mermaid Beach.