Bar & Bites: Celebrate Global Champagne Day with sparkling wit and wisdom at The Shorehouse

Bubbles boffin Tracy Mann will return with her sparkling wit and wisdom as a champagne champion to The Shorehouse for the annual Blanc de Blancs dinner on October 25.

The Swanbourne institution, with its crisp white interior and alfresco deck, is the ideal location for this celebration of crisp and clean sparkling wine on Global Champagne Day.

“Blanc de blancs translates to ‘white of whites’,” the Vin De Champagne award winner told Bar & Bites. “In champagne terms this refers to a white wine from white chardonnay grapes, which are generally grown on the Cote des Blancs, or ‘slopes of white’, referring to the dense white chalk subsoils (on which) the vines are grown.

“Lots of ‘white’ happening here.”

The wine style is perfect for Perth in spring, Mann said.

“Blanc de blancs, in their youth, always have a lustrous silver-green glint to them,” she added, “and, combined with the aromas of little white flowers, yuzu and oyster shell salinity, it just seems like the synergy is there.”

Tickets to the Blanc de Blancs dinner cost $325 per person for eight champagnes matched to a five-course dinner. Visit shorehouse.com.au for more.

CHEERS TO WA BEERS

From champagne to beer and, in particular, two WA breweries doing us proud while bucking the downwards trend of the craft beer industry.

Jindong legends Rocky Ridge recently established an east coast outpost after purchasing Thunder Road Brewing in Melbourne.

In addition to acquiring the brewery, which means no more transporting beer across the Nullarbor and keeping the full brewing crew in jobs, the progressive West Aussies have refurbished and reopened Thunder Road’s taproom, which had been shuttered since the pandemic.

Now operating as Rocky Ridge Brunswick, the venue features a 32-tap bar pouring many of the brewery’s expansive range.

Closer to home, Rocky Ridge should open its Duncraig taproom this summer, bringing more craft beer to the northern suburbs.

Speaking of which, West Perth-based funsters Phat Brew Club recently unveiled plans to crowdfund a taproom and kitchen at Hillarys Boat Harbour.

Phat head honcho Travis Moore says the new digs will offer the same Asian street food and family-friendly vibes as its City West microbrewery, which will pump out beers for both venues.

B&B hears that the capital-raising campaign, which runs to the end of October, bolted out of the gates and could be on track to be one of the highest in Aussie brewing history.

TICKLED PINK

Last year The Cottesloe Beach Hotel raised more than $30,000 for Breast Cancer Care WA through a month-long campaign, The Cott Goes Pink.

This month, hotel owner Prendiville Group expands the project so all of its 15 WA venues will Go Pink for BBCWA.

Hang your bra on the wall at the Cott or Mangrove Hotel in Broome and the group will donate $5 towards BCCWA, while all Prendiville Group venues will donate 15 per cent of proceeds from every drink sold from its curated cocktail menu.

Every weekend during October, the Cott and Luce Bar e Cabo in Karratha will both host a three-course set menu costing $75 per person with 15 per cent of proceeds donated to the charity.

There are also initiatives for guests staying at Prendiville Group hotels. Visit prendiville.com.au to find out how you can Go Pink.