Claudelle Savannah and Anna Clifford are the duo behind Melbourne’s favourite annual wine party. It’s called Calypso, and if you’re interested in the cutting edge of new-wave winemaking, this is the shindig for you. An ex-sommelier and alumna of Public Wine Shop, Savannah knows her albariño from her aligoté. But she also knows that the bottle is only as good as the people you drink it with. “When I think about my memories of drinking in Victoria, or anywhere for that matter, I first think of the people who I made them with, the table I sat at, and the quality of the company” she says. “If the product we’re drinking is banging, then praise be. But without the good-people part – if there’s no emotional or social complement – I couldn’t give a fuck.”
Calypso Wine Party returns to Abbotsford Convent on Saturday 16 November, and features wines from some of the state’s most influential drinks personnel, Giorgio de Maria, Campbell Burton and Patrick Underwood among them. Your ticket gets you into a three-hour tasting from 1pm until 4pm, which then evolves into a party that runs until 10pm; a tasty way to survey the lay of the local winemaking land in 2024.
In the meantime, here’s Savannah with the skinny on what’s drinking well in Victoria.
When someone hands me a drinks list, I usually order a Martini. But let’s say it’s a wine list, even as someone who used to work with wine, I notice myself gravitating to the words on the page that are familiar. I find myself wanting to stick to what I know and I feel a bit scared to risk anywhere north of $80 on a bottle, and yet, at the same time, I yearn to try something different. So, I ditch the wine list, I surrender to trusting the amazing waiters and somms we have in Victoria and I have a little chat and ask them for their advice. And if I can’t be fudged for a chat, naming a budget and a few words is liberating. People like Campbell Burton at Public Wine Shop or Josh Begbie and Phil Bracey at Brico make taking this kind of risk so rewarding.
The last three delicious Victorian things I drank were…
- A Manhattan made by Sam Bennett at Florian. When I was studying wine, someone asked me once in a tasting, “Did you get the neck shiver?” I didn’t on that day, but the other Friday night I ordered at Manhattan at Florian, and I was like, damn – neck shivers, goosebumps, et cetera. Nice to know it was made with Gospel Solera rye and Saison vermouth, too.
- I love a weeknight dinner at Frankie’s Tortas and Tacos because red neon lights and faux roses in Coke-bottle vases. I don’t remember what it was called, but the last time I was there I drank a non-alc pineapple highball thing, and, in the words of Cosmo Kramer, giddy up. I’m wondering now if that was based on CAPI’s newish charred pineapple mixer.
- Lastly, recently I was on a first date and we drank a bottle of A&C 2023 rosé by Andy Ainsworth. I don’t know if it was the rosé or my date but it was a very, very nice night.
Looking at the Victorian drinks world from the outside in, I think its key strengths are the classics and the rituals. When one of my mums comes down to visit me from Queensland we like to sit in the courtyard of Di Stasio in Carlton, somewhere between the lemon trees and the water fountain, and play backgammon. We order espressos, tiramisu and a glass bowl of gelato. Mum always says (with disdain) that she wishes they served dandelion tea. When I was younger, in Paris, I was fascinated by the people in the brasseries who would sit there nursing one espresso, maybe two, and just chat for about six hours. That is the power of a welcoming space: a beverage, a table, some time, and another human. For me, that effortlessness is the essence of hospitality.
My guilty pleasure at the bar is a lock-in cigarette.
As far as I’m concerned, the defining place to get a drink in Victoria is Napier Quarter for a Martini made by Simon Benjamin. Or a coffee and doughnut on top of Piedimonte’s IGA from Ruth – she has streaked blonde hair, usually with some kind of unicorn tassel earrings, and wears pink and purple sparkling eye shadow and heavy eyeliner. Her smile and conversation are everything. Also, anything out of the vending machine at Hinoki.
My favourite place to buy booze is Maria’s Coffee House and Deli in Carlton North for cheap spirits. Also, not many people know this, but if you ask either one of the brothers or the nonno to make you a sandwich at the deli they will, and it’s really good. I used to live above it and I would come down with my own lettuce because it’s mostly just meat and cheese and perhaps a pickle. I wouldn’t advise doing that, though – they didn’t love it.
The Victorian drink I’m loving most right now is… I was at a Halloween party last weekend and someone introduced me to sugar-free Hard Rated. I’m hooked. Three is too many, but one or two is really refreshing.
For me, the most inspiring person in the Victorian drinks world is Lazlo Evenhuis. I first met Laz when we worked together at Kirk’s Wine Bar about six years ago. At the time, he was living in an apartment that he’d been in for many, many years. He would tell stories of the records he played while he cooked dinner and of the weekend trips he took to Castlemaine on the train with his bike. Sometimes the stories were about the vintage he had just spent in Italy picking grapes or of a new body of water he’d just found that he was going to ride to after work for a quick dip. At work, Lazlo was always immaculately dressed to match his charming eyes. When he got excited about a spirit or a wine, his eyebrow would slightly twitch and you knew what he was about to pour you was going to be perfectly delicious. No matter how many days Lazlo worked, he would never get less excited about talking to customers about new or old drinks. I haven’t seen Lazlo for years, but I imagine he’s just as excited and insightful and humbly of service where he’s working now, at Gray and Gray. It’s people like Laz who just so genuinely and gently love people and drinks and hospitality that inspire me, even if our paths only cross briefly. I hope your path crosses with him sometime, too.
You should come to Calypso. It’s a hospitality party I run with all-round babe and beautiful friend, Anna Clifford. It was born from what I’ve been chatting about here – rituals and relationships that are the essence of my love for hospitality. I don’t work in hospitality anymore per se, but I’ve made too many good relationships and have too many beautiful memories to not keep cherishing them, even if it’s only for one very, very spectacular day. That day is Calypso. My hope for you is that this day will also become a place to celebrate old relationships, create new ones and make memories to cherish forever. I can’t think of a better place or better way to do this other than at a party, around a table, sharing a bottle of wine with friends, dancing, listening to live music and eating food. Calypso wouldn’t happen without all the wine producers and importers who come together for the tasting component of the day and share their wines and knowledge with us, so shoutouts to them. Calypso is truly collaborative. Come – it’s for everyone!
Calypso Wine Party, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Helier St, Abbotsford, 1pm-10pm Saturday 16 November, @calyp.soparty, tickets available via Humanitix.