The inspiration for this dish comes from a head chef I used to work for in Brisbane. We are still good friends and hope to work together again one day. I wanted to utilise the great rabbits available in northern NSW, as well as bacon that I get from my local butcher, who does amazing smoked pork bellies. Wine match Dal Zotto Sangiovese 2009, King Valley, Vic
Although there are some quite strong flavours in this dish, they are cooked very sensitively so that the end result is a mixture of characterful highlights that build around the core ingredient — the beautiful Burrawong farm rabbit. With the veal sauce, gamy rabbit and smoky bacon, we need a red wine that won’t overpower these flavours, but will support them and offer some acid to cope with the richness and some tannin to match the protein content. It would be important not to reach for a big, oaky red in this situation as this would crowd out the rabbit. I’d lean towards something medium-bodied, with a light but upright tannin and acid structure; something like Barbera or Sangiovese. Italian varieties planted in Australia have a wonderful food-friendliness to them, so you can experiment in this area to your heart’s content.
-Dan Coward