Most Wednesdays have team Social 101 doing absolutely nothing of note. Maybe a leftovers dinner, potentially a moment of quiet despair over our bank balance. But, we’re gearing up and prepping for a second Wednesday of August that stands to look very different, – because Love, Tilly Devine is hosting a Chilean wine night takeover so good it might just talk you into cancelling your quiet night in.
On August 12th from 6pm, the tiny Darlinghurst laneway wine bar is handing the reins over to Dennis Roman – a Chilean somm so respected in this town he’s got an actual nickname, “El Mostacho,” which we’re choosing to believe is earned through both his moustache and his wine knowledge in equal measure. Roman’s spent years shaping the wine lists at Sydney institutions like est. and Café Paci, so this is less “guy who likes wine” and more “guy who has personally decided what you’ll be drinking at some of Sydney’s best restaurants for years.” He’s bringing his expertise, his contacts, and a selection of bottles from across Chile’s wine regions for one night, and one night only.
A quick and completely unnecessary but frankly fascinating wine history lesson, because we can’t help ourselves: Chile’s wine region stretches almost 1500km between the Andes and the Pacific, which is a wildly ambitious length for a vineyard and also explains why the wines are so varied – crisp Sauvignon Blancs, elegant Pinot Noirs, structured Cab Savs, the whole lot. But the real hero of the night is Carmenere, a grape that originated in Bordeaux, got completely wiped out by a vineyard-destroying pest in the 1800s, and was presumed extinct for almost a century 0 until cuttings that had quietly been growing in Chile (mistaken for Merlot the entire time, no less) turned out to be the long-lost grape, alive and thriving. It’s basically the wine world’s greatest missing-person case, and honestly deserves its own true crime podcast.
Onto the actual drinking, which is the important part. From 6pm, Roman and the Tilly team will be pouring a genuinely excellent lineup, including:
- Gustavo Martinez ‘Kilako’ Pet Nat – a hazy, textural orange from Itata for the natural wine devotees
- Villard ‘Expresión’ Sauvignon Blanc – soft green gooseberry notes, very Casablanca (the valley, not the movie, though we wouldn’t blame you for imagining Bogart)
- Antiyal Carmenere – dark fruit with a sneaky hit of capsicum, the grape that refused to die making its big comeback
- Cacique Maravilla ‘Pipeno’ Pais – a skinsy, tasty red that sounds like exactly the kind of wine you order and then can’t stop talking about
- Pedro Parra Y Familia ‘Imaginador’ Cinsault – medium-bodied, cranberry and green olive, from Itata
And that’s just the opening lineup – there’s plenty more where that came from. You can go glass by glass, commit to a full bottle, or order one of two curated flights ($55 or $80) if you’d rather let the professionals do the deciding for you, which, let’s be honest, is usually the smart move.
To eat, Head Chef Tom Cleland’s usual menu stays exactly as good as it always is, with one very good addition: the completo, Chile’s answer to the hot dog and quite possibly its greatest contribution to snack food. Think a house-made pork hot dog piled high with avocado, chopped tomato, sauerkraut, mayo and mustard – Cleland’s making the sausages in-house specifically for this event, so this isn’t a gas-station-adjacent situation, it’s a proper labour of love disguised as a hot dog.
Bookings are encouraged but walk-ins are welcome, so there’s genuinely no excuse not to swing by, learn a bit about a grape that faked its own extinction, and drink your way through Chile without so much as touching an airport.
Love, Tilly Devine – Tilly Takeover: Wines of Chile Wednesday, August 12th from 6pm 91 Crown Lane, Darlinghurst @lovetillydevine | @sensesatwine | @dennis_roman Bookings here
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