Talking food and wine with Michael Jemison
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Michael Jemison. Supplied
Michael Jemison is the founder of wine and wine glass distribution company Macvine, an antiquarian, gourmand, bon vivant and great cook.
Bob Campbell MW: Before you joined the wine industry you had a varying range of interesting positions from the police force to senior roles in insurance companies. What got you into wine?
“Good glasses also make a difference. I detest small glasses. Bordeaux glasses for big reds and Burgundy glasses for chardonnay.” – Michael JemisonMichael Jemison: My love of food is what developed my interest in wine from around the age of 17 when I moved to West Auckland from Christchurch. This started me on a love of wine with food, while cooking has always been a passion. Since then, I have seriously enjoyed trying new and exciting different wines. I really enjoy collecting wine and tasting wine and I realise how much the wine scene is changing and that I am still in love with great Burgundy white and red and cannot believe also how far New Zealand has come in terms of wine quality.
BC: Greatest wine you’ve tasted? Greatest NZ wine you’ve tasted?
MJ: There are 2 wines that share that honour – both pinot noir. The first was 2002 Akarua Pinot Noir from Central Otago – in screwcap. It was perfection in a bottle, simply stunning. The second was a 2001 Fromm Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir that I have always loved. Even though under cork, the last bottle I tasted was still great.
BC: You have to cook for some wine enthusiast friends. Do you have a favourite dish?
MJ: It has to be scallop and prawn quenelles with a bisque sauce. I love the flavours and the lightness of the dish. The Bisque sauce with roasted prawn shells, tomato paste, cognac and cream makes it rich with a lingering flavour. I like the fact that you can have it with pinot noir or white wine, particularly Chablis.
BC: I know you are keen on decanting wine. What and when do you decant?
MJ: Yes, I do use decanters. I like aged wine, which I normally only decant for perhaps 30 minutes before serving. White or red wine that has been matured in oak benefits from decanting which gives the wine a better fruit expression. Good glasses also make a difference. I detest small glasses. Bordeaux glasses for big reds and Burgundy glasses for chardonnay.
BC: Do you have a favourite antiquarian object?
MJ: It’s hard to single one as all are special in different ways. I have a favourite small terracotta Telaf Mother Goddess from the late Halaf Period (late 5th millennium BC). It is so well preserved and at 7,000 years old is the oldest pottery I own by a good millennium. It is simple and still has colour pigments on the face. It’s on a sideboard next to the dining table so I see it every day. I love being surrounded by interesting things. I seriously love old pottery.