Perfect pairings: Match of the day

When it comes to food and wine pairings, there is little that Estelle chef Scott Pickett and Yabby Lake head winemaker Tom Carson don't agree on.

Both place an emphasis on establishing personal connections and a strong sense of place through the dishes they plate and the wines they create, while seeking to establish an easy balance and harmony between flavour and texture.

It's this shared philosophy that cemented their relationship when they met three years (and many wine dinners) ago, and it's why they're pairing up again for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival's Perfect Match session at MasterClass on Sunday, March 9.

The Perfect Match sessions bring together chefs and winemakers for eating, drinking and discussion, matching three courses with nine wines.

''I guess, for Scott and I, the connection with the food and wine was there very early on,'' Carson says, as Pickett, sitting beside him at Estelle, nods in agreement.

''Scott has got a really deft hand at understanding textures and flavours and bringing that together within a dish, and that's really what we look for in the wines.''

But if the 40 or so lucky attendees come expecting pure wine and food harmony, they may be in for a surprise. Keen to create something of a discourse, the men have collaborated on a series of wine and food matches designed to both challenge and excite.

''We've tried to mix up the wines in the bracket - controversial choices that split the room a little bit. Maybe half will love it and half will hate it and won't get the match,'' says Carson. ''But it's about giving people the confidence to state their opinions and feel free to do that.''

Expect the unexpected as Pickett plays with the idea of water throughout the session, in recognition of the festival's overarching theme. All he will say is that he has designed the first course around sea water and the second around fresh water, and the third is themed ''around the bay''.

For Carson, this might mean pitting a lovely bright and acid pinot gris against a softer and more floral vermentino, then moving on to the savoury notes and ''crunchy acid'' of the Chalmers three-grape montevecchio.

''It's as much about the conversation as the wine and the inspiration of the dish,'' Pickett says.

Other matches made in heaven

■ Adventures on the Mekong

Geoff Lindsay (Dandelion, Elwood) and Mike Aylward (Ocean Eight Winery, Mornington Peninsula) chatting wine and Vietnamese flavour matches.

Langham Melbourne MasterClass, session 1D, Saturday, 10am-11.15am.

Of Land and Vine

■ George Biron (ex-Sunnybrae, Birregurra) and Gary Crittenden (Crittenden Estate, Mornington Peninsula) take a poetic look, matching food, wine and conversation to Italian philosopher Galileo Galilei's quote: ''Wine is water held together by sunlight''.

Langham Melbourne MasterClass, session 3D, Saturday, 2pm-3.15pm.

A Bottle, A Bite, A Beach

■ Chef Oliver Gould and sommelier Lincoln Riley (Stokehouse, St Kilda) prove that, while the building may be gone, the spirit of Stokehouse lives on, as they riff on the insight awarded them by their bayside location.

Langham Melbourne MasterClass, session 4D, Saturday, 3.45pm-5pm.

Click here for more Perfect Match events