Two whites (Helm 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and Stella Bella Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon)

Visitors to the Little House of Concrete (at least, visitors who will take a drink) provide an excuse to open something that I mightn't be sampling as an everyday drinking line. Those everyday drinking styles tend to arrive in multiples, not always by the dozen but somewhere between three and the box. With a visitor on the premises you can try one of those odd bottles secreted around the rack or lurking at the back of the fridge.

Selecting the appropriate bottle is, of course, a function of whatever is on offer on the food front, and these weren't the best option for a chicken tikka masala but there were other factors that came into the mix.

The visitor, this time around, was the fabulous Staggster, a forty-year acquaintance from Teachers' College days and ex-colleague in Townsville prior to my relocation to beautiful downtown Bowen. She's based in the national capital these days, so I thought it was worth starting with something from her home territory.

Inquiries about Helm while we were assembling the dinner sealed the issue. The winery, I was informed, was a bit on the expensive side (well, given the small winery bit that's par for the course) but I think we might have persuaded someone that the $25 Sauvignon Blanc and the $28 Riesling were worth investigating.

Into sitting around after dinner mode, with Richard Thompson's 1000 Years of Popular Music on the DVD player provided an excuse to crack one of the Stella Bella Suckfizzle SBS.

Helm 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (4.5* $25) Hand picked grapes and free run juice deliver plenty of herbaceous aromatics on the nose and intensity across the palate, a cool climate Sauvignon Blanc with varietal character and a lengthy finish. Will be back for more, most likely for a six-four Riesling-Sauv Blanc blend in the next ten-pack.

Stella Bella 2006 Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (4.5* $36) Plenty happening on the nose, herbs, grass, berries and talc, with the interaction between Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and oak delivering a complexity across the palate with layers to savour over a lengthy sitting. Won't be waiting too long to open the other bottle on hand and definitely one to throw in the next order from Stella Bella.