My Sparkling Chardonnay, while alcohol free, can still be matched to food in the same way that wine can, because we use traditional winemaking techniques to produce it. It is simply wine with the alcohol left aside. I always tend to match wine to my cooking because it is so seasonally influenced, but my Sparkling Chardonnay is so perfectly food-friendly, I feel like I can drink it with anything. Or even on its own for that matter. In particular though, I love teaming it with freshly shucked oysters, any fleshy white fish, or a perfectly ripe soft cheese- MB. Read the rest...
It seems Italy has sparked so many of my ongoing affections for seasonal produce, as once again, it was my time in Tuscany that gave me my first real experience of fennel. And when I say ‘real’ I mean, just picked, super thin shavings of new season fennel, served simply with extra virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice, salt and pepper – that wonderful sweetness and aniseed fragrance had me hooked at the first mouthful. I planted my first fennel seeds as soon as I arrived home that year, already tasting my very own home-grown fennel before it was in the ground! Read the rest...
The pear tree is integrally linked to my life in the Barossa, and in particular to my sentimental attachment to our cottage. We are lucky enough to have a grand old pear tree, well in excess of 100 years, defining our landscape at home and as I look down from my attic window, its majestic form, towering over the cottage itself, is one of the most beautiful of all those I’ve admired in the Valley in my time here. Read the rest...
Quinces have a very short season beginning in early Autumn and lasting for approximately six to eight weeks. But before that wonderful point of harvest, is the equally evocative stage of quince blossom, as it heralds the arrival of fruit. It is perhaps my favourite of all blossom with the sweetest fragrance that is never overbearing. It comes later than the other season’s blossom, and stays for the shortest time, but is always striking in its beauty. And then come the large yellow fruit, hanging on the branches like furry lanterns, rich with a honeyed perfume that anyone who loves quinces can probably conjure up just reading this! Read the rest...
Grapes have been such an influential inspiration for so much of what I do - if not the most influential when I consider verjuice, vinegar, vino cotto, fruit pastes, jellies, and of course our wines. The entire process of growing grapes and finding every which way to use them became a natural part of life from the moment we moved to the Valley all those years ago - as it is for so many Barossans. Our culture is steeped in the wonderful cycle of the vine. And although it is no longer solely based on hand picking, the celebration to mark the end of vintage is a very special time in the Barossa and a visit across the week of our biennial Vintage Festival is something I recommend wholeheartedly to anyone interested in knowing more about just why the grapevine is so dearly appreciated. But for most home gardeners of course, it’s less about winemaking and more about the culinary benefits of having a vine in your backyard. Read the rest...
