Cooking Across 4 Generations

After what seems like ages Rene and I got together with our friends Helena and John for lunch at Pilu at Freshwater. Helena had suggested Pilu so she got the reservations all set up. We decided to take the ferry to Manly to meet Helena and John at their house, and then walk over from there. Must remember when walking is involved to wear flat shoes. Taking the ferry was a good idea as I was able to relax and enjoy some wine, had I driven I would only have gotten one or two glasses.

I had heard many good reports about Pilu and was excited to finally get there. Giovanni Pilu and Marilyn Annecchini set up Pilu at Freshwater in 2004 over looking Freshwater beach, which is just along from Manly Beach. The menu has a heavy Sardinian influence reflecting the birthplace Of Giovanni Pilu, and has a wine list heavy in Italian wines with a good emphasis on wines from Sardinia. The wine list also offers a fabulous regional selection from NSW.

On arrival we ordered some sparkling mineral water (which I was thrilled to see was the Bulgari label San Pellegrino) to refresh ourselves after our walk. We settled on a bottle of Berlucchi ‘Cuvée Storica 61’ – a sparkling rose from Franciacorta, as our aperitif. Franciacorta is a region in Lombardy in the north of Italy bordering Switzerland in the north, Emilia-Romagna in the south, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto in the east and Piedmont in the west. Rene and I really must learn more about Italian wines. Often a rose can tend to a bit of sweetness, but this one was dry and perfect to get lunch started.

After a bit of catch up talk we decided to go for the tasting menu with matching wines.

First course was scampi with sea urchin butter, this is the second time I have had sea urchin now. Really good!! The scampi was lightly grilled and the sea urchin butter made a great sauce. This was served with Pala ‘I Fiori’ – Vermentino di Sardegna DOC 2010.

Second course was a ravioli of potato mint and pecorino with burnt butter, sage and black truffle. Served with Santadi ‘Pedraia’ – Nuragus di Cagliari DOC 2009.

The next two courses we didn’t get photos of as we were all too busy eating and talking

Third course: Fregola with tomato and cured meat ragout. On Sunday I thought this was risotto but a bit of research has led me to find that fregola is a Sardinian pasta very similar to Israeli cous cous. It is made from semolina dough and rolled in to balls about 2 -3mm in diameter. The ragout served with this was rich and delicious. Now that I know what fregola is I will be looking out for it when shopping and eating out. Our wine changed to a red for this course Pala ‘I Fiori’ – Monica di Sardegna DOC. There are times when you really want a lighter red and this wine is it. Great flavour and it didn’t overwhelm the food.

This was followed by an orange and olive sorbet. This was served in a fancy spoon, with the sorbet sitting on top of the finely minced olives. Very nice, although personally, I would have liked the olives on top so you get the salty first followed by the sweet.

Fourth course: Snapper fillet with Vernaccia di Oristano and green olives. I love olives and these were the greenest I have ever seen, very low on saltiness (I could eat quite a lot of these if I had a bowl in front of me).  For the wine we were back to a white here, Contini ’Karmis’ – Bianco Tharros IGT 2010. A bit more research was required as Vernaccia is new to me. Vernaccia is a sherry style wine from Sardinia and apparently not often found outside of Italy.

Fifth course: Oven roasted suckling pig served on the bone with condiments. Sounds better in Italian: Porcetto arrosto. Succulent pieces of suckling pig with a nice crisp crackling, served on a wooden board. Our condiments came out on our plates, orange jam(bitter orange which went so well with the fattiness of the pork), poached apple and salsa Verdi. A bowl of roasted chats was also served. With this course we were back to a red, Tani ‘Serranu’ – Isola dei Nuraghi IGT 2009.

Sixth course: Sardinian fried pastry filled with fresh ricotta and sultanas, served with warm corbezzolo honey. Another new ingredient (even though it is honey), Corbezzolo (also called strawberry bush) is a Sardinian native bush that flowers from October till the end of December. This honey has a hint of bitterness. This pastry was like a little ravioli and was a flavoursome little dessert. The wine was also amazing, sweet but not overbearingly so, Mesa ‘Orodoro’ – LA Vino Bianco Passito VDT 2009.

We had the option of a further cheese course but we were full. Anything more would have been overkill. To finish our tasting we had a digestive of ‘Mezzo’ Mirto – Lucrezio. Mirto is a liqueur made from the berries of the Myrtle tree which grows freely in Sardinia. A very interesting and very different liqueur.

A great lunch and a great day out with friends. There is nothing like a lunch that takes 4 ½ hours. If you plan to make a reservation, get in early and book a seat by the window overlooking the beach.

Wishing all my Readers a Very Merry Christmas and Lots of happiness in 2012!

December 1st saw us having our last wine dinner for the year. This time we had wines from Wirra Wirra from McLaren Vale in South Australia. Around 50 people booked for the dinner which made the atmosphere a little more relaxed and intimate. Katie Gillet our rep from Negociants was on hand with Paul from Wirra Wirra, to give our diners the lowdown on the wines and some of the history of Wirra Wirra Winery. Our diners appreciate being able to get someone from the winery to give them as much information as possible.

Our menu was quite light and perfect for summer, even though the weather wasn’t quite summery.  Some are dishes were re-interprations of family Christmas dishes, some re workings of dishes I have had before, and a few first timers.

On arrival our guests had canapes with Mrs Wigley Grenache Rose 2011. Here is Rachel dishing up the bloody Mary shots (we like to be a bit silly in the kitchen).

First course: Chilled cucumber soup with Morrocan prawns. A bit of a contrast here cooling chilled cucmber soup with some prawns dry marinated in Ras al hanout. Ras al hanout is the famous ‘top of the shop’ spice mix from Morroco, regarded as being a spice merchants best spice blend contianing upward of 20 ingredients. My recipe I put together has around 25. The soup was inspired by one I had at the home of the original Newcastle Pudding Lady Dawn Hodgetts. We served this with a beautiful crisp riesling ‘The Lost Watch’ Riesling 2009.

Second course: Chicken and pistachio terrrine with tamarillo chutney. This is a dish I usually make several times over summer, be it for weekend lunches or a picnic. I paired it with a Kiwi classic, tamarillo chutney. I had wanted to make tamarillo chutney for our NZ wine dinner but unfortunately they were out of season back then. So I took advantage of them being in season to pair them as a chutney with this terrine. Paired with Scrubby Rise Unwooded Chardonnay 2011.

Third course: Boudin of seafood on pea puree, lobster bisque sauce. I have been wanting to try making a seafood boudin for a while as it is something a bit different than your usual piece of fish for dinner. I made this with a mix of slipper lobster and 3 types of fish. This was quite popular, which is gratifying, certainly makes all that weighing and rolling worth while. Just a basic bisque sauce and some delicious pea puree( I would have liked a pie with the puree). This was paired with Hiding Champion Sauvignon Blanc 2011.

Fourth course: Inside out pork, apricot stuffing, roasted potao and pumpkin, wilted spinach and prune sauce. This is a re-interpretation of one dish we used to have every Christmas. Why is it inside out pork. Because the stuffing is on the outside, Mum uses a loin roast with the flap on to stuff. I also wrapped the lot in caul fat but after steaming it wasn’t noticeable. We kids used to think the pork with the prune sauce was a bit strange(prunes were for the oldies) but we ate it and really liked it. I don’t think it was quite as good as when Mum makes it but was close. I also had a brainwave last light while making it, soaking the prunes in a bit of armagnac would add another layer of flavour(my favourite quote is: add some alcohol, it might taste even better). Of course you can’t have pork without the crackling!! We matched this with Catapult Shiraz Viognier 2009.

And finally the best course, dessert. So as I was twisting things and expected it to be hot, I decided to do a Christmas pudding macaron, our guests got pudding but not in the usual sense. The Chrismas pudding macaron was a HIT, I reckon it was because of the high rum content. The berry timbale was quite refreshing, nice and light. The gingerbread people a memory of past Christmases. We had a lovely work experience student in this week who gave me a hand with the desserts and did a great job ‘dressing’ the gingerbread people. We matched this with Mrs Wigley Moscato 2010 which was also in the timbale.

A week and a half after returning from Hong kong our next wine dinner was due to happen. What a hectic week and a half that was too. Busy in the restaurant while still having El Circo in the auditorium was a bit stressful.

For this dinner we were showcasing the wines of Brokenwood. Originally starting from vineyards in the Hunter Valley (think iconic Graveyard Shiraz and the great value Cricket Pitch wines), Brokenwood now has wines from many of Australia’s best vineyard locations (for example McLaren Vale, Beechworth, Cowra). Once again 5 courses with 7 wines. 7 wines because we have to have something with canapes and we also like to enliven the evening a bit with a Mystery wine game.

Rene and I  were very fortunate to be invited to have a tour of Brokenwood winery at Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley which was a nice end to our holiday. We also had dinner at what must be one of the best restaurants in the Hunter Valley, Muse, which is located at Hungerford Hill cellar door. While we took a few photos at the winery we weren’t able to get any at Muse due to low lighting levels. But if you get to Pokolbin you HAVE to go to Muse!! So here are a few photos from Brokenwood winery….

 

So the  Brokenwood dinner went well, apart from a few slightly undercooked wings. The salmon coulibiac was good even though it came out huge. Learnt a lesson there I can tell you, should have cut the salmon down the length which would have made smaller strips which would have been more manageable and given better portion sizes Everyone loved the chocolate pave with the drunken cherries.All the flavours of  a blackforest but with out the cake. Unfortunately no photo of the mini  drumstick, we cleared too quickly.

Our menu was:

With canapes Brokenwood Semillon 2010 Hunter Valley

Lightly spiced broth with duck wontons

Brokenwood Pinot Gris 2010 Beechworth

Mini drumstick with spanner crab farce, coated in Japanese breadcrumbs, pickled cucumber and Yuzu mayonnaise

Brokenwood Chardonnay 2009 Beechworth/Cowra

Salmon coulibiac with lighly smoked tomato beurre blanc

Brokenwood Pinot Noir 2009 Beechworth

Braised beef cheeks, forest mushroom ragout and Roman gnocchi

Brokenwood Hunter Shiraz 2009 Hunter Valley 

Pave of chocolate, drunken cherry compote, chantilly cream on chocolate biscuit crumbs

Brokenwood late picked Semillon Cowra

In two weeks time we have our next dinner which is Wirra Wirra with Negociants Australia. Looking forward to doing this as we are doing a few things that my family has at Christmas with a twist. But you will have to wait for the post on the dinner to find out what we serve. And I will make sure I take more photos.

Thanks for droppiong by for a look! V

Last week we had the opportunity to go for dinner at Tetsuya’s with some friends from overseas. Our little group consisted of 5 and we were in for a great night of dining.

The evening started with a torrential down pour around five, which meant that I had to wade through a stream (otherwise known as our street) to get to the bus stop. Thankfully it settled down to a drizzle by the time I got off the bus at QVB.

We met our first dining companion at Zeta Bar for a pre dinner drink and then made our way over to Tetsuya’s and were joined by our other two companions.

Our waiter bought us over a complementary glass of Larmandier-Bernier Champagne to get the night rolling and explained the extras we might have if we so desired. The guys ordered the oysters as Asi and Luke hadn’t tried Pacific oysters which happened to be from South Australia. Tetsuya’s serves a 9 course degustation menu which you can have with your own choice of wines or you can opt for the matched wines, which is what we decided to do.

The bread with truffle butter was so good we all had seconds:

Our courses were

Corn soup with soy cream

Pacific Oysters with rice vinegar and ginger

Savoury custard with sea urchin

Sashimi of king fish with blackbean and orange

Confit of Petuna ocean trout with shaved fennel and unpasteurised ocean trout caviar

Steamed Queensland spanner crab with bean curd, foie gras and junsai

Braised veal shank with broad beans and smoked bone marrow

(Alternative: Olive oil poached Bonito with onion petals)

Breast of quail with paleta iberico and garlic puree

Seared fillet of Cape Grim beef with wasabi and braised mustard seeds

(Alternative: De-boned rack of lamb with eggplant, white miso and blue cheese)

Hay infused ice cream with sorrel granita and bread and butter pudding

Chocolate pave with cream cheese ice cream and cinnamon twigs

Macarons

The wines we had were a great selection and included one sake:

Tamano Hikari Tokusen Junmai Ginjo Sake, Kyoto, Japan

2009 Grosset Springvale Riesling, Clare Valley, SA

2008 Pierro Chardonnay for Tetsuya’s, Margaret River, WA

2008 Felton Road Pinot Noir for Tetsuya’s, Central Otago, NZ

2006 Torbreck Mataro for Tetsuya’s, Barossa Valley, SA

2010 Heggies Botrytis Riesling, Eden Valley, SA

Seppeltsfield Cellar No. 6 Tokay, Rutherglen, Vic

During dinner we able to grill two of our friends on where to eat in New York in preparation for our trip next year. Great to quiz the locals on what restaurants to go to, which to avoid and things to do and see that we might not have thought of. After a fabulous dinner with great company we headed home as poor Rene had a 6am flight.

Our second holiday for the year seems to have had a lot of fortuitous occurences. After booking our trip to Hong Kong we emailed some friends to see if they would be there while we would be there. Yes,was the reply along with an invitation to our friends 60th birthday. We talked with a Sydney based friend and were informed about a watch and coin fair also on while we would be there.

So we counted down the days till our departure and left cold and miserable Sydney for the heat and humidity of Hong Kong. Our old bones were yearning for some heat. Uneventful flight but we landed and got whisked away to our hotel in a S500 Mercedes Benz. I tell you, the best way to get from the airport to your hotel (and so much cheaper than here in Sydney). I ended up with a cold for the first few days of the holiday which I lovingly passed on to Rene of course

On our first Monday in Hong Kong we were invited to attend a Greubel Forsey collectors dinner, with the hint of something exciting being announced, but that was for Thursday so a few days of shopping, looking around and a trip to Macau.

On Wednesday we headed off for our first visit to Macau. We caught the jet cat from HK and arrived in Macau an hour later. Customs was hectic and took a while to get through. For our first visit to Macau we decided to stay at The Venetian. Wow massive, quite palatial. Our room was impressive, the bathroom being larger than out bedroom at home. and with two queen size beds it was a hard decision on which to choose. We ended up taking one each just for the hell of it.

After settling in, we decided to head down to the main “canal” where the gondoliers were in full voice. We wandered for a bit and then decided to get out and go across to City of Dreams for a look.

Of course we had to go to the Hard Rock shop (HRC wasn’t open when we were there) to pick up a shot glass. We walked through the gaming floor which was huge and surprisingly not very busy. The House of Dancing Water show was not on the day we were there so missed out. All the usual big name luxury brands had boutiques so we had to have a look, just in case there was something special we hadn’t seen before.

Then back across to the Venetian for a sit down and relax before contemplating dinner.

So many places to choose from for something to eat. We ended up choosing Italian and both had lobster with a bottle of Prosecco. Rene had a Boston lobster which cost around A$60 and I had a delicious lobster and cherry tomato angel hair pasta. After dinner we did some more boutique browsing, and then back to the room for a night cap and a goodnight’s sleep.

Thursday saw us up early for some reason, so we got to have another look around before checking out and heading back to Hong Kong. We were a bit nervous about timing for our trip back to HK as we had to get to the Greubel Forsey dinner. But we need not have worried, thanks to being able to get on a standby line for an earlier ferry and left an hour earlier than originally planned.

Getting back to HK we decided to take a cab to our hotel. In peak hour and it still only cost us A$15. Imagine getting a cab from Central Station in Sydney to the airport in peak hour, similar distance but 10 times the price. Got back to our hotel, freshened up and caught the Star Ferry(best way to get between HK and Kowloon) back to Central on HK Island and headed to the Four Seasons Hotel to meet up with the Swiss Prestige team and Stephen Forsey.

Wonderful food served with great French wines. Foie Gras was on the menu and it was truly delicious. Somehow we forgot to take photos of the food except for dessert. Most unusual of us.

Rene was happy  to catch up with Stephen Forsey again, having met him previously at the Sydney Greubel Forsey event organised by J Farren Price. I unfortunately was working on that occasion.

So what was the special announcement from Greubel Forsey? Well you are just going to have to wait for the official release but and believe me it will be worth the wait.

We were also able to get to the Hong Kong Watch and Coin Fair at the Holiday Inn. Amazing to see so many watches and coins/banknotes for sale under one roof. Not an event to go to if you don’t like crowds. People buying watches had rolls of cash, something you don’t see too often.

Our friend Emil’s 60^th birthday party was held at the members only “The China Club”. Decorated as a  touch of old China from the 30’ and 40’s, the club has a wonderful old school ambience. We remembered to get photos this time. we also caught up with our friend Nicole who ealier this year moved back to Switzerland. Apart from an amazing dinner we also witnessed a chef performing/making noodles and the amazing tea pouring acrobatic demonstration.

No, this is not a man jumping rope, he’s jumping noodles,not sure if it will catch on as a fitness routine LOL. It was interesting to watch how fast the noodles are formed.

We were also astounded by the speed, flexibility and agility of the tea pourer.

And of course no great birthday party could end without having cigars and whisky on the balcony.

The rest of our holiday gave us a chance to relax. We did lots of window shopping, saw some watch models and brands that we haven’t seen here in Australia and did a little bit of shopping(John Lobb shoes for Rene and a Vivienne Tam dress for me).  We were also reminded how cheap food and alcohol seems to be whenever we go to Asian countries. We went to McDonalds and had a meal which here costs us about A$18 but in HK only cost us A$4. A tray of 3 large Nashi was about A$1.50, to buy them here would be about A$6.

We also had to go back to a favourite Ruth’s Chris and our final night was spent dining at Heritage 1881.

It is always good to be away on holiday but it is just as good to get home.

While a lot of the photos in this post were taken by us I would like to thank Swiss Prestige and Emil Klingelfuss for the others.

Don’t you just love getting a text for an evening out.  I received a text from Rene that Simon Goh was inviting us to the Gourmet Traveller and Sassy’s Red Event. Having seen the ad for this event in the recent Gourmet Traveller magazine it was a thrill to get invited to attend. Simon and Rene met through a shared passion for watches. Having met many watch fans over the past few years it has become apparent that not only do they love watches but they also love food.  If you look at any of the watch forums and blogs, the quantity of food photos is much the same as watch photos.

I rushed home from work to get ready for what was to be a great night out.

Located on level 5 of Westfield Sydney, Sassy’s Red is named after one of Simon’s favourite jazz chanteuses, the divine Sarah Vaughan, nicknamed Sassy.  Sassy’s Red provides a modern take on Malaysian street food. At the same time Sassy’s Red manages to be both modern with a touch of nostalgia and comforting, harkening back to times when life was a little less frenetic. Sassy’s Red is also meant to be like your favourite cool Aunty back in the 1970’s, mine was often travelling.

We were early so got to have a chat with Simon before the evening kicked off. First up was a fabulous cocktail featuring Bundaberg Five rum.

Apologies for the photos, in my excitement I forgot my camera and had to rely on Rene’s Iphone.

Our first course was a combination of three items:

Ella’s Wrap, Lohbak and Laksa Tong

Mains were Chilli prawns, Joget rice, Roti with curry and Toby’s red pepper bird.

We fogot to take photo of the roti with curry as it was so delicious it got eaten before we took a pic. However Simon gave a demonstration of how roti is made…….

Dessert was either Sago Gula Melaka or Bo Bo Cha Cha (I got the Sago). Sago used to be something I never ate as our nickname for it when we were kids was frogs eyes or frog spawn. Now I love it, even made my own version as the dessert of the day at work and we sold out!

And an exciting thing (for me anyway), the wonderful Carol Selva Rajah was seated beside me!! If you don’t know who Carol is, she is the doyenne of Malaysian cooking in AUstralia. A well known chef and writer of wonderful cook books. Check out her website carolselvarajah.com.au. This wonderful lady also does food tours to show where to get those hard to find ingredients when you wish to make your own Malaysian or Asian feasts.

Thanks for dropping in for a look! We are shortly off to Hong Kong and Macau for a holiday so will have some stories and photos to share when we get back, catch you then!

This is a question I invariably get asked when ever someone finds out I am a chef. This usually causes me to pause and try to think of an answer. Most of the time I just say one thing I like to cook and then change the subject. So what do I like to cook the most? I really like to cook desserts and sweet things.

But I also like to try cooking new things that I may never have tried before. For example one of the chefs was sick on Saturday and the macarons needed to be made for the show dinner. Having never made them before, I decided to jump in and give them a hand by making the macarons. Wow they aren’t that scary to make, although they don’t compare to what we had a t Laduree in Tokyo they were still pretty good.

I also used to be a bit wary of souffles but heck now I will cook one up if I feel like it. Same with brulee, love knocking up a batch at work. Even molecular gastronomy techniques are something I want to try so who knows, on one of the menus for our wine dinners there may be something a little scientific(really want to try some’caviar’ making). I guess you could say I really like to cook things I haven’t tried to cook before. It gives me a challenge and sense of achievement.

I also really like to cook the things my Grandmother and Mother taught me. I sometimes have an urge to bake, but there being only two of us a whole cake is excessive, so I usually put it on hold. I could say as an answer to the question, “I really like to cook things that I was taught by Mum and Nan and things I haven’t yet tried.”

Another comment that usually gets directed to Rene when someone finds out a I am a chef is “wow so you must eat really well at home having a chef for a wife”. Unfortunately poor Rene doesn’t always get a restaurant quality meal. When chefs get home we usually like to keep it a little more simple and basic. Rene would probably get more exciting things if I didn’t work nights, so he gets lots of stir fries and pastas that are quick and simple for him to reheat. There are three nights a week where I am home, so then I get to do things a bit more complicated for him.

So if you meet me please don’t ask me what I like to cook. You know now.

Thanks for dropping in!!

This cold weather we are having has me wishing for summer. My recent post on our judging night had me craving watermelon.

Watermelon is one of my favourite summer fruits. Having done the compressed watermelon salad for the Chefs Table competition and our Taste Tasmania dinner at work, I now see it as more versatile than just a fruit to eat by itself.

I like a cocktail of watermelon chunks, vodka, cointreau and melon liqueur blended up with ice to form a slushy. Perfect summer drink.

The watermelon salad that we did at work, is very simple. Chunks of melon, mint leaves cut to julienne, Persian fetta(nice and creamy), pistachio nuts, extra virgin olive oil, squeeze of lemon, finley diced olives. If you have some rosewater lying around a couple of drops adds an exotic touch of the middle east. If you have a dehydrator, remove the seeds from the olives and then dry the flesh. Grind it up in a mortar and pestle, you will see it is still moist due to the oils, return to dehydrator on paper towel for a little bit until quite dry. Sprinkle a little of the olive dust over the salad in place of the diced olives.

Growing up in the Hunter Valley, when we wanted watermelon we would drive off to the watermelon man. This was a local farmer who would drive his tractor to the edge of town with his freshly picked melons. Rush home so Mum could cut it in to wedges for us and then we would sit out on the back step eating our melon. Seeds of course had to be dealt with, so we simply spat them out on to the grass. Eating melon is not the same if you can’t spit the seeds out.

Of course for special occassions we had to have a melon basket( how 1970’s is that). Mum or Nan would shape the watermelon in to a basket and then we would help ball the watermelon, rockmelon and honeydew melon, and put it all back in to the basket. Of course there were plenty of off cut bits for us to eat while we worked.

Thanks for dropping by to see my latest post! Roll on spring and summer!!!

After all this time and global travel Rene and I never quite made it New Zealand before, despite it only being a three hour flight from Sydney. This is quite surprising considering that my Aunt lived there for several years, and my Nan and Pa went quite a few times as well.

The ‘City of Sails’ was our first foray into this magical country and we weren’t disappointed. Auckland sprawls over a narrow isthmus between the sparkling waters of the Waitemata and Manukau Harbours. A cloak of rainforest covers the surrounding hills, dozens of dormant volcanic cones dot the landscape and enchanting holiday islands are scattered throughout the vast Hauraki Gulf. It is also a city that lovingly keeps it’s heritage buildings intact while allowing modern developments to be incorporated into the cityscape.

Staying in luxury at the Langham Hotel gave us a good vantage point to explore what the city had to offer. We hadn’t realised just how hilly Auckland is, which gave us plenty of exercise as we walked from and to the Langham on our daily walks in to the city centre.

Of course we paid a visit to Auckland Sky Tower which is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Next time we will perhaps try the bungee jump from the top of the tower.

We were pleasantly surprised by some of the unique speciality food and drink venues that the city has on offer.

One of our favourite places for lunch, and judging by the lunchtime crowds the locals must agree, was  Elliott Stables in Elliott Street. This is a fantastic collection of little cafes and restaurants. It is organised  with  restaurants, bar and cafes around the edges of a seating area. While you order and pay at each outlet, meals are delivered to your table when they are ready. There is even a bottle shop and a well stocked whisky/whiskey shop. An added bonus is the Kapiti Dairy shop on the corner for some ice cream or cheese, which makes for a great end to a meal.

For such a petite city the nightlife had some surprising atmosphere, we enjoyed having a few drinks at the Northern Steamship Co. Brewbar which is located in the 130 year old headquarters of the Northern Steamship Co. Of particular interest were the upside down floor lamps(real retro) which made it even more funky not to mention the fabulous Macs beer. They even have pots of hop plants growing, very apt for a brew bar. Northern Steamship Co is owned by the well regarded Macs Brewery in New Zealand.

Vulcan Lane was another great place to spend time when you are hungry and thirsty. All manner of food and drink is available in this heritage lane. Many of the restaurants and cafesin Vulcan Lane also retainthe heritage feel in their interior decor. Laneways such as this are something that Sydney desperately needs. Even the adaptation of heritage bank buildings in to restaurants was a great reuse of spaces. One such example that we stumbled upon was O’Connell Street Bistro. Ambience is as important as the food and O.S.B. does both really well.

The highlight of our holiday was definitely a private tour of Villa Maria Estate’s Auckland Winery. The winery was founded in 1961 by Sir George Fistonich who, through his dedication to quality, has led Villa Maria to become the New Zealand wine icon it is today. Villa Maria Estate is New Zealand’s most awarded winery and remains proudly family owned.

The winery is not far from Auckland airport so we hired one of the cute Langham cars (Toyota IQ) to get there.

The Auckland vineyard is situated at the winery site in the base of an extinct volcano, on the Ihumatao peninsula in Mangere.

Auckland enjoys a warm coastal climate without extreme temperatures which suit the twenty hectares of vines that are planted at the Auckland winery.

The vineyard park with its volcanic soils, is planted with Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Verdelho. The vines are predominantly Gewurztraminer as the variety has a history of producing excellent examples of this style in the Auckland wine region.

We met Mary Winstone, Ville Maria’s guest co-ordinator who took us through to meet Mark Polglase(cellar door manager) and Ian Clark(export and PR manager). We left Mark to organise the wines for us while Ian took us on a tour of the Villa Maria production facilities. Villa Maria’s very modern and efficient facilities were amazing to see. The use of eco friendly systems for lighting, heating and cooling was very interesting to observe. Generally when we make a trip to the Hunter Valley here in Australia we go for the tour at Tyrrell’s Winery. Being an old winery the history of the place and the retention of old methods/equipment is on display. It was therefore an eye opening experience to see the more modern machinery, with a huge emphasis on being as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible being used at Villa Maria.

Bottling was a very exciting sight to, even more so given the focus on sustainability. It is rather noisy in the bottling room, and they fill and cap around12,000 bottles per hour.

Now we turned to the serious side of the visit, the wine tasting and we weren’t disappointed. We arrived at the tasting table to be confronted by 12 bottles of wine lined up ready for us.  I was the driver was so I was only able to taste and spit while  Rene got to taste and swallow.

The wines we tasted were:

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Villa Maria Cellar selection Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Villa Maria Reserve Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Gris 2010

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Gris 2010

Villa Maria Private Bin Chardonnay 2010

Villa Maria Reserve Barrique Fermented Chardonnay 2009

Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2009

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir 2009

Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot 2009

Villa Maria Private Bin Syrah 2008

After our tasting session we were invited for lunch in the Villa Maria restaurant. Set in the cellar room which opens on to a broad terrace, it has a spectacular view of the vines. Not only does Villa Maria operate the restaurant, but there are also several options for functions depending on the size required. They also have picnic catering available for when they have entertainment in the vines( eg Sir Elton John).  I enjoyed a wild pork and game rillete with plum, apple and ginger relish, poppy seed toast and micro salad, while Rene had seared tuna pepper crusted with anchovy, basil, roast capsicum and caper salad followed by oven baked lamb rack  with crushed new potatoes, bean, olive and truss tomato salad, tahini dressing. We also enjoyed a lovely lemon curd tart for dessert. Our meals were delicious and greatly enhanced by the beautiful views and wines. After our visit to Villa Maria it was back to the hotel for a much needed afternoon nap.

We enjoyed a relaxing, slightly wet, but quick week of enjoying some of what Auckland had to offer. We will definitely be heading back again to explore more of Auckland and New Zealand.

As the Maori would say: Ka kite anō (see you again!)