Life is short
Buy
the
shoes
[It's true. I don't know who said this or where I saw it maybe on Pinterest but recently I bought a fabulous pair of brown Overland ankle boots. I feel so good when I am wearing them.]
Friday 12 July: Cold with driving rain and gusty. The wind started in the night and kept me awake. The Southerly roars down the gully and the noise is accentuated by the large gum trees in the shared driveway. The Desert Road is closed.
The recent wild weather reminded me of a time when my parents lived in Simla Crescent in Khandallah, a suburb of Wellington. My father used to go to auctions mainly to buy paintings but occasionally he would bid for a case of wine. He would return home triumphant and store the bottles often in the cardboard carton in his cellar in the basement. He would produce a bottle from time to time saying: ‘this is a German Riesling’. He had been very impressed by a dinner he went to at the Chateau du Bois de Rocher in France where each course was matched with a different kind of wine. He often talked about that dinner.
One day after torrential rain the storm water drains couldn’t cope and a stream of muddy water poured down the hill from a new subdivision up above. No-one was concerned but the next morning my mother went downstairs to put some washing in the machine and the whole basement was flooded. When the water had subsided, with the help of a chain of people holding buckets, my father checked on his wine. To his horror all the labels had come off the bottles.
From then on he would produce a bottle of wine and putting it on the table would say: ‘I have no idea what this is’. Sometimes we didn’t know if it was red or white. Sometimes it was undrinkable, other times it was splendid and we wished we knew what it was so we could go and buy more.
They retired to Ngakuta Bay in the Marlborough Sounds long before the region became well known for its Sauvignon Blanc. They drank gin and tonic mainly and Lindauer bubbly at Christmas or at a dinner party. For some reason when I was there no-one ever remembered to get a lemon from the prolific tree in the garden and I had to negotiate the back stairs which I considered to be totally unsafe because they were almost vertical. To my mind a gin and tonic wasn’t the same without a slice of lemon. When Sauvignon Blanc became the drink de jour we often chose Stoneleigh. It was a good wine to go with lunch of barbecued sausages or salmon done in the smoker. One day we decided collectively that it was too sweet, maybe it had something to do with the vintage. I’m learning more about this now. 2010 was a very good year for Pinot Noir and wine producers say 2013 is going to be an excellent year for Sauvignon Blanc – one of the best in a long time.
Last Friday I went with a friend to the Picton Wine Club dinner. It was held at Café Cortado and the invited guest winery was Two Rivers. What a great evening. Each course was matched with a different wine and there were vegan options on the menu. So most diners had half shell mussels with parmesan and pesto,‘freshly caught’ blue cod, lamb cutlets, venison and a cheese selection. I had canapés of eggplant and salsa verde and whole sherry mushrooms with the Juliet Riesling 2012, garlic portabellos (mushrooms), on ginger and sesame bok choy with ‘Convergence’ Sauvignon Blanc 2012 and Clos des Pierres Chardonnay 2011, pea risotto with roast capsicums and red onions with the Awatere selection Pinot Noir 2011 and honey roasted winter vegetables topped with a herb crusted tomato and Guinness glaze (magnificent) matched with the Altitude Pinot Noir 2011. Actually some of us misheard and thought it was ‘Attitude’ which seemed an interesting description for a wine. The last course was a fruit and nut selection with chutneys with a Late Harvest Riesling 2008 which I thought was a little watery. My mother was very keen on Late Harvest wines, they should be syrupy, and add richness to the dessert. One phrase that amused us was the description of a wine as ‘seamless on the palate’. What does this phrase mean? To my mind it could be that the flavour passes you by and is almost bland. Of course that’s not what the presenter was thinking so maybe an explanation was called for.
It was a bit of a shock at the end of the evening to hear my name being called out as the ‘poet in the room’ to ad lib a poem as the resident Wine Club poet was away. He usually comes up with a limerick or two. So I raved about the Pinot Noir from the Awatere Valley saying it was ‘to die for’ but as my co-presenter and compassionate supporter pointed out we were still here. So I moved on to saying a few words about the Sauvignon Blanc, named ‘Juliet’ after, I think, the mother of the vineyard owner. Not a brilliant effort but the diners were satisfied as there was a ripple of laughter. When I sat down I realized that sitting across from me was another poet who could probably have done better at such short notice.
I love all these wines that originate from a particular valley, the Wairau, the Awatere, the headwaters of the Waitaki Valley in Central Otago (Ostler Wines), and are named after people who have a special place in the hearts of the winemakers, a mother, or a young woman, vibrant and full of life, who passed away too young.
In winter I always drink red wine. My favourite Pinot Noirs at the moment are Whitehaven (when it’s on special), Forrest Estate (the merlot is also good), and Two Rivers (recently discovered, it is rich ruby red in colour, full bodied and with a lingering mouth feel!).
Anyway next week is our Marlborough Writers’ group mid-winter dinner at Raupo, one of my favourite restaurants because of the eco design of the building and the location on the river. We have to write 100 words on the topic ‘Sauvignon Blanc’. Most of us hoped we could just party with no homework.
Recommended:
Book:
Film:
Silver Linings Playbook (two neurotic
characters and an equally weird father but worth watching for the dialogue).
