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Vintage Wrap-up
Well, these emails just seem to be coming out later & later. My apologies, but without boring you with the details - things have been busy.

Vintage has finished. Almost without exception it has been pretty spectacular. Below are the average true-to-scale life size berries; The left is Ambriel's Cabernet, and the right is the Ezra's Shiraz. Teeny weeny berries, giving us masses of flavour - giddy up!

All in all, it looks to be a fantastic vintage, possibly a classic.

Cab Sav (to scale)                                  Shiraz (to scale)

Ezra's Shiraz Grapes (to scale)

  
Ambriel's Picked and ready to be crushed.

The second wedding was in the pretty amazing gardens at Ripponlea, in Melbourne.

 
Stuey and Narani in Full garb at the first wedding.

 
Eddie Burns cracking coconuts. Look at the determination on his face...

  
Tim Cornelius and Andrea Furst

 
Prue, Kelly and Belinda
 

Going...
We have just released the 2004 Ezra's gift this month, and we have had an exporter take the whole lot. The last 12 cases exist in the cellar door for the first Lucky punters.
http://koonara.com

Coming...
the 2006 Ezra's Gift comes on the heels of the 2004, and it recently won best shiraz in Winestate Magazine for the Limestone coast. Only 400 cases, it will go fast.
http://koonara.com

Little Miss Lucy

Amazing how much they grow in a year. No walking just yet, just scooting about on her butt. Very funny stuff.

And she has a baby brother or sister on their way...

  
PhotoGal like her dad - not the girl part. She's a girl, but I'm...never mind.

 
Still not crawling

Yee-Ha! - The two most beautiful girls in the world

1. Take the bottle from the rack, and very gently stand it upright, and leave it for a day or so for the sediment to settle to the bottom.
2. The morning of the dinner party, remove the cork, but don't decant. This allows the wine to gently air without going into shock.
3. Before guests arrive, decant gently with a light behind the bottle so you can see when to stop to prevent the sediment leaving the bottle.
4. Wash the sediment out of the bottles with (preferably) rain water (to prevent chlorine taint), then decant the wine back into the bottle. Do this especially if your decanter is a beer jug like mine.

Newest member to the extended clan is Nicole's Brother Dean and wife Tash, had a beautiful baby late last year (see, that's how far behind I am). Very cute and looks like her Dad...only waaay better looking. More photos HERE

Was a bit of a wet one this year, but there seemed to be more people than ever enjoying the celebration of vintage in Coonawarra. Well done to Radis Estate for putting on a spectacular show - a brilliant effort for their first time. More photos HERE

James Ellis, Abbey Maddern & Richie Mill

John Rymill & Madeline Brown

Luke Skeer, Ben & Susie Harris

Click for more photos

Cooking with MacGyver

Campfire Damper
Take self raising flour, and mix it with water, making a firm dough, then wrap it around a stick. Cook over hot coals, gently rotating the stick. When it starts slipping off the stick, it's ready. Fill the hole where the stick was with butter jam and honey.

1/2 cup of flour per person.

Wine-to-go

We have the last 11 cases of the 2005 Temptress Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon available at the cellar door. Only just starting to open up and look good now, it is worth a look before it disappears...
http://koonara.com

Plunkett Fowles - The Rule 2008 -
This is a blockbuster super-cool climate shiraz from the Strathbogie Ranges,  planted in 1980 by the Plunkett family. In 2005 the Plunkett family joined an alliance with the Fowles family, marking the expansion of what was already some damn smart wines from a little known region.

Burnt molasses, black pepper, cloves, and dried blackberries. Time will reward with as much patience as you can muster. www.plunkettfowles.com.au