40th Anniversary Dinner – Bellamys Wednesday 18th November

Sadly the delayed Wellington/Burger on a Plate has meant that the restaurant is unable to finalise our menu until after that event finishes. That means we won’t receive it until the first week of November. We have reluctantly accepted this, as it does ensure that we end up with a menu that should make the best of what is seasonally available.

But rather than leave everything to the last minute, we have decided to ask you to reply to this email by completing, as appropriate, the boxes below and at the same time crediting our bank account 06 0541 0056031 00 with $70 per person wishing to attend.

If your email software doesn’t allow you to input directly to these boxes when you go reply, we suggest you use your mouse to select the boxes and then copy and paste them into the reply section of your email.

If you don’t currently use internet banking, we can accept your cheque although this dinner is likely to be the last occasion that we can do this, as the ANZ is no longer accepting cheques for clearance after 1 June 2021

Important points

We will require the full name of each person attending [not just first and last names] as I believe this needs to be provided to Parliamentary security early in November we will provide the final menu and seek your menu choices. If the final menu is not to your liking, let us know and we will refund you immediately.

In addition to your meal choice, the table will also be served with a plate of each of the sides. These and corkage are all included in the dinner price.
Also included will be your customary glass of bubbles on arrival.
The dress code is smart casual [think summer wedding]. For women, that’s classy casual and for men, jacket with tie optional.
Table seating is either 6 or 8 places. Sorry, there can be no large groups.

Please reply before the end of October. Bellamys have limited seating and for this reason, we will be operating on a first-come basis and if the number is exceeded, we may need to add you to a waiting list. Whilst Bellamys’ limit does exceed the attendance levels of our past 10 dinners, we do think that the special nature of this dinner could prove to be a challenge so please reply as soon as possible.

We did contemplate limiting the dinner to just members but decided that this was unfair to those non-member partners who have been regular attendees at our past dinners. Nor has this ever been an approach that has been applied in the past.

Menu

Entrée

Green Onion Panisse, Layered Beetroot, And Mount Eliza Raw Milk Cheddar Emulsion

Smoked Kahawai Dip, Kapiti Seaweed, Remutaka Piko Piko, Courgette and Sourdough

Main

Braised Beef Cheek, Pumpkin Skordalia, Red Cabbage and Baby Carrots

Marlborough Hazelnut and Wild Parsley Crusted Market Fish, Yuzu Braised Fennel, Celeriac Sauce

Portobello and Pinot Noir Bourguignon, Jerusalem Artichoke and Shaved White Button Mushrooms

Dessert

Gisborne Citrus Sorbet, Meringue, Citrus and Black Sesame Crumb and Chantilly

Dark Chocolate Cremeux, Buttermilk Mint Sorbet, Cookie Crumble, Aero Chocolate and Caramel

Sides

Triple-Cooked Beef Fat Thick Cut Fries
Truffle Oil and Parmesan
Thyme and Garlic Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Balsamic
Fresh Garden Lettuce with Citrus and Tahini Dressing
Kumara and Potato Gratin

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Winemaking in Central Otago

Did you know?

The first winemaker attracted to Central Otago was John Desiré Feraud who came to the area during the Dunstan gold rush of 1862, and after investing in a claim became rich overnight. Feraud, who was from a French winemaking family, recognised the potential for grape growing, and leased 40 hectares in Clyde where he planted the first wine grapes in 1864.

Over the next 20 years, he made a variety of wines even winning a prize for his Burgundy-style wine in Sydney in 1881. His farm, named Monte Christo Gardens, was an extensive garden of fruit trees, vegetables and 1200 vines, along with a winery which still stands today.

During this period, viticulturalist Romeo Bragato also visited Central Otago and declared the area as one of great potential for grape growing. However Feraud and Bragato’s enthusiasm for grape-growing did not spread to others and when Feraud left the region, commercial winemaking ceased. Over the next hundred years, no one tried to grow grapes again and the focus for Central Otago was on sheep farming and fruit production.

It wasn’t until the late 1970s/early 1980s that grapes were once again planted with the first commercial wines being produced again in 1987. So it’s been a little over 20 years since the riches of the land have been rediscovered.

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2 iconic Central Otago wineries presented by Cenna Lloyd, Negociants

The wines tasted:

  • 2018  Two Paddocks’ Single Vineyard Pinot Rose
  • 2017 Misha’s Cantata Pinot Noir
  • 2018 Two Paddocks’ Pinot Noir
  • 2017 Two Paddocks’ Riesling
  • 2015 Misha’s Limelight Riesling
  • 2019 Misha’s Dress Circle Pinot Gris
  • 2018 Misha’s The Cadenza Late Harvest Gewürztraminer

     

For the 19 members and 1 guest that attended, this was a great tasting as evidenced by the fact that 101 bottles were ordered, such was the quality and pricing.

The low turnout was a disappointment but upon reflection, there were 3 couples overseas and another 4 people that contacted us beforehand and apologised because of sickness. These were 10 people that almost always attend and that, coupled with other regulars I have since heard were either out of town or sick, probably explains the low turn out. It can happen sometimes.

Cenna began her tasting presentation explaining the locations of Two Paddocks and Misha vineyards and as luck would have it, the wines presented covered the 4 main Central Otago sub-regions of Alexandra, Bannockburn, Gibbston Valley and Bendigo, Not covered was the area around Pisa Moorings or Wanaka.

She went onto explain that the reason for tasting the 2 Pinot Noirs first was so that any residual sweetness in our mouth from the whites would not destroy the delicacy of the 2017 Misha ‘Cantata’ Pinot Noir. All 3 red wines were excellent reflections of their styles but I especially enjoyed the savoury notes each had as compared to the dominate cherry flavours that tend to be more evident in other Central Otago Pinot Noirs.

The surprising wine of the night was Misha’s 2015 ‘Limelight’ Riesling. 4 years on, it still had a bright fresh citrusy flavour, This was a medium style Riesling with 34 grams/litre of residual sugar and I especially liked its delightful lingering finish. It’s hardly surprising to find later that wine writers have given this wine 5 stars. And to the surprise of everyone present, Jenny joyfully announced that she had finally found a white that she liked.

Misha’s 2019 ‘Dress Circle’ Pinot Gris was another of their whites to find great support from members. It had flavours of pear, citrus and spice, This is a very pleasing aromatic wine that will go well with Asian cuisine, which is hardly surprising, given that the owners worked in Asia for 16 years and set out to develop wines that would suit Asian as well as Western foods.

Of the two wineries, my personal favourite was Misha Vineyards with their theatrical named wines. So it was only fitting that the finale for the night was their 2018 ‘The Cadenza’ Late Harvest Gewurztraminer. This medium-sweet wine had aromas of apricot making it an
excellent match with fruit-driven desserts or with soft cheeses. As I said earlier, a great tasting.

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Save the date – Saturday 21st March 2020

This is the date of our planned day trip to the Wairarapa, the highlight of which will be a wine tasting and a lunch at Coney Wines.

A full itinerary for the day is being prepared and we will let you know the information once it is finalised.

In the meantime, please put this date on your fridge, in your diaries or use whatever favourite way of remembering you have. You will not want to miss this event.

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South American wine & food matchings – November 2019

For the last 3 years, our November tastings have been a bit different with an emphasis on a foreign country and wine and food matches. November this year will be no different although this year it is a region, rather than a country.

Our presenter, Cenna Lloyd, departed after last month’s tasting for a 3-week tour of South American vineyards so her offer to return and give us her insight into the wine sub-regions we will taste was just too good to pass up.

The recipes have already been allocated and there will also be a special surprise that hopefully will add to a carnival atmosphere. Like last year, we will need to limit numbers to fit our catering. Unlike last year we will need to enforce that number or the risk will be the early bird may miss out on their worm. Ok, so it is a bad metaphor but you get the idea.

More information on how you can reserve your place will be released after this month’s tasting.

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Your news fix, Save the date

From the Acting Editor,

Let me begin by again apologising for no newsletter last month. As I think I said in an email, Robin and Pat had to fly to Sydney suddenly and there simply wasn’t enough time to get it out.  There is still no word as to when they may return, so please direct any communications to myself of another of the committee in the meantime.

Your news fix

Hopefully, this month’s newsletter will provide you with your news fix. That said, the objective of this newsletter is to dissimilate information, often with a generous sprinkling of humour. Given there is much information for you to read in this issue, please don’t just put it to one side after a quick scan. You may miss something.

Save the date

I would especially draw your attention to the section on Save the Date – Saturday 21st March 2020. This is the first of 3 special themed events your committee is planning in 2020 to celebrate our 40th anniversary. A full calendar of events will be sent out separately so you can update your diaries. These last 2 months has been a funny old one for your committee with much drama going on in our lives, interspersed with overseas travel for 3 or us and a couple of major knee ops for another. Sadly included in all this, was the passing of Anne’s mum very recently. The club did deliver some flowers and card to Anne expressing our condolences on behalf of you all.

See you there next week,

Cheers Wayne Kennedy, Acting Editor

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Facebook tit bits

I was catching up on facebook recently and came across something posted by our former club member Mel Ingalls who now lives in the USA. Apparently, in the town of Indian Hills, Colorado, they have the funniest billboards ever. Here are two of my favourites.

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Wine 101: How to Save Leftover Wine

See the Wine Spectator video, How to Save Leftover Wine

Have some leftover wine from your last dinner party? It would be a shame to let it go to waste—and you don’t have to! Learn the best ways to store leftover wine and the most important preservation factors to keep in mind in this quick tutorial.

OK, so for most of us in NZ, all we do is return the screw cap to the wine bottle. But if you want to reduce the rate of oxidation, then I would recommend you click on this link and watch the video from Wine Spectator. I especially liked the Pro tip at the very end of the item.

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Top Drops under $25 – April 2019

Presenter: Joelle Thomson – Writer, author, etc

Our April tasting was a great success and certainly slightly different from other tastings, given the perspective of our presenter and her knowledge of wines in the current market.

Having someone of Joelle’s experience was certainly a coup for the club and we would like to acknowledge Regional Wines contribution in making this event happen.

The committee will be approaching Regional to see if we can re-establish some permanent benefits for club members and we will advise further if and when this is finalised.

As for the wines themselves, I have already said earlier that I really enjoyed the Montepulciano. But given the number and cross-section of orders that Joelle took away with her, it’s clear that all the wines were greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Joelle, for a very interesting tasting. Hopefully, we can arrange another tasting sometime in the future.

Wines tasted:

  • 2009 Forrest The Valleys Riesling
  • Valformosa Cava Classic Brut NV
  • 2015 Main Divide Waipara Riesling
  • 2015 Ulisse Montepulciano, Italy
  • 2015 Crater Rim Waipara Pinot Noir
  • 2016 Alary Gerbaude Cotes du Rhone
  • 2017 San Marzano Il Pumo Primitivo

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Off cruising, Apologies, Preparing the AGM

Off cruising

Well, Robin and Pat are off on their cruise. I’m not sure their itinerary allows much chance to try local wines, but I’m sure that they will have fun working their way through the selection provided by their cruise liner.`

Apologies

I was sorry that I missed our last tasting, but as fortune would have it, I did get to taste some of the left-over wines at our committee meeting the following week and I particularly enjoyed the Montepulciano D’Abrusso, I have even made a mental note to call by Regional wines and grab a bottle or two.

 

 

Preparing the AGM

Your committee has been busy preparing for the AGM and finalising our calendar for the rest of the year. Have a look later in this newsletter to see the exciting events that are now all in flight.

AGM in 2001

Attached to this Newsletter you will find the minutes from the 2018 AGM. The President and Treasurer will present their reports on the night and details will subsequently be made available on
the Club’s website for those who might be interested.

This is your club and the AGM does offer an opportunity to have your say and/or raise matters of interest. If you have ideas or thoughts to offer please don’t be shy to raise them.

See you there,

Cheers
Wayne Kennedy
Acting Editor