Playing a good hand

Writing for the Times in the UK, wine critic Jane MacQuitty had some lovely things to say about Seresin's 2006 Leah Pinot Noir.

"Pinot noir is not Marlborough’s strongest suit but in the right hands, such as Seresin, aged in French barriques, the result is a spectacular, smoky, gamey red with fine red fruits on the finish."

A wine to try before you die

Seresin's 2006 Marama Sauvignon Blanc has been selected for inclusion in a new book called 1001 Wines You Must Try Before You Die.

Edited by English wine judge and journalist Neil Beckett, there are numerous contributors from around the world. The wines from NZ were selected and reviewed by Bob Campbell MW. Other NZ wines selected for the book come from wineries including Ata Rangi, Cloudy Bay, Dry River, Felton Road, Kumeu River, Millton, Mount Difficulty, Neudorf and Stonyridge.

Graham Beattie, former leading New Zealand publisher, bookseller and book-award-judge, reviews the book on his blog.

Matterhorn's Peak

Congratulations to Christian McCabe and the team at Wellington's Matterhorn on being awarded Cuisine magazine’s Restaurant of the Year for 2008. As well as it's fantastic food, we love Matterhorn for its great coffee, bar, cocktails and wine list - all brought to you by some of the most knowledgeable and passionate barristas, waiters and bar staff we know.

Next time you're in Wellington make sure you visit Matterhorn at 106 Cuba Street, phone (04) 384-3359.

Chef Martin Bosley, from last year's Cuisine magazine's Restaurant of the Year, Martin Bosley's Yacht Club Restaurant, also in Wellington, is cooking for guests at Waterfall Bay on 15 November to celebrate the release of Seresin's new wines. For more details email Jan Whillans.

"A wine to savour"

Writing in New Zealand's Otago Daily Times, Chamian Smith reviews our 2006 Chardonnay Reserve, with a full complement of 5 stars. She writes "Zesty with hints of smoky oak, lovely ripe fruit and layers of complexity, this is the wine I kept coming back to. It's stylish, textural and harmonious, with layers of flavour and deliciously satisfying, lingering aftertaste. A wine to savour".

In Vogue

The August/September issue of Vogue Entertaining and Travel Australia carries an article about Brad Farmerie's appearance at Seresin's Waterfall Bay Dinners in February 2008. Written by Bev Doole and accompanied by photographs taken by Kieran Scott, it brought back lovely memories of the 2008 dinners and we look forward to doing it all again in February 2009 (13th to 16th). For more information and reservations, email us.

Later in the same issue, it was also nice to see Joe from Sarti in Melbourne. Joe spent time with us in Marlborough and at Waterfall Bay at the end of 2006. In the VE+T article he looks like he's enjoying an equally tough time with his chef and their partners at Moonlight Head Lodge.

The Modern Pantry

Our friend Anna Hansen is about to open her new restaurant, The Modern Pantry in St Johns Square in Clerkenwell.

Just like its home in a beautifully restored Georgian building, The Modern Pantry's philosophy is to use traditional and unusual ingredients in new and exciting ways. As well as enjoying Anna's fusion food in the restaurant, people will be able to buy some of the ingredients featured on the menu from The Modern Pantry's Deli.

One of the founders of The Providores, Anna has been guest chef at Waterfall Bay and so we have an inkling of the interesting and delicious food guests will enjoy.

Seresin's 2005 Riesling, 2006 Leah Pinot Noir and 2007 Sauvignon Blanc are on The Modern Pantry's wine list.

Seresin Estate & Chegworth Valley Farm

We have known Dave and his Chegworth Valley family ever since they started selling, and we started buying, their apples, produce and juice at the Kensington & Marylebone Farmers Markets.

When they recently opened this brilliant food store in Kensington Church Street, Dave asked if he could sell some of our produce, namely our organic lemon oil.

Along with our organic and biodynamic wine we make limited quantities of organic olive oils including organic extra virgin oil, a lemon, a lime and a Valencia orange one. So we were very happy to see our produce from a family owned farm in New Zealand available at an English family owned farm shop in Kensington.

How to Eat, Drink and Live

Even if you don't need too much advice on how to eat, drink and live, Fork and Bottle - Jack and Joanne's Guide to Eating, Living and Drinking, is a great resource for things wine and food.

As well as a comprehensive list of biodynamic wine producers (505 of them as at 5 August 2008) there is a great list of interesting and fun wine, food and food-issue blogs and lots more.

Seresin Wetlands

Despite popular rumour, we are not branching into aquaculture. While we are pleased to see our wetland areas thriving, we hadn't planned for them to extend quite this far. This last week's weather has surely reminded us of Mother Nature's power.