SwirlSavvy Anu a big fan of NZ

For SwirlSavvy guest wine blogger Anu Pohani, the best wine choice is always something from New Zealand. She has been writing about some 'shining examples' of NZ Sauvignon Blanc - one of which was the Seresin Marama. Anu thought it was 'absolutely delicious' and 'really showed the care that the Seresin team put into all their wines'. Thanks Anu!

Take a look at the rest of what she has to say about the Marama, and the other wines she tried.

The end of 2009

Tongan Christmas Party
We thanked Unity in Harmony (the Tongan families) for all their hard work over the past year, with a massive BBQ feast and a toast to Michael Seresin. Michael was presented with a Tapa coth from the Tongan families. The cloth and presentation was beautiful - a very moving and special moment for us all.

Christmas Milking

Life on the farm carried on over Christmas. While most of the Seresin crew had holidays, a few of us took over the holiday milking, animal patrol, irrigation and garden roster. The Xmas morning milking crew celebrated with a pancake (fresh eggs and milk) breakfast before commencing the Christmas milking and even the cows got into the spirit of things (with a little encouragement from us of course!).

WWoofers

We say a HUGE and heartfelt thank-you to Robert our Canadian wwoof-er, who completed some pretty major and physical tasks for us while here for a month. The last we saw of Robert, he was hitching out of town in a Santa suit and a backpack.

Our new wwoofers are Rachel and Richard from the UK. We hope they enjoy our time here with us and we look forward to many discussions over morning tea.
By Leisha

Two weeks WWOOFing at Seresin

We've been WWOOFing at Seresin for two weeks now.

It's great to see all the diversity going on - this year is the first year that organic vegetable patches have been planted in between some of the vines to feed the troops at Seresin. As a result there's lots of work to be done and we've spent plenty of time potato mounding - but it's all worth it when you take home your dinner after digging it up!

The diversity of the place has meant that we had a chance to try out loads - from wire lifting and leaf plucking of the vines to milking the cows, pruning the olive trees and harvesting wheat and barley. Plenty of experiences for us to take away, and the wine is pretty good too!

The staff have been very welcoming and spent time going through tasks with us. Thanks Colin and the team for a fab intro to Seresin and biodynamics, we look forward to hearing about how you get on with all the new projects.

By Rachel and Rich, WOOFers from Oxford, UK. January 2010.

Seresin Landfall Residency

This new year, we are pleased to announce the second annual Seresin Landfall Residency. The Residency was established in 2009 with Otago University Press, giving a writer the opportunity to spend six weeks in either Tuscany or Marlborough.

The residency is the result of Michael Seresin's desire to support the work of Landfall magazine, and his commitment to the arts and creative endeavour. Michael says "I wanted to provide a place where writers feel comfortable and can write. We are fortunate to have access to two beautiful properties, which I hope will provide some inspiration for a writer during their six week stay."

Michael's father, Harry Seresin, was an early subscriber and avid reader of Landfall from the 1950's. The Seresin Landfall Residency honours his memory, and that of the Landfall founder, Charles Brasch, who helped establish New Zealand's first literary residency, the Robert Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago.

Prominent New Zealand writer, and the Residency's inaugural winner, C. K. Stead says "My association with Landfall goes back as far as 1951 when I first offered founder Charles Brasch poems and has continued ever since. I feel very enthusiastic about the idea of a Residency set up to honour both the magazine and Harry Seresin."

The residency is open to writers over twenty-one, working in any genre, who have been previously published. To read more about the Residency, or for information about how to apply, please visit the Otago University Press website.

Eight new additions to the Seresin family

Quackles, our Indian Runner Duck, hatched 8 very cute ducklings yesterday.

As well as providing eggs and endless entertainment, our Ducks spend most of their days inside our vegetable garden and orchard, forraging for insects and protecting our vegetables and fruit from pests.

By Erin