Waterfall Bay 2013

This February sees the return of Seresin's annual event at Waterfall Bay. This will be its 14th consecutive year.
We are very happy to welcome back an old friend of Seresin, and a Waterfall Bay veteran, Philip Johnson.
Philip is famed for his renowned E’cco Bistro in Brisbane and has recently opened Bistro One Eleven also in Brisbane to great acclaim.

We are very lucky that he has found time to come and join us again for another stint at our stove.

He is currently refining the menu to create something fresh and original for the relaxed setting of Waterfall Bay. 
In the height of summer, Waterfall Bay provides the perfect celebration of the season in a relaxed, informal style, celebrating great cooking and fresh produce in intimate surroundings. Once again transforming a small waterside building into a world-class restaurant.

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Waterfall Bay  7 – 10 February 2013

 

$300 per person for a 5 course degustation meal with matching Seresin Estate wine.
(return boat travel from Picton is also included in the price of the ticket.)

Dinner: Thursday 7th - Sunday 10th

Lunch: Friday 8th & Sunday 10th

For reservations contact: James Mackenzie at james@seresin.co.nz or on +64 (0) 3 5729408

Open for Sandy

Today in NYC, in the middle of hurricane Sandy we went looking for a restaurant open for lunch, not easy, the city is closed, … but, we found one..Aquagrill.

A very cool seafood restaurant in Spring St, downtown Manhattan, which co-incidentally has been serving our wines for ages. So in we went.

 

Beautiful food, a couple of glasses of MOMO Pinot Noir. Then as we were leaving to face Sandy again, the sommelier introduced herself, said how much they loved our wines. A couple at the bar overhearing the conversation said, "hey those wines sound great, can we have a couple of glasses of MOMO please?".

 

In the middle of this devastating hurricane which has not yet reached its zenith…food & wine triumph. The sense of camaraderie is very pervasive, despite the battering the city is getting.

Michael Seresin



Starting with Seresin in the Shed

Ashley Sumner & Vivienne Hayman opened the Sugar Club restaurant with Peter Gordon as chef in All Saints Rd., Notting Hill Gate in 1995. They were the first restaurant in the UK to sell our wine, which we shipped direct to them, before we had a distributor. The original restaurant has been replaced by 'The Tin Shed', a bakery & cafe with wonderful bread, food & wine.

Julian Sciascia the baker at Tin Shed.

Julian Sciascia, the New Zealand born baker of Sicilian heritage, asked a few months ago if our wines were organic. I replied yes, so he asked for a bottle each of our Riesling and Leah Pinot Noir, to make a starter for his sourdough bread. Apparently organic wine makes a better starter. This we did. So 17 years after our wines arrived in London there is a little bit in each loaf of the Tin Shed sourdough...

I love it.

Michael Seresin

Morning Tea - Seresin style

Keeping up the great New Zealand tradition of Smoko, every Wednesday morning the Seresin team get together for morning tea. Each week someone different is challenged to bring treats in for the staff and WWOOFers, and as well as providing mid-morning sustenance to those who have been toiling, it's an opportunity to catch up with what is happening in each part of our Estate. It's a wonderful moment in the week and there's always something different on the table - from Brett's homemade wild venison pies last week, to Pete's onion bhaji, Rob's saag paneer, Scotty's bangers & mash - all using plenty of Seresin produce of course. 

This week Assistant Winemaker Richard prepared an absolute feast, full of Swedish delicacies and some from closer to home. It looked so good we had to share it with you - this is just some of what he made for us... 

Thanks Richard for a very delicious Smoko!

Composing the Compost

As Colin, our estate manager, put it recently at the Winter Solstice:

“…Winter is a time for inner reflection, rather than outer movement…”

Very true, but there still are things to be done in the vineyard to prepare for the coming year. Sean and his team have been working hard to create our new compost heap to help sustain and improve the land and vines over the next year.



Sean and the team working hard

It is quite an undertaking: over a week to build, nearly a hundred feet long, eight foot high and five foot wide.

It is not the numbers that are important, as Sean was keen to explain.  By combining by-products from the estate: hay from the headlands, manure from our cows and grape marc from the last vintage we have the raw ingredients to create our own abundant natural fertiliser.


Milly adding the final layers

Utilising all that the land provides us with is key to our heartfelt approach. We are farmers, tending the land, and guardians of its future. Not to make the effort would be churlish and in this act of reclamation we are evoking what we stand for.

Meet the Team: Richard

Although many of the Seresin staff members have appeared on the blog before, we thought it was about time to introduce you to them properly. We will be profiling several people in the coming weeks, so watch this space if you've ever wondered who makes things happen behind the scenes on the estate.

We are proud to introduce Richard Gabrielsson as our new Assistant Winemaker. Richard (formerly known as Lars) has already been part of our Seresin family for 5 years. First noticed for his dancing abilities at an Auckland wine show, a chat with Richard showed he was perfect for our vacant Cellar Door role. He was pretty quickly captured by the winemaking team and has spent the last 3 and a half years working in the cellar.

Richard is from Gotland, Sweden (apparently the largest island in the Baltic Sea!) and is a qualified sommelier who also studied literature and Social Anthropology at University. He has a great palate and passion for wine, and his sense of humour is insatiable. Things are always lively around Richard and that brings a great sense of fun to our work place.

We've been lucky enough to see Richard develop into a fine young aspiring winemaker who has great potential, and we are delighted to promote him to this important role.


By Clive

NZ's Ultimate Pinot Event

Although it is seven months away (to the day!), we can't help but get excited about an event hitting Wellington next January. The fifth of this triennial event, Pinot Noir 2013 is shaping up to be the best yet, with four days of exploring, tasting and discussing our favourite grape.


If you're still not convinced, take a look at this video Pinot put out yesterday. See if you can spot the Seresin faces at the end!



NZ Pinot Noir on Film from Pinot Noir NZ on Vimeo.



Check out the rather beautiful Pinot Noir NZ 2013 website for more information and registration, or keep up with the news on Facebook, Twitter or their blog. 


But be careful - you might just fall in love with the heartbreak grape...

Seresin Landfall Residency 2012

Together with the Otago University Press we are delighted to announce the winner of the 2012 Seresin Landfall Residency.


The fourth recipient of the Seresin Landfall Residency is writer Pat White, who plans to use the Residency to work on a collection of ‘Watershed Stories’: essays about our landscape and environment. He will think and write about people – such as H.D. Thoreau, Bashō, and Annie Dillard – who may have lived alone in huts, often near water. Waterfall Bay in Marlborough, where the Residency is located, will be the ideal place to do this.


Pat says ‘I am particularly grateful to Seresin Estate and Landfall for the opportunity to spend my time writing in a place where other tasks do not intrude. Such times are valuable, as they are a rare gift. I shall be able to devote myself to the new work, uninterrupted, for weeks on end.’

Michael Seresin says ‘Pat White is the deserved winner of this year’s award. Waterfall Bay, surrounded by water & calm, is ideal for his writing project. I wish him well.’

Happy 'New Year'!

This morning we gathered in the Rachel block of our Home Vineyard to celebrate a very important day in our calendars - the Winter Solstice. 

It had been raining early this morning, but in true Solstice style, the skies cleared just as we headed out for our celebrations, and since then it's been a brilliant, sunny winters day.

Colin, our Estate Manager, spoke about what the Solstice means to us at Seresin: 

"The Winter Solstice marks the beginning of an agricultural new year - the end of one growing season and the beginning of the next. Winter is a time for inner reflection, rather than outer movement. Huddling together in the warm, we look back on the year that has been, and look forward and plan for the year to come. From here, we begin pruning in earnest, as the sap in the grape vines starts to rise, and we head towards Spring and bud burst.'

After Colin spoke, we gave thanks to the land for what it has given us this year, by placing some of our various produce at the end of Row 12.

Over a glass of hot homemade Limoncello and morning tea (Jerusalem Artichoke and Whisky soup - delicious!) we wish you all a happy and prosperous 'new year'.

Ooooby - Out of Auckland's Own Back Yards

Every now and then, we come across a group or company that inspires us. Ooooby is one of those...

Ooooby (or 'Out Of Our Own Back Yards') is an Auckland based social business which connects communities through local food in two ways. 


It's a social networking site for people into homegrown and local food - connecting with others  about gardening tips, seasonal recipes, keeping chickens and bees, preserving and more. It helps members to find others in their neighbourhood growing and eating local food, and organise food bartering days and local meet ups.


The second part of Ooooby is a local food home delivery service. To go one step further toward bringing about the cottage food renaissance, they have set up the Ooooby Box service where they deliver food from local farmers and backyard growers to your doorstep.  It's only available in Auckland so far, but it can only be a matter of time before it grows into other areas.


The lovely folk at Ooooby have given us one of their Family Boxes to give away to one lucky family in Auckland. As the name suggests, this is perfect for a family, containing around eight different items of fruit and veges.


If you would like to win an Ooooby box for your family, or even better, another family you know is in need, just send us an email telling us why you love local, or why you (or they) need a box of Ooooby. The one we think is most deserving, wins. 


Only one condition - delivery is in greater Auckland city only. Draw closes next Friday 29 June at 4pm, and the box will be delivered to the winner the following Tuesday 3 July. 


Check Ooooby out on Facebook, and of course you can sign up for your Ooooby boxes on their website.

Leah in the Spotlight

With the official start of winter this week in New Zealand, we have been hunkering down fireside with winter fare and plenty of pinot. Apparently we're not the only ones - our 2009 Leah Pinot Noir has been featured in several publications around the world recently. We think it's absolutely delicious at the moment - and so does UK wine writer Jane MacQuitty (The Times):


‘New world wines, including the Kiwis, do age. Named after Michael Seresin’s daughter and made from grapes grown in all three Seresin vineyards, this delicious 2009 is the entry level wine for the estate. But you’d never know, as this French oak barrique-aged pinot noir bursts with the sort of juicy, spicy, strawberry-laced fruit that Côte d’Or worshippers adore. Enjoy this lively, 14 per cent pinot noir now with big food, or keep it in the cellar for a few years.’

And speaking of big food, Gourmet Traveller magazine have matched Leah with this Fish and Prawn Pie in their May issue. I can't wait to try it out once the winter vegetables in the Seresin garden get a little bigger!


Fish and Prawn Pie
Prep time 40 minutes, cook time 45 minutes (plus cooling).
Serves 4

4 salad onions, halved
25ml extra virgin olive oil
1 leek stalk, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 thyme sprigs
1 fresh bay leaf
1 garlic clove, crushed
30ml Noilly Prat dry vermouth
15g butter, coarsely chopped
15g plain flour
250ml hot fish stock
200g peeled raw prawns (roughly 400g unpeeled), cut into 3 pieces
150g skinless snapper fillet, cut into 3cm dice
150g skinless blue eye trevally fillet, cut into 3cm dice
Finely grated zest of one lemon
1 small bunch each finely chopped dill and flat leaf parsley
375g sheet butter puff pastry
1 egg yolk for brushing

1. Blanch onions until tender (3-4 minutes). Drain, refresh the water, drain again, and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, celery, thyme, bay leaf, garlic and blanched onion and stir occasionally until tender (5-6 minutes). Add vermouth, simmer until evaporated (1-2 minutes), then remove herbs and discard. Add butter, cook until melted, then add flour and stir until smooth and combined. Gradually add fish stock, a ladle at a time, stirring continuously until smooth, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture reaches a thick sauce consistency. Cool for 30 minutes, stir in prawns, fish, lemon rind, dill and parsley and season to taste. Transfer to a 1.25L oval pie dish, spreading evenly, then cover and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 200C. Cut pastry into an oval big enough to cover the top of the pie dish with a 2.5cm overhang, place pastry on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Brush with yolk, season to taste with sea salt, sprinkle with a little cold water, then bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 190C, place pie dish in oven and bake pastry and pie (separately) until pastry is golden and cooked through and pie mixture is hot (15-20 minutes) Remove baking paper from pie dish, top with pastry.

Serve hot with a green salad dressed with Seresin olive oil and a glass of 2009 Leah Pinot Noir.

Wellington's 2012 'Capital Awards'

At Seresin, we are proud to once again sponsor Wellington's Capital Awards. We're sponsoring the prestigious ‘Outstanding Wine List’ award, which will be presented at the awards ceremony on Sunday 5 August.

Wellington is known as the culinary capital of New Zealand, boasting the largest number of bars and restaurants per capita in New Zealand, with more than 3000 cafes and restaurants located throughout the city, offering the finest food, wine, coffee and service. The Capital Awards are the Wellington region’s premier hospitality awards. They celebrate everything that is fundamentally hospitality in Wellington; from the behind-the-scenes kitchen team and baristas, through to outstanding restaurant and the pinnacle award – outstanding contribution to Wellington hospitality.

Nominations are open now on the Capital Awards website, so get voting and become a fan on Facebook and join us in making the 2012 Capital Awards another success!

Our Wildlife

The grapes & wines get most of the coverage on our blog. For a change here are some of our animals, who all contribute in their unique ways.

Michael Seresin

Harvest 2012 Begins

We have launched into our 2012 harvest at Seresin - a little later than usual! A unseasonably cool Summer has pushed harvest back a few weeks, but the great weather we've had recently has meant that grapes are looking fantastic.

Colin Ross, our Estate Manager, is shown here picking the first of our harvest - Pinot Noir from the Home Vineyard.

We'll be blogging throughout harvest - so watch this space as the action unfolds!

2008 Seresin Pinots' "so evocative of Burgundy"

The April issue of Decanter magazine has just arrived at the winery, bringing with it a review from Steven Spurrier of our range of 2008 Pinot Noirs which he recently tasted. Here's what he had to say about them and their evocation of Burgundy:

Needless to say, we're thrilled with his reviews!

While some of the 2008 Pinots he reviewed have sold out, there are still small amounts of the Single Vineyard wines here at the winery - send us an email if you'd like to get your hands on any of them.

Waterfall Bay Food & Wine Festival 2012

Nestled amongst native bush overlooking Waterfall Bay in the Marlborough Sounds, our occasional restaurant will again welcome guests to share in Seresin Estate’s Food & Wine Festival. Hamish Brown from ROKA restaurant in London is returning to the Waterfall Bay kitchen as our guest Chef for 2012.

Hamish spent his formative years growing up amongst Canterbury’s farming community. Learning the art and craft of food from his father, Graham Brown, a chef who has owned restaurants in New Zealand and Australia, Hamish developed a sense for the quality of lo cal ingredients and a passion for combining the Asian cuisines which make up the Western Pacific Rim..

After establishing himself in New Zealand, Hamish left New Zealand for England. His first employer was expatriate Peter Gordon at his London restaurant Providores where he worked for 18 months. Since 2006, Hamish has been at ROKA and has recently been promoted to Executive Chef, responsible for the London operations and future ROKA projects. Part of the worldwide Zuma-ROKA restaurant group, ROKA is renowned for its contemporary Japanese-inspired food.

“I missed out on Hamish’s previous stint at Waterfall Bay – so the only way to enjoy his food in New Zealand was to invite him back to Waterfall Bay. I’m sure our guests will agree”, says Michael Seresin.

Hamish adds “after my first visit to Waterfall Bay I was inspired by the Seresin ethos and really want to reflect that in this year’s dinners - using Seresin-grown organic salads and vegetables, combined with locally grown produce and, my favourite, foraging at Waterfall Bay itself”.

Tickets are $285 per person and are inclusive of a five course meal with matching wines and return boat transport from Picton. There is currently limited availability at Dinner on Thursday 9th February. Please contact us if you would like to make a reservation.

Reservations: Contact Moir Laird - moir@seresin.co.nz or +64 (0)3 572 9408

Dinners on Friday 10th, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th, as well as lunches on Friday 10th and Sunday 12th are fully booked.