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.