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 The original restaurant has been replaced by 'The Tin Shed', a bakery & cafe with wonderful bread, food & wine.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

Seresin Winemakers Dinner at The Providores

These are a few photos from one point of view of a winemakers dinner at The Providores the other night. Peter Gordon and Christian Hossack produced wonderful food which matched with our wines perfectly. It was a lovely crowd, superb service and a witty and informative talk from Clive. Thank you all for a truly delightful evening.

Michael Seresin

Seresin at Number 10

Earlier this month, The Providores restaurant catered a canapé reception at Number 10 Downing Street, the headquarters of the UK Government and residence of the Prime Minister. The occasion was a thank-you for all the supporters of the Leuka charity over the years, and The Providores were invited to host this at Downing Street by Samantha Cameron. Our 2009 Seresin Sauvignon Blanc was chosen as one of only two wines to be served on the night to accompany canapés prepared by The Providores Head Chef Cristian Hossack. It was an honour to have our wine chosen to showcase New Zealand with food from such a respected restaurant in such a prestigious address.

Leuka raises funds to support life-saving research into the causes and treatment of leukaemia and other blood disorders. The Providores co-owner, Peter Gordon, has been a long time supporter of Leuka and in 1997 came up with ‘Who’s Cooking Dinner?’ a gastronomic charity event to fundraise for the cause.

You can't beat great Bangers & Mash!

Local Blenheim restaurant, Hotel d'Urville has created a dish to match our 2008 Leah Pinot Noir. For dinner, you can enjoy a glass of Leah beautifully complemented by a plate of spicy venison sausages, swede mash, spiced red cabbage and game jus. The dish is a new take on a winter favourite - each sausage is made with all natural ingredients, just meat, herbs and spices. Executive Chef, Maree Connolly, says "a good sausage with mash is a thing of beauty - everyone loves them!"

Hotel d'Urville maitre'd Jesse Gould is pictured here with the match. Picture courtesy of the Marlborough Express.

For those that cannot make it to Hotel d'Urville, Maree has kindly shared the recipe for one of her favourite winter meals, Lamb tagine - best enjoyed alongside a glass of Pinot Noir!

Lamb Tagine

1 Kg lean cubed lamb, cut from the shoulder

3 Tblsp oil

1 large onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tblsp fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 cups chicken stock (or water)

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tsp orange zest

Salt and pepper to taste

15 pitted prunes

2 Tblsp clear honey

¼ cup blanched almonds

¼ cup sesame seeds

¼ cup raisins

Heat oil in large pan. Sear lamb in batches over moderate heat until evenly browned. Add onions, garlic and sauté until tender. Add spices, herbs, stock, orange juice and orange zest. Mix well and pour into large oven proof dish. Cover and bake 1 ½ hours at 160 C. Check occasionally and if getting dry add more stock.

Check seasoning. Add Prunes and Honey. Bake a further 10 minutes to soften prunes.

In a small pan, fry almonds and sesame seeds to golden brown. Add raisins, swirl in pan to heat through and sprinkle over lamb to serve.

Serve with couscous or rice.

Desert Island Wines

What is the one wine you would have if you were shipwrecked on a desert island?


In the case of Shane Avant, Executive Chef at Fiji's Vomo Island Resort, it's a question he must ponder often. With a much larger wine list, being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean makes sourcing new and interesting wines a real challenge.






Shane manages it through reading, tasting and research, often talking directly with producers. After approaching us and learning more about our Estate, wines and winemaking, Shane selected 3 of our most special, limited release wines to feature at Vomo: Seresin Rachel Pinot Noir, Seresin Marama and Seresin Chardonnay Reserve.









With passionate chefs like Shane tracking our wines down, they're getting harder to find every day ... unless you fancy a tropical island getaway, in which case we can recommend somewhere we know....

Jimmy the Egg Man

If you're ever in Blenheim and see Jimmy striding purposefully carrying a basket of egg-shells, don't worry, it's not an anti-Easter-Bunny statement (Jimmy loves Easter and bunnies).

When he's visiting Marlborough's restaurants and cafes selling Seresin Estate wine, olive oil and preserves, Jimmy collects their egg-shells which we use in our biodynamic composts - along with egg-shells from our own organic, free-range hens.

We love that our customers play a part in making the wine and olive oil we supply them and that we're using their organic 'left-overs' to help grow our produce naturally and healthily.

Jimmy Rawdon (a face many will recognise from our cellar-door) is pictured in the kitchen at Le Cafe in Picton. Thanks also to Gusto in Picton and Giorgio's and Figaro's in Blenheim for their egg-shells and coffee grounds.

So next time you enjoy a good coffee or eggs at these establishments, you could well be contributing to our next vintage of wine or olive oil!