Wellington's Excellent Hospo Industry

We're very proud to be involved in the 2010 Capital Awards.

The awards celebrate everything that is fundamentally hospitality in Wellington; from the ground roots kitchen team and baristas through to the award for the outstanding contribution to the Wellington hospitality scene.

The Seresin Award for 'Outstanding Wine List' will be given to a list that reflects the individual style of it's establishment, while being diverse, balanced, interesting and presented in the appropriate glasses, by educated staff.

Have your say and nominate your stars in Wellington hospo through the Capital Awards website.

The Marriage of Figaro

We're proud to support a special Opera event in Days Bay Garden, Wellington.

New Zealanders will get the opportunity to experience the European tradition of outdoor opera, with a fully-staged production of Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro' in a beautiful old-established sheltered garden in Days Bay.

The opera is produced by Rhona Fraser and directed by Sara Brodie, with a cast of professional singers. 'The Marriage of Figaro' will be performed on the 12th, 13th and 14th of March at 5:00pm. Guests are invited to bring a picnic to enjoy in the gardens in the dinner interval, along with a glass of Seresin wine.
Tickets are priced at $50. To book and for further information visit the Days Bay Opera website.

Joanna Simon on Wine

UK Wine writer, Joanna Simon, recently tasted our 2008 Leah Pinot Noir.

She described it as "very pure, very impressive and still young. This is fragrant with roses and summer berries and has a palate of sweet red fruits, savoury mineral flavours, polished oak, a fine acid structure, length and intensity. The hand on the label signifies hand-grown, hand-picked and hand-made (which includes wild yeast fermentation and 11 months maturation in French oak barrels). Drink over the next four years. Gives red burgundy a run for its money."

For more from Joanna check out her website here.

Pinot Noir 2010

This week, lots of the Seresin team are in Wellington for Pinot Noir 2010. It's a 4 day celebration of Pinot Noir - lots of tastings, culinary events, speakers, and thought-provoking discussion. It's also a great chance to meet and catch up with other Pinot-philes from around the world; wine writers, winemakers and consumers alike. One such bunch we caught up with was the lovewine team, who spoke to our winemaker Clive about our Pinot Noir. Check out the video here.

Someone else we caught up with was Jamie Goode, the blogger behind WineAnorak. He has written a wrap up of Pinot Noir 2010, Day 1. See if you can spot anyone from Seresin, or the lovely things he has to say about our wines...

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

2008 Seresin Raupo Pinot Gris

We have just released 394 bottles of a new Pinot Gris, named after our Raupo Creek Vineyard in the Omaka Valley.

Through regular tasting of our 2008 Pinot Gris fermentations, we identified three barrels, which we thought had the potential to develop into something special. These wines were left to mature for a further 9 months in barrel. After a total of 15 months in aged oak the resulting wines all presented different complexities, but were all off-dry, rich and heavily textured showing the qualities of traditional Alsatian Pinot Gris.

We recently sent a bottle to wine writer and MW Jane Skilton who said " I could almost convince myself this wine was from Alsace because it combined the richness of fruit with really great texture and interest on the palate. There is a degree of complexity that raises it above most other NZ Pinot Gris. Indeed I am struggling to think of a comparable example . . . ."

For her full review please check out the link and if you'd like to try a bottle visit our website.

Frances restaurant

We love good news (Who doesn't though, I suppose). And we especially love good news when it involves a friend of ours!

Melissa Perello (see left) is a chef who has received much acclaim for her time as Head Chef at Charles Nob Hill, and Executive Chef at Fifth Floor - both fine-dining restaurants in San Francisco. She lead the team at Fifth Floor to receive a Michelin Star in 2006.

In 2007 Melissa was Guest Chef at our Waterfall Bay restaurant, and she certainly left a lasting impression with her culinary masterpeices. MJ (our General Manager) often talks about one of her dishes - crayfish served with a strawberry consomme - and says it is among the most memorable dishes of his life.

Since then, she has been working towards opening her own restaurant, and this week doors opened! We are really pleased to introduce you to Frances, San Franciscos newest restaurant. The seasonal menu is inspired by local produce from artisinal farms, and dishes out modern Californian cuisine in a relaxed neighbourhood setting. If it is anything like the dining experiences she has created before, we are sure it will be extraordinary.

Our congratulations and best wishes go out to Melissa, and we can't wait to check it out!

Roast Turkey and Seresin Pinot Gris

Huber’s butchery in Singapore is stocking the Seresin Pinot Gris for the holiday season, which according to wine writer Curtis Marsh, is the perfect accompaniment to Christmas turkey.

For more on Curtis's thoughts on wine and food matching and a recipe for for Christmas Roast Turkey visit the Huber's website.

Team Attends Organic Pastoral Field Day

In November several members of the vineyard team attended a Biodynamic field day at Milmore Downs in North Canterbury to learn more about mixed cropping and stock management. They produce BD meat and grains, which they sell as whole grain, kibbled, flakes or flour. The flour makes great bread! The day was really useful, especially the discussion about crop and stock rotation to rejuvenate the soils and to manage parasites. It was great to see how Biodynamic practices had enhanced the property, and that these ideas were being well received by conventional farmers in the area. By Rob Thomson

Seresin is buzzing!

We have recently gained two hives of bees that are enjoying their new base in the orchard. It is fascinating watching them work in the hives, fetch nectar or pollen and fight off the bumblebees after their honey. In addition to the valuable eco-service they provide by pollinating our fruit and vegetables, bees play an important role in Biodynamics. As well as extolling the incredible health benefits of honey, Steiner described how bees were closely linked with the sun and light; bringing energy and life to the land. By Rob Thomson

Celebrating Seresin and NZ Wine

It seems fitting to celebrate the first day of summer (even if we are welcoming it in with plenty of rain!) by reflecting on all the good things we have going for us here in Marlborough. It seems there has been a fair bit of doom and gloom floating around the world of late, and it's a breath of fresh air to have such a positive light shed on things... We recently hosted Curtis Marsh here at Seresin - the New Zealand born Singapore-based writer has over 30 years experience in all things food, wine and travel - and he has written a few glowing words about the NZ wine industry and his visit to Seresin. To see his Wandering Palate blog post, click here.

Thanks Curtis, for making us smile so much on the first day of summer!

A Seresin Dinner Party

Our Swedish Cellarhand, Lars Gabrielsson, came to us from a career as a Sommelier in some of Stockholm's top restaurants. He is also very talented in the kitchen and we often seek his opinion when it comes to matching food and wine. He pictured below sorting Pinot Noir with Ellie, one of our Vintage interns.

Below is one his Spring recipes complete with wine match - perfect for your next dinner party.

Rack of Lamb With fresh herbs and Seresin Lemon Olive Oil

1 whole Rack of Lamb
3 Cloves of Fresh Garlic
½ -1 Teaspoon of good quality salt
A good amount of your favorite garden herbs
1 Tablespoon of Seresin Lemon Olive Oil

Sear off the Rack of Lamb on your Barbecue or in a hot pan just for a few seconds on each side until brown.

Put the Garlic, fresh herbs, salt and Lemon Olive Oil in a Pestle and Mortar and work it in to a paste and taste off with pepper.

Rub the paste into the Rack of Lamb and cook in the oven at 220 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or on the Barbecue until pink in the middle. Let the meat rest for a few minutes before cutting the rack into individual cutlets. Serve with a new potato salad and a bottle of 2008 Seresin Leah Pinot Noir.

Marama a 'Sauvignon Blanc like No Other'

Over the Marlborough Anniversary weekend, we celebrated in style with the Marlborough Wine Weekend. Visitors from around the world attended the event, which showcased the best the region has to offer. As well as a Gourmet Dinner, Garden Party, and a Sparkling Cruise through the Marlborough Sounds, guests had the opportunity to learn more about, and taste a number of the varieties produced in Marlborough. While we tasted through the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir flights here in Marlborough, TasteLive (a US-based company which organises online tastings in conjunction with real-time tastings) had arranged some wine media to taste the same wines live on twitter. One of these tasters was Grace Hoffman - aka CellarMistress. Grace, a self-professed 'walking encyclopaedia of wine', was rather smitten with the 2007 Seresin Marama - one of only four Marlborough examples appearing in a line-up of international Sauvignons. To see what she has to say about the Marama, and the other Sauvignons tasted, take a look at her blog...

...and if you'd like more information on the Marama, the tasting notes are available on our website.

Seresin - Organic Producer of the Year

Colin Ross attended the Organics Aotearoa New Zealand conference in Hamilton last week and was on hand to accept, on behalf of Seresin, the award for Organic Producer of the Year.

The annual OANZ awards recognise people and organisations leading the way in organics.

The award was presented by Dr Manfred Botsch, Switzerland's Minister of Agriculture, pictured here with Colin.

Colin says the award recognises Seresin's commitment to organic farming.

"We do our best to encourage others to consider organic farming by hosting workshops and field days. We try to be ambassadors for the region and organics through exporting our products and hosting international staff and visitors."

Sauvignons stand the test of time

A common topic of discussion around Malborough, famed for its Sauvignon Blanc, is about the ageability of the beloved variety. Jamie Goode tasted a couple of older vintages of Seresin Sauvignon Blanc, and the verdict was great! Seven years old, the 'very stylish' 2002 Sauvignon earnt 91/100. To see the rest of the blog, click here.

One Man's Vinious Musings

Aussie wine blogger Andrew Graham had a good look through all the wines shown at a recent NZ Winegrowers tasting of newly released New Zealand wines. He made special mention of the 2007 Seresin wines - 'extraordinarily good' he reckons! Check out his blog for more...

The joys of Spring

The weather is noticeably warmer and its finally starting to feel like spring time so we thought we'd celebrate in style with a long lunch at our Waterfall Bay Restaurant.

Seresin’s favourite Cook, Marcia Chang-Hong, will prepare a four course menu of new season local produce; Asparagus, Marlborough Sounds Scallops, Spring Lamb and Strawberries.

Marcia first cooked for Michael Seresin, while working as Chef at iconic London restaurant Kensington Place, and we have been enjoying her food since she moved to Marlborough six years ago. Seresin staff will serve lunch and matching new-release wines in the relaxed setting of the small dining room on the water’s edge.

Lunch: Sunday November 15th
Tickets: Lunch with matching wines $120 per person, water taxi $40 return from Picton.
Boat departs Picton at 11.30am, limited to 40 people.
Reservations: Contact Moir Laird: moir@seresin.co.nz or Ph +64 (0)3 572 9408

And just in time for the long weekend a spring recipe from Marcia using freshly picked artichokes from our garden and Seresin Lemon Olive oil.

Artichoke and Goat's cheese dip
6 artichokes
2-3 tbsp lemon oil
4-5 tbsp goat's cheese. You can use either a hard cheese, grated or a softer creamy one.
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1 lemon

Bring artichokes to boil in a large pot of salted water. Simmer gently till artichokes are just cooked. Test by gently pulling at an outer leaf, it should just slip off with the slightest tug.

Drain and cool the artichokes. Peel off the tough outer layers till you get to the heart and use a teaspoon to scoop out the hairy centre. Puree the hearts with coarse sea salt, pepper, cheese, lemon juice and lemon olive oil. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve with crusty bread or as a spread on sandwiches. Will keep up to a week refrigerated.

Enjoy!

A new staff member

We would like to welcome Moir Laird to the Seresin team. Moir joins us as the new Marketing Assistant. With a degree in Commerce and Marketing Moir has already experienced several sides of the wine industry – including wine sales, cellar door, trade shows and getting her hands dirty over vintage.

She says "my love of great wine, good food, and looking after the world we live in brought me to Seresin. My first day here, I was initiated with a mass application of one of our biodynamic preparations to the vineyard – the whole team applying 500 by hand across the Estate. A perfect way to start what I’m sure will be an interesting and fulfilling role!"

Logan Brown 350 Lunch

We're proud to be supporting the Logan Brown 350 lunch. The Wellington Restaurant has teamed up with climate action group 350 and Greenpeace to offer a three-course lunch for the princely sum of 350 cents ($3.50). The lunch is designed to raise awareness around the issue of climate change and to highlight the International Day of Climate Action festival on 24 October.

Steve Logan was inspired to do something after watching a film produced by a New Zealand documentary maker, Lizzie Gillet. The Age of Stupid looks at climate change from the perspective of future generations looking back at 2008 asking: why didn’t we stop climate change while we had the chance?

Thousands of people registered online to go in the drawn to attend the 350 Lunch, which is being held this Wednesday (October 21). Eighty have been selected to enjoy the bistro menu, which will be matched with a glass of Seresin 2007 Rachel Pinot Noir.

Why 350? This refers to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (in parts per million), which scientist have deemed the maximum safe level to prevent catastrophic climate change. Their goal, this year, is to get the Government to agree a 40 per cent emission reduction by 2020 at the UN climate summit at Copenhagen in December. Greenpeace have a similar mission - a 40% reduction by 2020 is what scientists recommend is necessary to meet the 350 target.

Logan Brown are also offering a special screening of the film that inspired it all. Paramount Cinema will show The Age of Stupid at the Paramount Cinema on 27th October at 6.30pm. Tickets are $3.50! To buy a ticket click here.

Creative Cultivation

Our newest addition to the family… 2 little (mostly) wild pigs. These girls have been ‘hard’ at work cultivating a plot of land that we will use for planting veggies. They do an excellent job turning the soil as they root around for insects and roots.

Hands-On the Land

This spring, to nourish the land with both physical matter and our energy, we went for a real hands-on approach in applying Preparation 500 to our land. While we always hand-stir a portion of our Preparation 500, and always apply it by hand to a few select areas, because of the size of our Estate, most of it is generally stirred and applied with machines. Stirring and applying the Preparation 500 by hand is said to allow your energy to enter the Preparation 500 and bring a sense of aliveness to the property. We thought we’d give our land a little extra love by trying to stir and apply as much of our Preparation 500 by hand as we could. We put in an excellent effort! We hand-stirred a total of 32 barrels, with 4800 litres, over a 4-day period and hand-applied Preparation 500 to as much of our Estate as was physically practical. As part of this, we were able to cover our entire home block by hand, grapes, olives, orchards, gardens, animals and all! Staff, family, friends and colleagues joined us to form a band of over 35 merry stirrers and flickers. The joy and positive energy that spread over the Estate was palpable as we twirled and skipped, flicking our 500 on the land that provides for us in so many ways.

Seresin Estate's own Food & Wine Festival

We are looking forward to February and to welcoming guests to our occasional restaurant at Waterfall Bay. Chef for our 2010 February dinners is Hamish Brown from ROKA restaurant in London.

Chef Hamish Brown spent his formative years growing up amongst Canterbury’s farming community. Inspired by his father, a successful chef with restaurants in New Zealand and Australia, Hamish developed a sense for the quality of local ingredients and a passion for combining the Asian cuisines which make up the Western Pacific Rim.

After a successful early career in New Zealand, Hamish worked his way up to the position of Executive Chef at Christchurch’s George Hotel. Eager to broaden his culinary base Hamish left New Zealand for England. His first employer was expatriate Peter Gordon at his London restaurant Providores. After 18 months working with Peter Gordon, in 2006 Hamish left for ROKA and a position as Head Chef. Part of the worldwide Zuma-ROKA restaurant group, ROKA is renowned for its contemporary Japanese-inspired food.

Michael Seresin says “all the wine lists at Zuma-ROKA restaurants worldwide feature Seresin wines, and it was a natural progression to build on that relationship and welcome Hamish to Waterfall Bay. His imaginative cooking combines the best ingredients for texture and clean flavours, a perfect match for Seresin wines.”

Down the Rabbit Hole

The Wellington City Gallery re-opened last week after some major renovations and we were there for the opening celebrations.

As the official wine supplier of the Wellington City Gallery, Seresin wines were served alongside the opening night menu created by the team at Nikau Cafe.

In fitting style the gallery re-opened with the eagerly awaited Yayoi Kusama exhibition. ‘Mirrored Years’ features much of Kusama’s earlier seminal work, alongside some new creations.

The Japanese artist describes herself as the “modern Alice in Wonderland”, and certainly creates art unlike any other. A prominent figure in the art world of the 1960s, Kusama’s work is described as idiosyncratic and consistently original. She is considered one of the most acclaimed and respected contemporary artists working today.

For more information on the exhibition, check out the City Gallery Website.

Spring is in the Air

The Spring Equinox marks the beginning of a New Year for us. The Earth is warming, the Sun begins to stay with us longer and life unfolds before our eyes. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, our families gathered to welcome in the New Year together. We strolled through the vineyard collecting dandelions to thread into a garland and then blew and decorated eggs and made omelettes. And in true spring fashion, two little chicks hatched that day!

Reaching Noirvana

According to wine writer Yvonne Lorkin, Pinot Noir is a bit like Marmite because it polarises people; you either love it or you hate it. Good thing she seemed to like our new release 2007 Pinot Noir....check out her latest blog article.

Jancis Robinson's top NZ Wineries

We enjoyed a visit from top UK wine writer Jancis Robinson back in February, during a whirl-wind tour she made of New Zealand.

She has just published a list of her top four New Zealand wineries, including Seresin Estate.

Here is what she had to say about Seresin and some of the wines she tasted:

"SERESIN Film director Michael Seresin's estate, a pioneer of biodynamic viticulture in Marlborough with buried composts and cow horns and all sorts of not-obviously-Kiwi accoutrements. The bright young winemaker Clive Dougall arrived in 2006 and used to work for London brewers and wine retailers Fullers. I asked him if he ever deacidified (a common necessity in these parts) and he claimed he didn't even know how to.

Seresin Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Marlborough 17, Drink 2009-11
Slightly gassy. 40% wild yeast (not 100% out of fear because Sauvignon Blanc is so commercially important). 5% barrel-fermented Semillon. 10% of the SB is also old-barrel fermented. Honeyed nose with definite wild yeast nose. More mouthfeel than most NZ SBs - with real richness. Long and very different from the regular Marlborough SB. Real mouthfeel and substance. 13.5%

Seresin, Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Marlborough 17.5
[This wine was tasted in Sep 09 London.] Very restrained crop (three tonnes/ha) from the 17-year-old vines on the Home vineyard. Lifted, lively nose - rather flirtatious - more so than the first vintage, the 2007. Complete. Lifted nose. Lightly smoky with just a hint of oily pungency. Very racy and impressively long. Perhaps not as concentrated as the 2007 Reserve - and it could be more useful for it.

Seresin Pinot Gris 2008 Marlborough 16.5 Drink 2009-10
Very heady and focussed nose. Lovely clean bright fruit and not alcoholic. Quite full and finishes dry. Transferred to old barriques after stainless steel fermentation. 6% RS. Not amazingly complex but lovely texture. Quite long. Bravo! 14.5%

Seresin, Chiarascuro 2007 Marlborough 17 Drink 2009-10
Very unusual wine for Marlborough - a blend inspired by Jermann's Vintage Tunina of Friuli! Pale pear juice on the nose and quite round and appley....Interesting! Full and zippy.

Seresin, Home Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 Marlborough 17 Drink 2010-14
17-year-old vines. Crimson, very luscious and fully ripe. All 115 clones. What's not to like? Loose and yet satisfying. Dry finish. Appetising. Fruit in the middle.

Seresin, Rachel Pinot Noir 2007 Marlborough 17 Drink 2010-14
From a special parcel in Raupo. Very luscious almost black cherry aroma and much finer and more refreshing than the Tatou - more succulent.

Seresin, Sun and Moon Pinot Noir 2007 Marlborough 17 Drink 2010-15
80/20 Raupo/Home. This is meant to be special. Finishes dry and lively. Good tension. Palate filling. Long. Quite fine and very savoury. Drive! "