Dinner Club ~ Retro French Style

A dinner prepared by Michele is always certain to be a very stylish affair….

The Menu

Gougeres with French Champagne
Ham hock terrine with herbs and cornichons
BBQ prawn, chorizo & potato bowls
Free range duck confit, quatre epices, creamed puy lentils, pickled pear
Bombe Alaska with cherry sorbet, cherry ripple ice-cream

Michele and Jon run a biodynamic farm Main Ridge Olives, producing amazing table olives. Michele comes from a food focussed family with a German background and has worked as a cook in Europe as well as on the Mornington Peninsula. She always puts so much thought into every small detail… a meal prepared by Michele is always stunning, thoughtful and delicious.

The inspiration for the menu was the Bombe Alaska dessert that Michele had her heart set on making. It took many nights of prep in advance, making 2 types of iccream and sponge cakes. It set the theme for the evening. Retro French.

A special guest for this dinner club was Michele’s sister, Brigitte. They seemed to have had a lovely experience planning and cooking together for this dinner.

There were so many highlights. One of them for me were the Gougeres, based on a Phillipe Mouchel recipe, they were the most divine puffs of air, matched to Egly-Ouriet champagne, which I believe was also from a bio-dynamic French vineyard. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then my whipping up many a batch since to much acclaim, then Michele & Brigitte & Phillipe… you should be flattered!

The confit duck was also very special, a rare breed, free range duck, c’est incredible! A lovely fresh salad of bitter leaves with a chervil and mustard dressing was the accompaniment.

My wine contribution, one of my most favourite wines from the Peninsula ever and one of the reasons we moved here. Nat and Rosalie White’s Main Ridge Estate Half Acre Pinot Noir. I wish I had a couple in my cellar to be able to pull out one slightly older! What a wine.

And now, for the Piece de Resistance! La Bombe. The Inspiration. Icecream centre and sponge in tact and perfectly turned out, plates at the ready.

Italian meringue whipped perfectly

Applied expertly

Michele really enjoyed wielding the blow torch, pretty impressive & dramatic results…

The anticipation…

The first cut

Perfection

Michele just raised the bar totally out of sight. This meal will be in memory as one of the truly great ones forever.

Damn. My turn next.

The Cherries of Red Hill

It’s cherry season on the Hill and it’s come a little early, so if you were wondering where to find the cherry farms in Red Hill…. this post is for you.  It’s pretty easy really, just follow the signs! Marketing geniuses, their business relies on their signage, and there is a trail of it to each farm!

Most of the cherry farms are run by the 2nd generation of the farmers that established the farms. I wonder what will happen when they retire? I am not sure their children have the same desires to follow in their parents footsteps.

Red Hill is prime gathering country for a wide range of ethnic groups that prefer to pick & cook their own food. Many of the cherry farms said their customers were 90% ethnic and one lady cited more than 70 nationalities that have visited her farm.  Rarely seen in the restaurants of the peninsula but prolific gathering cherries, mushroom picking and other seasonal bounty. There were more cars at the cherry farms than any winery cellar door! Whereas “Anglos” prefer to buy their food from supermarkets and eat it in restaurants.

The other thing that was evident was the diversification and ‘value adding’ at the cellar doors. These businesses all have something extra on the go as well.

If you are the kind of person who wants to know a bit more, here you go;

Delgrosso’s Apple Juice Co.

In 1937, Angelo Delgrosso was one of the pioneers of Red Hill. He set up his fruit and vegetable farm on Stanleys Road when it was a muddy track, no-one owned cars or trucks, and once a week, he used a sleigh with a couple of horses to haul his produce up the hill to Tar Barrel Corner.

Red Hill has many such quirkily named, colloquial local intersections, here he would be met by Chambers carriers who took his produce to markets… in a truck.

Tony and Karen inherited half the farm, and have continued the family farming tradition, specialising in apples and apple juice and cherries when in season.

Cherries from: mid November
Until: mid-January
Phone: 5989 2091
Closed to the public. Available for wholesale and at a number of local farmers markets, including Red Hill, Mornington, Rosebud, Rosebud West, Rye, Boneo
Value Adding: Apple orchard, crush own apples for juice, plums, pears

Web: MP Gourmet

 

Delgrosso’s Apples & Cherries

Right next door is brother Bruno & wife Julie Delgrosso. Also growing apples & cherries. Both their children help run the business which consists of a farm gate, markets and some diversification into an abundance of other produce
Open: mid November
Until: mid January
Hours: 7 days 8am-5pm
Phone: 5989 2604
Address: 107 Stanleys Road, Red hill South
Pick your own: No
Pre picked at the farm gate : 1kg $12 / 5kg $45 / 2kg $15 for lighter fruit
Also at Markets : Gleadell Street Market Richmond, Mulgrave Farmers Market and Mount Eliza Farmers Market
Varieties: Approximately 17, Van is most popular around Christmas.
Value Adding: Apples, pears, plums, citrus, rhubarb, peaches nectarine, garlic, honey, jams, juice

Farnsworth’s Apple & Cherry Orchard

Another pioneer farming family of Red Hill.  Located down the picturesque Paringa road, the orchard and market garden was established in the 1930s by the Farnsworths with horses & plough.
Open: mid November
Until: mid January
Hours: Weekends 9am-5pm but honesty box in shed at all other times
Phone: 5989 2196
Address: 26 Paringa Road, Red Hill south
Pick your own: No
Pre picked at the farm gate: $10 – $12 /kg
Varieties: Bergdorf are their earliest variety, they have over 40, but you “don’t see them all in the shed in a season”
Value Adding: Apples, nectarines, apricots, peaches, plums pear, lemons and eggs and a lovely selection of jams & chutneys.

Hillside Grove Orchard

Another multi-generational farm, run by 2 generations of the Valente family, for over 50 years. Their farm is approximately half apples and half cherries
Open: 1st week November
Until: late January
Hours: whenever the sign is out
Phone: 5989 2568
Address: 1 Hillside Grove, Red Hill South
Pick your own: No
Pre picked at the farm gate: $10 /kg
Varieties: Approximately 10 varieties
Value Adding: Apples, peas, raspberries, redcurrants, figs, jams

 

Red Hill Cherry Farm

If you bump into charismatic local Trevor Holmes, he has a world of local history to share! The family settled in Red Hill in 1890, there were three adjoining valleys, owned by three brothers.  Cherries were first planted 70 years ago on his property.  Trevor would say he started tourism on the Mornington Peninsula, by being the first Pick Your Own farm gate!  It is certainly one of the best known farms, and the abundance of ripe fruit on the trees was simply delicious.
Open: mid November
Until: mid January (if no ripe fruit available, signs are down, farm is closed)
Hours: 7 days 9am-4pm
Phone: 5989 2237
Address: 61 Prossors Lane, Red hill
Pick your own: Yes $12 / kg +$10 entry
Also available pre picked at the farm gate
Varieties: Approximately 20 varieties. Also have the prized Morellos after Christmas.
Value Adding: Avocado crop reaching maturity & cherry dessert wine

Web: Facebook

Ripe ‘n’ Ready Cherry Farm

Run by 2 generations of the Easy family, who set up the orchard in 1947, this is one of the biggest on the Hill.  They also have more varieties than most, with over 70 types ripening throughout the season, they are open for the longest season also.
Open: 1st week November
Until: last week January
Hours: 7 days 9am-5pm
Phone: 5989 2578
Address: 52 Arkwells Lane, Red Hill (also enter from Whitehill Road.
Pick your own: Yes $8 / kg +$10 entry
Also available pre picked at the farm gate
Varieties: Bergstoff are the first one to ripe in early November, their most prolific is Lapins, the Burlaps are a big favourite but easily split by rain. Also have the prized Morellos after Christmas.
Value Adding: Trout fishing in the dam for 800gm rainbow trout, also raspberries, blueberries and silvanberries

Web: www.ripenreadycherries.com.au

 

 

My final mention is to a little farm… I am not allowed to say where it is or who runs it. Lets call her M. A gracious & delightful lady who has owned this pretty farm since 1970. Many of the cherry trees are over 60 years old, and they have many older varieties. Strictly pick your own, this farm is full of character and charm.

 

I hope this helps people to track down a cherry experience in Red Hill that surprises and delights

Dinner Club ~ Autumn

Autumn, a beautiful, rustic display of autumn’s colours & flavours set the scene

This balmy Autumn evening was our 7th dinner club, spread across 2 years, and it was Fi & Reid’s 2nd time hosting.  Fi is our resident food stylist, recipe developer and tester.  Superb presentation and a thoughtfully designed theme is a highlight of dinner at Fi & Reid’s . Fi also has a passion for homegrown, organic, seasonal & local produce which features in this menu. We are delighted to be her guinea pigs for her experiments.

The Menu

Quail eggs with dukkah
Local wild mushroom bruschetta w herbs & cheese
Rabbit broth
Slow cooked lamb w pickled quince & kale
White polenta
Roast baby vegetables
Poached pear with olive oil icecream

The secret ingredient for the night was verjuice. All dishes except the quail eggs used it. Fi was working on a project for recipes including verjuice, although she was very secretive about it, and I don’t think she even told us that on the night.

One thing Fi loves about Dinner Club is the shared appreciation of what it takes to plan, prepare and create a meal for a group of friends. I have peeled a few quails eggs in my day, and trust me Fi, I know how long it takes and how hard it is to not only peel them, but to peel them perfectly. Appreciated.

Wild mushroom bruschetta, topped with a mix of piquant blue cheese and marscapone.

Take one rustic platter… they looked beautiful. There was something very ‘fresh’ about the taste, not as oily maybe? Slight zing to them? Yep, it’s the secret ingredient of the night… verjuice, it really lightens it up, or a splash of lemon juice for a similar effect.

Rabbit broth. Fi had sourced an array of quaint vintage teacups to serve this flavoursome broth into, the slithers of rabbit could be prised out daintily with the wee forks.

Any Italians in the house? We need to stir the white polenta for 20 minutes.

Lucky we have Joe, the Italian wine guy, he stepped up to the plate.

Roasted baby beets and mixed heirloom varieties of small tomatoes with herbs

Piled onto the perfect polenta

The main course featured a long slow roasted shoulder of lamb, accompanied by Fi’s homegrown pickled quince.  A fresh handful of sauteed kale with red onion and a hint of chilli. Superb. Our contribution, this amazing bottle of Barbera from a special release range of wines from Dalzotto Wines.

For me, dessert was the dish of the night…. everyone was floored by this dish. Homegrown pears poached in verjuice, then roasted, served with olive oil icecream. The icecream was completely dairy free and amazing. Olive oil, egg & sugar. Maybe some other stuff too, but that’s the main part. So delicious.

Thank you Fiona & Reid for sharing the bounty of the seasons harvest with us.

Red Hill Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Thrill on the Hill

The Red Hill Show, which is in it’s 83rd year, is probably the biggest thing to hit Red Hill every year.  Held on the 4th Saturday in March, it is un-missable.

There are very few Agricultural shows so accessible to so many with a full program of events.  From fruit & vegetable growing and arranging, all kinds of baking, preserves, drinks, every kind of animal from sheep to Rat Fanciers Society to the horse riding competitions, art and photography.  One very popular category is the “Healthy Lunchbox” for young kids, right through to “seniors”. Fantastic stuff.

The big attractions are always the Dog High Scramble and the Woodchop, both attracting thousands to watch them

Over the years, new categories have been added to the program due to their increasing prevalance on the Mornington Peninsula, such as alpacas, avocados, olives, berries, cheese making and incorporates the Cool Climate Wine Show.  I wonder what has been dropped over the years?

The amazing thing about the show is that almost every family I know in Red Hill enters something. This generates a great interest in our children for riding, chopping, baking, growing and going on carnival rides!

My 6yo daughter tried her hand for the first time with the decorated biscuits, a hotly contested category, with around 30 entries in the 6-8yo group. We were so proud when hers won! Our first blue ribbon in the family.

And we all had a fun time making them. The girls loved it. I was amazed at how capable they were. Look at their focus.

My second time trying for the prestigious sponge category, thrilled to get second prize, last year I couldn’t make one good enough to enter. So great progress.

My third year entering the “cake made with almond meal”.  After 2 years of coming second, I switched recipes and the prize was mine! Here is my recipe.

Preserves category is HUGE.

My mate Rick prides himself on his homemade/homegrown Limoncello which he enters every year.

Steaming spicy bowl of Pho for lunch.

The day started early to help my neighbours with plaiting up their pony for the show…. really brought back the memories for me.

And she is a winner… must have been the plaits.

And here is Rick with his son having just won a prize in the fancy dress.

The woodchop is one of the highlights requiring grandstand seating. This boy was one of the youngest competitors.

My neighbour Phil (far left) is a champion on the “hot” saws (also known as chainsaws) and his son James (far right) is competing now and I think beat his old man in this race.

The alpaca shed was probably the largest category of animals exhibited, there were hundreds, as you can see by their white coated attendants, it is serious business.

This group had a display of alpaca wool spinning and knitting with yarns and finished products to purchase.

The dog high scramble or dog jump, is the highlight event of the day, coming right at the end.

Usually the kelpies do pretty well, but this German Shepard did suprisingly well considering her size.

Another pole on…. getting serious now

Struggling…..

Just scraping over

The winning jump

The Champion. Her name is Ishtar, and is dearly beloved by her owner (my old friend Katie’s brother) who found her in Costa Rica, and when he returned to Australia, she had to live in quarantine until she was allowed in the country. Dedication. Quite a story.

Happy pony princess blue ribbon winning girl

The end of a great day. The Red Hill Show makes an amazing contribution to keeping alive the interest in many skills that are rapidly diminishing in our fast moving society. And for that, I thank it.

How to bake the winning chocolate cake

It was with great interest on 29th March I read the article in Epicure A Slice of Heaven, the quest to bake the perfect chocolate cake.  I think my cake story, culminating in a blue ribbon winning cake on 27th March, could have challenged their results!!!

I have been on a similar quest myself.  To bake the blue ribbon winning ‘Cake made with Almond Meal’ at the Red Hill Show.  For the past 2 years I have come 2nd, with my gorgeous apple, ginger & almond meal cake.  But the winner was always a chocolate one.

This year I needed a new recipe to really have a red hot chance at the prize. So I called on my friend Fi, food stylist & recipe writer, she came through with the goods.  I have practiced it once, and it worked.  It’s pretty simple.  This kind of flourless chocolate cake, often sinks a bit when removed from the oven, however this one doesn’t. Really important for show baking.

So if you want to really bake the “winning chocolate cake” this IS the recipe, as it won the blue ribbon on the day.  And yes, I was excited.  Here’s the recipe, and below are the pics with some of my methods also. Have a go, it’s a great cake.

Almond & Chocolate Cake

25cm (10in) round tin

250gm (90z) unsalted butter, chopped, plus extra for greasing
250gm (90z) quality dark chocolate
8 eggs, separated
250gm (90z) caster (superfine) sugar
250gm (90z) ground almonds (almond meal)
Dutch cocoa for dusting
Berries & thick cream for serving

Preheat oven to 180deg (360F).  Grease a 25cm (10in) spring form cake tin with butter and line the base with baking paper.

Place a saucepan half filled with water over a low heat.  Place the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl and site over the saucepan, making sure the water does not touch the base of the bowl.  Melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally.  Remove the bowl from the heat and cool for 5 minutes (you don’t want to put it in too hot & cook the eggs)

Using electric beaters whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until thick, pale and creamy.  Stir in the ground almonds to combine well.  Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until firm peaks form.  Lightly fold half of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until just incorporated and then add the remaining whites and continue folding gently to combine well.  Pour mixture into the lined tin and spread evenly.  Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted (My skewer did not come out clean, I added at least another 15min cooking and still it didn’t come out clean, this is such a moist dense cake, it is unlikely to ever come out clean, so don’t panic about this).  Cool completely in tin on a wire rack.

Remove spring form sides of tin. Dust cake with cocoa and slice into thin wedges to serve.  Thick cream or icecream and berries are nice accompaniments to it.

It may still sink a little in the middle when cooling, that is OK, and it looks beautiful piled with fresh raspberries and dusted with icing sugar.

The cake can be made a few days ahead, it keeps well.

All ingredients out, measured, pans greased.

Using the ‘double boiler’ method melt the chocolate and butter together

My 3 bowl method of separating eggs.  I always separate an egg into two bowls, then if successful, I put the whites in one bowl, and for this recipe, the yolks went straight into the mixing bowl.  Too many times have I got to the 7th egg and smashed the yolk up into the whites and lost the lot! This way is foolproof.

Yolk/sugar/almond mix on the left, cooled butter/chocolate mix on the right, ready for combining.  Greased pan at the ready.

After whites folded in, the batter is in the pan.  I dropped the tin a couple of times on the bench to knock some air bubbles out of it.  I didn’t want it too light and cracky for the show.  If you don’t do this, your cake will probably drop a little in the middle and have more of a crust that may crack a little, which all looks gorgeous on your table at home.

A bit of damage with the skewer testing, easily covered by cocoa powder, probably didn’t need to worry too much about doing this.  The outsides of the cake did have a crust to it, as the cake cooled and shrank a little, the crust cracked, but it was still pretty good.

The winning entry.

And what did I do with it you ask?  Well I wasn’t going to eat it all myself, so at 4.30pm when you were allowed to collect your entries, I took it back to the beer tent, sliced it up into about 50 squares with my swiss army knife, and shared it around with my friends and admirers 🙂

And for anyone who wonders… Why?  I believe that a proper country agricultural show provides opportunities to nuture and encourages skills that are slowly disappearing and not being handed down through families.

Whether it’s the wood chop, biggest pumpkin, best eggs, kids pikelets, quince paste, decorated cake or cake made with almond meal, there is something for everyone to have a go at.

My kids were interested and inspired and we had a lovely time making biscuits together.  A lot of my local friends all entered something, or their kids did, and the result is a fun competition, a hugely successful event for our region, and the fostering of agricultural based skills.  Seeing so many kids taking an interest in growing and making things was just inspirational.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition, and I like to make my contribution to the show staying getting enough entries to stay such a vibrant and significant event in our community.

Dinner Club ~ A Middle Eastern Feast

The conveners and inaugural hosts of our dinner club… Joe and Dee, have a deep passion for authentic food and superb wines. We have been delighted many times by the smallgoods & pickles Joe brings home from his Italian family, and gorged on Dee’s abundant Middle Eastern feasts. Their combined Israeli – Italian backgrounds mean that even the smallest catchup revolves around a banquet.

So Dinner Club with Joe & Dee is a guaranteed feast of food and wine. It all started beautifully on a balmy night overlooking the hill & the bay at sunset.

The Menu
Beef Carpaccio & radish remoulade
Ravioli w spiced lamb mince caramelised onions & pinenuts
18hour Goat, flame roasted eggplant, cardamon & honey yoghurt
Pomegranate & snake bean freekah salad
Main Ridge Dairy goats curd tarlet w cardomon & vanilla apricot icecream

Joe is also our inhouse wine guy. Some superb wines were selected to accompany this feast, Pizzini Nebbiolo, Vajra Langhe Rosso and Crianza Rioja.

This Dinner Club was so beautiful and abundant, but I was really disappointed in my ability to get nice photos. It inspired me to think a little more about the way I take photos, in the hope I could do the people and food justice.

A Lazy Long Lunch

Just for fun, a girlfriend and I decided to go out for a spontaneous lunch. No husbands, kids, friends, or time constraints.  I had been wanting to do this at Foxeys Hangout for nearly 2 years!

My Lunch

There was much excitement in cellar door, as less than 12 hours before, brothers Michael & Tony had returned from the Royal Melbourne Wine Show where their 2009 shiraz had just snaffled the Premiers Trophy for best victorian red wine. A shiraz! From the Peninsula! A big coup. To say they were happy would be an understatement. Usually fairly reserved fellows, they were like kids on a sugar high.

We sat down, and ordered….. coffee! Anyone who reads Tony’s columns in Epicure about running a winery, would remember one particularly notorious article about his aversion to serving people a coffee unless they were in for the wine. Don’t tell anyone, but they were good.

Coffee!!!

We then did what they do best, which was sit back, and get fed. No decisions, no interruptions to conversation. The plates just kept arriving, with 2 of everything until we had done them all. Everything is simple, fresh and just perfect for a slow moving lunch.  Here they are….

The asaparagus with blood orange was exceptionally pretty

My personal favourite was the tuna bresaola with radicchio & pear.

We loved the spicy meatballs

then tomatoes, quail & avocado….

Of course we had wine… most of them in fact, Rose, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the award winning shiraz. Everything except the sparkling wines, and I don’t know why we skipped them.  Lastly we went dessert, like a vanilla icecream maxibon, with chocolate sauce that oozed all over it.  Tony plonked a bottle of late harvest pinot gris on the table to try with it. It is a gorgeous wine.  It is quite unique for wineries on the Peninsula to have a sticky style wine, more should.

We caught an hour or two of sunshine which was a pretty rare sighting over the last few months. There is a spacious deck outside, which has no furniture, but is a lovely place to sit and ponder the view.  The little boxes along the edges are perfect for some nibbles & a glass of wine. Idyllic.  Whilst taking it all in, the two happy & tired brothers took a moment to do the same.  This is one of my favourite places on the Peninsula, I think because they are completely hands on and passionate about what they do.  Also, they do not try to please everyone and are not apologetic about this. They have their vision, they stick to it, and it works.  I was lucky to get the chance to completely indulge in their experience, with a good friend and it worked. Thanks.

Afternoon Delight

When you’re a happily married mother of small children and busy running a successful business, it is cause for a fair bit of guilt to sneak away on not one, but two, work afternoons to engage in activities that seem a little bit naughty and very pleasurable.  I was able to alleviate any guilt I was feeling as I was with The Brewer, it involved food and both occasions could be justified as ‘business’!

The lake and terrace at Stillwater at Crittenden

The occasion was not one, but two lovely soirees at Crittenden Estate Winery.  The first at Stillwater at Crittenden restaurant.  We caught up with our friends from Mordialloc Cellar Door to talk “business”.  Stillwater is one of the loveliest spots on the Peninsula, overlooking a gorgeous lake, with old vines, beautiful gardens and consistently good food that features quality produce.  Add to that professional and friendly staff (all too rare on the Peninsula sometimes) and every visit here is a delight.

The Brewer chose well, the duck 3 ways – rillette, cigar & parfait, it was beautifully presented.  I chose a braised rabbit pasta with pecorino which was delicious.  With our entrees we had a bottle of the Zumma Chardonnay. Zumma is the single vineyard, estate range, a pinot and a chardonnay, both very refined wines.

Duck 3 ways at Stillwater

This Black Angus aged eye fillet, with the cross section of marrow on the side and creamy mash was highly photogenic and  just looking at it again makes me hungry. The Brewer did well again.

Steak with marrow bone

My turn for duck now, a gorgeous little pot of cassoulet, featured confit duck leg & all manner of tasty morsels including, I think, garlic sausage, speck, pork belly and white beans topped with brioche crumbs!

Duck cassoulet

The steak presented sliced on the board looked amazing, Rangers Valley wagyu sirloin.  With it’s little condiments, fresh salad and smashed potatoes, it too was a winner.  Note, evidence of work meeting in background!

Steak with smashed potatoes

With our mains, we chose the Los Hermanos Homenaje a Cataluna, a tempranillo, mataro & grenache blend. I am such a fan of the Los Hermanos wines, created by siblings Zoe & Rollo, not only are they lovely wines, they are such fun to drink! I always seem to have fun when I drink them.

Boys hard at it over work lunch

The second Afternoon Delight was the Crittenden Wines annual garden party at the vineyard for Mornington Peninsula customers.  Under the shade of the beautiful big oak trees, surrounded by some of the oldest vines on the Peninsula, an abundance of wines are laid out for our enjoyment.

Crittenden Wines Garden Party

Gathering around the old oak trees

The wines were accompanied by a gourmet bbq / shared platter style of relaxed food, perfect for the occassion.  Stringers of Sorrento did a fine job with the catering.

Lunch Menu

Even the ladybirds were impressed.  We were all covered in them, a sign of a healthy vineyard I am sure.  Ladybirds are natures way of keeping lots of little mites off grapevines.  They also can’t be too abundant if there is excessive use of pesticides, so they are a very welcome sign of a healthy ecosystem and hopefully will bring us all good luck.

Lucky Ladybirds

They certainly seem to have bought Rollo good luck recently, having recently been awarded the highly prestigious Young Gun of Wine Australia, they sure like him. Must be the secret to his success. Loved by Ladybirds!

Rollo Crittenden... The secret of my success.... A healthy vineyard

The vineyard had a crew of workers tending the vines during the lunch.  Notice the size of the vines, it’s a pretty rare thing on the Mornington Peninsula to see them this established.  There were also crops planted in the rows, presumably providing agricultural diversity and to put back nutrients into the soil.

The beautiful vineyard

The days proceedings were watched over by the Sage, Garry Crittenden.  Keeping an eye here on two young bucks having a bit of a banter, making sure things didn’t get too out of hand!  Garry & Margaret must be very proud to look around at the vineyard they started in 1982 (worth a look at some old pics here) and to see the continued success & evolution of the business with the involvement of the next generation.

Garry Crittenden sees all!

Afternoon delight. Sure was.