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Recently Neal Crisford, producer of “Cooking for the Many” a film about Australia’s first cookbook published in 1864, asked me what they would be drinking back then. Now this book was aimed at “the upper 10,000” as well as the “many” so it is fair to guess this largely British colony was following in the…
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The settlement of Australia which has received some controversial attention recently was a striking departure from previous patterns of European colonization. Much of the philosophy behind the move to NSW came from the lessons of the Enlightenment, intent on building a new settlement differently. Based on humane principles it was in effect an experiment applying…
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“The moving finger writes, and having written moves on. Nor all thy piety nor all thy wit, can cancel half a line of it” “Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Brough, a Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse – and Thou beside me singing in the Wilderness – And Wilderness is Paradise…
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Wine-Tourism Hunter as I like to call it, rather than the longer version, Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association (HVWTA…not to be confused with LB…..) in association with the Cessnock and Singleton Councils ( The Alliance …so to speak) have just announced reaching the $300,000 fundraising pledges target to mount a major marketing campaign with…
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Having a quiet drink and pizza at Peter Drayton’s new Brewhouse on a Friday evening I was pleasantly surprised to be given a copy of the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner’s Advocate, May 1967. This had been handed to Peter that afternoon by someone who thought he might be interested! Looking out from the deck…
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We have all been there before, experiencing a hot summer. Pokolbin is said to derive it name from the Hungarian Pokol, which means purgatory or hell. Early European vinedressers who made their way here in the 1840/50s thought the summers were “Hot as Hell”. A theory expressed in Max Lake’s book, Hunter Wine Makers, based…
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Not surprisingly most of us who enjoy good food also love a good bottle of wine to go with it. Sometimes we have the opportunity of having extended experiences of enjoying the two over a long lunch or dinner. Our local Legends Lunch, organized by Ian Napier, is held at a number of Pokolbin restaurants…
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‘Good wine starts in the vineyard’ is a familiar quote and certainly holds true when it comes to quality, but what does it mean. We were recently asked to make a short video for the Around Hermitage News Desk about spring in the vineyard and there were many facets that came to mind that we…
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It used to be that the characteristic of Hunter Reds was a “sweaty saddle” nose that would signal Hunter! Not any more, with great perseverance the Hunter wine industry has got rid of Brettanomyces (Brett) – the organism that was spoiling our wines. Although for years it wasn’t recognized, the flavour can be attractive to…
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About 25 years ago, not long after buying our block on Hermitage Road, I was invited to help write a book on Carotid Artery disease (my special interest) on the island of Cyprus by Professor Andrew Nicoladies of London- a Greek Cypriote. It was a successful collaboration and importantly for me an introduction to the…
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