SOUTHERN SEDUCTION 3 - COME DRINK AND EAT WITH US

New Zealand is now firmly entrenched as one of the worlds leading producers of great wines.

New Zealand is now a must visit destination for wine lovers of the world.

Even today Martinborough Pinot Noir - trumped some of the leading and much more expensive wines in a blind tasting in Pasadena California.

We think it is in the South Island that some of our greatest vinos are being produced.

And there is an innovation and an adventurous spirit in our winemakers that sees them experiment and create new taste sensations.

Some of our favourites:

Olssens

Wooing Tree

Mishas

Seresins

Neudorf

Carricks

Chard Farm

Peregrine

They are but a few of best of New Zealand has on offer

Our vineyards are small, each vine lovingly tended and the wines are crafted with an artisans touch.

Try out the Wooing Trees Blanc de Noir "Blondie" and fall in love with its sophisticated sassiness.

Or Seresins finely crafted and delicate Pinot Gris, a wine to talk about and with.

Or Carricks off dry Riesling - A good wine with shellfish.

And for a cold day quaffer try the blended red "Robert the Bruce" from Olssens.

The vineyards themselves are places to visit and tarry a while.

Artisan food production is starting to grow as our country seeks to match its good food with our stellar wine.

Try our cheeses - Gibbston, Whitestone and Neudorf are three that have been created to match the wines of their regions. Our favourite is the Neudorf Richmond red.

There are now wine regions tucked into many corners of the South Island - all good all worth a visit and all waiting for you to call, say hello, drink a bit, talk a bit eat a bit, and drink a bit more.

A GRANDE FEAST

The Sydney Morning Herald has asked a few notable foodies what they would prepare if they had $1000 to spend.

For us it would be an intimate dinner for 4.

There would be Cloudy Bay Pelorous bubbles to start

Bluff oysters with Paulownia Rose

Sauted baby paua with a grassy Olssens Gewurztraminer

Lobster Thermadore with Wooing tree Blondie

And for dessert poached pluots with creme fraiche with schoc chilli chocolate shavings and a nice Forrests The Doctors Nobile Chenin Blanc

For a Wild Food alternative

A starter of Pan Fried Blue cod livers on Vogels 12 grain. Trinity Hill Viognier

Wild fallow deer back steaks with Huakararo Maori potatoes and sauteed puha -Te Motu Dunleavy 2005 Cab blend

And for dessert freshly picked blackberry shortcake with titoki infused icecream with a Seresin late harvest riesling

Nothing too fussy..

A WINE ONANIST

Tonight we joined the ranks of wine wankers with pride. We were at a wonderful wine tasting and dinner at Ortegas Fish Shack and Bar where 22 of us were served up an amazing array of superb, interesting and innovative food matched with wine from the South - Olssens Vineyard of Bannockburn and from the North - Murdoch James from Martinborough.

We were in the company of serious wine buffs including the affable and knowledgeable wine writer John Saker.

The food was interesting , innovative, well balanced and fresh. Our favourite of the five courses was the slow roasted pork belly with truffled lentils and cabbage, sauteed mushrooms and pinot noir gravy...

It was matched with the Murdoch James Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008 and the Olssens Nipple Hill Pinot Noir 2009. It was best with the Murdoch James, the Nipple Hill was just a little youthful.

Anyway there was a blind tasting and we won. Woohoo - we guessed the region and wine and the age.. It was a no brainer - How can one ever forget the richness of the bold savoury Olssens Slapjack Creek?

So we got to take home a loverly bottle of Slapjack Creek Pinot Noir and a wine tasting tour for 4 for our good nose and palate. Yum.

While we have always been a fan of Olssens wines , tonight we were introduced to the sophistication and complexity of Murdoch James superb wine. Our favorite has to be their Syrah. It's worth buying a bottle or two.

Thanks to the hosts , Heather from Olssens and Roger from Murdoch James. They prove that passion is the most important ingredient to making great wine.

YUM

We are one of only a few New Zealanders who have had opportunity to handle a kakapo. We dribbled. We did not cry as the rest of the party of VIP's did, we just dribbled. Dribbled as we dreamed of gently roasted parrot with piko piko and vogels ancient grain stuffing basted in port laced with titoki berries, served on a bed of maori spud mash surrounded by sauted porchini mushrooms. All washed down with a bottle of Olssen's Jackson Barry Pinot Noir.

You see we reckoned the reason the buggers died out is because they were the finest tasting flying protein to ever grace Aotearoa. So while we think that they should be saved its because we think they should be cloned and bred for eating.

They would rival Bluff oysters as an iconic dish.

Its taken ten years and millions and millions of dollars to get to 100 of the fat delectable, succulent parrots that are big enough to feed four people.

However, unless they are cloned we think that they are doomed. They are picky about shagging, picky about what they eat and picky about where they live. The only thing we are picky about is the meat on their bones.