October 2016 Newsletter

Hi <<First Name>>!

Hello again. October signals the start of our growing season. Across all of the vineyards in Mudgee there is a green blush from the tiny grape leaves which have all burst as the buds begin to form. After all of the rain, growth is a little slow, but it should be an excellent growing season (following last year's disastrous hail storms).

SPECIAL OFFER TO MEMBERS - 2011 PREMIUM SHIRAZ - 30% OFF
For our members only, Gai and I have reduced the price of our popular Silver Medal winning 2011 Premium Shiraz. In awarding the Silver Medal, the chief judge at the 2013 Mudgee Wine Show described it as "deliciously soft for a Mudgee Shiraz with a strong blackberry presence and soft peppery finish". Today, the wine is already 5 years old and will continue to improve for another 5 years or so. It would be an impressive wine to roll out at your next gathering.

The Cellar Door price is $25 or $300 per case. Only for the months of October & November and only for our members, the price is reduced to $200, that's 30% off, or a little over $16 per bottle. Delivery anywhere in Australia is complimentary.

BUT WAIT! With every order, we'll include a complimentary bottle of our new 2016 Picholine (French) Extra Virgin Olive Oil - to drizzle over your salads (normally $16).

GREEN GARLIC OIL - ONLY UNTIL THE END OF OCTOBER
The supply of our GGO is coming to an end. By the end of October, the green stems (which give it the colour and 'creamy' flavour) will have died off. It will then be unavailable until next June (2017),
It's uses seem endless: 5 or 6 drops are quite special over freshly cooked fish, over a steak, with scrambled eggs, in most pastas. (Several times recently it was the only finish Gai added to a crab and fettucine pasta dish). At the recent French Master Cooking Class, it was drizzled over warm demitasse of cauliflower soup to everyone's delight. Just think how good it would be drizzled over pan-fried prawns.

Speaking of garlic prawns, here is one of Nathan's easy-to-follow recipes from that Class:
"Peel and gut 12 prawns. Mince 4 cloves of garlic and add to 250g butter and EV Olive Oil. Saute until golden. When golden, deglaze with white wine and add the prawns. Cover and allow the prawns to steam/saute through. Remove from the heat and add 1 bunch of parsley.
To serve, spoon the mixture into heat proof pots and top with sourdough with a slice of parsley compound butter on it. Delicious!" It goes without saying, a little drizzle of the Green Garlic Oil adds a unique finish!

MASTER COOKING CLASSES

Following the successful French Master Class (over the October long weekend), the themes for the next four Master Classes have been determined:

MODERN AUSTRALIAN - 12, 13 or 14 February 2017)
JAPANESE (Inspired by Aki, Nathan's Japanese fiancé) - 9, 10 or 11 June 2017.
THAI - 29, 30 September or 1 October 2017
FRENCH - 9, 10 or 11 February 2018
The current vacancies for each Class are listed on our website.
The cost to attend your first Class is $150, and $130 for any subsequent Classes.

ALFRESCO LUNCHES

Gai's Alfresco Lunch facility was enclosed over winter, with air conditioning planned over the next month or so. The finished product has an inviting look and feel.
When you are next in Mudgee, consider coming for lunch, every Saturday & Sunday (12 noon until 3pm) - bookings are recommended (Tel: 6373 3366) as we like to give you a tasting of some wines and products while you are waiting for the lunch to be served.
There is always up-to-date information about the lunches on our website.

Cheers, Gai & Bernard B