semillon

I was making a baked chicken dish and cracked a bottle of the Tyrrells Pokolbin Semillon 2008. The wine is six years old and it looks like it will go another sixteen. The lime on the nose and high acidity on the palate suggests you can put a six pack down for your unborn grand children. It was a little tight and green when it was first opened straight out of the fridge. However, the ten degrees of extra warmth opened up the wine and the palate became beautifully elegant with a long finish. The chicken fillet, sliced in half and filled with fontina, thinly sliced prosciutto and sage was phenomenally well matched with the semillon. Accompanying the chicken were oven baked organic potatoes coated in home grown sage, salt and pepper. Sometimes food and wine just works. It is good to know that I will be able to have the same baked chicken dish and 2008 Tyrrells Pokolbin Semillon for a few more years. Hunter Semillon. Respect it.

Every Boxing Day for the last 12 years we have invited friends, family and orphans to our house for Boxing Day. Part of this tradition is to each year set a theme for both the food and in turn the piñata. This is no ordinary piñata - this piñata is designed and created by my husband and then decorated by our daughter Ruby. This year we had a Mexican Theme and the piñata was a pig called 'Habernero the Arse Blaster'. Along with the mexican themed piñata, our lunch menu was also all things mexican including the usual suspects of chilli con carne, rosemary corn bread, salsa and amazing corn on the cobs cooked on the BBQ with a fabulous chilli spice mix and topped off with parmesan cheese - yum yum! Of course once we had the food menu sorted we needed to address the beverage menu. One of my favourite summer time beverages is White Wine Sangria and listed below is the recipe for those of you who would like to give it a whirl this summer as a refreshing alternative to accompany any outdoor occasion.