plog
the plonkies blog
A.D. 2011
31/07/11 Dah dah da da, da dah da dah, ITS SAUSAGE TIME!!!
On Friday and Saturday Team 'Fatboy Sausage' once again gathered on Mt Lehmo to deconstruct the flesh of a magnificent Australian Long White Barrow and reconstruct it into delicious tubes of Veneto and Calebrase Salami. On Friday, Mick the masterful knife man wielded his flashing blades of death deftly seperating joints and flesh from skin bone and FAT! Pete Gambetta, James Lindner and I ineptly hacked these portions of flesh into fist sized lumps that would fit comfortably into the industrial mincer the next day. On Saturdau the full team was present, graced by the recipies supplied by Nigel Blieschke. We spent an increasingly hazy day drinking beer wine and the odd nip of grappa mincing seasoning then filling and hanging this desirable pile of bungs for many months of cholesterol laden enjoyment to come! The day was judged an enormous sucess and we all happily staggered of into the gloom dreaming of the delicious treats in store for us all!
01/07/11 2010 Plane Turning Right... It's Austere Baby!!
My Ode and 'Omage to my beloved Aromatic Bordeaux Varietals was finally fiven it's first coat today. Barossa Boy I may be, but Parochial I aint! This was from the fruit grown by Phil and Mary Broderick on their Blockers Road Vineyard out the back of Basket Range. I took some Merlot, Cabernet and Petit Verdot on Spec and am so happy with the way it panned out. Phil has his own label (Basket Range Vintners) and has put together variations on this theme for a few years now. I was so impressed with his "Brough Superior" - if you can find some snap it up - that I just had to have a crack myself. It's soft, slurpable and truly delicious with masses of aromatics and a finely drawn supple velvety texture... bugger it I've convinced myself... off to open this bottle now! CHEERS hic
25/6/11 WINE INDUSTRY SALAMI SMACKDOWN...GRRRRRRRREARGH
Meat Meat 'Fat Boy Sausage' is all about MEAT!!! The Juices of a Sacrificed Black Pig are still glistening on my fingers as I clutch my sausage and say BRING IT ON!!! Yesterday morning I shot out to the Kapunda Abbotoir and picked up the dressed and well hung sacrificial pig the Damien and Emma Amery prepared for us. Just after lunch, Peter Gambetta and Mick Kleeman met me on the hill and we trimmed off all the fat and cut that sucker up, turning a 135 kg carcass into 67kgs of beautiful pre-salami chunks. The meat spent a cold night on a trestle draining the last of it's blood. This morning Pete, Mick and I were joined by Nigel Blieschke and James Lindner to turn all those chunks of meat into traditional air dried Italian Salami. We created a northen 'Venuto' and a southern 'Calabrese' and finished with a 'Barossa Insanity'. A dozen or so mixed Sopressa and Salami's each... not a bad days work all in all.
04/05/11 Icky Sticky Toffee Fruit... 22.5 Baume Botrytis Semillon in all it's glory...
It's almost laughable, in a peverse sort of way - We spent the last few months freaking out about the Botrytis... and now I can't believe how good it actually is!!! Ahhh seriously intense 'Sticky' needs seriously intense fruit and this stuff meets those parameters with junk in it's trunk to spare!! The 'dave understanding version' of how the first botrytis wines in France were made is something along the line of "...But Pierre ze fruit is completely fucked zis year... ze nobles will ave our balls, ohh what shall we do..?? "...Jaques my friend, ve vill pick ze fuckers and hope like shit ze nobles are too pissed to notice ze difference.." a month or so later "... So I was telling Pierre zat if we left ze grapes on ze vine ve vould make amazing wine sire..." (sotto- "Jaques my friend you are one lucky son of a bitch!") ahhh I am a romantic, and I do love a great Sticky!
30/04/11 Design by Dave... Execution by Steve - GENIUS!!
My old mate Steve Kalleske of Fabroweld in Tanunda has once again turned my mental wish list into a functioning reality. For the last 3 years as I've stood beside one of my fermenters playing the hose over the cap chilling them down, I've often thought I could be doing something else right now... Well now I finally can. For me the essential extraction on red wine is all done with a plunger, so if the chilling could sort itself out properly, I would be in HEAVEN! So now it's done, the Nally Bin irrigator, just ad pump and the rest is done. If you need a custom piece of equiptment buit by an ituitive engineer, go see Steve on Magnolia Road and I promise he'll sort you out... Promise!
25/04/11 ANZAC DAY Smashing the shit outta Merlot...
Adelaide Hills Merlot all 9 tonnes of it has rolled in. I'm on a mission of mercy... mercy to save great fruit from hitting the ground. I'm a sucker I know but the quality that Phil and Mary Broderick grow on their Blockers Road vineyard deserves a better end than being picked and dropped. Hopefully we can make something special and create a buzzy fuzzy feel good wine that means next year Phil'll be beating the wineries away with heavy stick... It won't be a bruiser but I'm betting it WILL be sexy!!
22/04/11 HMMM SANDWICH - This is heaven...
I am married to the worlds pre-eminent sandwich maker. Just about every day at lunch time I am presented with a variation on this magnificent theme. I could die a happy man every time I scarf down one of these bad boys. Nicki has the sort of touch with two slices of bread, ham salad cheese and condiments that would've had her burned as a Witch in days gone by. Silly Bastards and their inquisition! These sandwiches are the food of the Gods, you can stuff your Bacci's up ya bum Seniore, "I know everything about what they eat on Mt Olympus"... WELL YOU DON'T!!! I have it on good AUTHORITY that Zeus and Hera were actually fighting over one of Nicki's Sarnies!!
20/04/11 A hard earned thirst deserves an Ice Cold Beer...
...and the best cold Beer is Franz, KrugerFranz, The Beerinator Shiraz Cold Saison!! Gibberish I hear you cry... Well PHWEERRTTTTSCH to you! James 'Dools' Dooley came and lent a hand today - the silly bastard! I worked him to within an inch of his Executive Chef's Hide and there he is, drinking his pay. John Kruger put this Golden Hued Wench together and damn fine it is too. Coming in at a modest 10% or so Alcohol by Volume this Shiraz Juice finished Saison is looking damn fine 12 months down the track. We didn't get one down this year but next year for sure. 16 baume Shiraz juice having spent a month on skins has lent an unique structure to the fermentable sugars in the secondary ferment. John Kruger and James Dools Dooley - HEROS OF THE DAY - APRIL 20, 2011. Wish you were here Brownie!!
16/04/11 Loo' A de Color in EE!!!!
Black Black Barossa Shiraz living the dream! Pretty stark contrast to the Merlot from earlier in the month eh?? This Shiraz is from the 'House on the Hill' block. Its not as gnarly as the Horse Paddock Shiraz, but a 14.6 Baume it's right on the money. You can almost smell and taste the 'Red Strap Licorice' from there... well obviously I can smell and taste it from here, I'm standing here taking this photo with black runnels dribbling down my chin! Picture Rasberries, Black Currents, Plums and Spice slathered in Fennel Seeds and that is what I am scarfing down. It's still got about 4 baume to go and realistically five years before it's unleashed on your hungry mouths but early signs for this years Benjamin's Promise (the 2011) are that rumours of it's demise are GROSSLY EXAGGERATED!!
9/04/11 One Boozing and One Working...
Benny Boy Busted! "...Hey Dad, can I help plunge and pump over the ferments??" "Sure son, just don't drink too... oi! Rascal get out of it... no no I don't mean literally!! You little bugger stop drinking and start working like your brother!! I know I know he can't even get the plunger through the cap but at leas he's having a go... What?? Youre having a go at that Shiraz and you reckon I tastes pretty good... why you little bugger I ought to...!" But seriously don't freak out, this ferment is only about 2% alcohol at the moment so before you write emails of complaint about the 'corruption of minors' and the 'evils of drink', perhaps you should ponder the greater crime of child labour in the background!
6/04/11 Merlot a go go...
The sparkling Garnet of the Smoking Jim Merlot, sunlight streaming through gives me a bit of a hardon, oops there I go being crass and vulgar just to get your attention! Sorry, but I am just loving the colour of this ferment after 5 days on skins, especially the stained glass purity in this photo. I don't think the 2011 Smoking Jim will be the densest Barossa Merlot I've ever made but it could possibly be the prettiest! Sorry Jim, I know it probably hurts your rough tough ego to be called pretty but damnit get real tough guy. The true man of Grit was never ashamed of his sensitive side. Think John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Steven Segal ... Chuck Norris... ah no, scratch Chuck Norris, he just killed dudes. Anyway, Smoking Jim 2011- You Hang Tough Buddy!
5/04/11 Proof that a combination of site and viticulture can triumph even in the face of...
SHIT HOT! Once again the Horse Paddock Shiraz has shone throught with a light of MAGNIFICENCE!!! This block year in and year out is the Shiraz that forms the IRON FISTED centre of the velvet wrapped wine we know and love as the Benjamin's Promise. Those of you who dave drunk one or all of the last 8 releases (counting the 2006 which has made a few pre-release appearences in the last couple of months) of my 'sons' Shiraz will know this is the common denominator running through all these wines. While I would be horrified to release the Benjamin's as a full throated roar of a wine blasting straight out of the headers, that controlled fury is still central to the overall impact for me. This year I was starting to feel a bit of concern that we wouldn'y get that vortex or gnarl to orbit the rest of the shiraz components around... but tonight I rest easy, knowing I have 3 and a half tonnes of this beautiful 15.5 baume fruit sitting in 6 fermenters, just waiting to become angry furious dark evil SHIRAZ... that tastes delicious!!!
2/04/11 Picking 777 Pinot on the side of a WALL...
These Pickers have got the calfs and wind of mountain goats. Phil's pride and joy, the Pinot vines are planted on a west facing slope that would definately be better described as a "rampart". I kid you not, if you were to slip and take a tumble, I don't think you'd be able to pull up until you hit Phils memoria Quince tree at the bottom. The weather's been a bit clearer this week and the birds have taken the opportunity to come out and start feasting on the just ripe Pinot. Although the 777's just hitting the high 12's in sugar, I think we've just got to bite the bullet and get it in. The mantra continues... the flavous are there even though the sugar is not. Ah well, such is life! The plan this year is to let em hang on the skins until the cows come home and have gone to bed!! After that, we'll see what we see when it's ready to go into wood. The romance of a difficult year, NOT!
28/3/11 Sparkly Pinot Chardonnay Base all in...
And it looks delicious!! Never one to sit on my laurels I thought this year would be great to add a sparkly white to the line-up. Although we've got the nicole for celebration bubbles, sometimes you just hang out for a glass of "Champas" to get the party started. Sure sure, it would be a lot easier to jus nip down to Tanunda cellars and buy a bottle (and probably a hell of a lot cheaper in the short term too) but what the hell! in for a penny, in for a pound. It's going to be a Pinot based wine with a good healthy slug of Chardonnay to zip it up. The Pinot's from the Blocker's Road Vineyard of Phil and Mary Broderick in Basket Range (MV6 and 777) and the Chardonnay's from Theo and Jan Moskos' Birdwood Block of of Bernard 96 cloneal material. Zippy, fresh and PERFECT!
27/3/11 Taking a turn chasing the harvester...
Finally enough of a break in the weather that we can get in and rip off the rest of our Stonewell Hill Block. It's been a tense time, waiting to see if it would dry out enough to get across the clay patches before we possibly lost the crop. All's well that ends well though. While baumes's won't break records I'm really happy with the flavours. david Franz uses about 45 tonne of Fruit grown on the property annually. This fruit is off to Peter Lehmann Wines where most of the grapes we grow end up... Best bit... its off the vine... YAH!
26/3/11 3 days into the Reds and I am pretty bloody happy!
Between you and me - The three of us who read this plog - I was a little nervous about the first fruit we picked. The rains combined with the sticky weather this week forced my hand a little in the sense that if it doesnt bloody stop soom we may not pick anything else at all. Although the Baume's were in the low to mid 13's the flavours are pretty good. We've pulled off the early Stonewell Hill blocks - the South East & North West Shiraz, the early portion of Nicki's and my home block; the House on the Hill, and the Smoking Jim Merlot. All in all there is about 8 tonne of red fruit on the bubble and it looks bloody good. The Acids are really bright and balanced. The colours are pretty intense and the tannins although gentle are already supple silky and seductive. Early call for me is that this vintage will be a lot better than the 'Nay Sayers' are hollering at the moment. Yeh it's tough but it's also pretty good. The Merlot in particular looks really intensely awesome.. Bordeaux Varietal year for sure!!
21/3/10 It's the middle March... IS this the Barossa or Ireland???
The rains just haven't stopped. I've never seen it so green at this time of year in my 38 and a half years here in the Barossa... Ok Ok, 1974 probably looked a lot like this... but I don't remember what it looked like as a roughly 18month old and certainly hope that we don't make those sort of records again!! I am well and truly ready for this rain to FUCK RIGHT OFF!!! - pardon my French - It's sort of nice to have a dust free vintage and realistically the vines will be happy for years on this season but what the hell happened to summer?? I reckon we'll be making some pretty elegant wines this year. Lets hope it satisfies all those wine writers who have been calling for the lower alcohols and lighter bodied wines... although no doubt they'll probably bag the wines for lacking in body. Me I'm pretty happy with the early fruit I'm tasting. The sugar may be lower this year than we are used to mid March but the flavours and structure on the berries I'm tasting seems bloody god already!! Ach, the first grapes come off in a few days - the North West Shiraz block so I guess time will tell!
20/3/10 Ladies and Gentlemen... 2011 is the inaugral 'Franzie' Sparkling White Vintage...
Following on from the non traditional white bubbles - Semillon - will be the good old Methode traditional (Champenoise) Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay. Only 50 or so cases are going to be made, just enough to keep (if I may borrow from Rocket O'Callighan )friends relations and three carton customers... It'll be a few years in the making so hopefully the bubbly Sem will hold the wolf from the door. Pinot 777 will supply the Strawberries and cream to this blend!!
17/3/10 ALL SYSTEMS GO for the Long Gully Road 120 y.o. Ancient Vine Semillon
Last week's Semillon from Loan's Vineyard at Bethany was the perfect test batch to check out the systems are all working perfectly... We started yesterday processing the Semillon and it is going to be an absolute belter. The fruit came in at a touch under 11 baume but with riper characters and flavours than the sugar would suggest. All in all I am very excited. The juice is going to be 2/3 for the table wine 80% Free Run and 20% Pressings - roughly - and the other third, roughly 50% Free Run 50% Pressing is goint towards a little sparkling white project I have long been bursting to try!!! Watch this space!!
13/3/10 First Fruit In
Loan Semillon hit the slab today to kick of vintage… well almost. Rick and Jess Loan and I split the liquid proceeds from this juice to make a Semillon Vinocotto each year. The 2010 david Franz Vinocotto’s will all feature varietals and will be single batches. Luck of the draw as to what you’ll get I guess in the long run but each one will have it’s own distinct character and deliciousness.
RIP Frankie 4/8/2006 to 4/3/2011 last hurrah of the Beige Wombat
Frankie... this is how I'll always remember you... or perhaps its the other photo, the one I should've burned... you know the one... in the exact reverse of your position here!!! You were a larger than life larrikin that found your way into the hardest heart- just because you were such a big boofy bastard!!! On Friday the 3rd of March 2011 you definately bit off more than you could chew and a 5 foot brownie was the death of you. I held your head till the gut wrenching end and although it tore my heart out, rest easy mate you outlived the snake wot done you in. You're buried out the front and there's now a little tree your body is going to nurture growing right over your big ol' heart. I bet you're up there somewhere mate, chasing cats chooks and guinea pigs with a nice sunny spot to wallow in the rest of the time. Miss you mate, good Farting!
Larrikin II - last packaging of this delicious VINO
Thursday February 3rd 2011
Over the 5 different incanations of the Larrikin II nv I have to admit I've struggled a bit with the final outcome on the shelf. I love the string and the red wax... and they have stayed constant. I've loved all the differnt images we've used on the labels over the last 12 or so months... but I just couldn't get the tissue wrapping to look right. FINALLY I found the answer... Butchers paper and string!! The Larrikin ladies and Gentlemen is finally a BEYOOTIFOOL PACKAGE!!!!
Home again to Soylent Green Sunsets....
26 of January 2011 'STROILIA DOI
This is a bit of how it all looked to me in the end... the following is my 'STROILIA DOI', a day spent lazing around the garden, drinking Coopers Green then some sparkles (go you Jantz good stuff) 08 david Franz Stonewell Hill Semillon and then lobbing up to Marg and Petes for Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Nicki, Georgie, Ben, Alex, Phil and Sarah. Onto the Reds - Particularly enjoyed the 08 Calliard Mataro - Onya Andrew and Chris good crafting fellas!! As the sun slipped below the horizon my attempt to capture the hues on the iPhone caught an interesting result... the Barossa Soylent Green Sunset!
Melbourne- Ballet Dumplings and Intersting Places
23rd of January 2011
After dodging floods left right and centre we arrived in Melbourne Via Mount Gambier and Port Farey and Geelong. A little diversion at Colac mad it a pretty long trip all and all. Georgie has spent the last week doing a Summer School at the National Ballet School on Carlisle Street in St Kilda which she won the scholorship for in Comps last year. Nicki Ben Alex and I have been on the quest for the best dumpling experiences to be had. Our Short list of Merit is ... Runner Up: Dumpling Express on Acland Street St Kilda and the Winner: Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street. We've just treated ourselves to a couple of nights staying at the Como on Chapel Street to finish off our stay... so I guess we'll celebrate the Oriental Tea House's Win with Dumplings for tea!!
The Pines On Yorkes Peninsula - Hell Yeh!
3rd of January 2011
Shot off for a few awesome relaxing innebriating days at the 'Pines' A little fishing a lot of eating and drinking mixed with Sun Surf and a few sand-hills too! Our great friends Jamie Shannon Jadzia Quinn and Vienne Gladigau let us stay at their beach house. The kids floated around, we had a moderate amount of sucess on the fishing rods and Ben ate some sand on his board. YEP it's pretty good, this life of ours!
“SMOKING JIM... the new hardcore man of merlot”
20th of August 2010
My mate Glenn Lumsden is a fricking Genius and he makes my ideas look so damn good. I knew roughly what I wanted with the Smoking Jim label, but damned if I knew how to get there. Glenn came over last Friday and we worked out what Jim needed to be... First and foremost, Smoking Jim was a hard man... a hard man who loved merlot but hated the fat flabby overstuffed armchair the city slickers had let merlot become. He shoots that merlot and he stands on it. Second and perhaps more importantly Jim knows that Merlot is amazing stuff. It can literally raise the dead and speak six languages fluently 
“Finally... The 2008 Stonewell Hill Semillon is ready”
15th of August 2010
It's taken a lot of patience and an Iron will to hold off releasing the 2008 Stonewell Hill Semillon until now... but I did it! Completely unoaked zippy as hell and full of a mouth filling deliciousness it is time to send her out into the world. I've inherited my mother's love of Semillon and this ticks my boxes. I'm sure it's going to give a few savvy blanc drinkers something CHEERS!!!else to enjoy too! 
“Buderim, "Hungry Feel" and a whole lot of fun”
6th of August 2010
Friday night... the last night a bloody great night! Byron Cannon pulled together a group made up of Friends, Partners Business Mates and a truck load of South Africans Booked the Hungry Feel restaurant in the main street of Buderim and told Daz and I to come on down. We arrived with heaps of wine tucked under our arms and a devil may care glint in our eyes. The night was a terrific mix of top people and Great Wines. Here's What we drank in order... 2009 Brother’s Ilk Birdwood Chardonnay - 2008 Red Rose - 2008 Eden Valley Riesling - 2000 Georgie’s Walk Cabernet Sauvignon - POP Wine - Issue 2 Greenock Grenache - 2004 Alexander’s Reward Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon - NV larrikin II 2005 Bottling Shiraz Cabernet Grenache Mataro - 2002 Georgie’s Walk Cabernet Sauvignon - 1998 225 - never released - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2001 225 - never released - Cabernet Sauvignon - 1979 AD 2000 Shiraz Cabernet Vintage Port - NV Old Redemption XO Exceptionally Old Tawny Port - 2008 VP Crazy Shiraz Cabernet Liqueur. The food was delicious and the whole night (especially the night cap at Byron's after dinner) was fantastic. Thankyou QLD it was a blast!
“Bundy learn to love it... Gladstone bloody good fun”
5th of August 2010
Daz finally relented and let me visit the Bundy distillery... but he timed it so that we had to go sooner rather later. I loaded up on Rum then we jumped in the car and headed for Gladstone. Geeze, the boys and Girls in Gladstone know how to turn it on. We lobbed in around 11am and then it was straight down to the marina with Silesch Jalel and Chris Struick for a motor around the Gladstone Harbour with a few beers, local prawns and a pile of oysters. Bloody hell life is good up here! We managed (amazingly) to make it out and back in one piece then rushed to our BnB to get changed for the evenings shenanigans. First up it was a tasting at the Gladstone Think Office ... office for staff and Clients of Brett Beaumont, Scott Tomms and Tony Price (up from Toowoomba). We tasted through the Riesling Rose 04 Alex and 05 bottled Larrikin. Everyone sat up and took notice when the Old Redemption XO Tawny came out though... always a crowd pleaser. After the tasting we popped upstairs to Silesch's Coffe Club Restaurant for an informal dinner. Coral Trout and Lamb Shanks (beautifully prepared) formed the background for the evenings wines. I pulled out all the stops and raided the cellar for Brett Beaumont... he always been a big supporter. We had the 08 Riesling and 08 Rose again, but I bought up a little of the 09 Brother's Ilk Chardonnay to rock their worlds. Apart from the 2004 Alexander's Reward I brought up the 2000 Georgie's Walk and the 2002 Georgie's Walk to make the dinner a little more special. After these two little babies I pulled out the 'special reserve' clean-skins. the 225 Cabernet is my 'super black'. Not many know about ti so enough said. The wind down of the evening was courtesy of the Old Redemption XO Tawny, The AD 2000 - 1979 VP and the 2008 VP Crazy... It was good and funnily enough Boxie and I slept very well... even though we didn't spoon this time! 
“Indulge Cafe / Restaurant -Bundaberg QLD- ”
4th of August 2010
Road Trip Road Trip Road Trip!!! Boxie and I spent three hours heading up the coast to Bundy. on the way we passed through some truly luscious country (the rains have been good up this way this year) stopped at Childers for Peanuts aand tried to visit Bridley (??) Wines. All good, even though no-one home there. Our destination was Indulge a little hole in the wall Cafe style BYO Restaurant run by an absolute surprise package Amanda (and Larry) Hinds. I say surprise package because it turned out to be a truly magnificent experience. Amanda and I warily circled each other at our innitial meeting sort of sussing each other out, but as the night unfolded and we ticked each others boxes I think we found in each other kindrted spirits. Amanda put together a magnificent meal. Hosted by Glenn Toll from Baker O'Brien and Toll Lawyers (here's your free plug Glenn- small thanks but heartfelt for having us up) we started on the 2008 Eden Valley Riesling. An easy choice but delicious none the less. I had the first inkling of the masterful meal to come when we were offered brioche toast with delightfully tangy seasoned avocado and bowls of hot green olives with rosary garlic and I suspect a int of truffle salt. There were 20 of us (including Boxie and myself) seated along the table pictured. Once we all had found our places first course came down. Locally harvested Scallops in the shell (FOUR-No Less) with a beautiful hollandaise herbed crumb Brioche and a tiny sliver of fresh smoked quail from Amanda's local butcher went magnificently with the (fourth in my case) glass of riesling. This was followed with a Ballintine of Rabbit, stuffed with a Pork and Pistacchio Forcemeat sitting on green lentles with a velvety rich and smooth celeriac puree poised beautifully against the rich slightly sweet 2008 Red Rose. The crisp raspberry like structure of the Red Rose just sang angainst this dish. Amanda's ability to deliver an incredible depth of flavour and opulence of ingredient without ever detracting from the wine impressed the shit out or me and was the central theme of every dish she served. Paired with the 2004 Alexander's Reward and the NV Larrikin II (05 bottling) was a frenched rack of Lamb that had been marinated poached and deliciously finished in stock. The Lamb whilst the obvious hero none the less made the wines look awesome. I snuck in a couple of bottles of the 2002 Georgie's Walk Cabernet towards the end of the main course. Perhaps my suprisingly favourite course (which is strange because I'm not generally a sweet tooth) was dessert. Amanda went old school 70's retro on us here, with a brandy snap, french vanilla sorbet sitting atop what I can only describe as a deconstruction of the structure of a great tawny; fruit and nuts poached in an outrageous syrup. To top the night off a little VP Crazy was shared around. Darren and I agreed in one word- AWESOME. Thanks Glenn and thanks Amanda! 
“Moo Moo's Restaurant -Gold Coast QLD- ”
3rd of August 2010
Today was a LOOOOOOONG day. I awoke at 3.00am blearily scrabbled out of bed and dragged myself intot he shower. After washing scraping whiskers and generally making myself smell better I crept quietly from the house and into the ute. An easy hours drive delivered me to Adelaide Airport where Virgin Airlines took over and did their great thing getting me to Bris-Vegas. My new best friend, Christine Hall, took me down to the 'GOLDIE' to Moo Moo's Restaurant. Somellier Simon Shannahan had put together a fantastic lunch matched with some of my wies. We started with the 2009 Eden Valley Riesling as an aperitif. It really got the juices flowing so that by the time we sat down to our first course I was famished. 4 beautifully cooked scallops were placed infont of us, served with truffed pea puree and crispy panchetta. I'd raided my cellar and brought up a six pack of the 2005 Eden Valley while Christine supplied a bit of the 2007 from the wine openers cellars. For my money the 2007 Eden Valley Riesling worked fantastically with the Sallops. Main Course was Wagu Beef done two ways. The slow cook was Wagu beef cheek carefully poached at 80 degrees C for 9 hours off set against a perfectly cooked piece of Wagu Sirloin. We matched the beef against the newly released 2005 Georgies Walk Cabernet and the Larrikin II NV. The cheese plate came down after mains were cleared and was innitially paired with the 2008 'Sticky' Late Harvest Riesling but finished up with the 2008 VP Crazy. It was a lot of fun! Tomorrow is a 3 hour road trip to Bundaberg with my old mate Darren 'Boxie' Naylor. Were off to see Baker O'Brien and Toll Laweyers to excite them with some awesome barossa Cheer! 
“Brownie... I know it's all about the Bledisloe... ”
31st of July 2010
This arvo tops off a bloody great couple of days. Yesterday, around 11, a couple of long time customers, Paul and Samantha Tulloch from Perth in WA popped over. It's been a couple of years since their last visit so it was an excellent catch up. Sam (who is about 28 weeks pregnant) couldn't drink so it was up to Paul and me. We went through the entire range (visited half way through by my mum and Dad and the new GM of Peter Lehmann Wines- "Bond, Geoff Bond... 006". Just when we were in danger of running out of wine (ha- fat chance) Corey Chaplin, another mate rolled over and we cracked one of my all time favourite Cabernet's the Luna 2005. As we were contimplating the unlikely proposition of having to have a second glass out of one of the 15 or so bottles currently open, James Lindner raced over with the current Soul Grower's Range. Thank Christ he turned up. I think that when Sam carted him off at around 4.00pm hed had a good day. Infact I suspect he may have had a little kip on his drive to McLaren Vale.- That was in essence Friday-
After a lazy start, my Saturday Morning visit to Apex Bakery and Roddy Thorne's Butchers (best meat in the Barossa- I reckon) was followed by a quick spruik on the local Radio Station (BBB-FM 89.1) talking about the up-coming Gourmet Weekend on the 21st of August. I along with 6 other boutique wineries will be teaming up with the Company Kitchen, Valley Road, Angaston to present our wines and help celebrate the weekend in style. (I'll cover this more in an up-coming post). anyway, after the radio chat, one of the Stawarts of visiting, Tim Browne (pictured) popped over and helped shake loose a few cobwebs left over from yesterdays tasting. We tried a bottle of the Willows G seven Shiraz Grenache (bloody smart) and got both of the wood fires cranking. Brownie then headed off to another friend of our's Bday Party where I'm sure he's going to try and sneak out to watch the Bledisloe cup (Game one on tonight). After he left another mate, Jo Evans (who's wife and Sister-in-law run the Ballycroft artisan cheesery) popped over and we spent the afternoon shooting the shit and telling lies over a pile of cheese, small goods and a few reds and Ports. All very civilized. I slow cooked a led of Lamb in the wood stove (behind Brownie's Sholder). Nicki and Georgie got home from ballet with the wonderful news that Georgie had just scored a distinction in her Vocational Intermediate exam so we celebrated like all true Aussies... with LAMB. She's now out with my mum and dad, watching Don Quixote as I write this no doubt sucking up fresh inspiration with every second that she drinks it in. so I leave you now, to have perhap just one more glass before my little dancer gets home. *CHINK* 
“Stella, Frankie's best girl... ”
29th of July 2010
Crikey, thats three... Well today the Photo is our younger dog Stella. She and Frank the Tank are best friends. She's a little shy but I thought she deserved a chance to be up on the web site too. Not really related to what I am thinking about, but I was patting her while thinking about what I was thinking about and... well damnit she's pretty.
I'm actually a very happy boy. I've just found out that david Franz rated as a 5 star winery with James Halliday and we've recieved some really wonderful reviews on quite a few of the wines in my range. I've put a link up on the Home Page if you haven't got a copy of the book and want to have a look. If you do have the book, look at pages 200 and 201, which have a mixture of my 08 whites, the o4 and o5 reds along with a few others (we've done exceptionally well). I personally don't live my life or create my wines with these sort of things in mind... but it's bloody nice to get them! Well, thats my little written equivilent of a fist punch in the air of delight. I think I'll retire to bed and dream happy thoughts... G'nite 
“A pit full of Shiny Salami... num num ”
28th of July 2010
Woah, two days in a row! That is definately some sort of a record for me!!! Last Night Pete Gambetta (Wine Maker at Yalumba) and Nigel Blieske (Viticulturist at Peter Lehmann Wines) popped over and together we polished all our Salami's drinking a few stubbies of 'Sassy Red' an NZ bitter that Nige brought over. Although it sounds a little tawdry (to those with a filthy mind) it was all about wiping of the mould that is helping our Salamis to reach their peak. The Salami's are about 5 to 6 weeks old now with about the same amount of time to go. We had a little taste just to check it out and all agree that they are shaping up fantastically. A few quick glasses of Pete's 2009 Wrattonbully Vineyards Tempranillo helped wash the Black Pig into our guts. Pete had to dash to get to 'The Farm' (think Maggie Beer) where Chef Kylie Kwong was giving a demonstration. Nige grabbed the rest of the Salami and bolted home to his wife, leaving me to quietly finish off the bottle of Tempranillo while waiting for Nicki to get home from the ballet run. A 'noice' night! 
“I am the master Plonker...”
27th of July 2010
I guess I'd better be careful that I don't throw a creative muscle here so my first entry in about 18 months is going to be very not too long! While I madly dash around putting the finishing touches on the new releases, I've got two Awesome helpers in the Shed who are making it possible. Rebecca Schrier and Caroline Heenan are working their industrious finger to the bone to make sure every bottle of david Franz wine leaves her looking fabulous. They are wonderful and this little black duck couldnt do it without them
“…Eat yer Greens Phil…”
Well, vintage is well and truly underway for 2009. Phil and I have pressed the Chardonnay for his little pet: “The Brothers Ilk” which really lets him have an outlet for the fine ‘Chardy’ skills he developed while at Yalumba under the brilliant mentors Louisa Rose and Brian Walsh. I’ll be releasing the tiny amount we made (well Phil made and I helped a bit) in 2008 which is an absolute cracker. I’m not the worlds biggest Chardonnay drinker but this is the dogs nuts and I am a convert!! Stay tuned for more developments as they become available.
As of today, I’ve taken in around 2/3 of my Shiraz, all my Semillon, the Red Rose grapes and am not looking back. The Cabernet is not far away, and my EV Rizza is to be picked next week. All in all I’m as busy as a one legged man in a bum booting contest. Although Tonnes are down the grapes in the fermenters look bloody awesome. As my good friend Charlie observed a few hours ago, there are some mighty fine smells wafting around!
Well I’m off to bed, more to come pretty soon.
Plog... the Plonkie's Blog
Grab the bottle, rip off it's head and suck it's guts out... That's how you truly enjoy a great wine!
