Some years ago whilst working a vintage in Burgundy, Ben and I had the pleasure of picking Chardonnay  for Martin Prieur  of Domaine Jaques Prieur, after a number of his pickers walked off the job.  Perhaps “pleasure” is too strong a word for the gruelling hours spent on hands and knees caked in mud and soaked to the bone whilst picking, but it’s certainly an apt descriptor for the wonderful generosity bestowed on us by Martin for helping him out of a “pickle”.

That sealed our fate and our love of a good Chardonnay,  so we had a go at producing a more European style chardonnay, wild fermented with minimal lees stirring and a short stretch in a new French oak puncheon.   The resultant wine – leaner yet with a generous palate weight really surprised us and left us reaching for the next bottle and the next…….  with only a 130 dozen bottled, keeping our hands off it has proved to be a little difficult, so if you’ve not yet enjoyed a little Chardonnay in a while – then give this little beauty a go…

I came across this combination of prawns and sweet potato quite by accident one night when rummaging for “something for dinner”. Ben’s not a huge fan of sweet potato, so I was a little intrigued to see what he made of these – they were absolutely delicious, but I’m not sure if the “deep fried goodness” did it for him, or the wonderful combination of Moorish flavours with the generous mouthfeel & lovely lemony acidity of the chardonnay sealed the deal!

Crumbed prawn and sweet potato fritter

Makes about 20 to serve as a canapé

1 large sweet potato – roughly 500g
1 small red onion finely chopped
½ tsp ground cumin
1 red chilli  de-seeded and finely chopped
1 large clove garlic chopped
180g green prawn meat chopped into 1 cm dice
2 eggs beaten
Panko breadcrumbs
Sumac for dusting – optional
Bunch coriander
2 limes cut into wedges
Vegetable oil for frying

Roast the sweet potato, whole on a baking tray in an oven previously heated to 200⁰C for 20 – 30 minutes, until the sweet potato is really soft to the touch.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then slice in half & scoop the flesh out into a bowl and set aside.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the finely chopped onion, chilli, garlic and cumin and sauté for a minute or so  until the onion is soft and the  aromatic.  Add to the sweet potato and mix well to combine.  Add the raw prawn meat, along with some chopped coriander, folding it in gently.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.

Using a spoon, drop small balls of the mixture into the egg mix and then roll in the panko crumbs, flattening the balls into a round disc.  This is a bit of a messy task as the sweet potato mixture is quite wet, but the resultant mess is worth it!  Place each of the balls onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Heat a generous amount of oil in a heavy based frying pan, and cook the fritters in batches until golden brown on each side – remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.  To serve, pile the fritters onto a serving dish, sprinkle with a little sumac, arrange a few lime wedges on the platter and top with coriander.  Enjoy with a deliciously cold glass of Radford Eden Valley Chardonnay….

Many of our customers who have come up to the farm for a tasting around the kitchen bench would have been very familiar with a taste of “that little sample bottle” taken directly from tank that offered up so much promise!  Well we’ve finally gotten around to bottling the 2008 Spice Bush Shiraz and it’s exceeded our expectations – great depth & length with typical Eden Valley cooler climate  spiciness, bright  red berry characters and fabulously curvaceous tannins.

As with any new relationship, we’re taking our time getting to know each other – we’ve established  that she has good genes (very similar 05 fruit characteristics and with the richness and weight of the 06 vintage), is easy on the eye (brilliant lively ruby red) is well mannered (generally it’s only the third bottle that may give you a nudge around the temples)  and has the curves of a ’40’s nightclub singer (with those great supple tannins)!  We’ve shared many meals together, but the combination of spicy pastry goodness with the 2008 Spice Bush Shiraz must certainly be one of my favourites. These little  pastries are best known in South America, and many southern European countries.  They’re fantastically easy to make, and can be served as a starter, part of a shared dining experience or later on at night as a tapas!

Beef Empanadas Recipe

makes about 20 empanades

Filling
400g minced  beef
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 small red pepper seeded & chopped
1tbsp tomato puree
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2tbsp currants re-hydrated in a little verjuice or warm water
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ preserved lemon
¼ cup chopped coriander

2 x 445g Careme sour cream pastry**
www.caremepastry.com

Saute the onion, capsicum and garlic in a splash of extra virgin olive oil until softened.  Add the mince and continue to  cook  until well browned.  Add all of the spices and tomato puree, and the re-hydrated currants.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – adding a splash of shiraz at this stage if the mixture looks a little dry.  Leave to cool slightly, then add the preserved lemon and coriander, taste for seasoning, adjusting if necessary and set aside until you’re ready to make the empanadas.

To make the empanadas, cut out 10 x 10cm rounds from each sheet of pastry, divide the filling between the pastry circles and moisten the edges  with a little water.  Fold each pastry circle over to enclose the filling, making sure to press along  the edges to seal.  Create a rope effect by folding or pinching the edge over (you could also press a fork along the edge to create a different pattern).  Brush each empanada with a little egg wash and bake in an oven previously heated to 200 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes.  Leave to cool slightly and serve with a glass of full bodied spicy  Radford Spice Bush Shiraz!

**Careme pastry can be found at most major supermarkets or Deli’s – check out their website to find your closest stockist.   Any pastry off cuts can be rolled into a ball and refrigerated for half and hour before re-rolling for additional empanadas.

The new wines have been safely tucked into barrel, presses washed down, fermenters packed away and the winery  imbued with a calm air of achievement.  Vintage has been a long drawn out affair – sometimes challenging but, often surprising, with pockets of brilliance spread throughout the region.

June already, and pruning season is upon us!  Long cold days out in the vineyard  with the smell of woodsmoke drifting along the breeze to remind you that there’s a lovely pot of goodness cooking slowly on the old Carmichael wood stove in the kitchen and a bottle of 09 Menagerie to bring the feeling back to your feet and a smile to your face!  And a belated promise to a few guys that I would share “that lamb soup” recipe with them.

Menagerie – a lovely spicy blend of Mataro, Grenache, Alicante and Shiraz.  Multi–layered, textural and a perfect partner to the nourishing & warming spices of this delicious soup.

Moroccan Lamb chickpea and lentil soup

Serves 8 – 10
1 kg diced lamb shoulder
1 tbsp ras-el-hanout seasoning *
2 brown onions chopped
3 – 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 litres lamb stock or golden chicken stock
1 x 400g tin tomatoes chopped
1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight, drained and rinsed in fresh water
1 cup borlotti beans soaked overnight, drained and rinsed in fresh water
1 cup green lentils du Puy
1 medium sized butternut peeled, seeded and cut into chunks

To serve
Small bunch coriander roughly chopped
A good dollop of natural yoghurt

Rub the ras-el-hanout into the lamb and marinate overnight  (or for at least 2 hours before cooking).  Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan, and brown the diced lamb in batches, seasoning  each batch with a little sea salt.  Drain the lamb in a colander and set aside.   Use a clean pot,  heat a little more extra virgin olive oil over a medium heat, add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened.  Add the lamb,   stock, tinned tomatoes, drained chickpeas, borlotti beans and lentils.  Bring to the boil then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, adding a little more stock  or water if the soup appears too thick.  Skim the soup occasionally as any impurities rise to the surface.  After about half an hour, add the cubed butternut, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.  Continue to cook until the lamb and pulses are tender – about 2 – 2.5 hours.  To serve, spoon into warmed soup bowls, place a dollop of yoghurt in the centre of each bowl and sprinkle with the chopped coriander.

*Ras-el-hanout is available from specialist outlets or try www.herbies.com.au

To make your own Ras-el-hanout:
1tsp cardamom seeds
½ tsp ground mace
½ tsp ground peppercorns
3 allspice berries
½ cinnamon stick
pinch saffron threads
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
2 – 3 dried rosebuds torn to pieces

Toast the whole spices in a dry frying pan, over a low heat for a couple of minutes.  Stir in the nutmeg, ginger and rose petals, store in an airtight container and grind as required.

A fabulous vintage, a name change and a new release! That’s right – it’s still our delicious Radford Eden Valley Riesling, but it’s ‘grown’ into a new name – our new  release 2010 Radford Quartz Garden Riesling.

So named because the old fella’s in days gone by believed that the only place to plant Riesling vines was in quartz rich soils. Click Here to download the 2011 Radford Wines order form.

I put this terrifically simple & delicious salad together when asked to cater for Rockford’s growers dinner in December last

year – it was a great hit with the 140 or so guests who attended the function.  The evening took on a rather surreal feeling though – a massive storm that had been threatening to break finally did.  Bolts of lightning lit up the sky, thunder roared and of course we lost what power we had.  Sheets of rain fell relentlessly.  Thankfully a number of winery staff, armed with very large golf umbrellas were on hand to help our front of house staff  run the gauntlet from the warehouse to the marquee and feed the many hungry guests!

300g whole squid, cleaned and scored
1 large handful  fresh mixed herbs, flat leaf parsley, coriander, oregano and basil roughly chopped
3 – 4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
1 red chilli de-seeded or keep seeds for a bit of heat
½  cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra for searing
½ cup black beans soaked overnight
1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
¼ cup green olives pitted and sliced
1 small red onion finely sliced
1 stick celery finely sliced
2 quarters preserved lemon sliced (flesh and pith removed and discarded)
1 chorizo skin removed and crumbled
Squeeze lemon juice

Clean the squid by gently pulling the head from the body, removing any insides, including  the plastic like “quill”.  Slice the head away from the tentacles and reserve the tentacles.

Cut along one side of the tube, opening it out flat. Score the inside of the tube, then cut into 3 or 4 pieces.
Once all the squid has been cleaned, blend the mixed herbs, chilli and garlic with the olive oil, pour over the squid and leave to marinate for at least 1/2 hour or preferably overnight.

Meanwhile cook the black beans in plenty of water until tender, drain and reserve.

Heat a bbq until quite hot, season the squid with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook over a high heat for 6-8 minutes until tender, remove from the bbq, then add the chorizo & cook until crisp, drain on kitchen paper and set aside until needed.

In a large bowl mix all of the ingredients together, tossing gently to combine, add a generous squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary, pile onto a platter and serve whilst still warm.

Serves 2 as main or 4 as a side dish

Only ten days to go before the Christmas festivities are upon us with great food, fine wines and of course the requisite backyard cricket game to aid digestion – closely followed by a few cleansing ales of course – as we say in the wine trade  “it takes alot of beer to make good wine……..”

There’s still time to order Radford wines for delivery before Chrisse, if you haven’t already done so.  We use a courier service who deliver direct to your door – order by Monday to ensure delivery before Christmas!

As promised I’ve worked out a quick & delicious recipe from our table to yours – a little canapé to enjoy with Riesling on arrival.

12 scallops in the half shell
1 medium fennel bulb
1 large pink lady apple (or any tart red apple)
2 tbsp picked chervil chopped (or fennel fronds if chervil is unavailable)
40g unsalted butter
Dash of extra virgin olive oil
Squeeze of lime

First assemble the salad – finely shave the fennel bulb into a small bowl.  Then slice the apple into thin  slices and cut into matchsticks add this to the sliced fennel, season with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the chervil, a squeeze of lime and a dash of extra virgin olive oil and mix well to combine.

Next heat the butter in a large heavy based frying pan until nut brown, add another dash of olive oil to prevent the butter from burning.  Season the scallops with sea salt and place in the pan, flesh side down and sear for a minute, turn over and allow to heat briefly through the shell.  Remove from the pan, place on a serving platter, top with the fennel and apple salad and serve immediately!

** I put this recipe together one Saturday morning after returning from our local farmers market in the Barossa where I was lucky enough to have found Kangaroo Island scallops.  We were also putting the blend together for the 2010 Riesling – and thought a spot of scallops to whet the appetite wouldn’t go astray – a lovely match with Riesling!

Like most vignerons, this has been a busy year for us – starting in late February with an earlier than usual vintage for our first ever pick of Chardonnay. A number of interstate trips to various capitals for wine lunches, dinners and tastings and finally to blending the next vintage wines for bottling. We finalised our 2010 Riesling blends around the kitchen bench about a week ago, and will be sending them off to bottling in early December, for release in the new year. Bottling our wines a little later than most and keeping our Riesling on light lees for 8 months has really become a hallmark of our style. We’ll be bottling the 2008 Shiraz early in the new year and a lovely, flavour packed, savoury red blend too…..

I’ve gone into more detail about the goings on @ Radford Wines in the rest of this post, from vintage to vines and what’s happening on the farm. You’ll notice there’s quite an emphasis on food & cooking. Having trained and worked as a chef for many years and now responsible for making our wines I’ve been working towards creating an even greater balance between these two loves of ours. These range from new tasting menu experiences to the “Radford Kitchen Cooking schools”. Over the years, many of our customers have asked for suggestions and ideas for dishes to match with our wines, so after a number of these requests I’ll be sending out a monthly recipe, starting in December just in time for some festive season inspiration.

Vintage 2010

Another fabulous vintage for this year – possibly the best vintage Eden Valley has seen since 2002! And that’s saying something especially after such great results with 2009 Riesling and Shiraz vintages.

Following on from a lovely spring with good rains, and in turn a full dam – the lead up to the season boded well for a good vintage. A

minor glitch with the November 2009 heatwave, didn’t have any adverse effects on fruit set or yield as the berries were only pea sized at the time, and hadn’t gone through veraison yet.

In terms of fruit flavour – we’ve seen great balance, with firm acidity & tannin structure & reigned in alcohol levels this year. In recent seasons we’ve experienced some rather extreme vintage conditions, but this year felt almost like a return to the more classic seasons of old.

Vines

We’ve been farming bio-dynamically and organically for the past 5 years now which has been an incredible

learning curve for both of us. For the past 2 years we’ve taken things to the extreme by not spraying the vineyards with either copper or sulphur …( both of which are allowed in organic & BD agriculture).

After much discussion, we’ve decided – to apply for Bio-dynamic certification, primarily because we’ve seen the incredible improvement in soil health, vineyard diversity, flavour and quality of the wines , but also so that our customers too can benefit from the wines we produce which are grown ethically, nurtured by hand and have no added chemicals.

One the Farm

Last year we endeavoured to save our property’s original stone cottage from ruin. It’s taken a long time, but we’ve eventually saved the building, and have started to use the space on an ad hoc basis for cellar door activities even though there’s still a long process involved to complete the project.

Our aim is to create a sustainable building with composting toilets, rainwater tanks, solar energy, a whole lot of love and a garden space for outdoor alfresco dining in the Spring / Summer. We’ll eventually open the space as a cellar door for a couple of weeks during the year, but until that time tastings around the kitchen bench at home will have to do! More to come on this later….

@Home with Radford Wines

Being a small hands on winery we love to catch up and interact with our customers whenever possible. Although the cellar door isn’t a reality yet, we’re always available for an impromptu tasting around the kitchen bench, vineyard tour or a general catch up. So if you’re in the area, or making a special trip to the Barossa, give us a call to arrange a time and pop in for a tasting.

We’ve also been working on some great food & wine pairing concepts in recent months which gives me a great excuse to slip back into my chef’s clogs, don apron and create a world of flavour.

These bespoke experiences have been created to offer our customers a unique insight into our wines and perfect food partners to accompany them.

Radford Kitchen

The “Radford Kitchen” is another lovely project that has gathered a real “underground” following, mostly via word of mouth and referral.

These intimate cooking schools are right at the core of what Radford Wines is all about. The opportunity to create flavour, immerse yourself in the heart of our home & winery and share in the abundance of our bio-dynamic vegetable garden, local lamb, poultry & beef producers and of course get a real feel for what goes on behind the scenes in the cellar. And after all that work, sit back and reap the rewards of your labour and ours!

“Working with Gill Radford, caterer extraordinaire and passionate chef, has been such a bonus. The energy of working with Gill during the past few years has made my life as easy as it could be, not least because we are both driven by the imperative to find fresh ideas for using the seasonal produce that is so central to what we do.” Maggie Beer

Contact us for more information.

The rest of the growing season was ideal, with warm days and long cool nights – perfect ripening weather! Yields for the Shiraz were lower this year and average for the Riesling but with outstanding fruit quality – a cracker year for Riesling!

Parcels of fruit came in slowly and evenly which gave the vintage a lovely relaxed pace, and a good dose of time for contemplation. We picked our final parcel of fruit in early May and have only just tucked the last lot of this year’s wines into barrel. A great vintage all round – bonne vendages 09!

Last week was a first for most things; our dam filled for the first time in 2 years – and we’re more than a little excited. I can see it now, as I’m looking out of the office window towards the chook shed, where the requisite poultry are in attendance (and are not in the vineyard where they should be), alongside the sheep who’ve just nurtured the first lambs of the season. All of this overseen by ‘Marcus’ the chocolate Alpaca (who’s steady gaze and habit of spitting is a little disconcerting at the best of times).

We’ve had good steady rains over the last 6 weeks which will hopefully flow down to the rest of the catchment, and which, in the interim keeps me ‘winery & office bound’. Thankfully we’ve almost finished pruning so I only need venture out when it’s absolutely necessary, and then to be assailed by a ‘Bronte-esque style landscape’ albeit sans moors avec vineyard and be swept away with the season as well as the moment – terribly exciting!

Undaunted, and after much laughter, angst, some tears and general hilarity we were set (apparently). In the initial stages of vintage we dealt with all sorts of industrial commotion. Not only did I insist on knocking a wall through to the lounge room at home, (and this during vintage too – will I never learn!) but I had to oversee the set up of our new winery too. With the courage of the uninitiated and the strength of the eternal optimist how hard could it be?!

In my exuberance to conquer all I found myself dealing with at least 5 different contractors at one stage, having a slab poured, drains dug and in the midst of it all dealing with grapes that just kept coming in. Having to ‘fork’ them off the back of the ‘Betty’ into the crusher, whilst rallying the Transport Minister to keep up with the pickers and supply buckets / bins and the general paraphernalia required during vintage. And then it started to go wrong….

The vintage that was to be ‘a Chef and a Ballerina’ floundered in the early stages with our gorgeous ballerina being poached by my husbando for a cellar down the road – needless to say Mrs Lehmo would not have been worked to the bone had she stayed here…! So vintage 08 became, ‘a Chef, the Cook/Gardener & Ben’s dad Reggie (nominated as ‘Minister for Transport which was more than apt …. as long as he didn’t go AWOL too often). And then there was Mighty Mouse – a tightly bound package of dynamite with lashings of enthusiasm – who had the occasional walk on part – and a good part that was too, as well as being rather auspicious – this being the Chinese year of the Rat and all (I must confess that my enthusiasm is not solely based on the current Chinese year, but the fact that I’m a rat too.)

Vintage is such a convivial and inspired time of the year. Having brought the fruit home, we were rewarded by so many friends, neighbours and family popping in to have a yarn, shovel some grapes (although that never seemed to last too long), help with a pump overs and, in the case of Mel & Fi, stay up with me until 4am in order to chill a ferment. Ben’s mum, Jude took up the post of Minister for Home Affairs’ – with a special mandate to oversee the ‘Minister for Transport’ – yes SPECIAL MANDATE!!! Her presence meant much nourishment, a clean pair of jeans every now and again and a smiling face @ the end of a sleep deprived night (and more importantly maintaining a steady, reliable & consistent transport system….)

Luckily some extra labour presented itself in the form of my young niece and nephew (and as family, surely that’s not considered child labour). Being 3 & 5 – they’re really great for small jobs – washing buckets, cleaning press cages and the like, and in order to lure them back for next vintage (got to encourage them when they’re young), I’ll apparently need to accommodate a pig, probably some donkey’s and possibly even a horse or two – sorry Beno, but all things considered….

Whilst the 08 season was almost 2 vintages in one and saw the latter half of the season’s temperatures soar to 35 degrees and above for 15 days, we were fortunate to be spared from most of the heat in Eden Valley. While we experienced really hot days, the evenings dropped quite dramatically in temperature (which is typical of Eden Valley). So the grapes attained maturity, yet still had really cool evenings to ripen more slowly, which is so important to the elegance of Eden Valley wines. Although this vintage has been one of extremes; the concentration of fruit is second to none – yields may be down, but flavour and intensity have been magnified. Not only will the reds be incredibly intense, but the whites will have a delicate powerfulness that will be hard to resist.