Sveatherston

Sven Olsen’s Brutal Canadian Love Saga are back, and this time they’re playing Featherston! Featherston is a small town in the Wairarapa, part of the Greater Wellington conurbation. We drove over the Remutaka hills to get there on a Saturday afternoon – dropping Nicola at the venue for rehearsal whilst I went onward to book into our accommodation at the Martinborough Hotel.

In the evening I drove back to Featherston – about 18km – so that we could have an early dinner at Brac & Bow, the main restaurant in Featherston. Whilst they were pretty prompt with service for cocktails and starters, the mains took a long time to come out so we were a bit rushed at the end as Nicola had to get back to set up in the Kiwi Hall. I wandered over a little later and staked my place in the second row.

The concert was free/koha, and the hall was full. Featherston isn’t just full of knitting and retired architects (possible future song title?), and the hall was buzzing. They played some of their classics, as well as using the “N” word – New Material – to celebrate life in Wellington and New Zealand, with such songs as Kron of Hastings (“he tagged the rest home, and the Countdown, and the town hall, and the flowerpots”), Brobdignagian Nightmare (about Nelson’s clock tower), Tasered At The Chicken Joint, Another Ratshit Night In Paradise, and many more.

After a post-gig night of debauchery driving back to Martinborough, we rose the next day for a leisurely exploration of vineyards. Starting at the Library, to get a list of which ones were open in off-season (quite a few!), we planned a route, then completely failed to stick to it. Instead we started off in Tiwaiwaka Vineyard, which hasn’t actually been open to the public on the occasions we’ve visited before, but now is (I believe it used to be by appointment only). It’s a small husband-and-wife operation, and we chatted to the owner, Mort, about his wines and wine in general as we ran through a tasting of seven different wines from the rosé, dry semillon, chardonnays, merlot and late harvest semillon.

We missed the next stop and went straight to Tirohana, where we tasted wines and stopped for lunch. The restaurant here offers either two course or three-course meals, but we weren’t in the mood for that, so we broke all the rules and ordered four starters to have tapas-style instead.

In the evening we dined in-house, but weren’t actually all that hungry, so didn’t take advantage of the culinary excellence on offer. The restaurant, Union Square, is run by the same people who used to run Zibbibo in Wellington (long since closed), so we missed out a bit there. Oh well, next time…

On Monday morning we went for breakfast at the Martinborough Village Café, largely as it seemed to be the only place open…Martinborough is not exactly a hive of industry and is mostly dependent on the wine trade, which comes alive at the weekends and summertime. We stopped on the way back at C’est Cheese but unfortunately they were out of the Mount Eliza Red Leicester that I wanted, and were waiting for a new delivery in the spring. We bought a couple of other cheeses then drove back across the Remutaka hills to Wellington.

 

Reggio Emilia

We arrived in Reggio Emilia late in the afternoon? Reggio where? Although classified as a city, it’s more like a small town, in the heart of the Emilio-Romagna region of Italy. It’s famous for its cheese production – it is the centre for Parmigiano Reggiana. Hotel Posta is the former horse post from days of yore – in fact some parts of it date back to the 16^th century. The current owner is the 4^th generation of the family to own it - about which more later.

We were up with the lark to take a short bus ride to a local cheese factory. We were all on time, this time it was the bus driver who was late. He blamed traffic. There is no traffic. Anyway, we were soon all aboard and on our way to the factory. We’d missed the beginning, and were fully prepared to face the wrath of our guide (apparently last year when they were late, they were roundly scolded), but this time it was all smiles…either they’d sacked the previous guide, or they’d been on a Customer Service course since then.

We’d missed the milk delivery part of the tour, but joined in where they were heating up the milk then adding rennet to create curds and whey. Our guide, Anne, explained the cheese-making process, which is roughly similar to all other cheese-making processes. She was at pains to point out that what makes parmesan unique is the grass and other feed the cows eat, and that it only comes from this specific area. After draining and being put in moulds, at this stage a special band is placed around the cheese, imprinting it with Parmigiano Reggiano, the date, the factory and batch numbers. This only stays on for 24 hours and is sufficient to stay on the cheese for the rest of its life. It’s immersed in brine for 24 days, by which time the salt has penetrated 3 inches into the cheese. The rest of the salting process takes place by osmosis after the cheese is taken to the warehouse, where it matures for a minimum of 11 months, making a full year including all the other bits. Usually, however, it’s aged far longer than that.

Beaucoup de lait, pas de fromage...

Beaucoup de fromage, pas de lait

The smell when you walk into the warehouse is amazing, and Anne invited us to described the odour, including notes of citrus, pineapple, leather, and mould. Mould, of course, is the enemy here, and the cheeses are regularly brushed and turned on the shelves. They are also tested to ensure quality, and any that fail the “knock test” (with a special hammer to detect cracks/hollowness) are scored around the rind – effectively marking the cheese as being 2^nd grade. If it’s too bad, the scoring is particularly tight, crossing out the words entirely. If you see scoring on the rind of your parmesan, don’t buy it.

There's a lot of cheese!

We then went through to taste two cheeses, a 24-month “young” cheese, and a more mature 40-month. We compared the differences in texture, flavour, and saltiness.

Colour is not an indication of age

We returned to Reggio Emilia and Anne took us for a walking tour of the town, pointing out sites of interest. It doesn’t have the churches and architecture of the larger cities we’ve been to, but is more a model of a typical Italian city where the ordinary folk live.  After a light lunch at Macrame, we were left to our own devices for a couple of hours, before rejoining our bus to the Cavazzone farmhouse, there to find out about vinegar.

The big church

The theatre - Pavarotti gave his first performance here

 

Padua

We left our hotel almost on time. We’d arranged an early start to incorporate the time booked into the church in Padua, and nearly all of our group had actually got the message and complied. But there’s always one*…”Oh, I didn’t hear that”.

We left the beautiful, 5-star hotel Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel for the last time, with many a tear in our eyes. The drive to Padua took around two hours, and we arrived to meet our guide, Michaela. Hold on, I know that name…yes, it’s the same guide we had in Venice. She took us around Padua, explaining its importance as a Roman city (the third largest in the empire). It’s also home to one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in 1222. We took a look around some of the oldest parts which are still extant – now home to the university’s administrators rather than students. It also has a very old café which never closes its doors – a very early 24/7. It also has an astronomical clock with an unusual feature – instead of the traditional 12 signs of the zodiac, it only has eleven – Scorpio occupies two sections (there’s no Libra). Legend has it that this is because the creator was never paid for his work, so decided to deliberately ruin it.

 

The old Justice building...now a market

Zoom in on Scorpio (3 o'clock)

We then made our rendezvous with the Scrovegni chapel. This was built by a wealthy banker in an attempt to improve his image. Bankers were held in low regard despite being wealthy – Dante put them in the seventh inner circle of hell with the usurers, so spending a lot of money on a chapel was a way to increase their standing. He employed the best sculptors and fresco painters of the day – some chap named Giotto did the paintings. This is what the chapel is now famous for; the rest of the palazzo has been demolished, and attempts made to remove the frescoes and sell them off were thwarted by the city council, who eventually raised the cash to buy what remained, and make it a public gallery. The system here is quite regimented: You turn up at your allotted time, watch a 15 minute video (in Italian with English subtitles), then spend 15 minutes in the chapel, as Michaela explained the significance of the frescoes, what they were depicting, and the influence on Western art. After 15 minutes you’re marched out so the next group can come in.

Heaven to the right, Hell to the left

We had a short lunch break, then found our way back on to the coach (guess what? Some of the group were late), for our onward journey to our final stay, the small town of Reggio Emilia. We’re staying here as it’s in the heart of cheese-, ham-, and vinegar-making country. So guess what? Tomorrow, we’re off to a cheese demonstration and tasting. Blessed are the cheesemakers!

 

* Not always the same one, but there's a small group of offenders

Blessed Are The Cheesemakers

Last weekend we drove into Newtown, one of Wellington’s lower-rent suburbs, to visit a shop called Brew House. They sell mostly equipment to do with home brewing and wine making, but do a side line in cheese-making equipment as well. Some months ago, Nicola went on a cheese-making course and has been itching to put her knowledge into practice.

Armed with the Mad Millie kit, and after reading the instructions, we sought out sheep’s milk at Moore Wilson, in order to make halloumi. Unfortunately they had none, although I’m sure I’ve seen it there before. So we bought cow’s silver-top (full-cream) milk instead. I also spotted that they stock buffalo milk, which will be handy when mozzarella is on the cheese-making menu.

Cheese-making in progress

The cheese-making process is a mysterious art which requires special utensils, and magic. Nicola will tell you all about it.

At the end of the process, we had six small halloumi cheeses. We had some for lunch last Sunday, and more for lunch today. They taste of halloumi, fry up well, and are generally successful.

Arrowtown

We drove along State Highway 6 almost back to Queenstown, before turning off to arrive in the picturesque Arrowtown. Arrowtown was a town built on gold, discovered in 1862, but since then has remained and is now a popular holiday spot. The town has retained a lot of the old buildings, suitably restored, and is full of shops selling stuff that people don't need, and cafés and restaurants.

We selected Café Mondo more or less at random, and had a perfectly acceptable lamb burger and pear & blue cheese salad. I washed mine down with a couple of cold Moas, which meant that Nicola had command of the car keys for the rest of the afternoon.

Sculpture in the café courtyard

There are a number of walks in and around Arrowtown and we may take the opportunity to do one of these later in the week. As it was, we started one, looking for a LOTR site, which may or may not have been here:

We'll have to check the locations book when we get home to find out what was filmed here.

After a quick paddle through the river, and an exploration of the shops, we then headed back along SH6, also known as the Gibbston Highway (as it passes through the Gibbston Valley), where we stopped at the imaginatively-named Gibbston Valley Winery. We tasted some of their wines, including a notable Le Fou Riesling. They also make their own cheeses on the premises, so we went and tasted them in the shop next door as well. 

Further along the Gibbston Highway we stopped at a lookout over Roaring Meg, a tributary of the Kawarau river, which is now the site of a hydro-electric power station. As we were admiring the scenery, we noticed some people in the water: yes, it seems that the sport of "putting on a wetsuit and being swept downriver in a raging torrent" is a popular pastime in this area!

Mad kiwis

Wellington Nights

After a hard day’s wandering around Matiu/Somes Island, we headed into Wellington’s heady nightlife district, Cuba Street, for dinner at Matterhorn. This is one of the best restaurants in Wellington, and also boasts a bar that is rated as 16^th best in the world.

We turned up at around 730pm, and had cocktails in the bar – vodka martinis and cosmopolitans – before having dinner in the restaurant. Check out the menu options here – we had the steak, venison, snapper and soufflé. Each. No, not really!

There wasn’t anything chocolatey enough for me on the pudding menu, so Pa & I shared some cheese instead.

Home Blog

Yes, this is the first blog that I’ve actually been able to post from the comfort of my own home! Telstra have finally connected us to the telephone and internetworks, so no more USB sticks and internet cafés for me!

As a consequence of this, I ordered food off the internet for the first time here. The websites and ordering process aren’t as slick as UK online grocery sites – in many respects, technology and internet stuff seems to lag behind by a few years here. I’ll see how good they are at not substituting items, and delivering on time (2.5 hour delivery slots! Sheesh! You don’t know how spoilt you are with your ocado.com!) when it arrives on Monday.

Technology: they’re just about starting to do television broadcasts in HD. Sky, who usually lead in these things, won’t be broadcasting full HD until next year, apparently. And we might be getting DAB radio next year as well.

They Do Things Differently Here

For a country that is one of the largest dairy producers in the world, the range of cheese on offer is disappointing. Cheese seems to come in 4 flavours: Edam, Swiss, Colby, and Tasty. After that you have to go looking for expensive handmade cheeses, or imported cheese, so far as I can tell. I shall have to investigate further.