Barossa

Bam! That month just flew by. I’m back blogging but haven’t returned to my regular routine yet. Still, IMK keeps me honest. Last month I shared some of the things I bought in the US and Mexico. Upon our return, we went for our regular holiday to the Barossa Vintage Festival and followed it up… Read more

After discovering Flaxman Wines a few years ago via the Good Food & Wine Show in Brisbane, we visited them last Vintage Festival for a fantastic private tasting. Many wines were tasted and quite a few dollars charged to credit cards as we enjoyed a relaxed afternoon set on the gentle slopes on the vineyard… Read more

I’ve just returned from my fifth Vintage Festival in the Barossa Valley. An event that celebrates the end of the vintage in one of Australia’s premiere wine growing regions. After hard months of tending the vines and harvesting, the community is ready to open a bottle of wine or two and let down their hair… Read more

Unless you’ve been living in the bottom of a wine bottle, it’s hard to avoid the brilliant marketing campaign for the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Using dark gothic imagery set to a foreboding Nick Cave soundtrack, the ad is visceral and compelling. You want to grab a bunch of friends and make a weekend or… Read more

May. It’s here. It’s the last month of autumn and things should be cooling down. Should be. I love a warm climate but seriously? 28c? I know those in southern climes are shivering in their boots so I should hardly be complaining but I wouldn’t mind just a little chill in the air. Before we jump… Read more

Well here we are at the start of April and what do you know? It’s Easter! This particular April also marks a very special anniversary for Australians, New Zealanders and Turks. On April 25th it will have been 100 years since the ANZACS landed on the shores of Gallipoli or Gellibolu in a campaign that… Read more

In my July kitchen….….I have a huge bowl of Barossa Valley walnuts that I bought over Easter from the CWA in Angaston.   They are sitting in a beautifully hand turned wooden bowl I won at the Ziegenmarkt auction whilst we were at the Barossa Vintage Festival.  They’re burning a hole in my pocket.  I… Read more

Readers are perhaps a little weary of my endless praise of the Vintage Festival in the Barossa Valley. Just to show you that it’s not all flashy lunches and endless drinking (though that does make up a considerable part of my itinerary), today I’m going to tell you about two very different markets in the… Read more

You’re hardly starved for choice in the Barossa Valley.  Local providores, markets, cafe and restaurants abound.  Throw in the huge array of cellar doors in close proximity and it would take you months, if not years to eat your way through it all.  So, as you can imagine, planning a visit to the biennial Barossa… Read more

It’s been a big few weeks, what with the Vintage Festival in the Barossa Valley followed hot on its heels by the inaugural Adelaide Food and Wine Festival.  Over the coming weeks, I’ll be catching you up on my (hardly) bite sized adventures and it seems appropriate that I start with my last adventure, first…… Read more

The other day I was poking around Koko Black in Canberra, wishing we had one in Brisbane when I saw these little treats.  The thing that caught my eye was the label – ‘For Frequent Flyers’.  I thought, ‘What’s this? They’ve recognised my fellow zombies, trapped in a twilight zone of overpriced airport shops, shuttling… Read more

To blog, or not to blog?  That is the question.  I wasn’t going to blog about this dinner because it’s not really a review of a restaurant or the wine is it?  On the other hand, all my friends were there and we had a great time so I thought it would be nice for… Read more

I’m a big fan of Op Shops (Charity Shops to UK readers, Thrift Stores for those Stateside).  Is it because I’m cheap?  Is it because I like to recycle?  Is it because vintage and retro are in?  Is it because ‘old stuff’ is normally better quality?  Is it because I want something a little different… Read more

Since arriving back in Australia, one thing I have been attempting to do is try new recipes on guests, rather than the falling back on old faves and standbys. Progress has been slow to date but got a big boost with the pantry stock up a few weeks ago. Just before I headed off to… Read more