Explore with Fran

Join me on the journey as I travel, eat, and drink my way around the world

Wine

Time flies when…well, time just flies

by Leave a Comment

How fast?

Time flies. Doesn’t it go fast? Even in a pandemic. This week marks the start of our third month in Perth. We definitely aren’t, but if we were travelling as planned, I would be slightly anxious that we had already had 2 months on the road. Our trip, when it finally happens, and it will, is open ended, but after 8 weeks I will certainly be praying for the time to slow down.

Time may have just slowed down for Victoria, as in the last week she has started work. Spending the first day in the office, ostensibly just to collect a work laptop, and ensure that she was able to log into all the necessary work systems. She did. And she was.

Time flies when you have to be on calls all day in a pandemic.
Bringing home the bacon

Now, like all her colleagues at the small, local bank she has joined, she is working from home. This is mooted to be at least for the next 2 weeks. I know how hard it is to join a new organisation, and how long it takes before you start feeling settled. Having to do this remotely adds a level of complexity that can be hard to navigate. I will be sure to keep her supplied with strong cups of Yorkshire Tea.

The elusive job search

Whilst making tea is only a part time occupation, this still leaves me on the hunt for a job. In the 8 weeks we have been here, I have not seen one role for an agile coach advertised. This does not bode well. Either the job market is taking a long time to rebound from the pandemic, or I could have picked the only major city in Australia where I can’t find work. 

I did get a slight surge in positivity last week when I joined my first (remote) MeetUp here in Perth. For the uninitiated, MeetUps are organised groups of people with a common interest. And they, well, meet up, obviously. In the world of “agile” which I work in, they are very popular. Agile does love a good echo chamber. 

I often attended the Sydney Scrum user group whilst over on the East Coast, and this week I joined the Agile Perth group. To hear that there are over 2000 members in the group self identifying as “agilists” suggests that they must all be working somewhere. I just need to find out where.

Always learning

That said, I am not sure where I will fit work into my busy schedule. Anyone who tells me that they would be bored in retirement, just haven’t got enough interests. My days are amply filled with researching and writing potential articles, studying and revising for my WSET Level 1 wine course, sketching out a possible workshop I could deliver remotely to clients, learning more about the craft of professional coaching, and where I get time, reading widely. Phew. 

Learning about wine on the WSET Level 1 wine course
Having fun combining my passions

To relax, I am getting through a list of books that I have wanted to read for a long time but never committed to. After finishing the excellent “Long Walk to Freedom”, by Nelson Mandela, I am now working my way through “Middlemarch”, by George Eliot. Described by Virginia Woolf as “one of the few English novels written for grown-up people”. At 838 pages, and with other books on the go at the same time, it could take me awhile.

Time flies when you have this kind of reading material - the excellent Middlemarch
A behemoth of a book

Keeping fit and healthy

One thing that has been good, with not working, is that our exercise levels have increased from the already high levels we had in Sydney. Not being in an office all day has allowed for a number of long daily walks, taking our average daily step count well in advance of the 12000 target I had in Sydney. Averaging at around 25000 steps a day, and with no increase in weekly alcohol consumption (no decrease either, to be fair), my clothes seem to be fitting better than ever. Once I can afford a haircut, I am convinced that I will be even lighter.

This week we had another positive step on the journey to a “new normal”, post COVID19. Western Australia has fared very well dealing with the virus, and as of writing we have only had 2 new cases in the last week, with only 1 person in hospital. This means we have 3 active cases.

On the back of this, our State Government has allowed pubs, cafes, and restaurants to re-open, albeit for only 20 people at a time. With the 2sq metre rule still in place, this does mean that each venue can only have a few, spaced out tables. This makes for a somewhat strange experience, but I am not sure I would advocate what I saw in the news, where some restaurants are sitting mannequins at tables to make the dining room appear to be busier. That is just creepy. Here in Perth, every real person dining in has to provide their contact details, no doubt to allow for contact tracing should there be a spike in cases.

Back to normal? Kind of…

I’m excited to say that we are going out for our first dinner in a restaurant this week. Friday evening will see us dining at the renowned Balthazar restaurant in the city. This will be the first time we have eaten out since the Sunday evening before we left Sydney. That night was the last that pubs were open and I shall hold on to fond memories of the chicken parmy I had In the Hotel Mosman. My mouth is watering at the thought.

Time flies when you have this kind of coffee to help you through the days.
Oh, how I have missed you

I finally had my first coffee in an actual glass, and sat in a cafe, in over 2 months. Praise the lord. That coffee tasted good. Not only are paper cups bad for the environment, but I also find that coffee does not taste as good in them. On top of this, baristas pour less love into each cup of coffee they make, as they can hide their rushed work with a takeaway coffee cup lid. My impression of the coffee industry in Perth so far is that it is perhaps the Championship to the Premier League that is Sydney and Melbourne.

I often talk about my love of coffee (stop rolling your eyes!), and how my morning brew is one of the simple things that I am grateful for each day. I am hoping the quality of coffee improves now that we can sit in, and the barista has nowhere to hide.

Hello autumn

As the temperature starts to drop in the mornings, with us looking at the quickly approaching winter, it will be me hiding. Inside. I may fantasise sometimes about being back in a cold climate country. Digging out the winter wardrobe. Long walks in the snow. Cold pints in front of a log fire. And believe me, I do pine for this. Probably more than I should. Then I go for a walk around the village, and along the river, and even with the mercury just dipping into single figures I am ready to get back inside, to warm up.

Time flies, when you have to get the winter clothes out already.
Probably not as cold as it looks 🙂

To warm up, at this time of year, we are usually packing our bags, and heading to Europe. And how I would love to be able to do this now. Facebook memories are not helping. At all. Who wants to see that cute little restaurant in Positano, when you are stuck in the middle of an epidemic? Or that time your only worry was the fact that your beer was warming up, languidly laid around the pool at the villa in Kos.

Time flies when you are day dreaming about visiting Positano.
Dreaming of visiting places like this. Beautiful Positano.

Here is hoping that time flies, fast forwarding through this year, and we can all get planning our next holiday. Whether that is to support your local tourism industry, and we will be doing a lot of this in 2020, or if you plan to take yourself off to a beach for a while to put this year behind us.

Tell me, how are you?

I’d love to hear how you are all getting on. How you are adapting, and adjusting to the current situation. What you have learned as a result of this. What you are grateful for. And what you hope will change when we come out the other side. The things you don’t want to “go back to normal”. I would love to write a blog post all about you, and share all our experiences with each other. So drop me a line.

Until then, keep safe, keep physically distant but socially close.

Thinking of you all.

The Wonderful World of Wine

by Leave a Comment

If you have been reading along with me for some time, you may have noticed I like a glass of wine. Well, I like a few glasses. Sometimes the whole bottle. And if you read my posts on the wine regions of New Zealand, the wineries of the Hunter Valley, or how I spent my days in Margaret River, you will know that I learn about wine through wine tasting.

Sparkling wines of the Hunter Valley
Sparkling wines in the Hunter Valley

But, like me, have you ever been intimidated when handed a wine list in a restaurant?  Page after page of wines of every conceivable grape, from every conceivable region.  Where do you start? Some restaurants employ a sommelier, which often makes the situation worse. How to not sound ignorant. Or hint that you don’t know what you like, and want. How to pick a wine under the steely gaze of the “expert”? Go for the second most expensive option? Then you have fallen into the most common trap set by restaurants. Knowing that you will probably avoid the most expensive wine on their list, they will stick the wine they want to sell the most of as the next most expensive. You feel like you have got a better deal. The restaurant has sold the wine they originally wanted to sell. Confusing isn’t it?

The wine list of Gemelli estate in the Hunter Valley
Where to start…

For me, this confusion felt very similar when I first started visiting cellar doors.  Walk through the large, old, brown wooden doors, into a cool space, greeted with a smile, and a “how can I help you?”.  A sense of panic grips you as you are faced with racks and racks of expensive looking wine. You feel like you are in the wrong place.  You are not ready for this. You are not experienced enough. You feel inadequate.

Well, you are wrong.  You just want to try some new wines.  Have some fun. Learn a little more about the wonderful world of wine. Maybe even buy a bottle to go with tonight’s BBQ.  Or you need a good bottle to take to the BYO restaurant (bring your own, a very popular concept here in Australia) you have dinner reservations for at 8.30pm.  But which wines should you try? Do you have to try them in order? Do you swirl your glass around? (apparently yes, with everything expect sparkling wines).  And should you smell the wine, or drink it? (it turns out that it is both).

Chandon Estate in the Yarra Valley, Melbourne.
The House of Chandon, Yarra Valley, Melbourne

What are the big open receptacles on the counter for? Well, these are for spitting out the wine, not drinking wine out of.  Don’t copy Paul Giamatti in the hilarious film “Sideways”, where a couple of mates spend a weekend in the hills near Napa Valley drinking Merlot, amongst others.

Paul Giamatti in Sideways, wine tasting.
Taking wine tasting a little too far – “Sideways”

You may have seen those well versed in wine tasting do a little swirl of the stuff in their mouths.  Making a little inhale of air as they do it. It is harder than it looks, and takes some practice. If you don’t want to choke on your Cabernet, I wouldn’t suggest you try it for the first time at the cellar door.

Wine tasting can be daunting if you try and follow any rules.  My advice is, don’t. Relax. Look at the tasting list, which will be order from the lighter wines, bubbles and white, through the reds, and often onto the dessert wines, and port style drinks.  Often called “stickies” in Australia. And decide what you want to try. If you are not driving, and preferably you won’t be, having availed yourself of an organised tour, I would suggest you try a bit of everything.  Work through the list, top to bottom. Don’t be shy. And don’t be afraid. It is what most people do. This allows you to really test your palette, and work out what wines you like.

Wine tasting in the Swan Valley, Perth, Western Australia.
Enjoying a bottle in the Swan Valley, Perth

Like a lot of things, wine tasting is subject to personal preference and taste.  One man’s sensational Semillon, will be another woman’s bitter Barolo. We all like different flavour profiles, and trying lots of different wines will allow you to find yours.  Wine has hundreds of flavour profiles, but don’t let this daunt you. All you need to know is which ones taste nice in your mouth, and after you have swallowed. Which leaves a good “finish”?  And which will you empty in to the spittoon?

Go on, get tasting. Dive into the wonderful world of wine, and leave me a comment below on what wines you prefer. I am always on the lookout for a new drop, or a new region to try.

Salud!

7 Must Visit Vineyards in New Zealand

by Leave a Comment

Wine tasting in New Zealand

Classified as a “New World” wine region, New Zealand has an abundance of great wine growing regions, and the climate is perfect for creating some world class Pinot Noir.  Yeah, you probably know this already. It is a good drop. There are also bold Bordeaux style reds. Big, robust cabernet grapes. And we couldn’t talk about the wines of New Zealand without mentioning the ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc of the Marlborough region.  The cooler climate helping to create the apple crisp, zesty savs from the South Island that are now found everywhere, with bottle shops and supermarkets worldwide saturated with it. A good wine, but it wasn’t the focus of this trip.

Unlike many wine tasting regions I have visited around the world, wineries in New Zealand tend to charge a “tasting fee”, almost without exception.  Some even still insisted on collecting the fee even when we made a purchase at the cellar door, which is something that will not help encourage future, thirsty oenophiles.

New Zealand is a great country to travel around.  Small. Outrageously scenic. And whilst you are there, point your campervan, or car in the direction of the following vineyards.*

*I use “winery” and “vineyard” interchangeably. However, they have different meanings. A winery is somewhere that wine is made. A vineyard is somewhere that grapes are grown.

Waiheke Island – Auckland

Known as “wine island”, Waiheke Island is only 40 minutes from Auckland on the Fullers Ferry service, leaving from the downtown ferry terminal.  To get in the mood for a day amongst the vines, why not start the journey with a glass of bubbles on the way over.  Arriving at the island, the Explorer Hop on-Hop off bus meets you, to transport you around the island. The consistently high temperatures means that the island produces some great red wines.

Batch – our first port of call and where we also had a very good lunch, avoiding the showers that had started to threaten the day.  When the skies cleared, we had the best vantage point on the island, with uninterrupted views across to Auckland. For a $12 tasting fee we had the Thomas’s Bach wines tasting flight.  It wasn’t until I had been in New Zealand for almost a week that I learnt that “Bach” (pronounced batch) means a small crib, or beach house.  Not often the standard way of doing a tasting, the flight is a good idea as it allows you to try your wines side by side, comparing the flavour profiles

Wines of New Zealand, including an excellent Pinot Noir.
Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose

https://www.batchwinery.com/our-wine.html

Te Motu – Named for the original Maori name of Waiheke, “island of long shelter”, Te Motu serves up Bordeux style wines, sat overlooking the verdant Onetangi Valley. For a $20 tasting fee (yes, it was getting more expensive) we got a tasting of the premium selection, the Te Motu Heritage Flight.  The Dunleavy “The Shed” rose, Merlot based and made in the Provence style. A 2016 Syrah, “The Grafter”, and a 2015 Cabernet Merlot, “The Strip”, named after the old airport runway, preceded our final wine, which was the Te Motu 2009. Good for cellaring up to 2025, this was one that I enjoyed there and then.

Te Motu. Wines of New Zealand.
Our Wines

Stonyridge Vineyard – Specialising in premium red wine, Stonyridge has been described as :

“The vineyard that caused the wine world to wake up to Waiheke” – Lonely Planet 2015.

Stonyridge is a short 5 minute walk across the fields, and through the vines, from neighbouring Te Motu. So we HAD to visit, didn’t we? Following a brief tasting at the cellar door, we purchased a full glass and took it to sit amongst olive trees, drinking our wine in the courtyard that has a distinctly French flavour.  Great wine, great views, and great company. Do days get any better?

The vines of New Zealand, enjoying the glorious sunshine.


http://www.stonyridge.com/

Hawkes Bay – North Island

Nestled on the east coast, and by the city of Hastings, Hawkes Bay is fast becoming a must visit wine destination.  The “Bridge Pa triangle”, which is a cluster of conveniently located vineyards and cellar doors, Hawkes Bay is set up to satisfy all your wine needs, whether you want to visit in your campervan, or if you prefer to pick up a bike locally and pedal your way around.

Ngatawara – easier to find, than to pronounce, we had our first tasting here, in the old stables.  We had an unstructured tasting, which means there isn’t a set list, but you get to taste whatever takes your fancy.  After a rather uninspiring sauvignon blanc, then a Pinot Gris that failed to match the heights of earlier vineyards we decided to move on rather than work further through the wine list.  It can be a tough job, this wine tasting lark. Wine is a very subjective thing, and the beauty is that all our palates are different. Good wine, whatever the price, won’t always be to your liking.

Ngatarawa. New Zealand. Hawkes Bay.
Easier to find than pronounce.

http://www.ngatarawa.co.nz/wine/

Oak Estate – conveniently located just next door to Ngatawara, we were back to a structured tasting, for a $5 charge per person.  This tasting fee was refunded when we left with a bottle of wine. We needed something to go with our fish and chip dinner later that evening. The wines in the tasting included a Chardonnay, spoilt for many due to the proliferation of mass made, over oaky variations in the 90s.  However, this wine is currently undergoing a renaissance in the New World. The one served at Oak Estate was another great example of how good Chardonnay is fighting back. At cellar doors, when asked if I want to try a chardie, no longer do I reply with a screwed up face.

Oak Estate cellar door. Hawkes Bay.

Through the rustic, red cellar door, the courtyard, in amongst the vines, was a perfect spot for us to fill our hungry bellies.  The wine tasting was complemented with a very good lunch platter. The Oak Platter, which was more than enough for two. Now, I just needed to find somewhere for an afternoon nap.

The Oak Platter. Oak Estate. Bridge Pa. Hawkes Bay.
Lunch is served. The Oak Platter.

http://oakestatewines.co.nz/

Marlborough – South Island

We travelled through the Marlborough Sounds by ferry across to Picton in the South Island.  Despite our earlier decision to bypass the Marlborough region, and head straight down the west coast, the blue sky and the sun glistening on the vines as we drove through proved too strong a temptation.  And so we found ourselves swinging the campervan into the car park of the nearest vineyard.

Giesen Wines – Giesen is a wine brand that I am sure I have heard of, but for the life of me can’t remember why.  It is a name that I now won’t forget due to the excellent Pinot Gris I tasted. Paired up with another family for the tasting, paying the standard $5 tasting fee, we were taken through the history of the vineyard, which I always find fascinating, and through a structured tasting, sparkling, to white, through to red, and ending on sweet wines if you so wished. I did so wish.

Giesen. Marlborough. New Zealand.

https://giesen.co.nzP

Peregrine Wines, Central Otago – leaving Queenstown was always going to be hard. The ultimate destination, whatever time of year, I am afraid that our 3 days did not do it justice.  Mountains. Lakes. Great restaurants. Oh, take me back. What better way to perk ourselves up, as we headed north in the campervan, than to call at the renowned Peregrine Wines vineyard.  An architectural wonder that catches the eye as you walk to the cellar door. And the wonders don’t stop there. The wines produced here are nothing short of excellent. Cue, more bottles purchased.

Peregrine Wines. Central Otago. New Zealand.
Central Otago, simply stunning

http://www.peregrinewines.co.nz/

Come to New Zealand for the scenery, and stay for the wine. I challenge you to visit the above vineyards, and not leave with a boot full of wine. What are you waiting for?

Let me know what your favourite vineyards in New Zealand are. What are your go to grapes? What vineyards should I check out on my next visit?

The Melbourne Open and the Yarra Valley

by Leave a Comment

Having been two years since our last visit to Melbourne, we thought it long overdue that we visit again.  And what better time to go, apart perhaps than for the Formula 1 grand prix in March, but at the end of January for the Australian Open, which is exactly what we did last time.  It has to be said our previous semi final lasted longer than this one proved to be, but more on that later.

Leaving a day later than our previous visit, this time flying on Australia Day (January 26th), coinciding with my first anniversary of being an Australian citizen, we set our alarms and made sure there were no hiccups as we negotiated first the big yellow bus, then train, to Sydney Domestic airport for our 7.55am flight.  Flying with JetStar, the antipodean equivalent of Ryanair, you are never quite sure what to expect.  On this occasion our short flight, under 2 hours, was on time and very painless.  However, unlike last time when we flew into Tullamarine, today’s flight on the big orange airline had us landing at Avalon, some 60kms from Melbourne CBD.

From the big orange plane, onto the big red Skybus (I’m sensing a colour theme), and for $42 each for a round trip, we were transported the 45 minutes in to town.  Transferring to a cab by Southern Cross Station, I was glad the ride was short, as we had Walter Mitty driving us.  Not only did he provide free advice on how much I had been ripped off by the Skybus, but also regaled us with tales of him being very senior in the Israeli military, how he was the most senior person, and therefore in charge, of the planes he flies on, and also that he was a life saving paramedic.  I tried telling him I was an agent of Mossad, but this cut no ice with Walter.

View from the apartment

Our accommodation, in South Melbourne, was a fantastic apartment booked via Airbnb.  Twelve floors up, a few wines were drunk on the balcony that had sweeping city views.  The Eureka building dominates the city skyline in the CBD, and across to the right, the magnificent Melbourne Cricket Ground dominates.  If I had to gripe about one thing, it would be advertising a coffee “pod” machine, as a prominent selling point on your Airbnb listing, then only providing 2 pods. 2 pods! For 4 people, for 2 nights.  Are we on rations?  If any landlord, in any city knew how important coffee is, surely a landlord from Melbourne would know more than most.

We were lucky that the weather improved from the cold, grey skies that greeted us on arrival. In fact, there was a bit of a heatwave whilst we were there, and judging by colour of some people’s skin, present company included, more sunscreen would have been a good idea.


Unlike Sydney, Melbourne really knows how to put on a sporting event.  The Open is so well organised, you could easily spend a full day just soaking up the atmosphere, and enjoying the entertainment outside the actual stadiums. With hindsight, maybe we should have done that.  From the off it was obvious that it was going to be a routine win for Federer.  From entering the big blue, very blue, court, there is that colour theme again, the speed with which he dispatched the first set was pure Roger.  What we, or the rest of the Rod Laver arena, didn’t expect was the match to be over before all the sets were played. When Chung pulled up, and retired, there were audible gasps all around the stadium.  Gasps were replaced by expletives by one of our party. Understandably upset, the booing wasn’t appreciated by the lady in the row in front.  Oops.

We resolved to make up for the disappointment by getting suitably inebriated on the wine tour of the Yarra Valley the day after.  If you fancy doing something similar I would highly recommend Chill Out Wine Tours.  Starting the day with a typical Melbourne breakfast, well, one of us did, at Bowery to Williamsburg, we then met the bus at 9.25am, by the side of St Paul’s cathedral, opposite Federation Square in the city.  A quick roll call and we were soon on our way for the short 1 hour trip to the valley.  As always with these trips, the driver does a great job in getting everybody talking.  At the start of a wine tasting day, most people are very quiet.  They either haven’t woken up yet, the caffeine hasn’t kicked in, or are displaying natural shy tendencies. I fall firmly into the second camp.  Or maybe the third!  No such issue on the way home, when everybody was best friends forever, and were getting invited to a pool party!  Yes, you had a very “interesting” job, of designing door handles.  In fact, you were probably the first designer of door handles that I had met.  But do I want to sit in your hot tub with you, in your bathers?  That’s another question.

Our first stop on the trip was at Domaine Chandon, which turns out to be a sister vineyard of Moët (yes, it is pronounced with a hard t, with name being of Dutch origin, and not French), one of several around the world.  Part of the global holding company LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy).  The famous Moët is not made here.  As you know champagne can only be produced in the Champagne region of France.  What they do produce at Domaine Chandon is some very good sparkling wines.  The vineyard, as you would expect, is somewhat of a commercial behemoth, so it was refreshing to move onto Soumah wines.

Named as a derivative of South of the Maroondah highway, this is a boutique winery, one of those that seem to produce a full range of excellent wines.  The question that always makes me smile when wine tasting is “so, what wines do you like?”  My answer is the same every time.  All of them.  Which is 97% true. Soumah was one of those special wineries where I enjoyed every wine on the testing menu.  White, red, and dessert wines.  All excellent.  It is these type of tastings that I blame for me having more wine at home than I have books. Yeah, I know, hard to believe right?

After an excellent lunch at Soumah, a pasta dish that is possibly in my top 5 ever, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Italy, we moved on to Di Bertoli for another great tasting.  The day was finished at Yering Farm, probably my least favorite wines of the day.  It is not often I meet a wine list that I wouldn’t buy from.  I did that day.  A very pleasant tasting, with a very knowledgeable lovely old mature lady, but the wines did not match my palate.  As rare as that it, it happens.

Skipping the pool party, we had our final night in Melbourne, starting with drinks at Pony Fish Island.  A great little bar, in the Yarra River, that was first discovered by us on Instagram.  Don’t all the best bar / brunch / dinner recommendations come from your Insta feed?  Drinking as the sun set, we weren’t in the mood to explore much further afield, so we had a very good dinner at Teatro, on the river, eating, drinking, and chatting about the great weekend we had.

We were a little blue, to be leaving on the red bus, to catch the orange airplane. A red wine on the plane, and a commitment to return capped off a great weekend.