Blog 6: Meet Archibald and Ruth Oliver- Generation 2

Archibald & Ruth Oliver circa 1890’s

 William and Elizabeth’s ninth child Archibald inherited 800 acres of the family property when William passed away in 1888, but it was Archibald’s wife Ruth, whom he married in 1879, that kept the family business in health while Archibald and his brothers led a more scurrilous lifestyle.

Records show grape payments made by ‘Kay Brothers’ in 1925  to ‘Mrs Oliver’ whose husband Archibald had long since passed. Forty-two tonnes of Shiraz priced at eight pounds a tonne, fourteen tonnes of Grenache at five pounds a tonne and a tonne or two each of Mataro and Doradillo also at five pounds per tonne.

In 1888 Australia celebrated its centenary of white settlement;
the first Mosque in Australia was established by Afghan
‘cameleers’ in Adelaide and the ship ‘The Star of Greece’ ran
into a violent storm off Port Willunga.

 

Again- the Oliver men seemed to have very impressive beards. I know it was the fashion of the day, but still they are really works of art! Maybe being born girls, Brioni & I have missed our calling as a good, solid, beard-growing Oliver!! 

Archibald & Ruth’s marriage certificate 1879

Archibald was a keen sportsman, associating himself with cricket, football and horse racing and in his later years, gambling. He is also believed to have enjoyed a drink or two on many occasions! He busied himself in the affairs of the community, served as a member of the District Council and involved himself in the committees for the Willunga shows.

Ruth apparently took over the administration and decision making of the farm in Archibald’s declining years and was said to be a hard person to please.  Thanks to Ruth Oliver (nee Cameron) for this research on Archibald & Ruth Oliver.
 

Ruth Oliver- looks like she was a pretty hard task master!

Archibald's death notice 1910

Blog 7: Meet William & Elizabeth Oliver- Generation 1

William & Elizabeth Oliver circa 1860’s

 I constantly find myself wondering what made William & Elizabeth make the big trek from Scotland to the new colony of South Australia. They arrived only 5 years after settlement of Adelaide, and although I know they would have had to be as self sufficient as possible, I struggle to work out why they planted vines! Boy, am I glad that they did though. Elizabeth must have been an amazing woman- having ten children with three dying in childhood, all while settling a new property in a new country. Makes my issues with child wrangling, winemaking, and trying to get the ironing done pale into insignificance!!

 

From all that we can read about William, it seems he was pretty successful at farming, and amassed a pretty large holding of land by his death in 1888.

Pioneers William and Elizabeth Oliver came to South Australia in 1839 from Scotland with two of what would eventually be ten children. Upon settlement in McLaren Vale, they immediately planted orchards and vineyards on their property ‘Taranga’ located in the Seaview sub-region of McLaren Vale. In 1841 the population of South Australia was 15,485 and the Oliver family were four of 776 migrants to come to the state that year.

Records show that in 1857 William Oliver was ominously awarded ‘the best collection of grapes’ at the Willunga Agricultural Society Annual Exhibition. The Australian Fruit Grower and Vigneron’s Journal Vol 3, 1892, p117 reports that ‘W. Oliver’s vineyards in McLaren Vale, winery mills and presses worked by steam and horse power.’
William passed away in 1888 leaving an estate that comprised of 18 horses, 38 head of cattle, 400 ‘fat sheep’, 3 pigs, a lot of poultry and implements including wagons, ploughs and a seedsower. His estate also included ‘4000 gallons of good wine’.

 

As recorded in The South Australian Register, Thursday January 8 1863, page 3, “Mr OLIVER farms seven sections (560 acres) of land. On this he grows 200 acres of wheat yearly. An orchard and vineyard of one acre were planted a number of year since.  The vines are very flourishing and productive.  An additional four acres of vines were planted three years since; the land trenched with the plough; the vines planted eight feet each way, with a roadway left for horses to turn on whilst cultivating between the rows. The grubs here, as elsewhere, have been very destructive; but the vacancies have been filled up each year, and the failures are now few compared to what they were at first.”

 I would really love to go back in time and chat to William & Elizabeth…..

The Oliver Family Bible recording the births & deaths of William & Elizabeth and their children

William Oliver's Obituary 1888

 

Blog 18: Lunch at Quay……Brioni hearts the ‘snow egg’

Not a bad view!

One Sydney restaurant that has been a supporter of Oliver’s Taranga for a long time is Quay, so Brioni and I felt it was our duty to check it out! Quay is housed in the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Circular Quay- directly across from the Opera House. Pretty special spot.

Brioni & I were the only table that wasnt a couple having a romantic lunch gazing into each others eyes- this place must be proposal central!

The four course lunch menu has our mouthwatering before we even begin, and the food doesnt dissappoint when it arrives at our table.

Head Sommellier Dan has done a brilliant job on the wine list- especially given that it includes our 04 Oliver’s Taranga Shiraz!

Course 1- the red balls are sashimi tuna....divine

 

Course 2: Organic heirloom carrots, cumin, fennel & celery seeds, comté-infused curd, almonds, amaranth

 

Course 3- Berkshire pig jowl, maltose crackling, prunes, cauliflower cream, perfumed with prune kernel oil

 

Course 4: Quay's Eight texture chocolate cake

Brioni was most excited about her 4th course, the famous Peter Gilmore Snow Egg- and she wasnt dissapointed!

Brioni heart Snow Egg

 

 

Blog 37: A wonderful suprise arrived today!

What a wonderful industry we are a part of. Brioni & I were happily working and gossiping about what we are going to wear to the SA Wine of the Year awards tonight….and a very large parcel arrived……

Our fabulous decanter

Like two kids on Christmas morning we unwrapped the parcel to find the most fabulous gift from Riedel Australia. For those of you who dont know who Riedel are- they are the makers of the best glassware for wine that you can get. I dont use any other glassware, same goes for our cellar door and the winery- nothing else is an option. This is one of the Riedel Face to Face Black Tie Decanters- see more about them here. My photo doesnt really do it justice- but it is seriously impressive!

Also enclosed was a wonderful letter. We are extremely proud to be a family business with a long history and to be associated with the Riedel family- who have been in business for some 11 generations and 333 years of glassmaking- astonishing!! I seriously love this industry!!

Blog 41: Corrina hits Sydney town….Part 1

I was lucky enough to spend a few days in the Sydney trade last week with my favourite distributor Tim Stock from Vinous. This means speaning all day every day going around to heaps of cool restaurants, bars and wine shops showing my wares & talking all things Oliver’s Taranga.

It was a whirlwind- but I have a few new favourite places I thought I would let you know about! Wine bars first….

Looking forward to doing some work with Vice Wine Bar in Balmain. Owner Glen Fox has been a great supporter of Oliver’s Taranga wines- especially the Grenache. Watch this space, as we are in talks for an Oliver’s Taranga special event at Vice in the next month!!

Then there is the very cool Timbah in Glebe. Owned by wine fanatic Tim- who also owns the great independent bottle shop Glebe Liquor– has set up this very cool wine bar- great food and interesting selection of wines by the glass. Our 11 Fiano may be there soon!

Another ubercool wine bar with a bit of a Melbourne feel is 10 William Street. Owned by the guys from Fratelli Paradiso, this tiny bar is massive on wines with interest, especially natural and Italian wines. Great food to share, and more likely than not, a few winemakers hanging out as well!

Of course, another a favourite hang-out of winemakers is Fix St. James in the CBD. We have a Sips in the City event coming up there, and Stuart Knox is the go to man if you need some awesome wines and great food without any fuss!

One of the best places to taste interesting Australian wines, without having to open loads of bottles and spend heaps of coin is Wine Odyssey in The Rocks. They have around 44 wines on tasting with very flash state-of-the-art Italian Enomatic Wine Preservation and Pouring System- which means that you can taste anything from a glass of Penfolds Grange, to a crazy McLaren Vale Fiano!

Will continue my recommendations in Part 2…..

Blog 44: The V+S Ball- Clovelly Surf Club 26th Oct

Jack and Jillaroos don your dress thongs and fishtail your ute to Clovelly Surf Club in Sydney for Australia’s premiere Vermentino and Sardines (V+S) Ball – a shindig like no other making its debut as part of the 2011 Crave Sydney International Food Festival (CraveSIFF).

Infamous fishead John Susman will skipper the evening accompanied by fellow seafoodies, sardine catchers Joe and Megan Tapley who will be on hand to school the haul of revelers on the ways of growing and catching sardines.

Sardine and Vermentino loving chefs Massimo Mele and Giovanni Pilu will be manning the grill while winemakers from Brown Brothers, Chalmers, Running with Bulls, Yalumba, Trentham Estate, 919 and De Bortoli will be on hand to pour, talk and taste this fresh, zesty and sustainable white wine.

Winemaker (without border) Ms Corrina Wright of Oliver’s Taranga is a country lass at heart and cannot think of a better event to showcase two of her favourite wine and fish varieties:

“Frocks, thongs, Vermentino and Sardines- can’t think of a better way to spend a night. Can’t wait to bring the Vermentino to the party with loads of my other winemaking mates!” she says.

So don’t miss out on the waft of charcoal smoking sardines and Eskies full of crisp, dry Vermentino. They are delicious, cheap, good for you and totally sustainable. Resistance is useless. Bring on the V+S Ball!

COST: $80 per head
DRESS: Thongs/boots, shorts, ball gowns and bowties
BOOKINGS: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2045394831
TWITTER: #vandsball #cravesiff

Blog 48- Wirra Wirra Growers Lunch

Beautiful day in the Vale today, and a good one to share with great mates of ours out at Wirra Wirra. We grow grapes for a number of wineries in McLaren Vale and beyond, and we have been working with Wirra Wirra for around 5 years now.

Wirra Wirra is found on Mcmurtrie Road McLaren Vale- or online here. For those of you who havent visited- I highly recommend it. Not only is the cellar door awesome, the staff are very lovely and extremely knowledgeable- but they have brilliant grounds, including a brand new BBQ area and loads of lovely lawn. I was lucky enough to try their new flagship Grenache today- definitely one to watch.

Wirra's Greg Trott 1934-2005

Wirra was established by one of McLaren Vales greats- Greg Trott. A man who was well ahead of his time, always thinking and creating, pushing the boundaries, encouraging McLaren Vale to be present on the world stage- in wine, food, tourism and the arts- as well as being a larrikin with a warm sense of irreverance.

He built a fabulously enormous ‘woodhenge’ fence to welcome visitors, and developed a huge catapult- just for the fun of hurling watermelons across the vineyards! Today the catapult was in full flight- there is nothing that brings out the child-like delight more than using an enormous piece of engineering to hurl a watermelon fly long and high into the sky, and then fall to the ground bursting into a million pieces with a big ‘splat’! Even my 15 month old son was awestruck.

Wirra's Andrew Kay with James Halliday in front of the Catapult

That is a level of fun that doesnt get to happen every day!

Just one more of the great McLaren Vale wineries you shouldnt miss when you are next in McLaren Vale amongst the vines.

 

Blog 49: Adelaide Royal Show- Cellar Door Experience

Not long before the excitement, sugar, animals, wood chopping, puke-inducing rides and show bags of the Adelaide Royal Show comes to town! From the 2-10th of September, the Adelaide Showgrounds come alive. Ever since I had to do all of my University exams in one of the big halls of the showgrounds- the Royal Show just doesnt have the same feeling for me!

But this year I will be shaking off my fear of the smell of dagwood dogs, and heading along with the juniors in tow. A very exciting inclusion this year is  The Cellar Door Experience- more information here. Some great tastings happening each day- very cool way to:

a. Taste some new wines (including one of ours in the ‘Tastes of the Sea’ session);

b. Get away from the crowds (only 40 people per sitting allowed- first in, best dressed);

c. Leave the kids in sideshow alley so you dont have to feel like less of a man or woman when you dont win the biggest fluffy toy on the laughing clowns; and

d. Feel good about yourself for eating/drinking something with considerably less sugar and fat than all other showground options!

Blog 50: Max Allen talks up Southern Italian Varietals in the Weekend Australian

I agree with Max Allen in his recent article in the Weekend Australian- there is a Southern Italian wine grape revolution sweeping across Australia- and we are very happy to be a part of it with our Vermentino and Fiano.

You may have already heard me rave on about these varieties and their adaptation to the hot weather extremes we can sometimes see in South Australia. Max agrees. He also talks about some of the new releases from Chalmers wines- awesome producers and the family who made it possible for all of us to now be enjoying these Southern Italian varietals, by importing the cuttings in the first place!

Corrina picking the 2008 Fiano- middle of a heatwave and the fruit looks awesome!

Check out Max’s article here:  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/viva-la-rivoluzione/story-fn845mx8-1226117527249

Blog 51: Don’s new wood oven

A very proud (if camera startled) Don, with his new wood oven!

We are very lucky to have very talented stonemasons based locally- the Mills boys (Carl- 0408430769). They built this new one for Don and the awesome wood oven that we have at our Oliver’s Taranga Cellar Door.
Anyway, with his wood oven cook book in hand he tells me this going to be his new specialty-Lamb Shoulder braised with balsamic and olives (Sounds good to me- nw we just have to wait for the invite!)

Here is the recipe, see if you can better Don or maybe give him some tips!

Lamb shoulder (we use our own Dorpers that we have grown on the property)

1 tablespoon of salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup Oliver’s Taranga 1841 Olive oil

3 cloves garlic

Small can of anchovies

2 sprigs rosemary

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup Oliver’s Taranga Fiano

4-5 cups chicken stock

2 cups of green olives

Coat Lamb shoulder in salt and pepper. eat a cast iron pan in oven for 3-4 minutes. Remove, add oil and heat for 30 more seconds. Add lamb and return to oven. Cook until browned on all sides about 20-30 minutes. hile the lamb is browning finely chop garlic, anchovies and rosemary and place in bowl. Add the vinegar, wine and 1 cup of stock. nce the lamb is browned, add the anchovy mixture to the pan. Cover tightly and return to the oven. Check periodically to ensure liquid has not evaporated and add more stock when necessary. You want to maintain a liquid level of about one-third of the way up, but not covering the meat. After about 1 hour, add olives and continue cooking and monitor the liquid for 45 minutes more. Cook until the lamb is fork tender. Remove from oven and serve. Serves 6-8.