November '21
The wine
Whoa – can you believe it? Our first wine and it's the '19 Auburn Road Pinot Noir from Handpicked Wines, an absolute gem hailing from the Tamar Valley. An exciting and constantly evolving region, the Tamar is known for its world-class pinots, and given our first bottle also happens to be Handpicked's first vintage from the Auburn Road vineyard, we like to think that this was meant to be.
The region
With a focus on local produce and sustainable resource management, Tasmania has rapidly become the darling of Australia's food-and-wine scene, and all we can say is it's about time. Actually, we can say a little more than that. Like, did you know that in 2012, Tasmania was named as one of the top two wine investment locations in the world by a big-shot European wine publication? And given the way that the decade that followed has panned out, it looks like they were right on the money.
The recipe
Got pinot? Then you'll need some duck, asap. Here's one of our favourite recipes from our mate Chef Dave: fresh farfalle with a rich duck ragu.
It's simple, really. All you need to do is pour a glass of pinot noir, prep your duck ragu and pop this playlist on in the background. Silky smooth with a touch of spice, these tracks will have you begging for a break in conversation and bailing mid-dinner for a kitchen boogie – "Hey Google, put playlist on repeat."