Owning and operating a vineyard is farming with a rather glamorous end product, it’s easy to forget what your imbibing has had hundreds of man hours poured into it first. Vineyard work is physical, repetitive and often means being exposed to all sorts of weather extremities. At Bellbird Spring we are a small family team and there is no limit to what we may turn our hand to but we can’t keep on top everything alone. To keep the vineyard in shape we employ the services of Hortus and their RSE (Recognised Seasonal Employees) workers.

The RSE scheme was fist initiated...

A delicate yet detailed Rosé. Quenching, with notes of ripe citrus and sweet spice. The palate has well balanced acid with orange and cranberry fruit characters.

Ingredients:

2 x salmon fillets

2 x orange

1 x meyer lemon (best to use meyer as the flesh is tasty and not too tart)

2 x mandarin

2 x mint tips

1 x good sized sprig of flat leaf parsley

olive oil

For the Seasoning:

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano (dried)

1 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dill (dried)

1 tsp garlic...

Dear Friends,

With the first day of Spring tomorrow it’s time for another update. It has been a busy few months for Bellbird Spring with travel to Canada, the UK and Hong Kong.  I visited distributors, retailers, restaurants and spoke with customers.  Making these contacts, renewing business relationships and rekindling friendships is vital to us.

In mid August we held an Affinity lunch at Roots Restaurant in Lytttelton (see below for blog post). This was an intimate affair and similarly an opportunity to meet new friends. Those at the lunch had a first tasting of the limited production Pinot Noir Rosé...

Affinity (noun) – a liking or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of shared characteristics.