Down on the farm

The guys at Wild Earth wines in Cromwell not only make a damn fine Pinot, they also do a great lunch at their Kawarau Gorge Restaurant. Their specialty is wine barrel smoked fare and we got them to come to our winery the other day to do a mid vintage luncheon for our vintage crew. We had pork belly, tuna, paua, hare confit, salmon and filled aubergines , all barrel smoke cooked. Wow everything was very tasty. They designed and built the smokers themselves, with their own special wood shaving mix. Smoking with a water pan in the barrel keeps moisture levels up and flavor loss minimsed. Its a bit like a Sous Vide machine effect very succulent and juicy. Yum.