Charmian Smith

Pinot noir from prestigious wineries is certainly not cheap, but there are sometimes less exalted brands which can give as much pleasure, such as the Mission Martinborough pinot.

Many people dream of escaping the city, growing grapes, making wine, and perhaps running a cafe, but few actually follow that dream.

When the young George Fistonich first made port, sherry and hock from 0.4ha of grapes in Mangere, South Auckland, in 1962, few would have foreseen that 50 years later he would have built his business into one of the country's largest wine companies - and managed to keep it in the family when many other successful wine producers have been taken over by corporates.

Cecilia Kulcsar, from Hungary, shows how to make paprikas csirke, chicken paprikash.

Two cookbooks by Otago chefs are out in time for Christmas.

There are two styles of sauvignon blanc I enjoy: a fresh, lively style overflowing with fruit andbalanced by a crisp finish that brings a whiff of summer, and a more complex style with subtlebarrel fermentation, texture and interest that pairs well with food and is worth lingering over.

Most of us know little of high country farming although we have to look no further than the Southern Man commercials to realise that the way of life in the remote back country and the South Island foothills and mountains has become a favourite New Zealand myth.

Why would you go to the trouble of setting type letter by letter, line by line, page by page, as Dr John Holmes does, when you could print it almost instantly by computer? Charmian Smith talks to the 2012 printer-in-residence at the university library.

The colour in red wine comes from macerating the red grape skins in the fermenting juice, so if you remove them after only a short time you get a pink or rose wine. If you press the juice out of the grapes and remove it from the skins straight away you get a blanc de noir or white wine made from red grapes. Roses are lovely for long summer lunches or lazy summer evenings. Serve lightly chilled.

One of the cookbooks I've used a lot over the past year is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Veg Everyday (2011), so I was delighted to see his new book, Three Good Things (Bloomsbury). Getting back to the basis of simple, good sustainable food is something the British chef and small-holder has made his mission.

Central Otago wine producers were in town for their annual tasting last week. Having tasted numerous pinot noirs a couple of weeks ago, I took the opportunity to look at the whites on show - particularly the wonderful rieslings, which offer great value for money.

Dave Cull, of Dunedin, shows how to make a Catalan fish stew, which he taught himself to make after enjoying it during a visit to Barcelona several years ago.

Peter Gordon is one of those chefs you feel probably doesn't often cook in his restaurants in Auckland and London because he is so busy travelling and cooking at festivals, not to mention his prolific writing for periodicals as well as books.

It might seem a no-brainer to choose the cheaper of two delicious chardonnays from the same producer, especially when one is almost twice the price of the other.

When you walk into the downstairs galleries at Dunedin Public Art Gallery, a full-sized billiards table greets you. What is it doing in the gallery?, asks Charmian Smith.

Some of the wines in this tasting have the advantage of bottle age but the younger ones would benefit from a few more months to soften the rough, raw edges, and others, even at three years old, will continue to develop further nuances over a couple more years.

The harp may be an ancient instrument, but in its various forms it has kept up with the play. Charmian Smith talks to Helen Webby about "New Music for Ancient Harps."

For those who enjoy old fashioned baking - and who doesn't?- the recipes from Alexa Johnston's award-winning books, Ladies, a Plate (2008) and A Second Helping (2009) have been amalgamated into one hardback volume Ladies, a Plate: The collection (Penguin).

Flavia Rubini, from Brazil, shows how to make carrot cake Brazilian style, with a chocolate topping.

Riesling relies on acidity for its freshness and structure. This can be mitigated by varying degrees of sweetness, but whether sweet, medium or dry, there should be enough fruit weight to balance the lively acidity. Drier versions are usually best with rich food, such as cheese or fish pie, or Asian dishes with a hint of sweetness and ginger, lime or lemongrass.