We just had Sam Neill and Jeffrey Grosset visiting and a great evening was had by all imbibing in fabulous riesling, pinot noir and the wife’s legendary duck curry. The Two Paddocks Riesling did itself proud in the slipstream of the almighty Polish Hill, with Sam declaring he’s a big fan of the Polish Hill and something about it being as “Dry as Taranaki on a Sunday”. There was a dominance of Two Paddocks Pinot Noir with the duck due to unfortunate accident with Grosset’s luggage, his Pinot Noir the main casualty. Still, there were no complaints from Jeffrey as he dipped his nose ever deeper into the 2008 Two Paddocks, still brooding away (see note) although drinking superbly on the night and a perfect match for the duck.

It was a wonderful night of Antipodean banter with Trans-Tasman relations at an all time high, and the rugby only came up once in conversation. The Wandering Palate did allow a bottle of Grosset Gaia to be liberated, the only bottle of cabernet that has been seen at the WP table in many years, and yes I did enjoy it… but don’t tell anyone.

I sense the vortex of Christmas, so best get on with the festive season articles… Goose this year!

Sam Neill, Jeffrey Grosset and friends at the Wandering Palate table