Innholdsfortegnelse for Autumn 2019 i Fleurieu Living Magazine

Key Personnel Petra de Mooy Issue 30 and seven years in print are rapidly approaching. I feel a party is in order. Jason Porter Jason has worked as a graphic designer and creative director both locally and overseas for over thirty years. When not in the office, he can usually be found tweaking the crossover filters on his ridiculously over-the-top hi-fi system. Esther Thorn Esther Thorn is a storyteller. She has worked as a journalist for twenty years in print, radio and television. Esther believes small things, like commas and apostrophes, are important. This makes her an irritating dinner guest but a good editor. Holly Wyatt A self-described ‘city-escapee,’ Holly moved to the Fleurieu chasing wide-open spaces and the spoils of semi-rural life. Those spoils include a good coffee in…

Since beginning Fleurieu Living Magazine in 2011, we have had many amazing contributing writers and photographers. During production of issue two, Heidi Lewis from Heidiwho Photos came forward to offer her photography services. Each issue since has featured her images and it has been so rewarding having her as part of our team. Heidi has an amazing eye and a can-do attitude that makes her easy to work with. She is also up for any challenge. In the seven years I have known Heidi, I think she has been travelling for close to a quarter of the those years. Whether it is with family, friends or ‘on assignment’, she likes to get off the beaten track. In 2018 we sent her into the bush, during winter, to walk for five…

Turning up the skinniest of driveways opposite the Almond Train on Main Road, McLaren Vale, you come across the humble structure that is home to ‘She Sews’. But once inside the tiny beige building, a veritable Aladdin’s cave opens up. And there, in amongst the brightly-coloured jewellery and accessories, the French lace, the sumptuous silks, the smooth linens, and rows and rows of extraordinary handmade dresses, you will find owner and seamstress extraordinaire Megan Caldersmith. It is quite a modest base for someone of such extensive talents. Megan is an artist, seamstress, stylist, designer, mother, collaborator and entrepreneurial business owner. We are lucky that she and her family chose to call the Fleurieu home after time spent in Adelaide, Western Australia and the Coonawarra. Megan’s grandmother Pearl was a very…

Karl Meyer is an artist and designer specialising in public art. He originally studied industrial design in Adelaide before discovering a more creative outlet through exhibition design. It was here that Karl found a rewarding niche. ‘It is everything from idea through to the concept – then you move into digital and mechanical and physical but there is also psychology and it is all about conveyance of ideas,’ he says. Soon Karl wanted to branch out further and so moved into public art – since 2009 he has had a very successful track record, completing numerous installations around Australia, including in Adelaide, Bondi, Mount Gambier, Townsville and Canberra. In 1999, Karl and his partner bought a heritage listed property in Parawa. Their first child was on the way and they…

Imagine you own a wine label (neat, right?) Once you’re done daydreaming about the perks, think about the challenges you’ll face in your endeavour (aside from trying not to get high on your own supply too often). You’re one of an estimated 2468 wineries in Australia. How will you make your bottle stand out on an overcrowded bottle-shop shelf? For McLaren Vale’s S.C. Pannell, one of the secrets is putting a little bit of esteemed winemaker Stephen Pannell in almost every bottle. Well, on the bottle. The winery’s logo, which has adorned most of its wines since the first release in 2006, features a bold figure with arms raised, sprouting vines and a pair of birds from its sides. But the motif wasn’t what Stephen Pannell initially had in mind.…

Wild Harvest Phil Mather’s family and friends harvest olives from wild trees and relinquished groves throughout the Fleurieu. Harvesting wild fruits, enhances the flavour and character of his award-winning oils, whilst reducing the spread of the much loved and loathed tree. Each season brings a unique variety of oils. Green label – Early Season, Burgundy – Mid Season and Black & Gold –-Late Season. Available at Lucia’s Fine Foods and Willunga Farmers Market. wildharvestoliveoil.com Carissa Carissa Olives produces a single varietal of Frantoio olives. Frantoio is a Tuscan olive, which is well suited to the Mediterranean climate of McLaren Vale. The grove has organic certification with NASAA and grows consistent award-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Carissa Olive Oil is classed as medium and has a cut-grass aroma, smooth palate and…

If you dropped by Noon’s cellar door at McLaren Vale in the 1980s, chances are you’d be greeted by a tall man wearing a leather cap. He’d remember your name and what you bought, even if you’d only been there once, years before. ‘Did you find that shiraz as good as I thought you would?’, he’d ask with a smile. That man was Clive Simmonds an artist, teacher and cellar door aficionado, whose commitment to bettering the McLaren Vale region was so legendary that each year someone receives a trophy in his memory. The Clive Simmonds Memorial Trophy was founded in 1989 by the Wine Tourism Committee to recognise the best ambassador for the McLaren Vale region in the hospitality industry. Each year committee members nominate individuals who, like Clive,…

When Andy Dallisson and Alicia Turner were setting a wedding date, December 21, 2018 was an obvious choice – it was exactly six years since the start of their relationship. Selecting a destination for the event was just as simple; many of the couple’s favourite memories were formed on the Fleurieu Peninsula, so they knew it would be the perfect location for their nuptials. The only hard part was deciding on which venue, but Andy and Alicia settled on picturesque Allusion Wines at Yankalilla for their ceremony and Second Valley’s iconic Leonards Mill for the reception. ‘We visited Allusion Wines early last year and fell in love with the gorgeous views,’ says Alicia. ‘It was the perfect place for us to say our vows. Our best friend Phoebe completed a…

Being Social: Big Easy Radio Music, wine and good vibes flowed from the aqua shed of Big Easy Radio in Aldinga on Saturday 12th January for Under The Palms. Music from their viticulturist Sammy B, along with Ollie English and Sidwho ensured dancing continued well into the night. Being Social: Storm Boy launch On Monday 7th January, curious ticket holders congregated at the Victa Cinemas for the anticipated screening of the reimagined Colin Thiele book cum-film Storm Boy. The film’s stars Finn Little and Trevor Jamieson along with key representatives from Sony Pictures were in attendance to launch the film. Being Social: FLM summer launch party Rain cleared just in time for a garden soiree at South Seas Trading, Port Elliot to celebrate the launch of the FLM summer issue.…

When Cindy Westphalen thought about her dream property, she had very specific criteria in mind. It wasn’t necessarily about the size of the property, or its particular location or facilities. It was about the feeling she wanted to experience. ‘I wanted to drive up a long driveway and come upon a surprise,’ she explains. ‘I never thought I’d actually find it, but then we drove up the driveway here and this beautiful old house was standing there all alone in this landscape and I thought ‘I’m in heaven’.’ ‘Here’ is Woodburn Homestead in Langhorne Creek, which Cindy and husband John purchased shortly after they first ventured up that eucalypt-lined driveway in 2017. Since then, the Westphalens have set about thoughtfully restoring and enhancing the original house and nearby chaff shed…

The first time Michael Scarpantoni stood inside Daringa House, he was just a child. His best friend was the nephew of Ken Maxwell, who owned the house at the time. Then, it was cold and damp. Concrete had been rendered part way up the wall in an attempt to stabilise the brickwork, while the floor went up and down creating different levels where there shouldn’t be any. Decades later, this personal connection, alongside the home’s historic significance as the first dwelling in McLaren Vale, would sustain Michael and brother Filippo (Fil) through the three-year project to rebuild Daringa House, quite literally, brick by brick. Daringa’s story began in 1840, when Charles Hewett and William Colton arrived in the southern vales from the English county of Devonshire. The two farmers established…

It’s hard to see the appeal of a struggling ferry service called ‘Philanderer Ferries’. Named in honour of its founder, the operation barely broke even conveying mainly Kangaroo Island residents to and from the mainland. But in 1989 a Malaysian company did see possibility in the venture and bought it, renaming it SeaLink. A few years later SeaLink was brought back to South Australian ownership, heralding the start of what would become one of this state’s most impressive success stories. Today SeaLink Travel Group is an ASX listed company, has an annual turnover in excess of two-hundred million dollars and employs more than sixteen-hundred staff across Australia. The company owns a veritable smorgasbord of tourism ventures, including a travel agency, adventure tours, resorts, ferries, barges, coaches and a historic paddle…

The collection of titles in David Paxton’s office bookcase is an eclectic one. Wedged between bestsellers and crime novels are the ‘The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop’ and ‘Cottage Gardens in Australia’, and a hefty variety of others. They speak of someone with varied interests and pursuits, who can’t easily be categorised. David Paxton is such a man. He’s one of Australia’s most highly respected viticulturists and a clever entrepreneur. But he’s also a passionate biodynamic farmer, who’s spearheaded the organic wine movement in both the region and the nation. It’s 42 degrees in the shade on the day of our interview, but, despite the heat, David has spent the morning in the vineyards. He’s nurtured his vines for over thirty years and won’t let a heatwave keep him indoors.…

Every few weeks, Jim Banman from Villeré Coffee rolls down my driveway to deliver a fresh batch of artisan coffee beans, skilfully roasted by his business partner and wife, Carol. This week we’re drinking the Brazil blend – the tasting notes tell me to look for cocoa, caramel sweetness, red berry, bright citrus acidity and roasted hazelnuts. While I can’t say my palate is completely up to that task, I can say that it’s damn delicious. Villeré supplies local businesses across the Fleurieu but when I recently asked Jim to nominate a favourite café, he quailed, saying that would be like ‘asking me which of my children I love the most!’ But actually, choosing a decent café is important. It doesn’t matter how good the beans are, if they’re treated…

From the FLM team It’s almost autumn and we’re having our last hot gasp of summer. Welcome to issue 28! Recently, we took the time to read the Onkaparinga Council’s strategic plan for tourism and the statistic we found most interesting – as one of many small businesses operating on the Fleurieu – was that eighty percent of tourism to the region is made up of day-trippers. That means they’re mostly coming from Adelaide or they may already live on the Fleurieu. Of the total tourism income, close to twenty-five percent comes from friends and family who are visiting locals. So what we have here is a very localised economy that’s greatly influenced by the people who call the Fleurieu home. FLM strives to be a publication that uncovers the…

Ditch the garden hose and take a breath. Autumn gives you permission to enjoy a full-bodied Tasting Australia experience, with top notch food and wine. One of the nation’s flagship events is set to launch a 10-day sensation overload. Fully immerse yourself and dissect every step of the paddock-to-plate process at the Salopian Inn Family Dinner, or indulge in a lavish long lunch doing nothing at all, except ‘enjoy being’. Coriole Vineyards Gather for the Producer Waiters Dinner April 12, 7-10.30pm Celebrating 50 years of quality winemaking, Gather will host a six course beverage-matched dinner created by Chef, Tom Tilbury, and served to you by the local producers themselves. Quiz them on foods ethically harvested, sustainable products, and the processes and philosophies that underpin their brands. d’Arenberg Cube Surrealist Ball…

The day prior to my first meeting with Robert Jennings and Elizabeth Blieschke in Goolwa, it was a whopping 46 degrees in and around Adelaide. ‘A good test for any home and it was about 26 degrees in here (without air-conditioning) so pretty good,’ says Liz. The cross ventilation, fans and high ceilings specifically designed for their new build had worked effectively to mitigate the harshest day of summer sun we had seen in a while. Bob and Liz had initially built on the Fleurieu in 1990 – a holiday house on Middleton Beach. They lived in Adelaide at the time and both worked for the Advertiser as journalists. Many of you who follow motorsport will likely know Bob’s work. When the couple decided to make a career move to…

Obaysch: A Hippopotamus in Victorian London by John Simons Published by Sydney University Press ISBN 9781743325865 $35.00 Obaysch, a hippopotamus captured from the Egyptian Nile and transported to live out his life in a Victorian English zoo, has been much studied and admired. His popularity at the time demonstrated the lingering, drawing, power of charismatic megafauna and he has continued to inspire portraits, studies and academic analysis long after his death. John Simons, recently retired from forty years of university life in England, America and Australia, has written a book dedicated to drawing Obaysch out from cultural signification and anthropomorphism, giving him agency through his own history, nature and species. In so doing, he red raws the relationship between humans and exotic animals, decolonising them from the discursive systems which…

There are a few different ways to get those bubbles in the bottle. Knowing the basics of how it happens and a few of the terms that indicate style and technique on the bottle can really help you find the perfect drop for you. At the end of the day, it comes down to what you like to drink and presto, that’s the best one for you! Sparkling wines are produced all over the world and can be made in different styles and levels of sweetness, from easy drinking and uncomplicated to stunning, complex examples. The most prestigious and famous, of course, is Champagne. Only sparkling made in that region can legally be called Champagne. All other sparkling wines made this way must use another term to tell us they…