Can you believe that three quarters of the year have already passed? Three quarters! Gone like that. Nine months. 273 days. lots of hours – even more minutes… you get the idea.
This crazy passage of time is one of the reasons we started doing Flavour of the Month series (or ‘Weekly Edition’ before I realised just how much of that rare resource we call time it took to write one of these every week). But having a record of all the things Christina and I get up to not only helps us remember it all, but also keeps us grounded and appreciative.
It also means we can basically google our lives when we can’t remember what we were doing last month!
This month marks a special date in our diary though. Among all the other fun stuff we’ve done in September 2025, Christina and I are celebrating our silver anniversary. That’s 25 years of being together! Now, that’s a sign that time goes fast!
Also this month, we’ve had a fantastic trip to the Hunter Valley for another silver anniversary and also to stay in a tiny house at a winery, we’ve been to national awards evenings, lots of birthdays, high teas, dance battles and even a regatta for model boats. It’s all happening just as spring starts its engines over Sydney.
We hope you enjoy the Flavour of this Month.
Cheers
Jim & Christina x
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It’s always great to be in the Hunter Valley – New South Wales’ premier wine region and Australia’s oldest. We’re here for a few reasons this time, but we start things off with a very cool experience at the historic cellar door of Audrey Wilkinson.
This winery was opened in 1886 by the Wilkinson family, and by 1897 it had transformed the wine-making industry with some ground-breaking technology like cement fermentation vats and steam-powered grape crushers. You can still see the actual vats and crusher in the museum here at the cellar door.
But we’re not here just for a history lesson…
Audrey Wilkinson offers a number of great experiences at the winery. We’re here to give their Premium Picnic among the Vines experience a go.
Cleverly set inside a leafy little pergola, this picnic has the magical feeling of being hidden inside a tree. On the charcuterie board is a wonderful selection of locally cured meats and cheeses, fruit, bread, roasted vegetables, salad leaves and even chocolate brownies. And our choice of wines of course.
It’s lovely and cool in the shade of our little den, but we also take advantage of the sunny weather and bring our picnic out to the blanket and chairs set up for us nearby.
This is such a lovely experience and very romantic – and I say that as one who can take or leave a picnic. In fact, I usually leave it.
You can read our full review of our time at Audrey Wilkinson here and there’s even a quick video that you can see here.
After the picnic, we head back into the cellar door and are treated to another wine tasting. This is the Sweet Indulgence Experience where we’re lead through six of the Audrey Wilkinson sweet wines, from late harvest wines to muscats and tawnies.
Each one is paired with a chocolate from Cacao Nib, a local chocolatier.
By the time we leave, we’re both incredibly full, but also hugely satisfied. Make sure you add a visit to Audrey Wilkinson the next time you’re in the Hunter Valley.
It’s only a short drive from our picnic in Pokolbin to our accommodation in Broke-Fordwich, but what a difference that 15 minutes makes!
This sub-region of the Hunter is so calm and peaceful it feels like a different place entirely. And where we’re staying is even quieter still.
Set well away from everyone amongst the vines of Winmark Wines is their tiny house Villa Vino. Small but perfectly formed, this tiny house has everything you need for a romantic getaway.
You can read our full review of Villa Vino here.
Click this pic to watch our video walkthrough of Villa Vino and Winmark Wines cellar door!
Inside, it might not look like a lot of space, but Villa Vino has been so well put together that you actually have plenty of room.
The reason it works is that this is just the living and sleeping space. The bathroom is in an adjacent extension and the kitchen is al fresco with all the equipment and appliances we have at home. More, in fact. This one has a pizza oven!
Beyond the tiny house, we’ve also got our own fire pit and stack of timber, so we crack the bottle of wine generously left for us in the fridge, build up the fire and relax as the sun goes down over the hills of Broke-Fordwich.
As the dawn creeps through the sky, I wake to see a thin trail of mist following the little brook on the other side of the road. Then my eye catches a movement over the distant trees: a host of hot air balloons is drifting with the light wind.
I stand and watch them for a while, thinking about our balloon ride – indeed our first ever go in a hot air balloon – right here in the Hunter Valley.
After breakfast, we wander down to Winmark’s neat little cellar door. Winmark only makes Chardonnay, a varietal that’s rightly popular in the Hunter Valley, but especially here in Broke-Fordwich.
We work our way through the four ranges they do here, then take a look at the connected art gallery. Owner Karin Adcock has a deep passion for art and this gallery, which is at least twice the size of the cellar door, proves it.
Outside, there’s still more art, with large-scale pieces making up the winery’s sculpture park.
This afternoon, we’re at Whispering Brook for the main event of our visit to the Hunter Valley. This lovely little Broke-Fordwich winery, owned and run by Susan and Adam Frazier, is turning 25 this year, and we’re here to celebrate!
It’s been a surprisingly long time since we were here last. We were here for one of the Fraziers’ amazing Olive Long Table Luncheon that’s set between a row of their olive trees. It’s very good to be back.
Unfortunately, it’s too windy today to have the celebratory lunch amongst the olive trees. Instead, we’re in the wine-making room, which I think is just as good. After all, who doesn’t love getting to go behind the scenes?
Lunch is a gastronomical masterpiece, put together by the brilliant people of the hatted EXP Restaurant not far from here.
Starting with exquisite canapes of cured kingfish, caviar and oysters, as well as plenty of Whispering Brook’s excellent 2011 Alexandra sparkling wine, we soon move to the lunch table.
Here, we’re spoilt with the most indulgent focaccia and butter, EXP’s incredible crumpets with duck leg prosciutto, then sides of mash with native thyme beurre noisette and oyster mushrooms in miso butter.
This leads up to a brick of slow-cooked 72-hour brisket with a black onion jus.
Dessert comes as delightful little wattleseed ‘creme diplomats’ – choux pastry filled with wattleseed pesto and macadamia praline.
Of course, everything is carefully paired with Whispering Brook’s best museum wines.
We have a horizontal tasting of their 2017 vintage (one of the best years in Hunter history) of Whispering Brook Semillon, Touriga Nacional and Shiraz, then the modern versions of all three from 2024, 2022 and 2022 respectively. It’s so good to see what time and different vintages can do to wine grown in the same place.
Congratulations, Susan and Adam. You’ve created a wonderful place here with excellent family and friends around you. Here’s to the next 25 years.
L-R: Blackwattle Distilling receiving their award for best classic dry gin; all the women of Australian distilling in the house!; and Ester with their Best In Show award
Tonight, we’re back in Sydney for one of the most important awards nights of the Aussie craft spirits calendar: the Australian Gin Awards.
This year, Ester Spirits in Marrickville is hosting, which means one thing: a really really good party.
Chair of the Australian Gin Awards, the inimitable Mikey Enright, announces the winners of the eight different categories. We’ve heard of most of the distilleries in the line-up, but there are few we haven’t, which is awesome.
You can see the winners of the different classifications here, but it’s no spoiler to tell you that Ester not only take home two of the class winners but also the Best in Show for their Old Tom. Our mates Paul and Mark McLeay, and Kieren Doyle also take home the best Classic Dry Gin award.
Today is a special day for a special lady: it’s Chirstina’s mum Jeanette’s birthday! She’s having a great day with all the ladies at lunch at Burnt Orange. It’s also Father’s Day today so the restaurant has given the ladies their own special room. Very wise for this raucous bunch!
Happy birthday, Jeanette.
From handing out prizes as the Chairman of the Australian Gin Awards, tonight is Mikey Enright’s time to celebrate: his superb gin bar the Barber Shop is rejoicing in its amazing partnership with the Barberhood, the very business from which the bar gets its name.
For the last 10 years, these two entities have worked in perfect harmony, with the hidden entrance to this excellent bar being through the fully operational men’s hair studio on York Street.
Here’s to another 10 years, Mikey. Very nice man.
This afternoon, Christina and I have come to Woolloomooloo and its famous wharf.
The longest timber pile wharf in the world, the largest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the most fun places to spell in Australia, Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf is home to a string of high-end restaurants, actual home to the rich and famous (Nicole Kidman has an apartment here) and also the setting for one of the most unique hotels in Sydney.
And it’s to the hotel where we’re heading – more specifically, its new high tea.
We’re sat in a quiet booth tucked around the side of the dining venue right at the heart of this historic building. Taking care of us are Liam and Deepa, and they lead us carefully through this elegant high tea.
Starting at the bottom of the tower, we have mini lobster rolls with Avruga caviar and chives, grisini wrapped with Parma ham (we know all about Prosciutto di Parma!), rockmelon gazpacho, a ‘caprese slider’ with mozzerella, semi-dried tomato and basil pesto (a clever twist on the usual tiny cucumber sandwiches of a traditional high tea), and – my personal favourite – swordfish croquettes with Aperol emulsion.
I even keep half of my croquette to save it till last!
From here, the other two plates of the tower really amp up the Italian vibes of the high tea.
Limoncello ricotta cakes, mixed berry zabaglione and snowball tiramisu all feature in the sweet stakes. Finally, to finish off, there’s a nod to the traditional, with the makings of a scone cream tea. The question is: do you jam or cream first?
As always, we walk away from high tea feeling surprisingly full. Who’d have thought such tiny dainties would be so satisfying?!
Head to the Ovolo Woolloomooloo for their Dolce & Mare high tea.
There are two options for this high tea: $89pp comes with your choice of tea from the delicious selection by First Nations-owned Australian tea company Blak Brews (my Red Centre tea is outstanding), or for $119 each, you can enjoy a glass or two of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
Tonight is the night!
Somehow, 25 years ago (TWENTY-FIVE!) I managed to catch the eye of this incredible woman. On the night of the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics, the spark caught and the fire has burnt with us ever since.
To celebrate this quarter of a century together (what?! A quarter of a what?!), we’re having dinner at the beautiful Fenwick in Balmain East.
Not only is the food here fantastic and the views out over the harbour to the Bridge are out of this world, it’s also just a quick walk home for us. Tick, tick, tick.
Thank you for putting up with all my nonsense and bad jokes, Christina. Feeling very lucky.
Today is another important day: it’s Christina’s sister Mary’s birthday! Feels like everyone was born in September round here!
We’re celebrating with her up in Palm Beach where, I’ve heard, Spaceballs II is being filmed!
It’s a lovely day, with lots of her friends coming to enjoy the impressive spread she’s put on. There are even cakes – three to be precise! Happy birthday, Mary!
L-R: the panel – Arrnott Olssen, Jay Nikolin, Chris Keely, Eloni Vunakece, Jonathon ;J.Mo’ Moran; us with Eloni Vunakece. Big, in’he?
This afternoon, Christina and I are at a very important event that our lovely friend Arrnott is holding in the beautiful Langham Hotel in the Rocks.
Arrnott has been running Men, Let’s Talk events for years now and they never get old and always have something different to learn from.
It’s a forum where men (and women) come together to explore men’s mental health. In these times when out of the nine tragic suicides that happen every day in Australia, seven of them are men.
This time, we’re talking about Connecting in a Disconnected World, and the panel Arrnott has assembled is so interesting. The panel consists of Jay Nikolin from the Langham itself, current Deputy Director Pride Chris Keely, ex-Roosters NRL star and competitor of Netflix’ new 100, Eloni Vunakece, and journalist and author of Mental as Anyone Jonathon ‘J.Mo’ Moran.
Tonight, Christina and I are on a little adventure in the city!
Our first stop is to an old haunt of ours: the iconic Irish pub P.J O’Brien’s on King Street for a spot of dinner. We’ve recently discovered the virtues of a spice bag.
If you haven’t heard of or haven’t tried spice bags before, they’re quite something. Originating in a Chinese restaurant in Ireland, spice bags feature twice-fried Chinese chips, salt and pepper crispy chicken balls, stir-fried veggies (usually capsicum) and a spicy curry gravy. In a recently released leaderboard of spice bags by Redit creator Foodies Sydney, P.J’s came third with only the Regent Hotel in Kingsford and the Green Room at Broadway above it.
Got to say, this is a good spice bag, so I’m intrigued to try its betters.
After dinner and an excellent pint of Guinness, we march down to Darling Harbour for the final night of dance battles – the all-star round in fact – from Beat Breakdown.
This civic programme sees dancers from all street disciplines and styles come together to see who’s the best. We were here for their very first year and we’re stoked to see how much it’s grown in popularity.
It’s always fun to be in at the grass-roots level of something great, and I think this is one of them. The last Sunday of September sees the inaugural Model Boat Flotilla at the historic Dawn Frazer Baths in Balmain.
Anyone with a model boat can come and join in, and anyone who wants to have a look is also welcome.
This is the brainchild of my friend Michael (bottom left) who is also instrumental in the Work Boat Convoy of the annual Balmain Regatta, which happens on the last Sunday of October every year.
It’s great to see Dawnie’s – the oldest public baths in Australia – being enjoyed. The doors are usually locked until the start of the swimming season in October, but keep an eye out for this next September. I’m pretty sure it’ll be back.
At the end of the day, Michael, our mate Brett and I retire to the Dry Dock Hotel for a well-earned schooner.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this September wrap-up as much as we have. Here’s to an even better October!
Cheers – Jim & Christina xx
