Charmian Smith

The first of the 2010 sauvignon blancs arrived recently - a fresh, crisp breath of summer. But sauvignon can also be complex and textural when barrel fermented.

Central Otago may have a distinctive style of pinot noir, but fine pinots also come from elsewhere as these Waipara and Marlborough wines demonstrate. 

Good riesling is deliciously refreshing with its bright fruit and racy acidity.

New Central Otago pinot noirs keep appearing, some from wineries based elsewhere like Hawkes Bay producer Church Road and Canterbury-based Tiki, and new local producers like John Montero and Roberta Manell Montero's Ellero label from their vineyard on the Pisa terraces.

Pinot gris can be lush and medium sweet, but some of the most interesting ones have a proportion of barrel fermentation or lees contact which gives a hint of creamy nuttiness and texture to what can often be a fairly boring wine.

Unusual varieties and blends turned up for this tasting along with a few gewurztraminers which are increasingly rare these days.

Dukkah, a Middle Eastern blend of spices and nuts, is a fashionable flavouring, used as a dip with olive oil and bread, a sprinkle on salads or vegetables, or a rub on fish or meat.

Despite the plethora of new cookbooks published just before Christmas, another batch has landed on my desk. There seems no end to the publication of new (and reprints of old) cookbooks.

Where vines grow makes a difference to the character of the wine - that's why Marlborough sauvignon blanc and Central Otago pinot noir are so distinctive, and why Central Otago pinot noir is different from pinot noir grown in Martinborough and why pinot noir grown in one vineyard may be distinguished from one grown in a vineyard a kilometre away.

Tired of using environmentally unfriendly clingfilm to wrap lunches in, Nicola Pye developed a plastic-lined cloth wrapper that could be wiped down or put in the washing machine.

A delightful book for young cooks is My Grandma's Kitchen, by Louise Fulton Keats, with recipes by Margaret Fulton, the doyenne of Australian cookery writers (Hardie Grant).

Slow food fast is how Lisa Loveday describes what she makes in a pressure cooker. Charmian Smith learns about the revival of an old, environmentally friendly cooking appliance.

Much to my delight, former Dunedin caterer Rowan Bishop has produced another book Vegetarian Kitchen (Bateman).

This week, Asta Armalyté from Lithuania shows us how to make zemaiciu blynai (potato pancakes with meat).

There's free food in abundance around New Zealand if you only know where to look, Michael Daly tells Charmian Smith.