Beautiful New England

Dear Reader,

It’s 3am on the New England plateau in northern NSW and a freezing minus 6 degrees centigrade outside.
While most people are sensibly tucked up in a warm bed, Nick Oxley, of the Goldfish Bowl cafe in Armidale, is out in his backyard busy baking bread in the wood-fired oven he installed last January. 

Rugged up in a big homespun jumper knitted by his mother-in-law, he’s enjoying the peace and quiet under an inky black star-studded sky.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cold, even snowed here a week ago,” he says, grinning. “But it’s really fulfilling baking your own bread. I light the fire and make the dough when I get home from the shop, then get up and start baking around 3am.”

Oxley makes four different breads (spelt and rye, white, wholegrain and fruit) with organic flour from Wholegrain Milling in Gunnedah and sells the bread at the cafe. You’ll often see a queue of locals lined up here at the hole in the window waiting  for steaming cups of coffee and luscious portuguese custards tarts (baked by Nick’s father, Phil) and croissants (baked by brother Josh).

Nick and his brother have been running the Goldfish Bowl for the past three years and represent a small group of  passionate people dedicated to improving the food and wine scene in the north west of the state.

“We’d love to source the fabulous creamy milk from down Nundle way (about 100 Ks south east of Armidale), but can’t get it because no-one will deliver it up here,” says Oxley.

It’s a familiar story in these parts. According to Donna Francis, manager of The Armidale Food Co-Op, it’s cheaper to freight organic fruit and vegetables from Sydney than from neighbouring country towns.

“Food miles are really becoming an issue,” she says. “Of course during the warmer months, we sell locally grown produce which farmers bring into town from their market gardens, but winter frost means there’s not much around at this time of year.”

A few blocks away at Bottega, a busy cafe and deli which opened six months ago, owner-chef Phillip Tutt sells a range of terrific smallgoods made with locally grown Black Mountain Pork.

“Customers come back and tell me the bacon tastes just like bacon used to taste. The ham too. There’s a definite market here for regional produce but it’s very challenging operating a deli like this in a regional town.”

Despite such difficulties, small boutique producers such as the award-winning Gwydir Olives at Inverell www.gwydirolives.com.au are now on the map and offer conducted tours and tastings to visitors.  Smaller producers such as The Dorrigo Cheese Factory, and Lorrikeet Olives at Inverell, are also making a mark.

But more notably, the region is beginning to be recognised for its excellent cool climate wines, boasting 42 vineyards, five wineries and 19 cellar doors.

At the New England Show held in Glen Innes last October, esteemed wine judge, James Halliday commented that there is no other region which has come on stream with so much to offer as the New England. “It is a beautiful region; it is no coincidence that the name New England was chosen when it was first settled,” said Halliday.  “Variations in altitude, aspect, degree of slope and soil type give vignerons a wide choice of variety and wine style.”   

“The word’s getting out now,” says David Graf of Glenhoya Wines, Armidale, “but it will be another ten or so years before the region is well-known.”

A civil engineer by profession, Graf planted his first vines (riesling, sauvignon blanc and shiraz) behind the family home in 1997. “We wanted to see how they’d go and we’ve learnt a lot by trial and error. People looked at us and said ‘you’re mad, you don’t grow grapes here’.  And some years we don’t,” he adds, with a smile.

At 1020 metres, Glenhoya’s cool climate produces some excellent fruit driven wines and Graf is specially proud of his 2005 Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.

“We think it’s cruel if we get a day over 27 degrees here,” says Darryl Carter of Whyworry Wines at Uralla, 30 minutes south of Armidale, and 1100 metres above sea level.

A producer for many years of superfine wool for Italian fashion houses, Carter diversified into wine eight years ago. “We still don’t really know what’s going to do well here,” he says.  “Our main red will be pinot noir and our main white will be riesling.  We’re also trialling pinotage, a South African red wine grape.”    

His merlot and white port are also well worth sampling, something you can do at the cellar door while tucking into one of the Carter’s mint and rosemary-rubbed lamb steaks.
    
Why worry, indeed.
   
www.armidaletourism.com.au