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Best, Booziest Christmas Cake, Ever!

There are some recipes I will never relinquish, AKA, my Chilli Jam. However, in the spirit of Christmas, I thought I’d share my beautiful Mum’s fruitcake recipe – best, booziest fruitcake ever!

I grew up watching my very talented Mum bake and decorate fruitcakes. Everyone always loved them. I now love to do the same, especially at Christmas time. And the best thing about fruitcake is it keeps for months in the refrigerator, so you’ll always have something to share with your visitors over the festive season.

So here it is, complete with old measurements (if necessary you’ll have to do the conversions):

Ingredients
8 oz butter
8 oz raisins
8 oz currants
8 oz sultanas
3 oz mixed peel
2 oz cherries
2 oz almonds

1 ½ cups plain flour
pinch salt
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
4 eggs

Rum and Stomp! Tawny

Method
Soak fruit in ¾ cup Rum, ¼ cup Stomp! Tawny. Keep soaking for a couple of weeks (the longer the better).

Choose tin - suits 23cm deep, round or 20cm deep, square tin.
Line tin well with 3 – 4 layers of buttered brown paper.

In a mix master, cream butter and sugar. 
Add eggs one at a time.
Add sifted dry ingredients in small amounts, alternating with soaked mixed fruit. For a spicier cake add more spice to taste.

Add cake to tin. Don’t panic, it will fill tin – fruitcakes don’t rise. Surface can be smoothed with a wet hand (best to do this if intend to cover with fondant).

Place in a cold oven and then turn oven on to moderate. Cook for 2 – 2 ½ hours or more depending on oven. If cake is over-browning cover top with foil or lower oven temperature by 10-20 degrees.

Fruitcake is cooked when inserted skewer comes out clean.

Once removed from oven cut paper off around edges of pan. Skewer quite a few holes through cake and liberally sprinkle with more Tawny and Rum mixture. I probably use about half a cup.

Then turn cake, in pan, top-side down onto foil; wrap cake and pan tightly with foil. Cover pan with a towel and cool completely upside down. This helps the top of cake sit flat and level, particularly helpful if you want to decorate.

Once cooled, cake may be kept in a container in refrigerator for many months.

So there it is, my Mum’s delicious, boozy Christmas cake! See, I will share some things. 😉

Amazing served after dinner with a wee Stomp! Tawny or Muscat.

Happy cooking, Merry Christmas and don’t forget to share your efforts on our socials @stompwines, #stompwines
 

Roses and Vineyards... why?

Roses, and why they're at the end of vineyard rows.

There are two theories – first, and most popular. Roses and grapes share the same soil and sun requirements but roses are far more finicky. They are susceptible to similar pests and diseases of grapes, and they succumb to them earlier, giving the heads up to grape growers of what to treat and when.

A second theory is that the farming equipment used to be drawn by horses, and the thorns of the roses meant that the horses were less likely to cut the corners and damage the last vines and trellises.

These days we have science on our side. We have access to so much more information about how our vines are faring throughout the year that the roses are not necessary any more. But they are beautiful and worthy in their own right and sometimes it's nice to be a little traditional. And, as Michael won't let me bring the horses back, the roses will have to suffice.

Meredith’s Favourite Rose:  Mr Lincoln - who can resist it's stunning perfume
Alyssa’s Favourite Rose:  Double Delight - she loves it's fragrance and ability to last as a cut flower in a vase
Michael's Favourite Rose:  Are you kidding me? Mind you, roses are better than Jonquils! Don't ever bring those into the house.

Chambourcin - The Loveliest Grape You've Never Heard Of

Chambourcin is one of the more recent French-American hybrids. It’s a popular contract winemaking grape varietal for our business, because it’s easy to grow in the Hunter. Pest resistant and disease resistant, it’s the perfect set-and-forget varietal for the backyard grower in our neighbourhood.

If you think you haven’t tasted it, you probably have. It’s one of those varietals, like Petit Verdot that up until recently hasn't had a huge amount of name recognition in its own right, most often being used in a blend. Chambourcin is a berry that has red skin and red flesh, so it has a gorgeous, appealing, bright cherry colour, and can add a touch of sweetness to another varietal, like shiraz.

We have recently released a festive Stomp Limited Release Sparkling Chambourcin. Our intention is that it will be a much-loved celebration wine for our members.

We’ve been tasting it in the cellar door with a beautiful Lindt dark chocolate covered blueberry (available from the supermarket), so we know it is a wonderful accompaniment for chocolate.

It’s also perfect for Christmas lunch with turkey and cranberry, or imagine a luscious birthday breakfast in bed, or intimate anniversary brunch with croissants and jam.

We’re really enjoying the Stomp! Limited Release Sparkling Chambourcin to celebrate the special events in our lives, and we hope you will too!

Please send us pictures of your special moments, and/or #stompwines when you post to insta or FB.

James Halliday 5 Star Winery

We're chuffed that James Halliday & his team have awarded Stomp! Wines a 5 black star rating.

The 5 black star rating is awarded to an

"Outstanding winery capable of producing wines of a very high quality, and did so this year. Also will usually have at least two wines rated at 95 points or above."

The following six wines are all rated over 90 points:

Stomp Limited Release 2017 Shiraz - 95
Stomp Limited Release 2014 Shiraz - 95 - Sold Out
​Stomp 2017 Shiraz - 92
Stomp 2014 Shiraz - 92
Stomp Limited Release 2017 Sauvignon Blanc - 92
Stomp 2017 Verdelho - 91
Stomp Sparkling Verdelho - 91

This is testament to the quality of wines being produced by stomp! wine. Michael says "It's great to be acknowledged with the 5 star rating. It's a lot of work for a small brand like ours & recognition like this goes a long way"

Fireside Tasting July 2019

Did you join us for our stomp! Fireside tasting? It was a perfect night to be rugged up, outdoors tasting wine, enjoying antipasto & toasting marshmallows.

Guests relaxed by the fire and strolled the grounds, the sunset was spectacular. Mark Henderson joined us playing acoustic guitar to add to the ambiance.

Michael talked everyone through the wines, explaining oak usage in the reds. He raided the wines still in barrel to show everyone how the upcoming 2018 & 2019 vintages were coming along, & spoiled everyone with a 2014 Shiraz.

The favourites for the night were the fortifieds, they just screamed winter’s evening and paired perfectly with the marshmallows.

Guests left relaxed, with a few bottles of wine in the boot to recreate the evening at home with friends.

Living The Life - a Story of Two Brands

 

I am often asked a certain question by the lovely customers who visit my cellar door. Something along the lines of: “Why do you have two wine labels? What’s the story behind them?”

Well I’m glad you asked …

Our two labels reflect a little of our personality, life story and ethos. Stomp, as in stomping on the grapes, reflects the fact that we are traditional winemakers using traditional methods and minimal interference. It reflects our passion to capture the unique flavours of our stomping ground by making wines with strong regional and varietal character – wines that speak of the vineyard from which they came. Stomping also denotes a purposeful act made with the foot and with a little ‘attitude’. This reflects a little of our essence and the way in which we are choosing to live our lives. Although Michael didn’t discover his passion to make wine until his early 30’s we decided not to die wondering what it would be like to be a winemaker. He threw in the safe, well paid corporate career and retrained and we moved to Broke to discover what makes his heart truly sing.

The Pssst ‘n’ Broke range of wines is for all those with a sense of fun. It’s a tongue-in-cheek reference to the ‘secret’ wine region of Broke Fordwich. Once discovered it’ll be a secret you can’t wait to share. Also, not being a fully trained winemaker, to me this brand is all about taking the mickey out of winemakers, particularly those who take themselves too seriously. We take making the best possible wine for ourselves and our contract clients deadly seriously… but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We know that in life you need to learn to laugh… ‘cause we all know sometimes if you don’t laugh you’ll cry!

So you can see at Stomp wines, we’re not afraid to be a little different… some would even say, at times, irreverent… but we‘re always authentic! We stick to our high ideals and passionately handcraft all our wines to capture the true essence of ourselves and our stomping ground.

Fireside Tasting July 2019

stomp! Fireside Tastings are the perfect opportunity to pull out your warmest winter woollies, don your beanie & boots & join us at stomp! wines.

The fires will be burning, platters of local charcuterie & cheeses will be available to nibble on, and we, Winemaker & owners, Michael & Meredith, will take you through our 2017 reds, along with a couple of cheeky barrel samples from the 2018 & 2019 vintages.

To finish off there will be marshmallows to toast on the fire, warming fortifieds & live music by local guitarist Mark Henderson.

THE DETAILS

Saturday 20 July 2019
4.30pm to 6pm
Tickets $25pp or $20 per Member inclusive of wine tasting, charcuterie, cheeses & marshmallows.

BOOK NOW
Payment required at time of booking (non-refundable). Bookings essential and to be made by Friday 12th July.
Email or call Meredith 0409 774 280.