AUTUMNAL weather and golden vines greeted guests arriving at Maxinne, Rod and Anto Sclanders’ Cosham Wines in the Bickley Valley for Slow Food Perth’s mother’s day celebration.
A vineyard luncheon ll giorno della madre – linking mother’s day with Slow Food’s Terra Madre: world meeting of food communities, to be held in Torino, Italy, later in 2008 – brought fruits of the earth to the table.
Proceedings began in Cosham’s tasting room with a glass of 2004 methode champenoise pinot noir brut, accompanied by Pauline Tresise’s delicious homemade dukkah with organic pane di casa and local olive oil, pickled zucchini, marinated goat fetta and alpine clover bread. Guests then headed down the hill to a marquee surrounded by willows and agapathus where menu began with ever-so-slowly-cooked borlotti beans with pasta.
It was followed by the piece de resistance: a whole roasted free range porker and two Wyalkatchem Prospect merino hoggets, accompanied with wood-fired ruby lou potatoes, jap pumpkin with Elixir honey and farmer’s market garden salad (which had a delicious dressing). Cosham’s 2004 chardonay, 2005 cabernet merlot and 2005 shiraz complemented the main course beautifully. Thanks go to Slow Food Perth committee member Vincenzo Velletri for his sterling efforts in cooking the meat to perfection, and to Barbara Steemson and Freddie Kronborg for preparing the potatoes and pumpkin.
Dessert – Marc Meneau’s gateau des pommes – was a team effort with Slow Food members and friends asked to contribute time to creating gateaux from the delicious granny smith apples graciously supplied by John Dellafranca and Emily Lyons of High Vale biodynamic orchard at Pickering Brook. The gateaux makers included Pauline Tresise, Gaynor Ashford, Jenny Fowler, Barbara Steemson, Trudy Parker, Trish Wood, Barb Holt, Margaret Roberts, Sarah McElwee and Philippa Baws for their contributions. Bannister Downs double cream was available for drizzling over portions of gateau. Cosham’s 2006 pinot noir – just released – offered a fine accompaniment. For those with room to spare there was Fiori coffee and deliciously decadent Carmel Valley chocolate truffles made by Maggie Neylan just up the road from Cosham.
An impromptu musical interlude was provided by Slow Food member Alex Millier, principal bass clarinettist with Western Australian Symphony Orchestra. Alex’s mixture of classical and contemporary tunes had us all tapping our feet and, in some cases, singing along.
The beautiful setting, gorgeous autumn afternoon and agreeable company all contributed to a very pleasant mother’s day vineyard lunch. The funds raised will be used to offset the travel costs of Western Australian participants selected to participate in Terra Madre 2008.
Slow Food Perth is grateful to Maxinne, Rod and Anto Sclanders for their wonderful hospitality.
Alex Millier says: 
