Week 5′s challenge on the surface looked deceptively easy. Throw a NSW-themed party – how easy could it be? Suggestions from the good people at 1000 heads were a night out at the opera and/or dinner. Easy enough, isn’t it? I mean, how hard is it to do? With the theme being culture & nightlife; I started stressing out about 5 days after receiving the secret assignment. OMG, how do you incorporate Sydney in Leeds, as vastly different as night and day? And to be honest, after doing the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, ANZAC monument & a bit of Bondi, I was yearning to discover another side of Sydney other than the obvious. Wander way off the beaten path. I was also keen to take a step away from the night out at the clubs & coipious amount of alcohol – not much warning needed from the team at 1000 Heads on irresponsible drinking!

Katie, inspired by the topic (and the whole project actually!) , decided to do abit more digging into cultural things to do in Sydney. Taking time off work, she headed out on an excursion around Leeds to replicate the Sydney Sculpture Walk. Taken off VisitNSW website:

The Sydney Sculpture Walk provides a uniquely artistic experience of the city to Sydneysiders and visitors alike. Ten artworks by leading Australian and international artists form a circuit through the heart of the city. The Sculpture Walk showcases the exciting and innovative work of our contemporary artists and at the same time invites you to explore the city`s busy streets and plazas, and beautiful parks and harbourside promenades.

This was what the lady herself had to say on her little excursion:

I read about the Sydney Sculpture Walk here and thought it would be a wonderful thing to do. Sculptures are not only beautiful to look at, but sometimes they have a story behind them or a meaning to them which is interesting to learn about. I also think that going on a walk is one of the best ways to explore a city, you really get to experience the sights and sounds, and a walk like this will often take you off the beaten tourist track into more interesting residential areas.
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I went on a little sculpture walk around Leeds, as you can see from the photos I was really lucky with the weather (ed: The weather was decidedly marvelous – it’s like as if the heavens above were providing a replicate of the weather in Sydney!) . This is something I would definitely do if I ever visited Sydney!

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(ED: Did you realise that Leeds had so many sculptures? I know they always say that if you want culture you’ve gotta head to the big bad city, but for a small little city up north, Leeds is not doing bad in replicating the fabulousness of Sydney!)
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As for the main event, I decided it was time to take a step away from Sydney, and explore NSW as a whole. It is often too easy to be charmed by the glamour and glitter of the big cosmopolitian city that other sights out of the main urban drags are left out in must-see lists…however awesome the wondeful city is! And you all know how much of a city person I am. So I decided that the first agenda of the day should be something that NSW is world famous for – other than Sydney of course. Hunter Valley with its lush vineyards, temperate conditions and delicious wines beckons, and if we can’t get to Hunter Valley, Hunter Valley comes to us!

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Vineyards were first established in the Hunter Valley area in the 1830’s – and some say it’s the first area in Australia to cultivate vines. Since that time, the area has grown both in size and recognition and most of the original families are still here. Here you will find world-class Hunter Valley Semillon that has been called “Australia’s unique gift to the world’, great Australian Shiraz that lasts for generations and a superb selection of blended wines created to please all palates.
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So where do we start with the adventure down Hunter Valley?
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Well, meet my secret weapon, Chris the wine guy.

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He runs this Aladdin cave of magical suprises….otherwise known as Latitude Wine.

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And meet the stars of the evening..

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Chris came to my rescue with his selection of wines from one of Hunter Valley’s most respected estates; Brokenwood. What started out as a weekend hobby for three solicitors have evolved into one of Australia’s most respected estate, producing signature wines like the Graveyard single-estate vintage. First up for us was the Semillion 2007 vintage. The Semillion is a gorgeously adaptable grape that makes one of the most unique dry white wines as well as appearing in some of the world’s most famous sweet wines. Hunter Valley Semillon is one of Australia’s iconic dry whites. It develops into a powerful, toast-and-citrus, relatively low alcohol charmer that becomes more delicious with age.

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Tasting notes for the Semillion 2007:

Excellent, luminous green/yellow colour. Lifted zesty, lemongrass aromas with some sweet apple blossom characters. Fruit dominant on the palate but typical tight structure with citrus acid finish. Initial lime plus cut grass flavours. Perfect balance of fruit, alcohol and acid. An impressive Semillon that will reward early drinking or cellaring.

Next up on the shooting line was the 2005 Shiraz. Tasting notes for the Shiraz 2005:

The 2005 HV Shiraz has a medium density colour, but with bright youthful tints & aromas of mocha, dark chocolate and charry bramble from the oak. These are integrated with the blackberry, savoury Hunter Shiraz fruit. A very good alcohol weight, restrained and carries the rich flavours. The palate has vanillin and dark cherry. The oak is forward at this stage but there is more than enough fruit to match it. Soft tannins and a dry finish round it out.

Under screw cap this wine will stay fresh and youthful for some time, with developed characters evolving more slowly, as opposed to softening due to variable levels of oxidation under cork.

We ended the session with something a little different – the Brokenwood Cricket Pitch 2004. It was so called because the plot of land of the Brokenwood vineyard was originally a cricket pitch. The Cricket Pitch is special due to it not being a wine fully cultivated from NSW vineyards. It incorporates grapes from other wine-growing areas in South Australia, like the famous Barossa Valley in Victoria and McLaren Vale near Adelaide . This allows Brokenwood to incorporate flavours of other grape variety not normally found in NSW due to tempreture constraints. This was then skillfully blended with Hunter Valley Shiraz to produce a delicious well-rounded woodsy red.

Tasting notes for the Cricket Pitch 2004:

Mid density colour with purple edges. Aromas of red cherry, spice and earthy edges. Mid weight palate with some Cabernet Sauvignon cedar up front that leads to soft Shiraz richness. The oak regime is mainly older American and French so limited impact although some vanillin on both nose and palate with a long sweet finish. A drink now style that will further soften with medium-term bottle maturation. Excellent fruit flavours and balance being the features that will be maintained under the screw cap packaging.

Well, don’t just listen to me prattle on – click to see Chris the wine guy giving us a potted history of winemaking in the Hunter Valley area and specifically the Brokenwood estate, and tasting for the delicious 2007 Semillion, perfect for the Indian summer that we were having in Leeds.

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Due to youtube time constraints, I had to splice our winetasting session into half, so here’s part 2, starring the 2005 Shiraz & 2004 Cricket Pitch.
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All in all it was a very educational session – so educational in fact that the tasters were literally lining up to swipe Chris clean of his Brokenwood wines before we left the shop! Guess he’ll just have to stock more! I totally agree with what Jo said (late on the second video) about not liking red wines but really enjoying Brokenwood’s Shiraz, an excellent example of the beautiful Shiraz that the Hunter Valley churns out. So much so that whilst I was editing the videos I had to relive the whole experience all over again, and cracked open the same bottles – hunting down the crisp citrus in the Semillion & the oaky ‘old school desk’ smell in the Cricket Pitch .

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Again, special thanks goes out to Chis and Latitude Wines for guiding us through a virtual tour of the Brokenwood estate – the next best thing to a real trip to the Brokenwood estate. I can’t wait now to visit the actual vineyard – if your train of thoughts are going in the same direction as mine, the Brokenwood cellar door is located in the lower Hunter Valley at: 401 – 427 McDonalds Road, Pokolbin NSW, a leisurely 2 hours drive from Sydney. Their cellar door is open seven days a week from 9.30am to 5pm – just ring 02 4998 7559 or email sales@brokenwood.com.au if you are bringing a group with you or just want to find your way there, click here for a map.

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On to our next cultural adventure (amongst loud protests that we should just stay in Latitude wine all night!) , and The Walkabout beckons. I know some might say this is so typical/touristy, but they are honestly they do good food and reasonably priced drinks – what else do you need for a night out?

Being the intrepreid explorer to try everything at least once, I offered my guinea pig guests a menu of Kangaroo meat and Australian beer. Probably a good thing that we were all adventurous and have not tried kangaroo meat before. Well – I don’t really get on well with vegetarians…..

Kangaroos are now increasingly consumed in NSW…having only been legalised for consumption in 1980 in South Australia and 1993 for the rest of the country. It is purely free range game meat as kangaroos are not bred for meat – yet. Kangaroo meat is high in protein and low in fat (about 2%), making it a very healthy choice for all. Kangaroo meat also has a very high concentration of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) when compared with other foods; which have been thought to provide humans with health benefits, including being anti-carciogenic causing.

Traditionally, kangaroo meat are consumed by the Aboriginals as part of their bush food diet. In modern day Australia, not many Australians partake kangaroo meat on a regular basis (only 14% eats it at least 4 times a year!) , but consumption have been rising, with urban supermarkets stocking up on kangaroo mince, steaks and ‘kanga bangas’ – kangaroo bangers. With the uptake in localised consumption, this might in the future years affect the amount of kangaroo meat exported, which currently stands at a fairly high 70% – mostly to European countries with a taste of game meat i.e. Germany & France.

For more info, click here

The happy results: A round of happy diners three kangaroo burgers (made with fillet, not mince) , one kangaroo fillet, one kangaroo curry(made with kangaroo chunk) and one kangaroo-stuffed baguette (made with kangaroo meat slices).

A closer look at the food – would you believe it that I forgot to take a close-up of the fillet?
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My curry looks sad but it tastes good. The stewed meat is not tough, like alot of curry beef are.

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Those that settled for the burger made an excellent choice. Layered with tomatoes and onion rings, it came with a sweetish salsa sauce, making it sweet and savoury – yumms.
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The tender pink sliced kangaroo sarnie came in a choice of white, wholewheat or multigrain.
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We were all honestly surprised by the deliciousness of the kangaroo meat. Served medium-rare (you can have it well done if you really wish) , it was very juicy, sweet and fairly tender for a game meat. One biteful and you get a burst of flavour from the juices and the tender texture of the fillet. Washed down nicely with stubbies of Tooheys & VB; with the driver getting a diet coke.

The damage

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Oh and by the way, have you met our mascot of the night, Clive?

With feeding at the zoo complete, it was time for another injection of culture, this time at the Leeds Carriageworks theatre. Inspired by the dynamic Sydney Carriageworks Arts Centre, which is worth visiting if just for the spectacular space alone. Sydney CarriageWorks is the latest incarnation of the Eveleigh Rail Yards – an unusual building – a heritage listed former railway carriage and blacksmith workshop. Built in the 1880s, its cavernous interiors are faithfully preserved, giving it a wide-open-spaces feel, drastically different from the plush cocoons of most theatres. With large flexible theatre spaces, gallery and exhibition space, rehearsal rooms, a scenery workshop and office space, it is intended to create a working hub for practitioners and audiences of the small to medium arts sector.
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Not quite there is the Leeds’ version of CarriageWorks Theatre, but it does have a good mix of theatrical performances, plays, pantomimes and the such on. So off we went…
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The flavour du jour was Money Double, which composed of two dark comedies about love, sex and money.

In direct contradiction with Sydney CarriageWorks’ magnificent structure, it was the breathtaking views from Leeds’ CarriageWorks that bowled us over.
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Forced to pose

A very suprisingly quiet night in Leeds.
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Entering the theatre which was the size of a small studio flat, it was surprisingly a sold-out performance. Not supposed to turn on your cameras during a play, so here’s a picture of us (and my bag, can you see?) before curtains-up … the green light really drove my batty!

Took a secret snapshot as the first monologue, The Malteaser Falcon, concluded

Here’s us with our long strip of tickets…

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All in all, an excellent night to be had by all. Starting off merrily with an excellent wine tasting session (or if you’re the healthy type, the sculpture walk first) , we sampled the diet of the aboriginals with delicious kangaroo meat (sorry about the buns and chips), and capped it all off by a play at our very own version of Sydney’s CarriageWorks. I had so much fun I would honestly replicate the whole evening in Sydney when I get there…of course planning a longer time in Hunter Valley and getting more than one estate in .

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Inspired by our virtual tour? Well, you ‘could’ be there you know….here are some links to get you started..

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Fly STA, or get them to do a whole package for you!
VisitNSW Tourism
Latitude Wines
The Brokenwood Estate
Hunter Valley Tourism
Organised tours departing Sydney for Hunter Valley
Carriageworks Sydney
Walkabout Leeds
Wolfie’s Grill at the Rocks does Kangaroo fillets amongst other things
Ednas at your table – fine modern Australian & Native Australian cuisine; including kangaroo, emu & crocodile. Check out their fab degustation menu!
The charming Australian Heritage Hotel at the Rocks serves inspired crocodile/emu/kangaroo pizzas..amongst other lovely fresh modern Australian meals.

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PS: We were given £200 to spend on our Australian-themed event….and I am sooooo stoked to announce that I have enough left over from my fund to adopt a shark!! YAY!! I will be putting this through by next week – so if you want to join in the fun, let me know, and we could potentially contribute to two years worth of adoption fees!

Alternatively, you can contribute directly to the NSW-based Adopt a Shark fund by clicking here or on the badge on the sidebar. The sharks thank you! .

PPS: All twitter convo are still hashtagged #me2sydney!

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