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In Nine Easy Steps

We continue our invaluable How-To series with a blow-by-blow illustrated manual on the arcane mysteries of sheep shearing, in nine very straight forward steps.

1. Muster your sheep into the yards.

No sheep will march willingly into sheep yards, so this is harder than it looks. It will help immeasurably if you have a dog, or at least a dog with half a brain. These are fairly rare. Failing that, use Keith.

Note: Keith can be rented at very reasonable rates for dog duties – apply to the proprietor – cash only thank you. And please, do not feed him.

2. Catch a sheep.

3. Commence shearing.

Oh, for Heaven’s sake, did you really think we’d tell you how, just like that? I mean, we are talking about years of experience, and study, and hard graft here. Do not ask again.

Instead, hire some shearers. They are experienced professionals. In our case, one shearer. (At present, We only have 19 ewes, and 1 ram.)

Chris averages 240 sheep per day. A day at Two Paddocks wrecks his averages.

4. Watch how it’s done.

Each sheep, even a big girl like this only takes a couple of minutes at most.

5. Be nice.

It is unkind to sheep to point and giggle if they look a little undignified without their wool. They are giving up a lot here, and thanks would be more in order.

A good shearer like Chris is able to keep the sheep relaxed  and seemingly quite content. And it is summer now after all – who needs a big woolly coat?

6. Stand by...

Almost done....

 

7. Finish with the rams.

George Glee Gun comes clean. A magnificent fleece on the old boy.

8.   Turn your shorn sheep out to pasture.

The shorn ewes don’t look much bigger than their lambs without the big coats.

9. Take your wool to market.

Resident animal husband and part-time dog, Keith shows us a good South Suffolk fleece.

 

So , that’s it . Pretty simple really . Good luck with your sheep.

 

Compliment, ou non?

From the incomparable Jancis Robinson in London, this report of a major annual competitive blind wine tasting between alumni of the major business schools -- Harvard etc. -- where it was reported that Two Paddocks was largely confused for Burgundy -- (The best performing wine, in a way, was Sam Neill’s Two Paddocks ...").

Whether or not this is a good thing, we leave to you. But it does make for fun when you are tasting blind. If you are at all muddled, no need for shame. We have often been accused of being Gevry-Chambertin by several people who know their wine. And we always blush modestly. One wonders if the producers of Gevry blush, or choke, if the same comparison is made in reverse?

Read the article here

PDF version

The Proprietor unwisely forgets wine for a moment, and writes instead about rugby prior to the Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup. The All Blacks lose.

Read the article here

Just to keep it on topic a bit, we'll remind you that Two Paddocks is available at ThreeSixty  and Oliver’s in Hong Kong.

27 October 2010

Can a pig be winsome?

 

It’s hard to beat a kuni-kuni pig when it comes to sheer downright attractiveness. And sociability. Our little pig, Angelica, once he knows you’re around, is always happy to stroll over for a bit of a chat. We are always amused by his winning ways, and his big old grin.

All he asks is a decent head scratch. We are happy to oblige.

Note: Angelica is actually a bloke-pig. But that’s another story – see previous blog.

Something in the air...

We know it’s that time of the year again when various parts of the vineyard go into a delirium of colour and light.

For instance, in one quiet part of the farm we grow that rather old fashioned thing, lilac. For a brief moment, in spring, these marvellous shrubs go nuts, with spectacularly coloured and scented flowers.

 

It’s a brief window, however; a week, maybe two at the most. And then, as if to underline things, the wisteria is going full blazes before you know it.

 

A`ta santé, Henri!

Here is the great photographer Henri  Cartier-Bresson  witnessing a marvellous 'pique-nique' on a hot summer’s day on the banks of the Marne.

 

 

You can almost taste the wine. Our Two Paddocks Picnic Pinot is very much made in this spirit.

(A mild warning -- as this photo amply illustrates, a little too much baguette with rillettes can result in perhaps a fuller figure than is nowadays considered chic.)

... by no means an empty gesture.

Next time you clink glasses having poured from  a bottle of Two Paddocks Pinot, allow yourself a small, discrete smile of inner satisfaction that you may be doing yourself , and your companions, something of a favour. Not only have you treated the table to a great bottle of wine, you will quite possibly be in better health tomorrow. Wellll... maybe not that quick, not the exact next morning ...but you get the drift.

We are very interested in our health, and yours at Two Paddocks, and we go to great lengths to make the healthiest wine we can. But in addition to that, here are two articles about the benefits of red wine in general you may find interesting. Even enlightening.

Cheers to Good Health: The Benefits of Red Wine

Red Wine -- Heart Health Benefits?

Four seasons in one day.

We are always amused by people from points north who tell us they’ve always wanted to come to New Zealand because "it’s sooo beautiful – we saw  Lord of the Rings."  Great films, but not entirely flattering if one was a tourist – the great Peter Jackson turned our verdant isles into hell on earth – Mordor, for heaven’s sake!

Nevertheless, it is true that we can get some alarming weather at this time of year, when anything can happen – snow, frost, drought, floods. That’s Spring for you. That’s the catch when your vineyards teeter on a geographically mad edge of viability at 45 degrees south. But also here the cosmic  dice  are thrown that can end up with the World’s  Greatest Pinots!

Here, the Proprietor grabbed a shot of weather passing above our Gibbston vineyard. Beautiful, and a little scary. too – Non?

Derelict Found in Orchard

Yes, it’s Springtime again – black lambs are with their mothers in the bottom paddock, the blossom is appearing in the orchards, the Viticulturist is on his honeymoon, and so on.

Staff were taking photos of the apricots in full bloom, when they stumbled on this old geezer drinking up under the trees. How someone so clearly disreputable manages to drink the world’s finest Pinot – who knows? It’s  a rum old world alright.

Staffy Falls on Feet!

We are very happy with our new fellow, a most charming chap, full of fun and life and affection. We are amazed really, that when  saved by Staffy Rescue at the pound, he was literally 24 hours away from execution.

Dead Dog Walking!

Here Zap, now not just the happiest dog in New Zealand but probably the luckiest as well, gives a brief impersonation of his former self on Death Row.

Do we hear a chorus of Aww, you poor little fella!?  

Yes we do, for it is indeed us.

New Dog on the Block

We have a new dog on staff: Zappa (or Zap if you’re in a rush  - Zapata if you have more time on your hands). He is named as  a nod to Mexican Revolutionary Politics, American Progressive Music, and of course Fly Spray.

He lists among his interests -- Agrarian Reform, Stockhausen and Pest Control.

Here he starts his duties on Border Patrol. He is accompanied by a Follower of Zapata, or Zapatista ...

As a footnote , Zappa comes to us, like his much missed predecessor Fire, as a rescue dog. Many thanks to Staffy Rescue N.S.W., an admirable outfit who save so many of this most adorable breed. If you’d like a great dog, or  to help, or just to have a look at some shots of some terrific dogs, here’s a link: Staffy Rescue Dogs

As a second footnote:

Note the smart Persol shades worn by the Zapatista ... 24 hours later they were demolished by the said Zappa. Grrrr...