The Aristologist

The Aristologist New Zealand home cook, writer, researcher publishes a food history journal “The Aristologist.”

Planting day. 600 vines went into the earth, with the help of friends, who are also viticultural experts. Ollie from Cha...
21/10/2025

Planting day. 600 vines went into the earth, with the help of friends, who are also viticultural experts. Ollie from Chateau Garage, Raquel of , Jill, ex , rod the tireless gardener, Brigid, myself and a few dogs. Many many thanks to you all (except the dogs). The holes dug, vines in and watered - 100 vines per hour, all in the face of hot winds gusting over 60km/hr and trees falling over in the next door paddock. Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A final toast to our efforts and the vineyard with a bottle of Grange 2016 - what better drop for an off beat vineyard, that many would say was insanity. A tiny vineyard, and a tiny bit more diversity in Hawkes Bay wine.

From protovineyard to vineyard. I spent the afternoon planting the first batch of 150 Carmenere vines, this lot from the...
18/10/2025

From protovineyard to vineyard. I spent the afternoon planting the first batch of 150 Carmenere vines, this lot from the nice folk at . Warm and drying weather, so soaked in Agrimm Abzorber gel and Unite bacteria / fungi then watered with a Radifarm liqueur. Guards on and fingers crossed from here. On Tuesday the next 600 arrive - as well as hot, gale-force winds - that’ll be a day to remember !

Watering baby shrubs - the puppies and their mum.

Last night of restaurant Ari’s international winter series of dinners - this time Lebanese - sold out and requiring an e...
16/10/2025

Last night of restaurant Ari’s international winter series of dinners - this time Lebanese - sold out and requiring an encore at the weekend. .ari
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I don’t know how they do it but with research and artistic flair and a bit of artistic license, Ari comes up with sensationally good international cuisine that carries authenticity into stand-out deliciousness.
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Kicking off with falafel, pickles and an arrestingly interesting whipped tahini, a series of plates arrived - none failed. Tuna with spiced filo; Macaroon bil toum - pasta in garlic sauce; Kingfish wrapped in grape leaves; Melting lamb shoulder on Mujardarra with fattoush - a fried flatbread salad. Finally a brilliant baklava of sorts on a carrot jazarieh - grated carrot cooked in sugar syrup.
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A cocktail starter of preserved lemon, vodka and lillet - the preserved lemon giving it moreish fascination, then three Lebanese wines with the meal (the rest of the wine list is excellent). The B-Qa dry white was mineral, citrus and good acidity which I couldn’t rationalise with the climate. The two reds - Musar Jeune - simple but lovely - jeune in fact, then the Hochar, more robust and perfect with the lamb.
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A special evening, delicious and considered, great atmosphere and much hilarity both within and between tables. A highly recommended restaurant - next winter’s international series should be unmissable.

Crème fraiche fried eggs and asparagus; Telmo Rodriguez Basa Verdejo 2022.🌞I was doing asparagus as I normally do - butt...
13/10/2025

Crème fraiche fried eggs and asparagus; Telmo Rodriguez Basa Verdejo 2022.
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I was doing asparagus as I normally do - butter, lemon peel, lemon juice, water to half cover the asparagus in a single layer. Bring to boil and reduce to a nice buttery, lemony, asparagus glaze. However here I added creme fraiche - a big dollop and, when the buttery glaze appeared, added the eggs. Basically they were cooked in flavoured cream.
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The bread - a .frenchbaker baguette - was drenched in water and given 4-5mins at 180 in the air frier - a secret I wouldn’t normally share.
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Deliciously simple.
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Telmo Rodriguez Basa Verdejo 2022. A Verdejo blend with a bit of Viura from Spain. Classy citrus with mineral complexity. A lovely sophisticated dry white - perfect with the asparagus and its eggy sauce - from and

Lamb “cassoulet”; Salad: Vinoè Aglianico del Beneventano IGP🌞An air frier cassoulet of sorts but really a mish mash of t...
05/10/2025

Lamb “cassoulet”; Salad: Vinoè Aglianico del Beneventano IGP
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An air frier cassoulet of sorts but really a mish mash of two of my favourite dishes - cassoulet and roast leg of lamb cooked with cannellini beans and tomato.
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Four lamb shoulder chops cut into large chunks. An onion diced. A carrot cut into pieces. Garlic shoots. A can of chopped tomato and a can of drained cannellini beans. Chopped herbs. A spicy sausage from and a glug of red wine. Chicken stock.
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Fried the onion transparent, added carrot and garlic shoots then the lamb and sausage, allow to colour. Add wine and reduce to almost nothing. Add beans, tomato, herbs. Cover with chicken stock and cook very slowly, uncovered, for about 2hrs, occasionally stir and a little water if sauce is reducing too much. Then into a cazuela, top with breadcrumbs and push down to moisten. Into air frier and give it 15-20mins at 135C.
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Deliciously unctuous, and cassoulet-like. A real winner.
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Vinoè Aglianico del Beneventano IGP. About $30. From southern Italy. 100% aglianico (silent g). Deep ruby with blackberry complexity, long ripe gentle tannins and nicely balanced acidity . A delicious accompaniment and foil to the richness of the “cassoulet.”
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Waking up (frosty) with only 15 more sleeps to go until the vines arrive from . Picking up on Tuesday morning (21st) from Hastings and they’ll go into the ground in the afternoon. Offers of help gratefully received.

Beef with a potato topping / Beans and sprouts glazed in black honey.: Günzer Tamás Cabernet Franc, 2022. Villány, Hunga...
29/09/2025

Beef with a potato topping / Beans and sprouts glazed in black honey.: Günzer Tamás Cabernet Franc, 2022. Villány, Hungary.
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First food post in a while - distracted (and slightly over food posts). But with B away for a few days on oma duties, and with the vineyard prep almost completed, and with mince in the fridge - I made dinner.
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Soffritto of onion, carrot and celeriac stalks and leaves, added beef mince - coloured then added chopped Cavolo Nero, herbs (parsley and thyme), tomato paste, a glug of red wine, reduced, stock, reduced, then a can of chopped tomatoes. Simmered an hour. Into a cazuela. Thinly sliced potato stirred and coated in the red oily residue of the beef, then layered on top. Into air frier at 135 for half an hour.
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Brussel sprouts and beans parboiled for appropriate times, tossed in black garlic honey and salt, then finished off in the air frier on top of the potatoes. Delicious!
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Günzer Tamás Cabernet Franc 2022. Good value ($25-ish), smooth, easy drinking red from south west Hungary. Garnet side of Ruby, reasonably robust, slightly nutty, with red fruits and nice finish. Good balance and difficult to dislike - a gentle unassuming soul.

Merlin has zero table manners, but likes his food.

The vineyard is nearly there. The vines arrive on the 21st October and like expectant parents the vineyard is almost rea...
29/09/2025

The vineyard is nearly there. The vines arrive on the 21st October and like expectant parents the vineyard is almost ready. A weekend with Rosie’s partner - Dan, saw us unload 15 ton of mulch around the perimeter and along the walkway alleys. Compost laid on the alleys containing the nodes (wood-chip filled irrigation chambers). 4 insectaries or islands planted with insect friendly shrubs as well as wood and rocks. Today cultivated and sowed phacelia, wild flowers and yarrow around the outside of the plot. Just a few more bits and pieces before the vines arrive. Most important is to prime the planting sites with a damn good soup.

The New Zealand Symposium of Gastronomy is a small annual gathering of people interested in all aspects of food and drin...
15/09/2025

The New Zealand Symposium of Gastronomy is a small annual gathering of people interested in all aspects of food and drinking, from its history and philosophy to all aspects of production.
Papers are now being accepted for presentation. More details at www.aristologist.com

After 8hrs digging or augering rocky vineyard post holes, the creative culinary instinct hits rock bottom. This is the d...
06/09/2025

After 8hrs digging or augering rocky vineyard post holes, the creative culinary instinct hits rock bottom. This is the dinner for two that takes no effort, no thought and still tastes pretty delicious.
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Cut two potatoes into chips - parboil until tender, drain, splash with oil, lift out into air frier and set at 180degC for ten minutes to start caramelising. Take some chicken nibbles or wings place in the leftover oil and any consenting marinade, spices, powders etc of your choice - remember though that too much sugary stuff will easily burn - toss around, drain and then place them on top of the chips and continue at 180C for another 15-20mins. Then throw in frozen peas and toss around a bit more. Leave for a few mins to heat through. And then dump the lot onto a big plate. Salt, pepper as needed.
The chips aren’t intended to be crisp, they are caramelised soggy with chicken and spice juices - and that is how I personally like them.
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Pazo Cilleiro Albarino 2022 - Rias Baixas, Spain. Lovely golden piece of gentleness - with guava, peach and nice balanced acidity - delivering length and thankful refreshingness after a day of toil. Good value $26 -

2/3rd of the vine posts are in - almost 1500 holes dug.

Yakisugi continued until yesterday when the northwesterly gale force wind was too much for man or beast. It shows one ra...
29/08/2025

Yakisugi continued until yesterday when the northwesterly gale force wind was too much for man or beast. It shows one rationale for the echalas (single pole per vine) training scheme. The layout allows the wind to pass freely along multiple view shafts, rather than slamming directly into the more common post and wire trellis. - especially when the canopy is in full leaf.
Had finished two rows of stakes before the weather packed up. A Delas Viognier Vin de Pays d’Oc from was the perfect ending to a very tiring day. Orange citrus with a lively acidity - totally refreshing and a beautiful - cost effective - example of French Viognier. Highly recommended. I’d definitely be prepared to drink this one twice!

A sad day for Napier - after 7 years, Matisse wine bar and its extraordinary parent - Nadia - will serve their last glas...
29/08/2025

A sad day for Napier - after 7 years, Matisse wine bar and its extraordinary parent - Nadia - will serve their last glass. A champion of the international, the cult, the out of the ordinary, the bottle you’d never heard of, the grape you never knew existed, and the niche winemaker from a place you’ve never visited. Matisse gave to the Hawkes Bay - one of the Wine Capitals of the World - an education and calibration by which local winemakers and drinkers could gauge their own products, and spur them on to go beyond the ordinary. Matisse offered an international experience far beyond any local bottle shop or supermarket, now leaving only one wine bar - in Hastings to carry the burden of educating Hawkes Bay about wine beyond NewZild. It’s a sad loss but it’s also been an amazing journey - if it hadn’t been for Nadia and Matisse my own wine ignorance would have remained in the supermarket aisles. I and many Hawkes Bay drinkers and makers owe her a real debt of gratitude.

“Life is too short to drink the same wine twice”

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