"Pop Up" stores, stalls, concepts...and wineries!

Just when one is feeling little foot sore, weary and somewhat liverish from the never-ending round of festivals, concerts, and events Melbourne throws at its residents and visitors alike at this time of year, up pops a "Pop Up" with a brew that is guaranteed to put a bit of a spring in even the most fallen of arches.  Melbourne's love affair with the perfect coffee has received a shot in the arm so to speak, with a "Pop Up" coffee experience right in the heart of the city.  Installed as part of the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival, the Urban Coffee Farm & Brew Bar at Southbank, takes coffee lovers of all creeds on a journey into the wonderful world of coffee in all its many manifestations.   

Conceived as a showcase for Melbourne many cafes, this "Pop Up" introduces even the most hardened and experienced of coffee fanciers to the many varietals, coffee-based foods and even coffee liqueurs that are now available.  With a tasting station and mini-cafe staffed by coffee professionals, the installation not only concentrates on exotic blends and new concoctions but also showcases the skills and techniques of some of the best coffee conjurers from around the city. One can even learn how to make delicious coffee at home with only basic kitchen equipment! 

 Much to my delight, "Pop Ups" seem to be everywhere at the moment and I must say, I was more than a little pleased to come across this delightful and innovative "Pop Up" in Greville Street Prahran. More of a stall than a store (it doesn't have a roof as the proprietor pointed out), Kelly Cube is a stall that sells a cleverly designed package, the Kelly Cube, containing all of the fresh ingredients (packaged that morning) one requires to cook a complete meal. The concept was developed primarily to support Australian farmers, local industries and local retailers.  

I love the idea of being able to get everything I need for an interesting meal, quickly and on my way home from a days work, and all in one convenient package without having to go anywhere near a supermarket.  And if that isn't enough,  the “Pop Up” comes complete with comfortable seating and friendly owners who are more than willing to share their ideas about the concept, good food and healthy living.

But of course, no day is complete without the evening tipple...and I am please to be able to bring to you, the river-side "Pop Up" Rosemount Estate winery or at least, its cellar door; a cleverly disguised, but well fitted out shipping container.  Imagine my delight at discovering this "Pop Up"...and all on my proverbial doorstep!  This evening, as the weariness of the day fades, it is to be a 2008 Rosemount Balmoral Syrah, a complex peppery drop balanced by fine acidity and firm tannin structure from 18 months in new American and French oak and enjoyed el fresco. Here's cheers to the "Pop Up" before it disappears!

Harbouring serious envy in Sydney!

Those of you from foreign climes may not know that there is a long standing and 'bitter' rivalry between the Australian cities of Melbourne and Sydney...and for no apparent reason.  In my mind, each metropolis has more than its fair share of charming qualities and each really bares such little resemblance to each other that comparisons are spurious at best! Despite this, one often hears disparaging, and might I say, largely incorrect comments about Melbourne weather  from Sydney-siders.  Melburnians on the other hand, scoff at the "superficiality" of Sydney-siders (untrue) and bemoan the traffic chaos of 'Emerald City'...well, we are right about that. 

Residing in Melbourne myself, I feeI obliged to join in the chorus but I must admit, I have long harboured a serious case of city envy.  As much as I love living in Melbourne and will crow about its charms to anyone who will listen, I must admit that we just can't match the stunning beauty and excitement of Sydney Harbour.  Surrounded by palatial homes and large tracts of parkland, harbour-side life has much to recommend it.  But to really appreciate the best the harbour has to offer, and to fully take in the amazing sight of the hundreds of sailing boats and pleasure craft that ply its waters...you need to be on it.  I have had the luck and good fortune to have been invited to enjoy the harbour from the decks of a rather large and beautifully furbished catamaran. I am also fortunate and very pleased to note that my generous hosts have selected the most suitable Mcguigan Bin 9000 Semillon 2006 from the nearby Hunter Valley region of New South Wales with which to start the day.  The wafts of lemon and honey from the wine glass blend perfectly with the scents of the harbour.
  
While I will always prefer living and life in Melbourne over Sydney, I know my choice will always be tainted with that nagging touch of "city envy".

It fits beautifully...in Fitzroy!

I rarely seem to make it to the "other side" of the river on a sunny winter's day while in Melbourne, (the north/south traffic is just too appallingly frustrating to bother), but today finds me in the inner northern suburb of Fitzroy catching up with some old and some new friends, not only enjoying the sunshine, but appreciating the different aesthetic and relishing the charming streetscapes.  As comfortably accustomed as I am to the charms of the inner bayside locales, I really must make the effort more often to venture north as it really has a rustic Victorian beauty that differs from the interests to be found south of the Yarra.  Recognised widely as Melbourne's first suburb, Fitzroy is also one of Melbourne's most heterogeneous locations, making it near impossible to define simply. It is a little 'granola' and a little 'continental', historic while embracing the new.  It is just...different, with a narrative all of its own.  

Being a popular destination for Italian immigrants in the 1950's, the Fitroy and Carlton areas of Melbourne also makes it one of the best places in Melbourne to find a refreshing and satisfying Limoncello, that wonderfully scintillating Italian lemon liqueur that is like imbibing a shot of sunshine. For my mind, the best Limoncello is homemade, but if that proves too difficult to find, it worth searching for a variety from the islands of Procida, Ischia or Capri.  Today it will be an excellent homemade concoction, lovingly blended by a close friend. Prosit!

There's no place like home...in winter!

Just a quick click of my heels and a rather tedious and soul destroying flight later, I am far from the tropical heat of Malaysia and back in the cloud of a cold, damp Melbourne winter...and I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying it.  Despite the fact that I have joined my fellow Melburnians in loudly decrying the wet conditions and sniffling at the cold mornings and exclaiming that life in the city is barely tolerable at this time of year, I am quietly enraptured by it all. It is expected, even mandatory to complain about Melbourne weather if one lives here, but I firmly believe that, like me, its "well-weathered" residents enjoy using the excuse of winter, to hucker down in one of the many warm and convivial bars that line its lanes and inhabit its beachside locations. 

As cosseting and enveloping as a wet, winter's day can be for me,  I am equally charmed to enjoy one of those days when Melbourne's winter sky sparkles and is crystal clear and the warm light favours all who venture outside.  Today is one such day and I have taken the opportunity to luncheon in the sun at an old haunt of mine in the beach-side suburb of St Kilda.  In keeping with the clarity of the winter sun and the remarkable quality of light, I have chosen the wonderfully floral, herbal and lightly spiced Bay of Fires Pinot Noir 2009 from Tasmania. A bright, vividly ripened drop, it would be difficult to find a more suitable accompaniment to a beautiful winter's days in Melbourne.

Deck the halls with the bowels of...Melbourne!

Home...just in time for pointy tree day.  It seems many journeys since I last graced the streets of Melbourne but what a comfort it is to see familiar sights and familiar faces, albeit for what will probably turn out to be a short visit.  Of course, the Christmas period is the talk of the town at this time of the year and Melbourne, similar to the rest of the "Christian" world, celebrates Christmas like...a famine is about to wreak untold havoc on its fearful inhabitants after a blizzard of unexperienced proportions forces the interment of all inhabitants, preventing them from accessing supplies for the duration.  In other words, we buy up all we can refrigerate and all we can possibly cook...usually enough to last until all participants start to resemble a well fed Strasbourg goose and indeed, start to feel more than a little liverish!  And in case you confuse us with a people who buy provisions to accommodate the climate (often stifling hot at this time of the year), we roast and bake and stuff all that we can we can just in case of that blizzard and famine to follow. 
Over indulgence aside, it is nice to be home and it is nice to reacquaint myself with the lanes and arcades of Melbourne.  Unlike any other city in Australia, Melbourne has embraced lane-way life and has done it very well.  To celebrate my homecoming and the festive season, I have found a pleasant spot to enjoy a wonderfully refreshing Bay of Fires - Tigress Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay from the The Pipers River region of Tasmania. Distinctly Tasmanian, Tigress is a cool climate sparkling of lingering complexity that I will be enjoying right across the pointy tree period. Bon Noel all.