Sassafras Wines

@ABsay_ek A pleasure to read. Well observed and very well written.

Some cricketers arrive on the scene like fireworks. Others, like Nathan McAndrew, are more like that stubborn ember in the corner of the fireplace that simply refuses to die out. At 32, he is not young by Australian cricket standards. He is not old either. He is simply the guy who kept showing up. Oak Flat is a suburb near Wollongong where McAndrew learned his cricket. When New South Wales failed to notice him, he crossed the Tasman. Andre Adams, that wily Black Caps allrounder who became NSW bowling coach, made a phone call. 3 first-class games for Auckland in 2015-16. That was the taste. Just enough to know what he was missing. Back home, the Blues squad was packed with names that filled newspapers. McAndrew could not squeeze through. Most players at that point, start looking at coaching certificates or club cricket treasuries. McAndrew looked south. Jason Gillespie wanted bowlers who could do something special. South Australia had not won a Shield title in nearly three decades. McAndrew signed up for that. He made his Sheild debut at age of 28. What happened next makes no sense on paper. A discarded New South Welshman walks into Adelaide & becomes the reason a drought ends. His numbers sit there like a quiet argument: 48 wickets in 2023/24 season at 18.6 Avaerage & 39.5 strike rate. 40 wickets at 20.2 average & 40.5 strike rate in 2024/25. 38 this time at 23.4 average & 43.6 strike rate. He has taken 267 first-class wickets now at 25 apiece. Has scored over 2000 runs too with 24.6 average, batting at eight or nine, usually when the situation is rotten. This week against Victoria in the final, the situation was worse than rotten. South Australia were 122 for 7 in their second innings. The lead was 59 & trophy was slipping toward Melbourne. McAndrew walked in & added 105 runs with Alex Carey. 60 of them his own. Then he took the new ball & picked up 2 Victoria's top order wickets. Took another on today. South Australia won from nowhere. The Baggy Green is a conversation for another day. Australian selectors have their patterns, their favorites, their boxes to tick. McAndrew does not fit neatly into any of them. He is too old to be a project. Not so fancy or flamboyant. But here is the thing about embers that refuse to die. Sometimes they burn down the whole house.

@JennysTofu Going for stock feed or for some other use?

Nothing wasted. Not on our watch. ⌚ That’s okara on the truck, what’s left after making tofu, and it’s all getting a second life. Part of doing things the right way means using everything we can, not tossing it. Less waste. More intention. All about product sustainability. ♻

Vintage 2026 rolling through. Hilltops shiraz and sagrantino fruit in this morning. Murrumbateman sagrantino and Hilltops montepulciano still on the vine. #v26

Savagnin for the Gamburra sparkling being picked today, Fiano early next week. Go for vintage. #v26

@LoschbourStev Beautiful shot, Stev.

Stev is one of my favorite accounts because he's self admittedly just a dad with an iPhone but he has the composition skills of a visionary film director

📝 In our latest blog, we revisit Marc Millon's conversation with Giampaolo Tabarrini of Azienda Agricola Tabarrini to explore their effort to redefine Montefalco’s mighty native grape - Sagrantino. 🎧 Read: loom.ly/fB6fha0 #Sagrantino #Montefalco #UmbriaWine

Superb fairywren - Jerrabomberra Wetlands, yesterday

Did you know one of Australia’s top wine regions began as a science experiment? 👩‍🔬🍷 In the 1970s, three scientists from the CSIRO planted vines to test our climate — and the results were so good, they accidentally created a world-class wine region. 📖: visitcanberra.com.au/articles/how-s…

Gang gang cockatoo breakfast today on Ngunnawal Country Canberra.

More than 3/4 of Earth’s support systems are outside the safe zone. Ocean acidification is the latest boundary breached. The warning is stark, but failure is not inevitable. It is a choice. Read the 2025 Planetary Health Check here: #reports-section" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">planetaryhealthcheck.org/#reports-secti…

"Seven of nine planetary boundaries now breached – ocean acidification joins the danger zone," says PIK director @jrockstrom presenting the key findings of the Planetary Health Check 2025. #PlanetaryBoundaries pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest…

Wattlebird - Jerrabomberra Wetlands

Helping out at the Canberra Wine & Food Club tonight. First visit there. Apparently been going since 1953...

Doing a tasting this Thursday at Canberra Wine & Spirit Merchants in Civic, 5-7pm.

Red wattlebird- Botanic Gardens

We will be at the Dairy Road Winter Market tomorrow- 11:30 to 3pm.

#NowPlaying Lord the way I love Copper Blue. Bob Mould is such a great songwriter. These songs are so smart and sound so good. It's that fucking simple.

I didn’t take this pic - I wish I had - but the lovely owner gave me permission to share. Taken on the Winter Solstice this morning at the National Arboretum in a frosty Canberra ❤️

Savagnin, chardonnay, fiano, sagrantino parts of #v25 all in and looking good. Montepulciano this week the final pick to come.