Check out this fantastic video that has been produced, showcasing the "10 Things We Love About Italy from The Perennial Plate". Its enough to make you just want to jump on a plane and head there this weekend :)
This video really does capture the things that our Home Make It team are passionate about. Whilst we are not all fortunate enough to spend time in Italy, it doesn't mean that we can't bring the same precious foods/drinks into our homes, wherever we may be. That's what our store concept is all about! Supplying the equipment, supplies and knowledge to make all our favorite traditional Italian food and beverages at home with family and friends. Whether it's mozzarella, wine, salami, sausages, pasta, pizza, passata, biscotti or olive oil, it all can be made in our own homes.
With the "Tomato Season" in full swing, we have recently enjoyed our own annual family "Passata Day". Our local tomato farmers tell us that there is likely to be another three weeks of Roma tomatoes available for passata-making. So if you haven't already made your years supply of fresh homemade tomato sauce, it's not too late to start!
You can check out our pics from our very own "Passata Day" by clicking on our Facebook Page or by reading about our day from a recent blog "Passata Day...It's Child's Play".
~
It looks like the wine season has arrived, with grapes ready to be picked from some regions in Victoria. Our homemade wine enthusiasts will be eagerly awaiting the commencement of the first step in the process for their 2014 batch of homemade wine.
Here's some helpful tips from our Reservoir store crew, Pina and Celeste, for making great homemade wine:-
"WINE MAKING IS A SCIENCE, THEREFORE THESE ARE THE BASIC STEPS OF GOOD HOME WINE-MAKING PRACTICES"
(by Celeste and Pina)
1. It's all about the base. To make good wine, you need to start with good quality grapes! We can recommend great quality grapes around Victoria.
2. Sterilisation of equipment is essential! Use a good quality sterilising agent to clean all your equipment.
3. A good pH 3.5 to 3.7 is necessary.
4. A base analysis is important to understand the sugar, pH, acid and tannin content of the juice. The 3 major ingredients of good wine!
5. Recommended minimum of 4 wine tests in a vintage season. Your juice should be tested/analysed during the four stages of the wine making process:
(1) Crushing (2) Pressing (3) End of fermentation/transfer and (4) 2nd transfer before bottling.
So if you are making homemade wine this vintage season, please feel free to bring your juice in during the four stages of the winemaking process for FREE testing by one of our expert retail assistants.
To purchase good quality grapes from the Yarra Valley, we can recommend contacting Martha on 0419833609 or Bill on 0418557269. They specialise in Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz varieties.
Another source of good quality grapes in the Yarra Valley is Scott Willams from Easthill Estate. 0418 358 358.
Come in store or call us on 9460-2777 (Reservoir) or 9574-8222 (Clayton) for recommendations in your local regions.
If you are thinking about a new hobby in homemade wine, then why not join us for one of our Advanced Homemade Winemaking Courses that are about to commence. You can learn more about our courses from our 2013 Advanced Wine Making Course blog.
And don't forget, you've got a few more days to enter our Agrarian Kitchen book giveaway. Details are found in last weeks blog post "I See Red…"
Enjoy the long weekend and happy Passata Day to all the people making their sauce this weekend :)
~
Click on the banner below to view this weeks' "Specials".
