Volcanic wine tasting with John Szabo MS
Volcanic wines are hot, literally. It’s no secret that Mount Etna in Sicily, the Canary Islands and the Yamanashi region in near Mount Fuji are all home to some of the world’s most diverse and exciting wines, which is why one of the leading authorities on volcanic wines is coming to New Zealand to host tastings on Saturday 28 July and Sunday 29 July.
Master Sommelier John Szabo will lead two tastings on volcanic wines at the New Zealand School of Food & Wine’s annual W&F Celebration, part of Auckland’s new Elemental Festival.
He was the first Canadian to add the letters MS (Master Sommelier) to his name, in 2004, and has since written Volcanic Wines, Salt Grit and Power - a book about volcanic wine regions.
Auckland is a fitting city to host Szabo since the greater Auckland region’s volcanic field has at least 52 volcanoes. The city’s scoria cones range from 10 to 120 meters in height, contributing an unexplored aspect to Auckland’s wine terroir.
“The question is how we can enhance the reputations of wines grown in the Auckland region given most of this region’s wineries are on volcanically derived sedimentary rock,” says Celia Hay of the NZ School of Food & Wine.
Szabo will speak at the school’s annual Wine & Food Celebration on Saturday 27July and Sunday 28 July in Central Auckland.
For more information and to arrange an interview with John contact:
Celia Hay
celia@foodandwine.co.nz
021 981 947
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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85.5% Yes
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13.4% No
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
The Ant, Bird & Hunter (Day - 1)
Dear Neighbors,
I’ve come across something I truly believe can make a positive impact, and I’m excited to share it with you! Over the next 54 days, I will be sharing a series of 54 moral stories (one a day) that encourage children to think deeply and adopt valuable life lessons. These stories are designed to instill ethics, values, and morals that will help shape a better future for our kids.
I’d love to hear your feedback along the way so we can evaluate the outcomes together and make sure this effort benefits our community in the best possible way.
Please note, this is a non-religious, non-cultural initiative. If any names (People, places etc...) in the stories seem tied to a particular belief system, feel free to adjust them to better align with your own, as the core focus is on values and positive character-building.
Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback!
📚✨ #MoralStories #BuildingValues #PositiveParenting #StrongerCommunity #BetterFutureForOurKids
The Ant, Bird & Hunter
There was an ant which fell into a river accidentally and the river was flowing rapidly.The ant would have died after getting drowned in the river, but luckily for the ant there was a bird sitting on a tree above that saw the ant. The bird plucked out a leaf from the tree, flew a short distance, and put it into the river just in time for the ant to climb onto the leaf. The ant floated on the leaf for a while and finally when the river was calm it reached land.
After it reached land, the ant dismounted the leaf, felt thankful that its life had been saved by the bird and headed off to thank the bird which saved its life. In a few hours, it reached the place where the bird was seated on the tree. The ant was about to climb the tree to thank the bird but it observed a hunter was about to shoot down the bird on the tree. The bird had not noticed the hunter.
The ant decided to take action immediately, and thereby help its friend, the bird. The ant went and began biting the feet of the hunter. The irritated hunter could not aim carefully and missed shooting his prey, the bird, as his feet had been bitten by the ant.
The moral of the story is that we may all be very small persons but we must try our best to help our friends under all circumstances. Returning a favor is as important as accepting a favor.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.