2020-02-29 New Zealand Listener

36 LISTENER FEBRUARY 29 2020

THIS LIFE

G
ET

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IM

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heat, squeeze the lemon juice into the water,

then throw in the skin. Simmer for 15 min-

utes, then remove and discard the lemon skin.

Remove the syrup from the heat and set aside to

cool (do not refrigerate).

Put the chopped walnuts and apricots in a

bowl and mix together.

Gently melt the butter in a frying pan over

low heat (or microwave for 30 seconds). Transfer

to a deep mixing bowl, add the milk and egg

yolks and whisk to combine.

Loosen the pastry using your fingers and then

roughly chop the strands. Using clean hands,

take a handful of pastry and press together

between your palms to make a round. Still hold-

ing the round in your palm, place 2 teaspoons

of the walnut and apricot mixture in the middle

and use your other hand to fold over the sides

of the pastry and roll up the ends, and then

squeeze into a tight tube. Dip your fist into the

milk mixture, letting the pastry absorb some

of the liquid through your fingers, pushing the

pastry back inside your fist as it slightly expands.

Shake off the excess liquid and then set aside on

paper towels. Repeat with the remaining pastry

to make about 20 rounds.

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan

over high heat. Add a drop of water to the oil

• if it sizzles, the oil is ready. Carefully add the
  dolmas, 10 at a time, then fry for 3 minutes
  until golden and crunchy. Remove with a slot-
  ted spoon and transfer into the bowl with the
  syrup. Leave to soak for 2
  minutes, then remove and
  serve, decorated with the
  chopped walnuts.
  Makes 20. l

by Michael Cooper

WINE

D

id Albinoni drink albariño?

Did Townes van Zandt enjoy

zinfandel? What music do

they play at the Schubert

winery in the Wairarapa?

There’s a powerful link between

wine and music. “Good music

is wine turned to sound,” stated

American writer Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Beethoven described himself as a sort

of Bacchus, “who presses out this

glorious wine for mankind and makes

them spiritually drunken”.

Winery concerts are frequent –

Elton John starred at Mission Estate

this month; Villa Maria hosts Rick

Astley next month. Pegasus Bay, at

Waipara, labels its top wines Prima

Donna Pinot Noir, Encore Noble

Riesling and Virtuoso Chardonnay.

Misha’s Vineyard, in Central Otago,

offers a Dress Circle Pinot Gris, The

Gallery Gewürztraminer and The

High Note Pinot Noir.

But can music influence your wine

purchasing? An article entitled “The

Influence of In-Store Music on Wine

Selections”, published in the Journal

of Applied Psychology, examined

the effect of playing certain types

of music in a wine shop. “German

wines were sold at a higher rate

when German music was played, and

French wines sold better when French

music was played. This effect resulted

in a quarter of the variance in wine

sales.”

A study headed by Charles Spence,

professor of experimental psychol-

ogy at the University of Oxford,

found you can squeeze about 15%

more pleasure out of a glass of wine

by serving it with the right kind of

music. Sturdy, rich red wines, such as

malbec, suit instruments such as the

organ, while lighter white wines, such

as sauvignon blanc, are matched well

by a harp.

Jo Burzynska, a sound artist and

wine critic, hosts workshops match-

ing wine and music. In a bid to

convert doubters, she serves a pun-

gent Marlborough sauvignon blanc

with heavy rock music, described as

“a really unpleasant combination”.

Conversely, weighty, rich Hawke’s

Bay reds shine with “lower pitched

and slower pieces of music”, as “bass

emphasises the body of a wine”.

Some enthusiasts are taking things

even further. In Champagne, wine-

grower Marie Loriot plays music in

the vineyard at Domaine Apollonis,

offering graphs and data to support

her belief that it helps to keep the

vines healthy. Down in the cellar,

she matures her wines to the vibra-

tions of Beethoven’s Symphony No 6

(Pastoral). l

Bacchus and

Beethoven

Testing the link

between wine

and music is study

worth savouring.

Ostler Waitaki Valley North Otago

Pinot Gris 2018

Highly scented, this delicious wine

is full-bodied and vibrantly fruity,

with pure pear, peach and spice

flavours. Dryish and rich. (14% alc/

vol). $25

WINE OF THE WEEK

Melt butter over very low heat and when

it starts to sizzle, pour it into a bowl and

put it in the fridge. The next day, scrape

the layer of fat off the top. The liquid at

the bottom is ghee.

To make your own ghee

ANATOLIA: Adventures in

Turkish Eating, by Somer

Sivrioğlu and David Dale

(Allen & Unwin, $55)