New Zealand Listener - May 26, 2018

38 LISTENER MAY 26 2018

THIS LIFE

GETTY IMAGES

heat on the stovetop, scraping all the juices up.

When the shallots are golden, add the apples,

mushrooms and thyme to the pan and cook

gently until the apples are tender. Pour in the

cider and simmer for 10 minutes until reduced

and thick.

Add the stock and the sugar; allow this to

bubble up and thicken. Return the pork pieces

to the pan and simmer just long enough to heat

through.

Pour the cream into the sauce. Stir in well,

and after 1-2 minutes when combined and

thick, serve the pork and sauce over noodles or

rice. Garnish with parsley and accompany with

a leafy green salad.

Serves 4. l

by Michael Cooper

WINE

I

f you ask wine lovers to name

their favourite Hawke’s Bay

producer, many will say Trinity

Hill. Long popular for its skilfully

crafted, mid-priced wines, espe-

cially chardonnay, and acclaimed

for its perfumed, dense Homage

Syrah, this high-profile winery has

recently gone through some major,

and no doubt unsettling, changes.

Lying at the base of Roys Hill,

Trinity Hill was founded in 1993 by

three families: London developers

and restaurateurs Robert and Robyn

Wilson; Auckland merchant banker

Trevor Janes and his wife, Hanne;

and John and Jennifer Hancock. The

words “by John Hancock” embla-

zoned across the labels celebrated

the well-known winemaker, who

had built an illustrious reputation

at Delegat’s and Morton Estate.

Four years ago, however, con-

trol of Trinity Hill passed to Terroir

Winery Fund LP, based in the US.

Owning stakes in some of California’s

most prestigious wineries, Terroir

gained a 67% slice of Trinity Hill.

The Wilsons remained as the only

other significant shareholders.

Visiting Hawke’s Bay, Charles

Banks – the majority shareholder of

Terroir Capital LLC, which man-

aged the Terroir Winery Fund LP

• announced plans to build a new
  winery at Trinity Hill to produce
  top-end reds, and to use his distribu-
  tion muscle to promote the brand

in North America and Europe.

Last June, however, Banks was

sentenced to four years in prison

for defrauding a retired NBA basket-

ball star, Tim Duncan. As a result,

he failed the Overseas Investment

Office’s “good character” test and was

banned from financial involvement

in Trinity Hill.

Two months after Banks’s convic-

tion, Trinity Hill’s chief executive,

Michael Henley, left the company,

followed in January by Hancock

himself. Having moved over the years

into a marketing role, Hancock said

he was “disappointed that it didn’t

work out”, but it was time to get back

to his first love – winemaking.

Philip Kingston, now acting CEO,

is a Kiwi who spent many years in

senior roles at Constellation Brands,

the huge US-based drinks company.

The good news, says Kingston, is that

Terroir Winery Fund and the Wilsons,

together with Trinity Hill’s highly

regarded chief winemaker, Warren

Gibson, are all staying put. l

New era for

Trinity Hill

The popular

Hawke’s Bay

producer is

emerging from an

unsettling period.

■ Spices that go well with apples are

cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.

■ Cook with butter when using apples,

in both savoury and sweet dishes.

■ Apples turn brown quickly in the air, so

when they are sliced for cooking, toss

them in a mixture of water and lemon

juice, or squirt lemon juice over them.

■ Always store apples in the refrigerator;

they lose crispness very quickly at room

temperature.

■ As a dessert alternative, ofer slices

of fresh apple with good cheese.

■ Apples are a suitable fruit to bulk up

berries for a pie or a crumble. Stew

them with a little butter (no water will

be needed) before adding blackberries,

raspberries or loganberries.

■ Use vanilla syrup or maple syrup instead

of sugar to sweeten apples.

■ Slice apples thinly and add them to a

winter salad just before you serve it.

■ Make an interesting sweet-treat platter

with honeycomb, nuts and fresh sliced

or quartered apples.

■ Add dried apple slices to muesli or fruit

cake mixes.

Getting the best from apples

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels The

Gimblett 2015

This highly reined red was

blended principally from

cabernet sauvignon, cabernet

franc and merlot. Dark and

full-bodied (13.5% alc/vol), it has

blackcurrant-like lavours, gently

seasoned with nutty oak, and

lovely richness, complexity and

harmony. $40

WINE OF THE WEEK