The Vanished Land

The green and lovely Clare Valley is one of Australia's finest wine regions. A fortnight's holiday among the vines convinces social planner Burt Surmon and his new wife Jeni to make a life-changing decision. They will quit the city grind to grow grapes, make wine, open a cellar door, art gallery and function centre ... Forever optimistic, but largely ignorant of farming, Burt and Jeni begin a life of hard yakka. There are so many lessons to be learnt. Marketing, soil types, grape selection, occupational health and safety. And just how to wrangle those stray pigs and deer from the vines. "On a Clare Day" is the story of two wine lovers riding wine's boom and bust. Their tale is seasoned with mouth-watering recipes, fusing peasant-style French and Italian with Middle Eastern and Asian cooking.