BEEFSTEAK & BURGUNDY CLUBS 30^th CONVENTION

YARRAWONGA/MULWALA 22^nd – 24^th MARCH 2013

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Jill and I attended the last convention held at this venue in 2005. A very high standard had been set then and we were looking forward to going back again to Yarrawonga for the 30^th convention, our personal consecutive 21^st. Nital club member Garry Hunt and his wife Pauline, who is a sister of the host club’s President Leo Kelly, also attended.

Friday afternoon Registration

After a leisurely drive from Melbourne we booked in to our waterside cabin at the Mulwala Ski Club and walked the short distance to the Club Mulwala to register. After collecting our convention kits, as usual there was great excitement as we met so many delegates whom we have known over the years. In the Endeavour Room we sampled wines, olives and cheese from stations manned by representatives from All Saints, Brown Brothers, Chrismont, Gracebrook, Rich Glen Estate (olive products) and Boosey Creek cheese. In addition local member Ian Cummins supervised tastings of the host club’s barrel Muscat both prior to and after ageing. There was a marked improvement in the aged sample. Afterwards we had some time to inspect the contents of our welcoming kits. Each contained:

• Handbook including a greeting from President Leo Kelly, committee contact names and phone numbers, programme, list of delegates and supporters plus useful phone numbers.
• Bottles of Rich Glen Olive Oil and Poppy’s Salad Dressing.
• Distinctive Convention Cap. (handy as mine from 2005 is looking the worse for wear)
• Foam bottle cooler.
• Club Mulwala stubby holder.
• Illustrated lists of the eight different wines served at each meal.
• A copy of the Yarrawonga Chronicle which included an article about the convention.
• A wealth of literary material on local attractions and activities.
• Booklets describing Hobart and Surrounds and Tasmania’s wine routes so we can start planning for the 2016 Convention, John Bowen Club’s 50^th anniversary.

Friday Welcome Party 6.30pm to 11pm followed until close by entertainment by RPM a local 60s,70s,80s band.

Seating was “as you go” and we joined long time friends from Adelaide, Phil and Joan Kleinig, local member John Charles and Port Hacking members Peter Rozea, Peter and Sue Denham. How pleasant it was to have proper seating at table with chairs, cutlery and glasses which were continually amply filled. I am not a fan of alternate drops but either one of the entrees and main courses were impressive and matched our wines. The highlight was the 1996 Stanton & Killeen Vintage Port. During the evening we were officially welcomed by Leo Kelly who invited Franc Vodusek AOM to open the convention. It was an honour well deserved for Franc who has contributed much to the Club and district. I remember talking to him at the 1999 convention when he said words to the effect “Mate, I reckon we will have a go at running a convention.” and 2005 was the result. Pretty good for a club founded a little more than two years previously. Whether anybody stayed on for the RPM band I know not but as usual we seemed to be among the last to leave the dinner and convention Wine Master Peter Bennett gave us a lift back to our accommodation. I think that we just managed to retire before midnight. It had been a great start to the Convention.

Saturday Morning Business Session 9.30 am

For non members alternative arrangements were made either for a lake cruise and morning tea on the Paradise Queen or a trip to Rich Glen Olive Farm and Byramine homestead. Unfortunately the Paradise Queen had been sunk as a result of a tornado which had devastated a narrow strip of land from Mulwala to Rutherglen the previous Wednesday night.

At the Business Session we were welcomed by Brian Lilley, “Head Office” President as the locals so quaintly describe Adelaide, the founding club. Brian had some first hand experience of the tornado, having met one of its victims swathed in bandages. Arrangements were made to take up a collection through the local Rotary Club overseen by Bernie Bott, the convention Food Master. Brian mentioned the organisation that the Yarrawonga/Mulwala Club had put into organising the convention at short notice as far as conventions are concerned after another club had been unable act as hosts as planned. General Secretary Craig Thornquest also covered a number of administrative matters. The main points they covered were:

• A warm welcome to Bob Brinkworth who’s 2012 Darwin Convention ended around 7.20 pm on the Friday night when he suffered a heart attack. Luckily for him there was medical attention at hand and he is back enjoying food and wine.
• Affiliation Fees not yet finalised as waiting on Public Liability premium but likely to be only a small increase.
• Possibility of Chinese clubs hosting a convention was laid to rest as most members occupy their overseas positions for only a couple of years which makes long term forward planning unfeasible.
• General Secretary still having difficulties with branches payment of affiliation fees and updating office bearers details. (Bill Russell was having the same difficulties in 1986 and so has every secretary probably before and since!)
• Peter Johnston is doing some work on setting up generic emails for club Secretaries as a time saving initiative. He wants to do a test run with several clubs. I immediately put forward my name because if I can work out a computer procedure ANYBODY CAN!
• It was also advised that Never Never Ladies Club celebrate 25 years anniversary this year and there are eight clubs celebrating their 50^th. The President and/or representative from Adelaide always try to attend these celebrations.
• There are new clubs: Hong Kong, Mont Albert and Hobson’s Bay and an enquiry from Singapore.

Presentations were made by clubs hosting the next two conventions.

When Martin Robinson representing 2014 hosts Brighton, Lockleys and Burnside advised that a finger food cocktail function was planned for the Friday night there was an audible collective sigh, or more correctly groans! In response to a member’s plea to make sure we had tables, chairs, knives and forks he promised to “take that on board”. The Convention will run from 10^th to 12^th October, springtime being preferred rather than the autumn when the Adelaide calendar is crammed. Saturday dinner is planned to be held at the Convention centre and Sunday lunch seafood extravaganza at the Adelaide Oval. A wine Master class is being considered as are post and/or pre convention activities. They still have quite a bit of work to do before finalising arrangements but we are assured that we shall be enjoying fine food and outstanding South Australian wines at a price competitive with the current convention. As all functions will be accessible from or in North Terrace, accommodation within that area is recommended.

Hein Vandenberg and Ron Boxhall, supported by a short film highlighting the charms of Hobart spoke of their club, John Bowen hosting the 2016 convention 22^nd to 24^th May. Jill and I went to one of their dinner meetings in 1999. We are sure they will do well. How many Clubs have an official Joke Master? Planning is in the early stages but a casual sit down Friday dinner is planned. Saturday lunch is yet to be determined but dinner that night will be at the Hotel Grand Chancellor and Sunday lunch at Meadowbank Vineyards. A brief questionnaire was made available to delegates to assist with their planning and any pre or post convention activities. From our past experience if you have never been to Tasmania take your car on the ferry and allow at least three or four weeks!

Saturday Seafood Lunch Golf Club Resort Willow Room Noon to 3pm

Prior to the lunch I had a chat with Craig Thornquest and mentioned that the Bottle Masking Bags we order from him are too short for many of our white wines, particularly Riesling now that most are screw capped and have the maker’s name visible beneath the cap. I have made do as Wine Master with a bit of black tape. He explained that the bags, though carrying the Club’s crest are specifically made at a particular length not for our purpose but for serving hot dogs to keep them warm in the foil! Who would have thought that at our club meetings we are drinking some amazingly fine wine out of a hotdog packet?

At these conventions you really need to be an athlete. Like all good athletes we were aware of the need to pace ourselves as we had the Gala dinner that night. We managed. After pre lunch Cofield 2008 Pinot Chardonnay and All Saints NV Sparkling Shiraz, or even a beer for some, overlooking the beautifully manicured golf course we came inside for a delicious lunch. Once again seating was casual and we were soon caught up in lively conversation. Throughout the lunch, screens displayed photographs, in slide show form, of previous conventions. Delegates had been asked to contribute them in the preconvention communications. We started with plates of prawns before seafood platters matched with Dalzotto 2010 Arneis and Chrismont-La Zona 2011 Pinot Grigio. There followed Atlantic salmon and a variety of salads served with All Saints Family Cellar 2009 Marsanne and 2010 Pfeiffer Riesling. Some of the salads were big enough to handle the final wines, Pizzini 2011 Sangiovese and the Campbells 2010 60’s Block multi blend. Have you ever had a “fruit salad” including Shiraz, Tempranillo, Graciano, Tinta Cao, Souzao and Carignan? The meal was another success and was over in time for most delegates to enjoy a much needed afternoon “Nanny Nap”.

Saturday Gala Dinner Club Mulwala Auditorium 6.30 to 11pm

This function is always a highlight of a convention made more glamorous by the ladies in their evening wear and the men distinguished in their dinner suits. After canapés and sparkling wines we made our way to our table where formal seating had been arranged. We sat with Pip and Annie Minhard whom we have known for many years. In 2002 Jill and I enjoyed a dinner at their Club, Cummins on our way to Western Australia. We were also joined by David and Heather Moon from Fortitude and Jack Mast from West Coast. We had already enjoyed some really good food and wine so far but on this evening it all went up a notch. Leo Kelly welcomed us and invited Brian Lilley to propose a toast to Beefsteak and Burgundy. Brian spoke a little about the origins of the name Yarrawonga, which means flowing water over rock. He mentioned how many members had remarked that Bob Brinkworth looked a lot better than when they saw him last year! He touched on the objectives of B&B which are basically to enjoy good fellowship and the enjoyment of the appreciation and education concerning wine and food. B& B has been going for 59 years, which he found quite impressive but remembered visiting a winery in Tuscany where wine has been made for around the last four thousand years!

Mandy Jones from Jones Winery at Rutherglen was the guest speaker. Jill and I had met her at Morris’s Wines 150^th anniversary dinner when we shared a table. Then she impressed us as an unassuming straightforward genuine type of person and our impressions were confirmed in her down to earth style presentation. Leo Kelly has a small vineyard and she is his winemaker and so it tied in well. Mandy is part of a family who have been making wine since 1860. Her father was a winemaker at Seppelt and she took over Jones Winery from her uncle a few years ago. Her 14 years making wine in Bordeaux has stood her in good stead for making boutique wines, only around 2000 cases are produced annually. Family oriented, she crafts wines named in honour of family members. She received a warm round of applause at the conclusion of her speech.

The evening finished with two extraordinary fortified wines, Buller’s Grand Muscat and Campbell’s Grand Tokay (which the Europeans tell us we can no longer call Tokay and is now known as Topaque). The finish, or length, of these wines was extraordinary. Not surprisingly once again we were among the last to leave.

Sunday Farewell Lunch Mulwala Water Ski Club from 11 am

How fortunate is this locality to have these three venues all within walking distance? Upon arrival we were offered a refreshing pot of beer which we found most welcoming. We were then treated to an exhibition of water skiing by the local Show Team from the Mulwala Water Ski Club. Their balance and poise were much admired, particularly at the spectacular pyramid grand finale. Afterwards, we enjoyed a pleasant Dalzotto NV Pucino Prosecco and Morris NV Sparkling Shiraz/Durif before making our way to casual seating in the dining area. It gave us the opportunity to spend some time with Garry and Pauline who had thought the whole weekend fantastic. If you can imagine a huge spread of various Italian style hams and salamis, a vast array of Italian vegetables, many marinated, including zucchini, eggplant pumpkins, salad, plus blocks of cheese and bread and biscuits then you have some picture of the feast before us. This was followed by fresh local fruits, particularly rockmelon, peaches and grapes, fine accompaniments for the Boosey Creek cheeses and biscuits. Food Master Bernie Bott invited us to relax and enjoy a slow, slow lunch and introduced Paul from La Porcheta, our caterers. The wines included Pfeiffer 2012 Chardonnay, Rutherglen Estates 2011 Fiano, Gracebrook 2006 Shiraz, Bullers 2006 Valerie Monduese, Chrismont 2011 Fragolino and Bullers OV Muscat. One of the wine highlights was the Buller’s 2006 Valerie Mondeuse. We had tasted Monduese in a blend previously but this was our first as a straight varietal. There should be more of it!

During the convention there had been some lucky door prizes and at the lunch delegates were invited to pick up wine they had pre ordered or to make a purchase. There were various packs ranging from $60 to $115.

All too soon it was time to wrap up and Franc Vodusec officially closed the Convention. There was no “passing of the duck” as has become a tradition as it has apparently been mislaid somewhere between Darwin and Yarrawonga, just when we had become accustomed to its face. At least one of its recent offspring made it to the convention. So that all was not lost. Brian Lilley made do with passing the duckling on to Bob Brinkworth who it was recognised was the most troublesome delegate at the Darwin convention. In an entertaining few words of acceptance Bob described his experience at Darwin when he collapsed from a massive heart attack at 7.21 on the Friday night. He survived despite a heart rate of 260 beats a minute and put his survival down to a blend of faith and outstanding medical attention. If you must have a heart attack a B&B convention is not such a bad place as there are usually a few medical experts among the delegates. At the hospital he was most impressed by an Italian doctor who administered a wonder drug when the others were saying “He’s going he’s going he’s going.”

Many of us were reluctant to leave and we soon arranged to meet up for drinks with a few old friends including the Brinkworths and Philip and Susan Yaxley who I still refer to as The Love Birds after Phil, on bended knee proposed marriage at the Hamilton convention in 2001.

What a superb convention it had been but for 48 of us it was not quite over.

Monday trip to Rutherglen Estates 9.30am to 3pm

We gathered at the Club Mulwala and made our way by bus to Rutherglen passing by some of the area affected by the tornado. It would be a terrifying experience as we saw trees either uprooted or denuded of branches and further on, damaged homes.

At the Rutherglen Estates Cellar Door we stopped to pick up Phil Chamberlain, who manages the extensive operation. We drove to his home in the vineyard after passing rows of vines that had been blown over and his house where the main damage seemed to be to his fencing and his vehicle which had the windows blown out. We could not get to parts of the vineyard owing to remaining debris. Phil gave us an informative insight into the operation, which had been on the brink of collapse, as it relied on supplying three large companies with wine. Uncrushed grapes are not allowed out of the district. There were problems when the contracts came up for renewal owing to the grape glut and competition particularly in the UK market. The operation is now Chinese owned and they could put all their wine into China via Beijing. Fortunately for us they are continuing to maintain an Australian presence. Later we were to get a very generous deal on our wine purchases at the cellar door. However, on the way we were given an extensive tour of their wine making operations including parts of the winery that would not normally be accessible to visitors. We all enjoyed tasting wine currently being fermented both from stainless steel tanks and bins. It was a great experience and afterwards we enjoyed a light lunch at Tuilleries café in Rutherglen. Upon returning to Rutherglen on Tuesday and Wednesday for a couple of days recovery we dined at Tuilleries main restaurant and struck up a conversation with a couple of Chinese. Simon (yes, a Chinese named Simon but he was educated in Melbourne by Jesuits) turned out to be the Principal of the Company that owns Rutherglen Estates. We grabbed the opportunity to give Phil a big wrap up but Simon already knows what a treasure he has in Phil’s management.

Summary

The convention cost $1720 a couple including the Rutherglen trip and our accommodation was $110 per night. According to the list of delegates there were 157 who attended. Yes, it is expensive but it is not just the food and wine. It is that which in Accounting is called an Intangible Asset. In this case it is the wealth of goodwill that we always encounter at conventions. In 21 Conventions we have seen a lot of eating and drinking but nobody has ever made a nuisance of themselves. Not many non B&B clubs have that record. Congratulations to all concerned at Yarrawonga/Mulwala. You have made a big deposit in our memory bank. Next time we come to Yarrawonga we certainly do hope that we can linger longer.

Postscript

After the Monday tour some of us were later able to catch the bus and join the Yarrawonga/Mulwala committee and members as guests for drinks at Leo Kelly’s property overlooking the river. We enjoyed his own brand Byramine Sparkling Shiraz and his Pinot Grigio. We then had a delicious dinner of baked meats and his own grown vegetables at the old Byramine Homestead operated by Leo’s daughter. The room only holds forty or so and so invitations were scarce. It was a generous and thoughtful conclusion to our long weekend.

Jim Freebairn