Growing Honest Food
Gabriella Comersall-Hubbard
ISBN: 9781864471205 Hyland House Publishing, HB, 213 pages
A barren block of land in the Australian suburbs has, over a period of 30 years, been transformed by the Sicilianos' passion, daring, perseverance and hard work into a slice of the Calabrian countryside - a lush and wonderful oasis. At a mere 1.2 ha, Rose Creek Estate is probably the smallest vineyard in the nation and, at less the 17 kilometres from the city centre, certainly the most urban. Its 3200 vines and its orchard, vegetable garden and nearly 400 olive trees produce thousands of bottles of award winning wine and olive oil, hundreds of jars of passata and preserved olives, and lots of other produce, year after year. Cherished family and regional traditions remain a large part of this couple's lives. Month by month, this book details the changing seasons and the activities that take place in the vineyard and olive grove, in the cellar (where wine and olive oil are produced), and in the kitchen. The Sicilianos' enterprise is the embodiment of these ideas and living proof that such pursuits can build both a profitable business and a healthy and intensely satisfying way of life.