Crop makes for sweet surprise

SUCCESS: Sue Mettrick and a bottle of her homemade feijoa wine.

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Two rows of feijoa trees were planted four years ago on a Tai Tapu property to shelter a small orchard.

Sue Mettrick never imagined they would also produce an award- winning wine.

When last autumn's feijoa crop was heavy, a friend gave Mettrick a recipe for feijoa wine.

Her wine won the Premier Sweet Wine award at the Duvauchelle A&P Show on January 9.

"It was just so simple," says Mettrick, whose winemaking tools consisted of four buckets for mixing the fruit with water and the family pool scoop for straining it off.

After leaving the 60 bottles to sit for the winter months, one bottle was dusted off and sampled at Christmas.

"We were pleasantly surprised. There was a thought it might be like vinegar, but it is a sweet wine that goes well with blue cheese after dinner," says the novice winemaker.

Mettrick is preparing herself for a heavier crop this autumn, as the trees are a year older.

Her $4 prize winnings from the A& P Show will not be put towards any hi-tech wine-making gear, as she has no plans to replace the bucket and pool scoop system, already in place.

As yet, the wine is nameless, but Scratch Your Arse is one idea.

"My horse is called Scratch and it's his manure we sprinkle round the base of the feijoa hedge."

A complimentary glass of the feijoa wine is presented with the cheeseboards at her daughter Emma's Akaroa cafe, The Little Bistro.

- © Fairfax NZ News