GREAT TALE OF A HARD JOURNEY

AT A TIME when many Australian winemakers are considering leaving the industry comes a new book dedicated to life on the land. Foxeys Hangout: The Story of One Family's Vineyard Dream, is written by Melbourne journalist turned vigneron Cathy Gowdie and tells the story of starting a vineyard, followed by a winery, followed by a cellar door, on the Mornington Peninsula.

Gowdie and partner Tony Lee, a former chef, began life as winemakers in 1998 on a three-hectare property called White Gates among the hills of Red Hill. The story is told through the months of the winemaker's year and is dotted with anecdotes, wine-related recipes (pinot gris trifle with peaches!) and masses of colour photos of the produce from the property.

It is a book written with love and, if readers come away with a new appreciation of the term "hard work" and little incentive to actually follow the couple into a similar way of life then Gowdie will probably be relieved. Her work is done. Stories like Foxeys Hangout are a joy to read but let's leave it at that. The hardcover book has an RRP of  $45 and is published by Hardie Grant.