A recipe for Christmas brownies: Grab a box of any off the shelf brownie mix. Instead of water use Tarara's Wild River Red. It is an excellent dessert wine that complements the chocolate really well.

I went back to Tarara on Sunday and did a proper wine tasting. Their wines have definitely improved over the last few years. In particular I was impressed Cabernet Sauvignon and the Charval. In the light of day, their Cabernet Franc did not hold up as well as I would have liked. There are better in the area, but I think it will get better with age.