McLaren Vale: Sea and Vines
Review by Angela Heuzenroeder
Barbara Santich, McLaren Vale: Sea and Vines. Kent Town SA: Wakefield Press, 1998. pp. vii + 345. $49.95
The McLaren Vale district has always been a popular part of South Australia.
Visitors to the area, south of the capital, Adelaide, are rewarded with long sweeping views of the
coastline and hills, with undulating vines, almonds and olives in between.
Those who turn off the highway are charmed by the way the road winds through towns of picturesque buildings
from pioneering days.
They retain cameo memories of old stone inns, wineries with beautiful views and gardens, of a quirky
wooden fence, or a stone chimney in a quarry.
Barbara Santich has written McLaren Vale: Sea & Vines in a way that captures this
twofold nature of the landscape: the broad sweep and the cameo view.
As the title suggests, she establishes the broad backdrop as the basis of her book and the
opening sentences set the scene:
"Perhaps it is the coastline and beaches and clear, turquoise water that attract me to this area,
that teasing flash of blue as I turn a corner or crest a hill.
But I also love its Mediterranean qualities, the impossibly high summer sky, the parched brown summer
landscape, the olives and vines and almond blossom."
Against the perpetual background of land and sea, Santich traces the history of people's activities.
The range of her vision is comprehensive: she begins with a precise and detailed account of the history of
the indigenous inhabitants, their culture, beliefs and foods.
From there it is a short step to the arrival of European settlers and their own response to the land and
seasons in their agricultural pursuits.
Theirs is a story about learning how to use the land, with its Mediterranean climate, to the best advantage.
People's activity intensifies as time passes.
By describing early pubs and old houses, as well as interesting modern structures like the Pirramimma
wine store, Santich builds up a picture of the area that moves through time and responds to human undertakings.
The central undertaking described in the book is the production of wine.
Santich's account of its history gives a good insight into matters affecting the wine industry right across
Australian in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
From this history flow accounts of local festivals, agricultural shows and other community affairs.
When the emphasis shifts to people's leisure, the large backdrop becomes a seascape as Santich describes
people at the beach, parading along jetties, riding motorcycles, fishing or racing cars on the sand.
Her account of the number of well-known artists who have portrayed the region over the years restores the
balance of the opening picture, where hills and farms on one side complement cliffs and coast on the other.
Set into this large scene every so often is a charming word cameo.
It could be a description of chef Russell Jeavons and the rustic kitchen where he cooks; or a lively account
of the annual Lions Club auctions; or an extract in a diary from a bygone era.
The pleasure of reading these is increased by the attractive design of the book itself, with its cover
and text designed by Liz Nicholson and its pages of colour photographs created by Christo Reid.
Who might enjoy 'McLaren Vale: Sea & Vines'?
Local people will find in it a faithful and detailed record of their activities, past and present.
Visitors who dip into it will have the landscape around them enriched with story.
People interested in the history of food and wine will take pleasure in the way the author connects
the people with the land in all eras by examining their food culture and supplying numerous recipes.
Finally, everybody will appreciate the exacting research into the area by a well-known cultural
historian and award-winning writer about food.
Readers will also note Barbara Santich's comments about the danger of making this productive area
into a monoculture based on the vine.
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