We were lucky enough to speak to the artistic curators of this year’s De Bortoli calendar. Here is just a taste of what was said.

A yearly treat, the calendar has been delighting and tempting clients for 13 years and their appetite for it continues to grow.

This is not surprising. For not only is it bursting with enticing images of delectable food and exquisite wines, it’s also a treasure trove of gustatory knowledge. Recipes, wine-pairing tips and other interesting information pepper its paper kingdom, along with a handy ‘what’s in season’ section, allowing you to almost pre-empt the supermarket fresh food specials section. You’ll never foolishly expect avocados to be cheap in June again.

These attributes are clever and relevant constants in the annual. But to keep it fresh, the team behind the calendar (which includes graphic designer Trish, photographer Guy, stylist Kyle, and the De Bortoli family themselves providing family recipes and theme ideas) change the theme each year.

“The theme for 2016 was about sharing food together,” explains Trish Dunstone, Director at Melbourne’s Design Energy. “Barbeque, Asian, Italian and Tapas feasts feature this year, with Christmas rounding off the calendar appropriately. It was a great idea and it gave us a lot of scope to work with.”

The changing mood of the calendar is evident as you peruse through the seasons. Light and airy in Summer, the images, recipes and overall tone get noticeably warmer and cosier as you head into June, before lightening up once more with the advent of Spring.

“The right lighting is imperative when capturing food,” says photographer Guy Lavoipierre. “It’s important to match the quality of light to suit the mood of the image and season. I really enjoy the challenge of this project and the team collaborate really well to bring it all together.”

“The whole process is a lot of fun,” agrees Kyle Barnett, food stylist and self-confessed prop-hound. “I source props to fit the brief but we have a lot of creative freedom and it always comes together so well. It’s the best job of the year!”

This seamless cohesion of ideas and talents is incredibly evident. Trish agrees with Guy and Kyle that each member of the team brings a different element to the production process.

“The concept of the calendar is about matching food with wine,” Trish says. “But to get it to all come together, like a recipe, in the perfect way is of course a challenge and one we all enjoy.”

As much as eating the food itself?

“Well, maybe not quite…” Trish smiles.