I always try to give credit where due and this week's recipient of such kudos is Bushman Rock Vineyard, Ruwa.

In the dim and distant past, when the winery was owned by previous people, it was perhaps an understatement to say Bushman Rock wines sometimes didn't travel well.

They often didn't make it as far as Harare (or was it then Salisbury?); frequently didn't arrive at Ruwa Supermarket in a drinkable state and I have it on good authority one year they signally failed to negotiate the short distance from cask to farm gates remaining fit for human consumption!

But the old-established former plonkery has undergone a metamorphosis under Rick and Sally Passaportis who, in addition to bringing their son -- international polo player Jono into the hospitality operation -- also recruited a renowned Australian wine maker.

I was recently looking at a wedding album of spectacularly colourful nuptials at Bushman Rock's new functions centre above the winery, with spectacular views over vineyards and a game park towards a picturesque fish-filled dam to the rolling Mashonaland East bundu.

This is the perfect site for a bush wedding less than 50km east of Harare, also for retreat "bonding" sessions, company strategic planning meetings etc.

On Sunday, along with 40 members of Meikles Hotel's Grapevine Club, I enjoyed a brilliant braai lunch there (steak, wors, chop, sadza, potato wedges, wonderful salads, great bread and butter, fruit kebabs, ice-cream, meringues and éclairs), after a briefing from the Australian wine ace who supervised re-plantings, graftings and production technicalities.

Although sounding a bit Monty Python-ish, Paul Chambers studied Wine Science at Charles Sturt University, Wagga-Wagga, New South Wales and in 1986 began his own Staughton Vale Vineyard on the slopes of Mt Anakie (pronounced "anarchy"!) 80 km west of Melbourne.

From 1986 to 1989 he was consultant winemaker at Mt Anakie Winery, which, in 1989 produced its first Staughton Vale Vineyard vintage; he also consulted to a number of wineries.

Between 2001-05 he was guest lecturer in Wine Science at Deakin University, Geelong, and at Staughton Vale incorporated the vineyard, winery, restaurant and accommodation under one umbrella firm.

From 2005-07 he was president of the Australian Winemakers' Federation and in 2007 married Zimbabwean, Belinda, and moved here. Since June 2008, he has been consultant winemaker at Bushman Rock.

He told me in a previous interview: "Due to Zimbabwe's climate and early picking due to rains, we will not produce typical New World wines. They will never be clones of RSA wine styles, but rather Zimbabwean wines with more than a passing nod to the wines of France."

That was 10 months ago and most people who can tell Shiraz from Champagne, Sanatogen or Schweppes Lemon reckoned Bushman Rock wines are now considerably successfully Frenchified and ­-- reminiscent of those of Bordeaux -- made excellent drinking.

We sampled 2009 whites: Hanne, the Dry White Wooded and an unwooded version at $4 a bottle or $20 a case of six and Charlevale at $5/$25. I noted they would all be fine for drinking alone or with various foods including shellfish, fish and other seafood and chicken.

I love red wine, but it doesn't always love me! My favourite is Shiraz, which goes splendidly with curry and other spicy food.

An alternative name is Syrah, which is what the Bushman Rock product is sold as, at $5 a bottle/$25 a case, same price as their 2008 Stellagallen and Alicante Bouschet, which I believe is a first for southern Africa. A prolific bearing French grape, hugely popular in California during Prohibition, it is widely grown in Algeria (definitely) and Tunisia (I think) in North Africa; also Israel.

We thought these may well be worth laying down a few years.

The 2008 Merlot and a Pinotage, which Paul admitted owed more to the Pinot Noir he grew in Australia than its Cape cousin, were more suitable for drinking now, we thought. These are $4 a bottle or $20 a case.

Sally was in the UK visiting her recently born first grand-child. In an earlier interview she said: "We bought Bushman Rock in 1996, moving in 1997. I had a little knowledge as my folks grew Steen grapes on Glenalla Park, our farm in Esigodini, supplying Afdis back in the 70s; the rest I learned from books, much help from Mukuyu and 'just doing it!'

"We began to replace old varieties and various table grapes with 'nobles' to improve wine quality. It was done slowly, field by field over years, so we could keep making wine to sell, to pay wages.

"We imported vines grafted on rootstock from RSA. With new varieties beginning to reach meaningful production, we were lucky to find Paul, a consultant winemaker. With him in charge we've jumped several levels, bringing in French and American oak barrels in which the 2008 vintage reds were aged and developed. They were bottled in March."

The Passaportis family is only the fourth to own the farm since it was pegged in 1900. She continued: "The next stage of our plan was to rebuild the winery, virtually unchanged for 40 years and very basic.

"Renovation of the old winery turned it into a two-storey functions venue, the bottom bit for production and bottling wines and a catering kitchen. The upstairs was floored in teak. We managed to get it almost finished at the request of our daughter in UK who wanted to come home and marry here.

"During 'the Shortages' it was increasingly hard to find (and pay for!) building materials, so operations slowed down; we limped along trying to get finishing touches such as plumbing, painting and wiring.

"The functions venue was the idea of our son, Jonathan, who, after getting his business degree at Exeter, worked as a gaucho on a polo safari estancia in Cordoba, Argentina.

"He returned in 2006 keen on running a similar set-up and we began work on a full-sized polo field as well as an 'arena' field (the only one in Zimbabwe and one of only a few in Africa), along with the winery.

"This will operate in conjunction with a company he's formed: Bushman Rock Safaris, building lodges on a neighbour's farm to house function guests and overseas travellers when riding and polo safaris are up and running.

"We have stables for 20 horses which will be used for the polo safaris as well as Jonathan's potential competitive polo string.

"Bushman Rock Estate and Bushman Rock Safaris have devoted most of their land to a game conservation park in which we run a herd of highly endangered Lichtenstein hartebeest as well as sable, wildebeest, zebra, impala, eland, tsessebe and giraffe. In conjunction with the Tikki Haywood Trust we are breeding and running a release site for endangered servals and African wild cats."