You will find Miss Merbein at the Market every Sunday at Site #45

Produce: apples, pears, apple and pear juice, cherries, stone fruit, raspberries, tomatoes, figs, pistachios, dried fruit, walnuts, fruit cakes, jams, quinces, pomegranates, pecans

Contact Details

Mark McCarthy is a fifth generation farmer whose father was the first person to grow pistachios in Australia. Mark and his wife Lisa own and operate Miss Merbein with produce supplied from their farm on the River Murray, and their orchard in McLaren Vale where they also reside.

Miss Merbein’s annual crops include figs, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, quinces, pomegranates, currants, sun muscats and sultanas, available fresh or sun dried without the use of sulphur.

Their Sirora pistachios are sweet and unbleached. For the first two months off the tree (February and March) they are sold fresh. The roasted nuts are salted with sea salt.

Zante currants are sweet and tasty, and the seedless sun muscat sultana has a delicate muscatel flavour. It is available fresh and dried, loose or on the stem, perfect for cheese platters.

Both farms use minimal sprays and the apples and pears are washed, not waxed or sprayed.

With Market demand growing, Mark and Lisa extended their plantings at their McLaren Vale orchard with pink lady, fuji, gala, and mutsu apples, plus extra cherries and other stone fruit. Miss Merbein now stocks a variety of apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums. Their cherries are of the Stella variety and their raspberries are heritage ones.

Fig products include dense and rich fig jam, and their chocolate glace figs (covered in Belgian Callebaut chocolate) are totally addictive. Fruit cakes are available at Christmas.

Miss Merbein also sells at the Victor Harbor and Willunga Farmers Markets and the Goolwa and Stirling Markets. Farm gate sales are available in McLaren Vale.