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New cellar door in Hastings

A new cellar door has opened in Hastings this week with funding from the Covid-19 relief fund to Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers, the region’s wine industry body for grape growers and winemakers. The new cellar door will feature a rotating range of wines, including many that are not widely seen due to small production from producers without their own facilities. The new cellar door will be open for 13 weeks from now through to Sunday 8 November. It will be open for 20 hours hours each week. Visit...

Wines of the week for life in lockdown

Life in lockdown moves up a notch this week with more stringent measures to prevent the spread of a resurgence in Covid-19 in New Zealand. So much for our 102 days of virus free country. It seems to have been here all along, as many of us had thought but hoped against. But where there’s a lockdown, there’s an opportunity and I’m using the few extra hours to catch up on tasting wines sent to me for review. Here are three of the best I have had the good fortune to taste this week. 19/20 ...

Wines of the week for spring

Pandemics may spell bad news for airlines but they offer winemakers a great opportunity to talk about and taste their wares in a new forum, namely, the virtual online space. This week I was lucky enough to be asked to co host a virtual tasting via Instagram for Whitehaven Wines in Marlborough. The company began life as a romantic new business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. W...

Mid week affordable new wines from Seifried

A trio of new wines from one of Nelson’s oldest winery made their way into my tasting glass this week. Here are my reviews on Seifried Estate’s latest bunch, all incredibly affordable drops which retail for less than $20. The winemaking is by Anna Seifried, whose siblings run the winery and whose parents founded it – Hermann and Agnes Seifried. It’s a rare New Zealand winery, which remains in family hands with a second generation at the helm. 18.5/20 2020 Seifried Sauvignon Blanc Nels...

Wines of the week… Chardonnay at $20 and $30

Many people are happy to have a job in these increasingly uncertain, global pandemic times, but for those who feel heavily invested in their work, the first wine of this week will ring a few bells. Its name is a clever play on words. Where did the name Skin in the Game come from? I asked winemaker Tony Bish this question over a glass of wine a couple of weeks ago and the reply was: “It’s mandatory when you’re a winemaker to have some skin in the game.” He has forged a  bit of a r...

First off the bottling line… new 2020 Sauvignon Blancs

The 2020 vintage may have been one of the most challenging in the history of the modern New Zealand wine industry, but the quality of these two fresh new whites shows that it will also go down as one of the best. These two mid week white wines are very different styles from two vastly different regions, which share the same vintage freshness, concentration and zesty characters. 2020 Nga Waka Sauvignon Blanc Martinborough $19-$21, 18.5/20 Winemaker Roger Parkinson, brix at harvest 21.3, 12.5% ...

First off the bottling line… new 2020 Sauvignon Blancs

The 2020 vintage may have been one of the most challenging in the history of the modern New Zealand wine industry, but the quality of these two fresh new whites shows that it will also go down as one of the best. These two mid week white wines are very different styles from two vastly different regions, which share the same vintage freshness, concentration and zesty characters. 2020 Nga Waka Sauvignon Blanc Martinborough $19-$21, 18.5/20 Winemaker Roger Parkinson, brix at harvest 21.3, 12.5% ...

Virtual wine tasting on Saturday 15 August 2020

A group of Hawke’s Bay winemakers is hosting its first virtual wine tasting on Saturday 15 August from 5pm to 6pm. The evening will include wines, canapѐs and conversation, all to be had at home with a pre ordered tasting package including five different wines from five wineries in the region. It’s called the F.A.W.C! Night In Virtual Wine Tasting and includes wines from Halcyon Days Wines, Clearview Estate, Te Awa Estate, Collaboration Wines and Smith and Sheth CRU. A representative fro...

Wine of the week… affordable Italian for $17

2018 Vino Lascito Sangiovese Rubicone $16.99 Sangiovese is Italy’s most abundant grape variety, writes author Ian d’Agata in his award winning book, Italy’s Native and Traditional Grapes. It’s probably the country’s most important grape variety too, given the huge number of wines made from it. And despite a roller coaster of styles, synonyms and regions in which it is produced, Sangiovese remains the heart and soul of a massive amount of Italy’s most exciting wines. It makes up at...

Misha’s Vineyard from the deep south highlights Riesling’s potential

If global politics are leaving a slightly bitter taste in your mouth right now, it might be time to get reacquainted with one of the world’s most underrated and sometimes sweeter wine styles. Before tuning out when the word ‘sweetness’ is mentioned, read on because one of these exceptional Rieslings is totally dry in style – and tastes it. Riesling does have a reputation for being sweet but that’s not always the case, as this pair of great whites from the most southern wine region o...

Wines of the week (why you should spend more than $20…)

Why pay $20+ on a bottle of wine when there’s so much of it available for significantly less than a $20 note? If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question, I would have enough to go all the way and buy great burgundy, the pinnacle of Pinot Noir. All jokes aside, it’s a fair enough question for wine lovers who are surrounded by cheap and cheerful Pinot – why would they seriously consider buying Pinot Noir that costs above $20 when there’s so much readily available for far...

New cellar door for Escarpment in Martinborough

One of Martinborough’s most respected wineries has teamed up with one of its least known boutique accommodations to offer wine tastings with food. The winery is Escarpment, based in the Te Muna Valley; nine kilometres east of Martinborough township, which is slightly off the beaten track for visitors to the village, who generally cycle or walk to the wineries. The new collaboration with Peppers Parehua offers an easy walk or cycle from Martinborough village to enjoy both the great wines of ...

Wine of the week – New Zealand’s first en primeur Chardonnay

David Nash is not the first filmmaker to turn his hand to winemaking but he may be the first New Zealand one to produce a Chardonnay, which sold out as an en primeur offer before it was in the bottle. This breaks the mould of how Kiwi white wines are sold. It was never offered at retail and was such an instant hit that it didn’t even get the chance to make it into traditional wine retail stores. The wine is called Helio and it’s Nash’s first foray into winemaking. Helio  is a Chard...

Covid-19 vintage 2020 difficult but rewarding

Vintages can be tough to report on because the proof is always in the bottle rather than the early reports but 2020 was remarkable in New Zealand in that it took place at all, due to the Covid-19 lockdown just as vintage was about to start. Claire Edward of Wairarapa Wines writes that the 2020 season will go down in history as one of the most difficult logistically, emotionally and physically. She shares her vintage report here, which covers Martinborough, Gladstone, Carterton and the no...

Good time to head south for Kiwi wine lovers

Challenging is a mild word for the emotions evoked in winemakers in the lead up to vintage 2020 in New Zealand but fortunately wine was deemed essential and vintage went ahead, despite the challenges of social distancing during lockdown. But what now for wineries reliant on export markets as well as incoming tourists for sales? The owner of Central Otago wine brand, Misha’s Vineyard, says the vintage was challenging and she hopes for a trans Tasman bubble to increase visitor numbers to the ...

Rockburn appoints new general manager

Central Otago winery Rockburn has appointed Tim Severne as its new general manager. He has over 20 years of experience in the wine industry working for Glengarry Wines, Hancocks Wine, Spirit and Beer Merchants and Marisco Vineyards. His most recent role was global sales manager at Antipodes Water Company. Rockburn is named after the rugged rocky Central Otago landscape. The winery owns two vineyards; on the Gibbston Back Road in Gibbston Valley and at Parkburn in the Cromwell Basin where its ...

Wines of the week… What does ‘natural’ mean? Churton’s new Natural State wines

Second generation winemakers Ben and Jack Weaver made this week’s trio of new Natural State vintages, a brand which was established to acknowledge the trend towards less-is-more winemaking. They are not calling these wines ‘natural’ for the sake of it. They are making wines in the most natural way possible, while adhering to classic and modern winemaking principles to create the freshest, purest flavours in an accessibly priced range of interesting wines. Which is pretty much the philos...

Calling all Pinot Noir lovers to a virtual tasting 4.30pm Friday 11 June

Join me on Friday 11 June at 4.30pm for a free virtual tasting of Pinot Noir from Whitehaven Wines, based in Marlborough, New Zealand. Taste two Whitehaven Pinot Noirs; the flagship 2016 Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Noir and the 2017 Whitehaven Greg Single Vineyard Southern Valleys Pinot Noir. This virtual tasting is a free event online to discover these two great wines together and ask all your questions about Pinot Noir, Marlborough and wine. Buy the wines online here: https://bit.ly/PinotL...

NZ Wine Podcast’s top interview, a little promotion…

I’ve been reading a lot about validation this year and how important it is to have people validate us, so it seemed uncanny when a girlfriend was telling me the exact same thing on Sunday night and a beautifully validating email popped into my  inbox from Boris Lamont, founder of the NZ Wine Podcast. If you love wine and haven’t listened to these fascinating podcasts, check them out here: www.podcasts.nz/nz-wine-podcast/ He tells me that his interview with me in April 2019 now tops ...

NZ Wine Podcast’s top interview, a little promotion…

I’ve been reading a lot about validation this year and how important it is to have people validate us, so it seemed uncanny when a girlfriend was telling me the exact same thing on Sunday night and a beautifully validating email popped into my  inbox from Boris Lamont, founder of the NZ Wine Podcast. If you love wine and haven’t listened to these fascinating podcasts, check them out here: www.podcasts.nz/nz-wine-podcast/ He tells me that his interview with me in April 2019 now tops ...

Homage – the best yet from Trinity Hill

The release of Homage is a big deal in New Zealand each year, this time round even more so. It’s the first time Homage has been sealed with a screwcap and I personally feel the wine tastes significantly fresher for it, even at this early stage in its life. For those who don’t know, Homage is Trinity Hill’s top red and is 100% Syrah, made from grapes grown on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke’s Bay. It was inspired when its founder, winemaker John Hancock, visited Gerard Jaboulet in Tain l...

Homage – the best yet from Trinity Hill

The release of Homage is a big deal in New Zealand each year, this time round even more so. It’s the first time Homage has been sealed with a screwcap and I personally feel the wine tastes significantly fresher for it, even at this early stage in its life. For those who don’t know, Homage is Trinity Hill’s top red and is 100% Syrah, made from grapes grown on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke’s Bay. It was inspired when its founder, winemaker John Hancock, visited Gerard Jaboulet in Tain l...

Dates announced for NZ’s top red celebration

New dates were announced today for Pinot Noir NZ, which will now take place from 15 to 17 February 2022 in Christchurch....

Wines of the week, Julicher in Martinborough

Moving to Martinborough hasn’t been all plain sailing, even if a house here has been on the wish-list for nearly two decades. The commute leaves a lot to be desired so it’s fortunate that I don’t have to do it every single day and winemakers in this region rarely need to commute over the top of the Remutaka Hill Road, which is frequently shrouded in fog in the evenings. Wim Julicher will no longer be worrying about such matters as he has moved on from the eponymous winery he set up in 1...

Second generation takes over at Astrolabe Wines

Change is in the air for many of us thanks to the global pandemic that took us all by surprise this year, not least the family who own and run Astrolabe Wines in Marlborough, which appointed a new general manager. Libby Waghorn Levett takes over from Jane Forrest-Waghorn, co-owner of Astrolabe Wines with winemaker Simo Waghorn. “In this recent time of economic uncertainty, I feel it is important to have clear, strong and energetic leadership. I have decided to step aside and asked Libby Wag...