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Martinborough in March - upcoming tastings

Dive into Pinot Noir with Joelle Thomson - 2 spaces leftMonday 6 March 6pm to 7.30pm, Cambridge Road tasting roomA global introduction to Pinot Noir with key wines and regions from three different countries: France, Germany and New Zealand. Wines range between $43 and $65 to compare like with like in quality levels.Bookings by email $50 per personEmail: mailme@joellethomson.com Recession Busters - top wines under $25 with Joelle ThomsonTuesday 28 March 6pm to 7.30pm, Cambridge Roa...

Wine of the week... NZ's love affair with Pinot Noir

It's no secret that New Zealanders are in love with Pinot Noir, which is probably why 73% of the vineyard area dedicated to red grapes is planted with Pinot Noir. It's not a lot though, if you break it down because this country's total vineyard area is 41,603 hectares of grapes and red varieties make up just 7,851 hectares of that, leaving over 33,000 hectares dedicated to whites, mainly Sauvignon Blanc, which makes up 85+% of the country's exports. The total amount of Pinot Noir growing in New ...

Wine of a very rainy week - Hawke's Bay Albarino

Saturday 25 February 2023Rain continues, heartbreakingly, to fall in Hawke's Bay where water levels start to rise again...As we contemplate the last weekend of summer in New Zealand, many could be forgiven for wondering if the first weekend of summer ever really arrived. It has been a wet summer by any standards, even in a maritime climate such as this country's but the rainfall, storms and cyclones this year are unprecedented and, as I write, the rain, heartbreakingly, continues to fall. It's n...

Friday drinks with Miles Dinneen from Hawke's Bay

He wishes he could sing, adores Bordeaux red wines and his literary wife and Miles Dinneen says he's at his happiest outdoors - any old hill or mountain will do. The Hawke's Bay winemaker commutes to Masterton to work at Matahiwi where he has worked his day job since late 2017. As he approaches his sixth vintage at the Wairarapa winery, Dinneen shares his thoughts about wine, life and how the cyclone has effected him.How has Cyclone Gabrielle impacted your role in the Northern Wairarapa?The...

Hawke's Bay Winegrowers launch relief fundraiser

Relief is on its way to Hawke's Bay today with the launch of a Cyclone Gabrielle fundraiser by Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Charitable Trust, which will match donations of $30,000, but is encouraging all donations, no matter how small.The cyclone has devastated many vineyards and fruit orchards, submerging vines and trees, which is likely to render many unusable in future, especially with further heavy rain forecasts. It is still too early to put a figure on the exact amount of devastation caused, ho...

Wine of a horrendous week in Hawke's Bay

Reports from friends and winemakers in Hawke's Bay say the devastation is worse than it looks online and on television news. Silt and sludge have washed away lives and livelihoods in New Zealand's second largest wine region, an area known as one of the fruit bowls of the country. Winemaker Jenny Dobson reports that she and her partner, Charles, are lucky because their house and property have survived while many are completely submerged."It's a real reset of life," says Dobson, who released ...

The notion of fine wine in a messed up world

The annual release of the Penfolds Collection wines sees the launch of the most collectible wine in the Southern Hemisphere (Penfolds Grange) and often sees its followers fall into two camps. In one camp are those clambering to get their hands on a bottle or a case of Grange while the other camp wonders about the notion of a 'fine wine' and whether cellaring for the future is worth it in such a messed up world. Fine wine has always been tricky terminology for some of us to get our heads around b...

Friday drinks with Mike Kush, the new GM of Shaky Bridge

Shaky Bridge Wines in Alexandra appointed a new winemaker and general manager this week with Mike Kush, who was born and bred in Chicago in the United States and has over 30 years of experience in wineries around the world, 15 of which were in New Zealand. Kush is the owner of the evocative wine brand, Chasing Harvest, named after his penchant for working dual harvests around the world, in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres. He is also studying for the Master of Wine qualification.Here ...

Pegasus Bay Sauvignon Semillon - Wine of the week

A great white, modelled on the best dry wines from Bordeaux, France, but made in North Canterbury, New Zealand.Wine of the week, 8 February 202319/20 2020 Pegasus Bay Sauvignon Semillon RRP $35.99Hot nights call for cool whites and this fleshy, full bodied, bone dry white blend casts a new light on New Zealand's most commercially successful white wine, Sauvignon Blanc, which makes up 70% of this wine and fermented in stainless steel to retain freshness and fruit purity. The 30% Semillon was ferm...

Growth in Bannockburn wineries

When was the last time you visited Bannockburn? If the name resonates more with mountain bikers more than wine lovers, it might be time to pay this majestic corner of the country a visit. Both biking and wine were on my radar late last year when a visit to Felton Road Winery's 25th anniversary lured me to the deep south. More on Felton Road later this week because the wines are definitely worth writing home about, so to speak. The trip also included an opportunity to cycle down the road, li...

Winemaker of the week... Dave Sutton of Te Kano

This week's interviewee is Dave Sutton, winemaker at Te Kano in Central Otago, who gives his responses to questions based on the famous Proust Questionnaire, originally propelled to fame in the late 1800s.  Dave Sutton deplores double standards, would love to live in Mexico and thinks physical beauty is the most over rated virtue. The softly spoken winemaker works at Te Kano in Bannockburn, Central Otago or should that be, Bannockburn and Waitaki Valley since the latter is the new home...

Wine of the week... 23 January 2023 - Clayvin Pinot Noir

When is the best time to drink Pinot Noir - when it's young or when it's old?Like people, wines age in very different ways and there's no reliable barometer, but a five year old Pinot Noir from Marlborough makes a great case for waiting half a decade, especially seeing as this wine comes from one of New Zealand's top vineyards, created by a visionary and now owned by a family of similarly minded winemakers.This is the first wine of the week for 2023... Many more to come.Wine of the week19/2...

The Hard Pressed Podcast and Chard Farm The Viper

As if the year hasn't been busy enough, a friend and wine lover suggested we launch a podcast. Great idea! I'm in, I said, about eight months ago. Last week, we finally did it, in the middle of work, family and other life busyness. The result is The Hard Pressed Podcast, which features this week's top wine, among other top shelf new Pinot Noirs from Chard Farm in Central Otago. It was a choice to make because the past month has been a liquid feast of great Pinot Noirs from Central Otago, firstly...

Five of the best... places to drink outdoors

This story was first published in Good magazine, December-January 22/23Where is your favourite place to drink wine? Warmer days and longer nights make the great outdoors seem like the ideal spot and with the classic New Zealand Xmas Day barbecue looming fast, it seemed like the ideal time to repost a story published in the latest issue of Good magazine, which I write for, about my top five outdoor wine experiences. If you’re anything like me, favourite drinking spots probably don’t invo...

Tasting note... 2022 Jules Taylor Chardonnay RRP $22.99

18.5/20 2022 Jules Taylor Marlborough Chardonnay RRP $22.99 This is the jewel in the crown of the new releases from Jules Taylor in Marlborough. Rich, creamy, smooth, full bodied, totally dry in taste with citrus flavours but complex oatmeal and toasted almond notes coming through in every long, succulent sip. Another Chardonnay that shows a hint of how great New Zealand Chardonnays can be. This wine is exceptionally well balanced, expressing ripe Chardonnay characters without the reliance on h...

Tasting note... 2022 Jules Taylor Pinot Gris RRP $22.99

17.5/20 2022 Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Gris RRP $22.99 Big, fleshy and flavoursome with ripe guava leading the taste in this accessibly soft and lightly spicy Pinot Gris. It has lovely weight and texture thanks to wild yeast ferments, lees stirring while ageing in barrel and also the sheer ripeness of the grapes in the wine. This is a sensationally flavoursome Pinot Gris with body to burn. Bring on the sunshine to enjoy this wine in....

Tasting notes... 2021 Jules Taylor OTQ Sauvignon Blanc

17.5/202021 Jules Taylor OTQ Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc RRP $35Lees work leads into a medium bodied zesty style that hints at Sauvignon Blanc with its tropical fruit flavours and length. This wine has softness and a rich fuller body than most Sauvignons could dream of, which gives this wine its appealing elegance and lively flavoursome style....

Wines of the week... three top bubblies

It's called the silly season for a reason and here are three faves that stand the test of time. And, yes, all have been retasted this week, purely for verification purposes. Tough job and all that jazz. 18.5/20Hunter's Marlborough MiruMiru NV RRP $29 to $30 Bubbly in name and in nature, MiruMiru is the Maori word for sparkling and this méthode traditional is modelled on the world's best because it's made the same way as champagne - using the same grape varieties and with the sec...

Tasting notes... Astrolabe Pinot Gris

17.5/202022 Astrolabe Sleepers Vineyard Kekerengu Coast Pinot Gris RRP $25.99 The Sleepers Vineyard at Kekerengu, on the coast south of Blenheim, is a beautiful site and Astrolabe is the only wine producer using grapes from here. Cool coastal breezes add vibrancy and freshness to the wine in the form of enhanced acidity that makes it taste zesty and lifted with citrusy depth of flavour. This is all nicely balanced by a nearly dry style with a hint of residual sugar adding weight and fl...

Tasting note... 2021 Pegasus Bay Vergence Red MK II

18.5/202021 Pegasus Bay Vergence Red MK II Pegasus Bay has forged a reputation for great whites and powerful reds modelled on the great classic wines of the world, so here's one that breaks the mould. The second edition of Vergence is a blend of mostly Pinot Noir with approximately 15% Cabernet Sauvignon which was aged on skins to add power, depth and dark fruit, herb and black olive flavours to this intense, full bodied, dry wine. Winemaking includes one third whole bunch Pi...

Tasting note... 2020 Zen Chardonnay RRP $140

This week's WIne of the Week is the third vintage of Zen, one of New Zealand's best quality and highest priced Chardonnays. Does it live up to its name and its price tag? If ever there was a time of year to push the boat out and see, here it is with the silly season upon us. 19/202020 Zen Chardonnay RRP $140 New Zealand Chardonnay continues to rise in quality and with it, the styles continue to diversify as winemakers become comfortable in their winemaking skins, so to speak... The lat...

Tasting note... 2019 Doctors Flat Pinot Noir RRP $56 to $57

Doctors Flat is an elevated three hectare vineyard in Bannockburn, Central Otago, where schist sub soils, clay and fine silt all provide Pinot Noirs with great density and complexity. This is a full bodied, dark take on the Central Otago Pinot theme, made from three Dijon clones of Pinot; 115, 777 and 114 by winemaker Steve Davies. It was fermented in small tanks with wild yeasts with 22% whole bunches in the ferment followed by about 22 days on skins and 12 months ageing in French oak, 24% new....

Friday drinks with Justin Taylor, Adam Eggins, a hammock, a book and a wine...

'A hammock and a good book sort of wine' is the best tasting note I've heard all year, not least because it's nearing that time when hefty work loads and overwhelm take their toll, so a hammock, a good book and a great wine hold a lot appeal. The description comes from Justin Taylor, who was talking about the 2021 Taylors Merlot, made by winemaker Adam Eggins and which we three were tasting on a Zoom meeting last week. Taylors Wines is a family owned company based in the Clare Valley, Australi...

New era for Dry River Wines

One of Martinborough's oldest wineries has a new lease of life now that Dry River Wines has been purchased by Charlie Zheng, a Wellington businessman who also owns Luna Estate and Parehua Resort. Zheng has appointed a new winemaker to Dry River Wines with Ben McNab taking up the role.  McNab's most recent role was at Palliser Estate where he was named the 2021 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year. He will work alongside Dry River and Luna Estate's he...

Is Central Otago Chardonnay the Chablis of the Southern Hemisphere?

Central Otago Chardonnay has doubled in volume in the last five years but how’s it tracking in style and quality? The biggest Central Otago Chardonnay tasting ever held was last week at Felton Road Winery in Bannockburn. I attended, along with four other wine writers to put the wines to the road test. We tasted 38 wines at Felton Road winery in Bannockburn, Central Otago. All wines’ identities were concealed. I rated the wines out of 20 with 18.5 being a gold medal winne...