http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.joellethomson.com en-us Tue, 27 Oct 2026 10:23:06 +1300 Rocketspark http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171844/a-new-chapter-unfolds-for-folding-hill/ One of Central Otago's top Pinot Noir producers is entering a new chapter with a second generation taking over the winemaking at Folding Hill in Bendigo.This small family-owned wine brand has forged a reputation for distinctive, weighty Pinot Noirs made entirely from its own vineyard, largely avoiding the spotlight for most of its two decade history.Now the winery is turning a new page with a new winemaking facility onsite and the growing involvement of the next generation stepping up to lead th... Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171844 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171776/devilishly-difficult-finding-good-value-pinot/ How easy is it to find a Pinot Noir for less than $30 NZ (or the equivalent of approximately UK 15 pounds or Australian $35)?There are plenty of Pinots around at that price but how many put forward a compelling case for authentic Pinot Noir (or Gris) flavour, let alone a quality-price ratio that works at a time when prices of pretty much everything we look at seem to keep on rising and rising? There are few that make the grade. Here is one that I have long admired, not only for its name but... Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171776 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171682/the-greatness-of-grenache--with-david-gleave-mw/ “What’s going to save the wine world, I think, is diversity,” said Master of Wine, leading wine importer and writer, David Gleave at a tasting in Marlborough last week.We (a handful of New Zealand wine writers) were seated in a new tasting room on a hilltop in the Omaka Valley; the new home for Blank Canvas wines when Gleave led us through an inspiring line-up of diverse wines from Australia. Specifically, he was talking about McLaren Vale in South Australia, which is the home region to th... Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171682 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171709/corsica-inspired-rose-from-marlborough/ So many islands could vie for the title 'Isle of Beauty' but somehow Corsica has claimed it - and inspired a Kiwi winemaker to model his rosés on the classic from this French island in the Mediterranean.Here is my review of the latest rosé from Dave Clouston; Marlborough winemaker. 2026 Two Rivers Isle of Beauty Rosé RRP $24Inspired by the dry rosés from Corsica (also known as ‘the Isle of Beauty’), this new release from Marlborough is a clear example of how modern winemaking and at... Sun, 18 Oct 2026 19:48:40 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171709 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171599/bendigos-beauty-in-the-glass/ There's no shortage of Northern Hemisphere-inspired names in wine regions in the deep south of New Zealand (or in Australia, for that matter). Bannockburn and Bendigo top the list but then there's all the 'burns' - Lowburn, Parkburn and Northburn are among the many; each one of them bringing distinctive layers to the story of sun, aspect, slopes, soils and, ultimately, to the taste of the wines from these dramatic slopes.This is all about Central Otago, specifically Bendigo, an area of sun-... Sun, 18 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171599 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171501/the-business-of-bubbles/ If timing is everything, then the newest sparkling wine from Marlborough is destined for success but its journey began in a far less confident moment with winemaker Jules Taylor asking herself, "What if people don't like it? And what if I don't like it?"The “it” being her first ever sparkling wine, which triggered a nerve-racking reaction as she contemplated it, but she pushed forward and the wine was released on Saturday 12 October; this week, in other words.It's obviously a good time to la... Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171501 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171342/precision-purity-power--2024-elephant-hill/ For both winemakers and wine lovers, the arrival of 2024 wines heralds a welcome reprieve on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, after two challenging years immediately preceding it. The disruptions of 2022 and the devastating impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have been well documented now and while they depleted the resources and production of many wineries, they left behind an unexpected positive in Hawke's Bay wine region - a stronger and closer sense of community cohesion t... Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171342 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171332/a-new-era-for-ayrburn--and-a-top-new-riesling/ Nestled between Arrowtown and Queenstown, Ayrburn has entered a tasty new era, combining Central Otago’s farming heritage with its relatively new-found reputation as one of the world’s great cool climate wine regions. The estate is home to wine today but can trace its roots back to 1864, when Scottish settler William Paterson established the property and named it after his birthplace of Ayr, combining it with the Scottish word ‘burn’ for the creek that flows through the land.This we... Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:14:13 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171332 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/171220/vintage-reflections-hugh-crichton-2024-elephant-hill/ It’s not every day - or year, as the case may be - that harvest unfolds under warm, dry weather conditions, allowing picking decisions to be based entirely on flavour development, phenolic ripeness, acidity and overall balance. But... here we go with the new 2024 releases beginning to pour out of wineries on New Zealand’s east coast regions and what a stellar vintage it is. Not to wax too lyrical but it was also a relief for both winemakers and wine drinkers that 2024 came along following tw... Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post171220 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/post/170500/champion-of-chardonnay--new-from-neudorf/ Chardonnay may have shrunk (just a tad, I might add) across New Zealand over the past year from 2,879 hectares planted nationwide in 2026 compared to 2,932 last year and 3,114 a decade ago, but winemakers' devotion to making great examples is far from cooling, If anything a slight retreat in plantings in this country has coincided with a sharpened focus to make great Chardonnays everywhere from Auckland to Central Otago. And in Nelson, which ranks seventh out of the 11 wine regions in this ... Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.joellethomson.com/blog/#post170500