World Of Wine Summer 2022-2023

the Master

As 2022 draws to a close, I am reminded of how fortunate we are to live in a country with freedom to move around, see family, dine out and travel abroad. In fact, as I write this introduction, I am at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, on my way back to Aotearoa after a fast trip to Champagne and the house of Bollinger to attend masterclasses on soils and to taste some new-release labels from the producer that brought us the wine of 007 – James Bond.

In this issue of World of Wine, you’ll find a section on the key steps in the production of Méthode Traditionnelle and Champagne. We look at the different styles, label terms and bottle sizes, and I take you through how to taste sparkling wine.

I had been wanting to interview Daniel Le Brun from No.1 Family Estate for

the longest time and recently got the opportunity – I hope you enjoy learning a little more about this gentleman and wine pioneer of Marlborough.

I also got to speak with chef and global Kiwi icon, Peter Gordon. Peter and I talked about his family history and whakapapa, and his very personal journey into food, books and the development of his Homeland restaurant, education, events, and experience centre.

Also in this issue you’ll find a rundown of alternative celebration wines, there are some fabulous wine gift ideas, and ten excellent wines to gift to loved ones. As usual, there will be tasting notes on several dozen wines and I announce my Best Of wines of 2022.

Douglas, MS

Cameron

Cameron Douglas, MS: A WORD FROM

Tickled Pink: how rosé took over the world

ROSÉ ROSE FROM MIDDLE-OF-THE-PACK TO POLE POSITION.

It’s high time to change the narrative about rosé being an ‘up-and-coming’ category. Exhibit A: Prosecco joined the rosé wave, announcing the creation of Prosecco Rosé in 2020. B: Global consumption figures from 2019 – before the pandemic wine-drinking boom –confirmed rosé’s commercial success. Tracking sales as a proportion of all wine purchased, it shows how much rosé is loved by younger drinkers, in particular those in their 20s and early 30s.

France, Brazil and the UK lead the pack, in descending order from 35% to 25% in this age group. The USA, Germany, Belgium, Canada and Australia are not far behind. There are some interesting observations too: men in Brazil drink more rosé than women (the reverse is true in the UK, and about 50/50 in Australia); and drinkers aged 25-34 in Germany have a higher preference for rosé than their younger counterparts.

The shift from a seasonal, mildly scorned, barely-taken-seriously style of wine to the popular, commercial juggernaut it is today has changed the landscape of wine significantly in the past two decades. No longer merely rising, rosé has risen. It is now a heavily demanded style that has forced producers to rethink the varieties they grow and how to treat them in the vineyard and winery.

Rosé is no longer a byproduct made from saignée (bleeding off juice from red grape must to concentrate vats of red wine). Serious producers of rosé now grow and harvest grapes specifically for its production.

There is also recognition of the skill required to make a good rosé, especially in the commercially successful Provence-inspired style. It is a technically exacting wine, often requiring careful management of fermentation temperatures and colour to get the exact flavour profile and hue. In lower-cropping years, some wineries even make the difficult decision to divert grapes which would have previously been fermented into red wine into rosé production just to keep up with demand.

Certainly, much of the early growth was contained within Provence rosé: very pale, dry, crisp, clean and refreshing. The halo then rubbed off onto other pale, dry, crisp rosés, and in turn, as that style expanded its influence and drew more drinkers into its orbit, it has also allowed a broader range of rosés to flourish in its wake.

Some of them, like vin gris and blanc de noirs, are basically white wines. Others, like

Stephen Wong MW is a Wellington based Master of Wine. Initially studying and training as a lawyer, he switched careers to become a sommelier, consulting to hotels and restaurants in New Zealand and Singapore. He gained his MW in 2016 and runs the hospitality support and education co-operative, Wine Sentience, in the capital. He also writes, lectures at Le Cordon Bleu NZ, speaks at conferences, judges wine shows and provides taste and market advice for wineries and generic wine bodies.

Bandol or the rosé-only appellation of Tavel, are darker and more fullsome, often benefiting from bottle age and capable of great complexity over time. There is also a newer wave of rosé which often overlaps with the natural wine sphere of influence which embraces blending of red and white grapes made with more skinmaceration. In a sense, these are part-light red/ dark rosé (from the black grapes) and partorange/amber wine (from the white grapes). Some are pink, some are deep salmon-coloured and some are indistinguishable from a light red. Add in some noticeable tannins or firm phenolics and you have something more akin to a chilled red or an easy-drinking vin-de-soif (a thirst-quencher), such as l’Anglore Tavel or Black Estate Treble Rosé.

One noticeable trend that has followed the development of rosé is how drinkers of modern

rosé are less concerned about grape variety than they are for many other wines. In New Zealand, the archetypal rosé is made from Pinot Noir, as that is the red variety we grow the most of. In some regions, and prior to the rise of Pinot Noir in the early 90s, we would craft rosé from red Bordeaux varieties – mainly Merlot, and (to some extent now) also Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

Cabernet Franc itself has a long history with rosé — particularly in the Loire. But if one were to look at Provence, most drinkers would not readily associate what they are drinking with Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Carignan, Tibouren and the like – much less the white grapes which can make their way into them such as Rolle or Clairette.

This is also happening now in New Zealand rosé, be it more Provençal-inspired wines like Two Rivers Isle of Beauty, The Landing Boathouse Rosé or more niche new-wave wines like Alpine Wine’s Head over Heels or Huntress’ Waikura.

There is, however, one style of rosé which has not been lifted by the tide: the overtly sweet rosés of the 80s and 90s. This is not to say it is dead – there are plenty of examples still around – but they have not been gaining ground and are rarely in line with current expectations of what a great rosé tastes like.

When the Rosalia region of Austria’s Burgenland created the country’s first roséspecific high-level appellation (Rosalia Rosé DAC) it was clearly stipulated to be a dry wine, and the Côtes de Provence Grands Crus are all invariably dry too.

However, even here there are signs of change. As rosé approaches market saturation and the race to create ever more crowd-pleasing styles intensifies, some larger-production wines are beginning to reintroduce a touch of sweetness to make their wines more instantly commercially appealing (similar to massmarket Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc). Whether this will yield results or backfire, we are yet to see.

Perhaps this summer’s incoming wave of pink (and onion skin, salmon and light red…) will deepen our understanding of this increasingly complex space that rosé now inhabits in the drinking public’s consciousness. Or maybe we can just put aside the philosophical worrying for a moment and enjoy a glass of rosé in the sun? W

OUR NEW COLUMNIST STEPHEN WONG MW LOOKS AT HOW

NEWS FROM THE NEW ZEALAND WINE INDUSTRY AND HAPPENINGS ON THE HORIZON

BUNGY ENTREPRENEUR SNAPS UP TWO PADDOCKS SITE

Henry van Asch, the owner of Queenstownbased AJ Hackett Bungy, has acquired one of the original vineyard sites belonging to Kiwi actor Sam Neill’s Two Paddocks winery. The vineyard, dubbed The First Paddock, covers just over eight hectares off Queenstown’s Gibbston Back Road and boasts 4.6 hectares of

Small sips

organically farmed Pinot Noir, planted in 1993.

The vineyard was put up for sale by Neill’s Two Paddocks operation late last year with the actor saying the site was “just a little far from our core business near Alexandra and Bannockburn”.

According to the Otago Daily Times, the vineyard changed hands for just shy of NZ$2.5

MARLBOROUGH OPENS RESEARCH CENTRE

Producers in Marlborough look set to benefit from a NZ$3.8 million wine research centre, built in Blenheim and opened by Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, and Regional Development Minister, Stuart Nash, in September.

Officially called the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapu Waina o Aotearoa,

the building will form part of the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology’s (NMIT) Blenheim campus. The facility will combine both wine study via NMIT and research undertaken by the Bragato Research Institute (New Zealand’s main wine research body).

“The New Zealand Wine Centre will help our already world-renowned wine producers

million although van Asch has so far refused to comment on the purchase.

A source at Two Paddocks has since confirmed the vineyard is being leased back to them and they are also managing the vineyard while Neill looks for a site closer to the winery’s base in Alexandra.

stay ahead of global trends in wine by developing new products and helping to tackle issues such as the impact of climate change on the sector,” said Nash at the opening.

The centre was financed through the government’s Provincial Growth Fund and a portion of the funding has gone into a new “state-of-the-art” Experimental Future Vineyard.

Sam Neill with a bottle of his Two Paddocks Pinot Noir

Marlborough Research Centre

Photo by Christopher D Thompson

LAW CHANGE TO HELP WINERY

CELLAR DOORS

More New Zealand winery cellar doors are set to start charging for tastings following a proposed law change tabled by National Party MP Stuart Smith. The move, called the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Cellar Door Tasting) Amendment Bill, was drawn from the Members’ Bill Ballot in late September and, if adopted, will grant winery cellar doors with an off-licence the possibility of charging visitors for tastings.

Until now, off-licence cellar doors could not charge for tastings while on-licences (which could charge a fee for tasting) had to sell food. The proposed amendment was warmly received by wine producers and the national winegrowers’ trade body, New Zealand Winegrowers.

“The current legislation is out of date,” said Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers, in a statement. “It either forces wineries to give wine away for free, or forces them to go through significant cost and time to acquire and maintain a separate on-licence.”

Gregan said he hoped the law change would bring about “modern, fit for purpose legislation that will support wine tourism in the winemaking regions throughout Aotearoa New Zealand”.

“With over 600 small wineries in New Zealand, this will make a big difference, and will encourage more cellar doors to open for the enjoyment of returning international

wine tourists,” he added. “Additionally, by allowing charging for tastings, the industry sees this as consistent with the low-risk winery cellar door licensing status and supporting responsible consumption.”

Winemakers including Te Whare Ra’s Anna Flowerday and Sugar Loaf Wines’ Kate Acland – both based in Marlbrough – were quoted as supporting the proposed change. At the time of going to press, the bill was at its first reading.

2022 HARVEST PRODUCES “URGENTLY NEEDED” VOLUME

The 2022 harvest in New Zealand has seen production rise significantly on the frost and rain-affected 2021 crop. According to initial reports, the 2022 vintage is up 44% on the previous year –a welcome boost to many producers with stocks “at rock bottom levels”, according to New Zealand Winegrowers boss Philip Gregan.

“Going into vintage [2022], wineries urgently needed a larger harvest as strong demand and smaller than expected crops in recent years had led to a significant shortage of New Zealand wine,” said Gregan in a press release. “That shortage caused total New Zealand wine sales to fall 14% from the peak achieved in January 2021.”

The bulk of the volume gains this year came from Marlbrough – New Zealand’s workhorse region – which accounts for 80% of the country’s production and saw yields up by over 50% on 2021.

Although in volume terms the outlook is considerably brighter for the industry, workforce issues, the continued scarcity of dry goods, and the national and international economic outlook are all contributing to a more muted reception of the news in the wine sector

Waiheke Island winemaking pioneer

has died after crashing a tractor on his Waiheke Island property. The 85 year-old wine industry veteran established the island’s first vineyard – Goldwater Estate (now Goldie Estate) – with his late wife Jeannette, who died in 2020, in 1978. Initially planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay soon followed.

“[They] had no experience of winemaking, but doggedly persisted with their island experiment and eventually proved the skeptics wrong by winning numerous international awards for their wines,” said one report.

The winery now houses the University of Auckland’s Wine Science Centre while the Goldwaters had retired to a neighbouring property. He is survived by daughters Karen and Gretchen, and son Michael.

WAIHEKE PIONEER DIES

Kim Goldwater

NZ Winegrowers CEO Philip Gregan had a lot to say recently, from proposed cellar door legislation to trumpeting a bumper 2022 growing season.

Kim Goldwater (left) and with wife Jeannette on Waiheke (right)

Photos from Goldie Estate

DANIEL LE BRUN:

New Zealand’s Sparkling Wine Maestro

CAMERON DOUGLAS MS SHARES A GLASS WITH ONE OF NEW ZEALAND’S TOP SPARKLING WINE PRODUCERS AND FINDS BUBBLES RUN IN THE BLOOD.

Daniel and Adele Le Brun, at home in Marlborough

Spend just five minutes with Daniel Le Brun and I guarantee you’ll want to spend five hundred more. Daniel has a wealth of knowledge about wine; he is a Méthode Traditionnelle wine genius; knows Marlborough like the back of his hand; and is a modern wine pioneer of both Marlborough and New Zealand. Most importantly though, Daniel is a family man.

Daniel’s formative years were in Épernay, Champagne, where he grew up after World War Two in the 1940s and 50s. He recalled a strict upbringing with his brother and sister: “my parents had to be thrifty, they taught us to be respectful and if you worked hard, you would be rewarded; we were expected to take over the family business”, he says.

He remembers doing whatever was expected of him, from pruning and tending the vineyard, to helping his father and grandfather in the winery – learning the ropes from two generations. He doesn’t remember ever going on holiday, “it was all work, work, work”. Life was working in the vineyard and making wine.

Daniel is a twelfth generation Le Brun – the family lineage dates to the 1600s. Today there are four branches of the family that make wine: Champagne Alexandre le Brun in Monthelon ; Champagne Glavier le Brun near Cramant; Champagne Jorez le Brun in Ludes; and No.1 Family Estate in Marlborough, New Zealand.

Daniel went to a local primary and secondary school where it seems he was a very good student, suggesting in our interview he was in the top 50% of his classes, but I suspect he was in the top 5%. He enjoyed learning and his recall of facts and history is on point. Daniel also went to wine school in Champagne to learn the theory and practice of making bottle-fermented sparkling wine. I asked Daniel about the opportunity to experiment at wine school, test different techniques, and find some freedom to explore.

“There was no room for innovation or experimentation in Champagne and in wine school, the rules were laid down and strictly regulated from how to plant vines, how to prune, when to harvest and make wine.”

Expansion of the vineyard territory in Champagne doesn’t happen very often, but in the early 60s, soon after Daniel graduated, there was such an expansion to meet the growing demand for more grapes. An area to the south, around the town of Sézanne, was absorbed into Champagne.

“It was basically a gold rush. Everyone knew the land was perfect: chalky ground that was reasonably cheap, and to me that was a bonanza. I said to my father – we’ve got to go there, it’s perfect, only 40 km from Epernay.” His dad thought it was too far. A decade later they did buy land there, paying ten times the price they would have paid if they’d bought when Daniel suggested they should invest. Subsequently, they

could only buy 1.2 hectares. Some years later, Daniel’s father admitted the error. Harvests from this land in the first few years were sold to pay the mortgage and by the late 60s and early 70s, Daniel needed to lease additional land to source extra fruit. He knew that to be profitable the family would need more acreage. Sadly, his father did not see it that way, again thinking it should stay the way it had been for him, for his father, and for the generations before. This became a time when Daniel and his father would clash more often over the future of the family business. They did complete some renovations to modernise the winery: there was an old press on site dated 1791 and Daniel thought it should be replaced with a more modern press, but again his father said no. That old press is still on the property, a show piece now.

Daniel started taking some time out to travel, mostly around Europe. He recalls being in the UK around February 1974 where he met a girl and she invited him to come back to New Zealand with her.

“Coming to New Zealand was a revelation – totally different, a different culture and the life here seemed so much easier,” he says. “I was totally convinced there had to be a better life here than working your arse off in Champagne.”

Daniel had decided to make a major change in his life. He returned to France, applied for a visa, and in six months he was back in New Zealand to live.

Daniel says it took him about five years to learn better English and to learn about New Zealand. His first job was at Selaks' winery in West Auckland, earning $50 a week. At the time he was living in Sandringham and even then he was spending a reasonable amount on petrol each week to run his Austin Mini to and from work (no motorway back then). While working at Selaks, Daniel recalls one time they were encountering problems with their Champelle sparkling wine: they weren’t able to get the pressure right inside the bottles. Daniel is giggling a lot in telling me this story. “We had to wear protective gear in the cellar, just in case.” He discovered the bottle fill and yeast-to-sugar ratio for the entreillage (second fermentation in bottle, the “prise de mousse” –see p.21) needed adjusting.

During his time at Selaks, Daniel learned that Montana Wines had planted 1500 acres (600 hectares) in Marlborough. He was told that it would never work – it was too cold –but this piqued his curiosity and he thought he better go and have a look. His next job, though, was driving heavy machinery for a firm in South Auckland.

One of Daniel’s hobbies is hunting game, so he decided to move to Rotorua for that purpose (more on that later) but this is where he happened to meet a young lady named Adele. The story goes that Daniel’s flatmate worked for the local paper and so did Adele. On one

“Coming to New Zealand was a revelation, totally different, a different culture and the life here seemed so much easier. I was totally convinced there had to be a better life here than working your arse off in Champagne.”

particular occasion, one of Adele’s colleagues needed a partner for an event they were writing about. Adele was going as well, and it was mentioned that their co-worker’s flatmate was a Frenchman, that he must have a suit, and that he might be available. This event is where Adele and Daniel met. As you might imagine they were rather smitten with each other and started dating. In just three months they were engaged and six months after that, they were married.

Daniel’s dream to grow grapes and make wine in New Zealand was always in the back of his mind, so he and Adele started exploring the North Island wine regions. Eventually, when Daniel did head down to Marlborough to look around, it was 1978. What he found he describes as unbelievable.

“The place was in perfect condition that summer: there wasn’t a clump of grass anywhere; the place was roasted; they had emptied the land of any livestock... I thought this has to be the place.” He also thought he better check the soil and find out if the profile was right: “there was just a small amount of topsoil then nothing but gravel – fantastic”. Daniel had a plan.

Adele and Daniel needed to stay in Rotorua for a while longer, so Daniel rented a plot of land in Rotorua and started a grapevine nursery, gathering cuttings of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. By September 1980, they were ready to buy land in Marlborough. To do this, Daniel sold his share of some family land in Champagne to his brother to fund the purchase of 30 acres (12 hectares) in Renwick.

The architecture and layout of the vineyard is all Daniel’s work and the cuttings he had gathered the previous season covered 18 acres (seven hectares). With additional cuttings from Nelson, he started another on-site nursery, planting the rest of the vineyard the following year. He eventually replanted the Pinots Noir and Meunier with better clones.

Daniel and Adele have two children –Virginie and Rémy – and both grew up immersed in the wine business yet, unlike their father, there was no expectation to join the family business. Virginie had a successful television and stage career while Rémy pursued film and sports fitness studies. Some years later, Virginie did join the family business and she is now the domestic and international sales director for No.1 Family Estate. Rémy also decided to join the business, graduating with a degree in viticulture and oenology through the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.

Adele is the marketing and business development genius in the family, having built two successful brands: Daniel Le Brun and No.1 Family Estate. Together, Adele and Daniel have built the No.1 Family Estate range. When you see and hold any bottle of No.1

Trophy hunter: Le Brun with one of his tamer prizes

Daniel at Méthode Marlborough Day

and notice the detail or admire the packaging, that’s Adele. In 1998, when the production for No.1 Family Estate began in earnest, they also offered contract processing to other key sparkling wine producers in New Zealand, including disgorging and finishing.

In addition to growing up in a Champagne family, Daniel also learned to hunt: red deer

and wild boar had to be dispatched to protect the vineyards – this was both part of farming and intergenerational. Daniel’s first gun was a hand-me-down. It’s a hobby now, and Daniel still enjoys hunting, travelling across New Zealand and overseas when he can – most recently to Africa. In Champagne, even today groups of hunters roam the fields for upland

MÉTHODE MARLBOROUGH

• No.1 Family Estate is a member of Méthode Marlborough: a group of 12 aligned sparkling wine producers who adhere to a strict quality code in producing Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling wines. Effectively, these rules mimic the general production criteria of Champagne and wines must be grown, bottled, matured and disgorged in Marlborough using the so-called “traditional method” of production (in other words, they must undergo a second fermentation in bottle).

• Méthode Marlborough wines must be produced from any combination of the three classic varieties found in Champagne: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and/or Pinot Meunier. Finally, the wines must be aged for a minimum of 18 months on lees (in bottle) before disgorging – many regularly age for three years with some producers going up to seven years or more.

• In the last two years, the group has established Méthode Marlborough Day – an annual celebration, falling on the last Friday of March, ostensibly to celebrate the end of the sparkling wine harvest but also an excuse to pop a last bottle of sparkling wine before autumn.

• Méthode Marlborough producers are: Allan Scott Family Winemakers; Hunter’s Wines; Johanneshof Cellars; LV Wines; Nautilus Estate; No.1 Family Estate; Pernod Ricard; Saint Clair Family Estate; Spy Valley Wines; Tohu Wines; Whitehaven Wines; Esses Wines and Wither Hills

game, and along forest roads for deer and wild boar. When I interviewed Daniel, we were in his garage, sipping a glass of No.1 while we chatted, and there were no less than a dozen trophies, local and international, mounted on the walls and several pelts from previous quarry.

Today, the No.1 Family Estate brand is a story of success, but that has come on the back of incredibly hard work by Daniel, Adele, and the team they surround themselves with. The wines they produce, in this writer’s opinion, are the best in New Zealand and easily rival other cuvées from around the globe, including many from Champagne. The No.1 Cuvée Blanc de Blancs, Reserve Blanc de Blancs, Cuvée Virginie, Cuvée Rémy, Assemblé, Rosé and the vintage Cuvée Adele are fantastic wines you should try. W

POP, SAVOUR, SOLD:

How to taste sparkling wines

IF THERE’S ANY MOMENT YOU CAN TRULY RELAX IN THE HOLIDAYS, IT’S AFTER THE WORD ‘CHEERS’! CAMERON DOUGLAS MS IS HERE TO HELP YOU SAVOUR THE MOMENT.

Sparkling

wines are special – and that’s precisely because of the bubbles. It’s also why techniques for evaluating them require a little more consideration.

Whether it’s a loud pop or a gentle sigh, the sound a bottle of sparkling wine makes when opened can turn heads, excite, make you smile, and start conversation. Sipping on the finest quality sparkling wines from around New Zealand, Champagne, or a fine-quality bottle of bubbles from elsewhere in the world can be magic.

If you’re keen to learn how best to taste and appreciate this style of wine, then a few simple steps will have you quietly assessing sparkling wine and learning to develop your palate at the

same time. A quick note about glassware first: when you look at a glass of sparkling wine and notice the continuous stream of tiny bubbles rising through the juice, does that originate from a single point or many? To reduce the appearance of multiple bubble streams, be sure the glassware is highly polished. Dust, dirt or imperfections in the glass cause more bubbles to escape and the wine will go flatter faster. Some glass producers deliberately etch an imperfection in the base of the bowl to force a single stream of bubbles to flow, keeping the wine effervescent for longer.

There are four sensory engagements to tasting a sparkling wine. The first I have

The best examples of sparkling wine reflect the voice of place and time, have a fine mousse texture with a gazillion tiny bubbles, and put a rather happy smile on your face.

already mentioned: sound. Then there’s the appearance; nose; and, all-important, taste. In addition to what you may hear when a bottle is opened and a glass poured, if the room is quiet enough, take a moment to listen to the voice of the bubble (sometimes referred to as “whispering”) – there’s no need to hold the glass next to your ear.

The colour of the wine is important to gauge against the age statement on the bottle. It is a reflection of the grape varieties, the climate, interactions between the vines and the environment, the vintage and choices

made during vinification. For older examples, the colour should be a deeper straw; younger wines: pale yellow with green highlights. Any browning of the juice and there may be a problem. For rosé sparkling, the colour can span soft-pink, salmon-pink, strawberry-pink and raspberry-pink – all are acceptable.

Sound and colour take just a few seconds to assess, yet the nose of sparkling wine is where things slow down. A regular wine glass with a broader surface area is better for this next step.

It’s okay to swirl the wine, just not too much. Be sure you close your eyes and take quiet, soft sniffs. See if you can break down the aromas into either youth, maturity or fullness. Then look for anything floral such as white flowers, or acacia. Next is any fruit scents, fresh or dry, such as citrus, stone fruits and apple; then nuts; mineral notes such as iodine or chalk; vegetal such as mint or hay; and the important scent package of autolysis such as pastry, brioche and biscuit. Some sparkling wines may have a lactic note or other scents such as caramel, butter, spice, honey or cinnamon. The more you can smell and speak about, the more complexity the wine has for you.

Autolysis is a process of yeast degradation in the bottle as it ages, post-secondary ferment and imparts smells of yeast derived products. The longer the time spent in bottle before disgorging (when the dead yeasts are removed), the more autolysis effect occurs.

Next is taste. Remember I mentioned how imperfections in glass cause more bubbles to escape? Then imagine what is going to happen when you rest a mouthful of sparkling wine on your palate. Step one: take a mouthful and let the wine react with the inside surfaces of your palate. How quickly does it foam up? How forceful is the reaction? Is it an explosion or something gentler? How persistent? The size, shape and power of this reaction is measured instantly by your senses and is called the ‘mousse’. The mousse, or effervescence, reveals bubble size; it can be delicate, lively, silky, soft, firm, round or full. Step two: take another mouthful and do the same. Is it just as powerful? Check this by waggling your tongue rapidly from left to right (keep your mouth closed) to agitate the wine, taking note of the reaction, this time to measure the bubbles. Are they fine and tiny, moderate, or large? The best NZ Méthode Traditionnelle and Champagne wines I have encountered have millions of micro-bubbles that carry flavour as much as texture.

The final step in assessing sparkling wine is texture, crispness, balance, and length. How dry is the wine versus the fruit flavours? Does it reflect the dryness statement on the label? How long does the flavour last?

The best examples of sparkling wine reflect the voice of place and time, have a fine mousse texture with a gazillion tiny bubbles, and put a rather happy smile on your face. W

Not everything that bubbles is Brut

Many years ago, in the village we lived in, we organised a homebrew competition. We co-opted the village mayor and a local winemaker to judge the efforts; we placed a bulk order on a homebrew beer website and several days later, a parcel containing cans of malt, hops, yeast and crown seals arrived and were distributed among the contestants. We heated and diluted the malt to create wort, added the yeast once the wort cooled, fermented it, distributed it across a line of recycled beer bottles with a little sugar (so it refermented in bottle to create the carbon dioxide/pressure/sparkle), waited a week and had the judging session.

All sorts occurred. Some had overdone it with the hops in the wort and the result was

a bitter horror-show; others had overdone it in adding the sugar at bottling, producing explosions when the bottle opened, staining the ceiling of the town hall and lending every subsequent opening the kind of nail-biting tension associated with bomb-disposal; others had underdone it, producing a fart-in-anelevator sound when the seal was levered off and no bubbles to brighten the malty wort; some were fantastic.

All of which showed the precision required in producing Champagne, for the process (mightily refined) is the same for Méthode Traditionnelle (the method that produces Champagne). Replace the wort with fermented grape juice; blend the batches of so-called base wine (a refinement on the homebrew process), often to produce a desired, ‘house’, style; again, add

sugar (alongside yeast, just to be sure) and put to bottle under crown seal to ferment a second time. Then wait (often several years); remove the residue from fermentation (this is generally done by progressively inverting the bottle so a plug of dead yeast cells forms in the neck and then, with great skill or by machine, opening the bottle so the plug shoots out); and then topping up the fizz with pretty much anything you like (traditionally, this was a combination of reserve wine, a special brandy only legally produced in Cognac for Champagne and/or sugar to offset the dryness of the bubbles). Et voila: from the ridiculous to the sublime.

But the sublime is a complex affair (even the above is grossly simplified) and stretched out over years. Surely there are other ways? Well, it turns out there are, and they’re not confined to

CHAMPAGNE IS THE GO-TO FOR SPARKLING WINES BUT THERE’S MORE THAN JUST CHAMPAGNE WHEN IT COMES TO FIZZ. OLIVER STYLES LOOKS AT THE ALTERNATIVES.

This can be part of the fun but in some, rare, cases the fun can wear thin if the contents of the bottle redecorate your kitchen and only one third of a bottle of wine remains after the effervescent rush has subsided.

swapping white grapes for red, as in the bright, light Lambrusco or the sizzling Sparkling Shiraz that is rumoured to haunt barbeques in Australia.

PÉT NAT

Pét Nat, or Pétillant Naturel (French for “Natural Sparkling”), also known as “Méthode Ancestrale” (although this term applies to other wines as well – see Asti) is the most straightforward. This involves taking a vat of fermenting wine and, at just the right moment before fermentation has finished, putting it in bottle under a crown seal so the ferment finishes in bottle, providing the requisite bubbles. That’s it. Due to its sometimes haphazard nature, some Pét Nats can be explosive and such examples are generally sold under the caveat to chill the bottle well before opening (dampening the rush of bubbles when first opening the bottle). This can be part of the

fun but in some, rare, cases the fun can wear thin if the contents of the bottle redecorate your kitchen and only one third of a bottle of wine remains after the effervescent rush has subsided.

Pét Nats are made by numerous producers in New Zealand and some are imported. Due to their simplicity of production they are generally favoured by minimal-intervention wine producers although their production appears to be softly spreading across the country. Black Estate, Auntsfield and Tincan produce good examples. Remember, though, to check with your retailer for any opening requirements.

ASTI

The once ubiquitous, sweet, white, aromatic sparkling wine from northern Italy is now something of a historical footnote but it retains worldwide appeal. In winemaking terms, it’s

Outperforming Champagne – in the photogenic sphere, at least: the hills of Prosecco

the opposite of Pét Nat in that grape juice has only just started fermentation when the wine is bottled. In order to do this, the partially fermented juice must be quickly cooled, sterile filtered and bottled under pressure to retain the sparkle and the sweetness and not explode the bottle. In order to do this, the so-called Charmat method is used in which the fermentation vessel and bottling line operate under pressure (more on Charmat later).

The resulting wine is lightly alcoholic (around five percent) and very sweet – too sweet for some. Produced from the Moscato Bianco grape, it is also very aromatic. Historically, it is understood the style was produced by repeatedly filtering the fermenting juice through large gauze sacks until the yeast cells had insufficient numbers to complete fermentation.

A similar process to Asti is that of the Clairette de Die and Bugey Cerdon wines from the Rhône and Savoie regions of southeast France. Not as sweet as Asti (more sugar has been converted to alcohol) these are sparkling (red in the case of Bugey Cerdon, white in the case of Clairette de Die) wines with an alcohol content of around eight percent which have been slowly fermented at cold temperatures and lightly filtered just prior to bottling. Confusingly, these can also be labelled “Méthode Ancestrale”.

MÉTHODE PROVENÇALE/COL FONDO

Effectively, a workmanlike Méthode Traditionnelle, Méthode Provençale basically does what many homebrewers do: add sugar to the fermented juice before bottling. In the case of Méthode Provençale, the sugar takes the form of a portion of grape juice held back (generally by being kept cold enough to inhibit any natural fermentation) while the rest ferments. Once fermented, the sweet juice (or ‘must’ as it is called) is mixed back into the tank where enough viable yeast cells remain to referment the mixture in bottle. Some producers do confuse Méthode Provençale with Pét Nat although the former is, generally, a much more controlled method of producing bubbles.

Col Fondo is a similar style, only produced in the Prosecco region of northern Italy and it is rarely encountered internationally. Again, Prosecco base wines are fermented to dryness and reserved grape must is added to this prior to bottling. These

wines must bear the title ‘Rifermentazione in Bottiglia’ (refermented in bottle).

CHARMAT

This is how the majority of Proseccos and most non-méthode traditionnelle sparkling wines are made. As we have seen with Asti, fermentation, filtration and bottling can all be done in a pressurised environment. All you need to do then, is produce a base wine (à la Méthode Traditionnelle), put it in a pressurised tank with your sugar and yeast mixture, allow to ferment in the tank (not in bottle), add any required sugar to balance the palate and then filter and go to bottle, all under pressure. If your bottle of sparkling wine has none of the terms mentioned in this article, it has likely produced in this manner. Or it has been carbonated – which should need little by way of explanation.

PIQUETTE

Lastly, you may encounter Piquette. Without getting into too much detail (Piquette isn’t really wine per se) Piquette is pressed grapes (generally what is left after the juice has been squeezed out of them for white wine production) that have been steeped in water for a time and either pressed again or the water has been drained off. This produces a slightly sweet, watery, grapey juice that is then bottled to ferment in-bottle (as per Pét Nat), producing a light, lightly alcoholic, wine-reminiscent sparkling beverage. Although worth exploring, you should nonetheless bear in mind that you should not be paying more for a bottle of Piquette than a bottle of wine. Unless you really love Piquette. W

Cerdon: the home of sparkling wine in the French alps

Méthodical:

Champagne and sparkling wine terms explained

Enjoying a glass of Champagne for any reason is a great idea, right?

Champagne producers go to great lengths to capture the essence of place and time in a bottle – and we love it.

For some, the word “Champagne” is all they need to hear, and the answer is typically a “yes, please”. For others, the style, vintage and reputation of the producer, the cuvée and origins, may need to be revealed before they give the nod. The language on the label is important to help them decide.

More and more vignerons from Champagne are embracing organic or biodynamic practices which can be reflected in what you taste and enjoy. The Association des Champagnes Biologiques (ACB) leads the membership, so you might notice the Eurofeuille green leaf image with white stars indicating a certified organic producer.

Other language on a label that you may find useful includes how dry or sweet the

Champagne may be. Brut Nature, Pas Dosé or Dosage Zéro are wines that contain no dosage (dosage is the often sweet liquid, predominantly reserve wine, added to Champagne bottles after disgorging – the removal of dead yeast cells after secondary fermentation in the bottle – see next page). Such wines contain less than three grams of sugar per litre, meaning you won’t detect any sugar. Extra Brut can have between 0 and six grams of sugar per litre – a very dry wine. Brut, also very dry, is probably the most common style and contains less than 12 grams of sugar per litre. This means there are some wines with sweetness, but again you may not notice the sugar in these wines because of the acidity and balance achieved by the producer. Extra Dry wines have 12-17 grams of sugar per litre, so this is a style in which you may begin to notice some sugar – these wines are great for naturally sweet foods like scallops and pan-

seared prawns, even kumara. They also provide a contrast to dishes with a little chili spice. Sec wines have 17-32 grams of sugar per litre and, like the Extra Dry style, have a noticeable sweetness, and are good for naturally sweeter food as well. Demi-Sec wines have 32-50 grams of sugar per litre and are a sweet wine on the scale of Champagnes. They can be used to pair with foods that have an obvious chili spice or desserts with some sweetness, but not a lot of sugar. Finally, the Doux label term is a sweet Champagne – great with desserts or dishes that have a noticeable heat spice content, they have more than 50 grams of sugar per litre. Doux Champagnes are quite rare and hardly ever come into New Zealand.

The type of producer is a necessary legal statement on a Champagne bottle, but the text is often so small on the label it is easy to miss. If you look closely though, there is always a two-letter code followed by a number

EVEN WONDERED WHAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXTRA DRY AND EXTRA BRUT IS? OUR MASTER SOMMELIER TAKES YOU THROUGH THE INTRICACIES OF SPARKLING WINE LABELS…

A small disgorging operation in action. Most of the Méthode Traditionnelle processes explained here are now automated.

MÉTHODICAL: SPARKLING WINE TERMS EXPLAINED

own vineyards and processed on their own premises. RC: Récoltant-Coopérateur is for a co-operative grower who markets co-opproduced Champagne under their own label. CM: Coopérative de Manipulation is for a wine co-op that markets Champagne made on co-op premises from members’ grapes. ND: Négociant Distributeur is for a distributor who buys-in finished bottles of Champagne and labels them in their own name, on their own premises, prior to release. MA: Marque Auxiliaire or Marque d’Acheteur is for a brand

Disgorging: it’s a messy business.

on the front label, often vertical. NM: Négociant Manipulant is for an individual or company which buys grapes, grape must or wine to make Champagne on their own premises and market it under their own label. All of the big Champagne Houses belong in this category. RM: Récoltant Manipulant is for a grower who makes and markets their own-label Champagne, from grapes exclusively sourced from their

Vins clairs The ‘clear wines’ are base wines – the low-alcohol (between nine and eleven percent alcohol by volume), generally highacid, freshly fermented wines of a particular vintage. These are often blended with reserve wines (to maintain a house style) and become what is known as a ‘cuvée’ or batch, and may or may not be aged before going through secondary fermentation in bottle.

Liqueur de Tirage Not to be confused with the Liqueur de Dosage/Liqueur d’Expédition, this is the mix of yeast, sugar and reserve wine added to the cuvée, or blend of vins clairs, before being bottled under crown seal for secondary fermentation.

Prise de Mousse Literally, ‘taking on bubbles’ – a somewhat contrived way of referring to the second fermentation in bottle.

Remuage Better known in English as ‘riddling’, this is the gradual process of tipping a Champagne bottle on its end (while it sits in a bottle rack) in order for the secondary fermentation lees to collect in the neck, ready for disgorging.

of Champagne owned by a third party who is not the producer; for instance, a supermarket own-brand Champagne (finished Champagne sourced from various producers then sold under the supermarket’s own label).

Lastly, bottle size can make all the difference when it comes to pouring for groups. Here’s a quick guide to help you. Keep in mind that the typical formula for a glass is contents divided by glass pour (usually 150 ml or 0.15 litres), so a standard bottle of Champagne will supply five glasses. W

Disgorging/Dégorgement This is the action of removing the dead yeast cells or fine lees left in the bottle after secondary fermentation has taken place therein.

Generally, this is done after several years although in some cases, producers can wait decades before disgorging a special batch or vintage. Through remuage, lees are collected in the neck of the bottle and frozen in a cold bath before the bottle cap is opened, the lees plug shoots out under pressure, and the fizz is quickly topped-up (via dosage – see below) and sealed under cork and cage.

Dosage Also known as the Liqueur d’Expédition, the dosage is the wine mixture used to top-up the volume lost through disgorging. This is often a blend of reserve wines to which can be added sweetness (via sugar) and alcohol, if needed (via a special high-strength 80-85% alcohol

Cognac known as ‘Esprit de Cognac’ only made for use in sparkling wine production).

Zéro Dosage wines are often topped-up by themselves – a portion of the batch is used to top the rest.

RIDDLE ME THIS – SOME OF THE MORE GALLIC CHAMPAGNE TERMS EXPLAINED (IN THE GENERAL ORDER OF CHAMPAGNE PRODUCTION)

Celebrate good wines,come on!

It’s easy, in the festive and holiday season, to go for quantity over quality: slabs of beer are piled up in shopping trolleys; six bottles of whichever familiar Champagne house is on special at the local wine merchant; two bottles of nana’s favourite gin and a couple of cases of Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay/ Pinot Gris (delete as appropriate). Quantity has a quality all of its own, as Stalin is rumoured to have said (presumably after walking the streets of Whangamatā on the first recycling day after Christmas).

But there’s more to marking an occasion than the requisite half-case of bubbles. In fact, there are numerous celebratory wines that are fit for a party, are practically untouched by the masses, and they don’t have to break the bank.

Firstly, I want to make a call for restrained consumption over the summer period – not least if you’ve been saving up a host of good bottles to open to mark the occasion. I know everyone says this, but there are good reasons for taking it easy, and they are not just about consumption. There are logistics too.

All too often, trying to cram in as many drinks as possible manifests as trying to work out an order of drinking more complex than the

Sherry ageing in barrels in a typical Jerez cellar.

Treasure island: Madeira, in the North Atlantic

run-list of a wedding planner in the Hamptons: “if Mike’s cooking the crays at 11am, that probably means we should crack the bubbles then but what happens to that Chablis I got from Jerry at Tana’s wedding which I’ve been saving up and clearly won’t go with the devils on horseback after the crays but then the window is lost and we’re onto the reds”, etc.

No, I learned to keep celebration drinking simple and sparse. The realisation came after opening a prized bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella (as robust a red wine as you’re likely to meet on the right side of a bottle of Port) as the crescendo to a Christmas dinner one year in the early 2000s. We’d had bubbles and a bottle of white prior to this and whole family was asleep by 4pm. That was the end of Christmas Day that year – not exactly one to savour.

Far better to enjoy the moments and leave the crowd (and yourself) wanting more and not, thankfully, comatose on the bach sofa while the dog chews the television remote and grandad starts to crank up the ‘in my day’ monologue. Drink well but drink small. Rather than getting six bottles of champers, get one or two bottles of great champers. Open a great bottle you’ve been saving, but limit it to one or two a day. By all means, have a back-up plan in case a bottle is corked or just not to your liking, but take it easy. Savour, enjoy, hydrate, appreciate.

Also, don’t be a Smeagol when it comes to wine. Share great bottles with everyone –that’s what wine is about – the good you do in introducing people to how amazing wine can be far outweighs the tedium of listening to aunty Doris tell you how it ‘all tastes like Ribena’. Let her enjoy her reverse snobbery while you watch someone else have an epiphany.

But also, get off the beaten track. There are so many more special, celebratory wines that really should be being opened at this time of year and so many opportunities are missed because (understandably) we tend to hit autopilot when it comes to drinks purchases.

Bubbles don’t have to be limited to Champagne or Méthode Traditionelle wines – see the article on p.17 – buy a couple of expensive bottles of Prosecco, a high-end Cava, even – dare I suggest – some proper Lambrusco (you may have to hunt around for this but it is there). In a similar iconoclastic vein, don’t forget that distinctly average bottles of bubbles can be given a little je ne sais quoi with a dash of cassis (for a kir) or peach syrup (for a bellini). Personally, I draw the line at a mimosa but it’s your holiday and who am I to judge?

Spanning the possibilities of dry white and red wines is beyond my remit here. Everyone will have their favourites, from shores domestic and foreign, so let’s press on to the sticky end of the spectrum: dessert and fortified wines.

In fact, if there is one category that’s increasingly getting overlooked, its this. Vintage Port, for instance, is a relative bargain, as are most Ports of all colours. A recent internet search shows a bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne will set you back over $300 – that’s enough to splurge on a bottle of 1985 Graham’s Vintage Port (a great vintage) and have enough cash left over to buy fish and chips for the extended family.

Sherry, too, is overlooked, underrated and great value for money. You’ll have to work a bit to get hold of the good stuff, but it is kicking around and, well, take your pick: from zippy, saline, bone-dry Manzanillas and Finos; to nutty, more rounded Amontillados, Olorosos

and Palo Cortados; to the unctuously sweet Cream and Pedro Ximenez wines.

In fact, this piece could be dedicated to fortified wines of the world, including the perfumed (albeit sometimes cloyingly so) Muscat de Rivesaltes and Muscat Beaumes de Venise, the wines of Banyuls and Maury and the glorious, complex but fresh wines of Madeira. Madeira is both overlooked by the majority but adored by a minority (I am firmly in the latter camp).

Although if you want to get very esoteric, try sourcing a Vi Ranci or Vino Rancio (literally ‘rancid wine’ but actually a kind of Maderisation) produced in Catalonia and in neighbouring Roussillon in southern France where wines are left in glass demijohns and exposed to the elements for months, even years. It’s an acquired taste but they are truly special –albeit often tricky to source.

While we’re on the subject, though, it is worth pointing out that it would be criminal to overlook Australia’s Rutherglen Muscats in this category. Fascinating, sweet, perfumed and complex, these wines deserve to be savoured and appreciated far more widely. They’re not for everyday drinking, but that’s exactly what the holiday season is for.

And rounding off the its-not-everydayyou-get-to-drink-this list are the sweet wines. Calling them “dessert wines” is, to my mind, misleading. After all, adding more sweetness to pudding is overkill; open a bottle with cheese or with a good film in the evening.

Sauternes is considered the nec plus ultra of sweet wines. Its wines are undoubtedly fantastic and, for the most part, remarkably affordable. But, while I am an ardent Francophile, there are other options that are just as good. Hungary’s Tokaji wines are easily a match for Sauternes and if you can get hold of a 5 or 6 puttonyos Tokaji, you’re in for a treat. For fans of more oxidative styles, Tuscan Vin Santos should scratch that itch while those seeking more refreshing sweet wines can’t do much better than getting hold of a German Riesling in the Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese or even Eiswein (ice-wine) categories.

Alsace also produces some fantastic sweet wines – look out for Vendanges Tardives or Séléction de Grains Nobles on the labels – as does Canada (whose ice-wines are particularly famed) and not forgetting numerous wineries here in New Zealand. In fact, special wines can be found in almost every wine-producing nation, it’s just a question of looking and, sometimes, planning.

The planning part is probably my final piece of advice. You don’t necessarily need to be looking up the auction lists to find special wines (although it does help) but just having in mind one or two different wines to try during the holidays can add an element of discovery (and joy, hopefully) to that once-ina-year shopping trip. W

Vi ranci: fortified wine exposed to the elements in Catalonia

Perfect 10

Gifting

a bottle of wine is an excellent idea when you’re not sure if the person you’re buying for might like a new cookbook, or maybe a salad bowl, or a selection of handmade chocolates (if you know what I’m getting at here?). The truth is, buying wine as a gift can be a little daunting if the person you are buying for is a connoisseur of wine, is already an expert, or might have the wherewithal to afford wine at a higher price than your budget allows. It can make you feel a little anxious.

Fear not: the teams at dedicated wine stores can help. Caros Wine Merchants in

Auckland; the fine wine teams at Moore Wilsons and Regional Wines in Wellington; Vino Fino in Canterbury; The New Zealand Wine Boutique or The Winery in Otago; and the teams at the many Glengarry stores dotted around the country can all step in to help. When you do stop by, have a price range in mind and be honest about what you are hoping to spend as a minimum and a maximum. There are some excellent wines available below $100, but if you do want to spend a little more there is much to choose from.

I would suggest you buy a magnum (1.5 litres). These wines tend to keep longer in the cellar, are an impressive gift because of their size, and often come in a wooden or wellpresented cardboard box.

In the meantime, the following list of suggestions is by no means complete, but it aims to offer a range of prices and bottle sizes. All wines for sale in New Zealand (ranked from least to most expensive).

1

Misha’s Vineyard Verismo Pinot Noir

2015 Central Otago. This is a fantastic wine: very floral, a heart of pinosity and very pure with a core of fruit, layers of oak and wood spices alongside moments of dried herb and minerality. RRP from $85

2

Doctors Flat Pinot Noir 2017 Central Otago, in Magnum. Savoury, bold and expressive with a core of pinosity, this makes a fantastic gift and will continue to cellar until 2030 and beyond. RRP from $120

3

Two Rivers Isle of Beauty Rosé 2021

Marlborough, in Jeroboam. At three litres capacity, this is a brilliant gift of fine Aotearoa rosé wine. Fruity, crisp and dry. RRP from $125

4

Craggy Range les Beaux Cailloux

Chardonnay 2019 Hawke’s Bay. This is a very modern expression with a core of ripe

CAMERON DOUGLAS MS SUGGESTS 10 TOP BOTTLES TO GIFT SOMEONE SPECIAL.

Destiny Bay, on Waiheke Island

white-fleshed fruit and citrus, a gun-flint note and layers of gentle oak spice and minerality. RRP from $135 5

Paritua 21:12 2019 Hawkes Bay. Made with the Cabernets (Sauvignon and Franc) and Merlot this is an intensely coloured wine with concentration and intensity, blackberries and roasted plums, tobacco and cigar scents along with a toasty barrel and baking spice complexity. RRP from $135

6

Trinity Hill Homage Syrah 2019 Hawke’s Bay. Unquestionably one of New Zealand’s best red wines. Refined and textured with core fruits of blackcurrant and baked plum. Meaty and complex with polished tannins and a backbone of acidity. RRP from $150

Church Road Tom Chardonnay 2020 Hawke’s Bay. Always complex and textured; core fruits of baked stone fruits and apple, with lemon and toasty vanilla wood spice complexities. RRP from $169.00

8

Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année 2012 France. While this wine will continue to age and develop, it is perfect now. Very complex with a core of white strawberry and toasted nut; cereal and brioche; baked goods layers and a fine, elegant mousse. RRP from $289

9

No.1 Family Estate Reserve Méthode Traditionnelle NV Marlborough. A Luxury Gift Pack from New Zealand’s premier producer of Méthode Traditionnelle, this reserve wine is stellar, the packaging fantastic and the lasting memory after the wine is all gone will be the flutes, branded bottle stopper and NZ wool blanket. RRP from $355 10

Destiny Bay Magna Praemia 2015 Waiheke Island. The ultimate luxury gift is this red blend made with the Cabernets, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Very young still with flavours of plums and blackberries, some blackcurrant, then an abundance of barrel spices, vanilla and clove. RRP from $620

National Treasure

CAMERON TALKS TO PETER GORDON AND ASKS ONE OF NEW ZEALAND’S GREATEST CHEFS ABOUT HIS LIFE, HIS COOKING, AND PUTTING PETRUS IN THE FRIDGE.

Forreaders who know Peter from his on-screen presence – most recently in The Great Kiwi Bake Off – what you see is exactly what you’d get if you met him face to face. Peter’s love of Aotearoa extends well beyond what we see of him on-screen. His understanding of local ingredients and cuisine, the many books he has written, and a long career in cooking, travel, and the world of cuisine is extensive. He has come home after many years away, but I feel he never really left –his heart has always been in Aotearoa.

The first time I met Peter Gordon was at a fund-raising event to support leukemia patients and families, held in Auckland. He was there as a guest speaker. I soon learned it

was his event, a version of which he originated in London (and between them, the events have raised over $17 million). He was integral in its planning and execution, and it was where I also learned that one of Peter’s sisters had suffered from the disease. Peter was her bone marrow donor and he was at the event, in part, to speak about this. He spoke so eloquently. The next time we had the opportunity to chat was at his dining room in London, the Providores + Tapa Room. What I remember most was the way he spoke, his timbre: it was calming yet confident. I felt a great sense of honesty, integrity, and history as he spoke. Peter has a great smile, dazzling eyes and an honest face – one that I trust.

Gordon, aged 32, at private members’ club Green Street in Mayfair, London, 1995 Photo by Frances Lang

Making the cut: Gordon, again at Green Street, in 1994

PETER

Peter took time out from his schedule to chat with me at Homeland (his and partner Alastair’s business in Auckland). It happened to be Māori Language Week, so it was a good place to start by talking about Peter’s whakapapa – his family tree.

“My great, great grandparents were Scottish settler John Stenton Workman and his wife Rewhaunga,” he said. “Rewhaugna was from the Ngāti Hinewaka sub-tribe in the Wairarapa, with connections to the Papawai Marae in Greytown. My tribe is Ngāti Kahungunu and this whakapapa can also be traced to Ngāti Kuri, a sub-tribe of the Ngāi Tahu in the South Island.”

Peter’s dad and family were very proud of their Māori heritage, but Peter grew up at a time in Aotearoa New Zealand when he never had the opportunity to learn te reo Māori. At primary school he recalls learning to count from one to ten in te reo – not much else. Peter was a good student, loved learning, especially maths, and he started university aged 17.

“At intermediate school I was taught Esperanto; at high school it was French, with some Italian and German in later years.”

A regret he does have is not learning te reo Māori, but Peter embraces his heritage and culture in different ways.

Peter has four siblings living in Australia. His eldest sister Vicki is involved in music, recognised and awarded for her work including working with Australia’s indigenous people and with women. Middle sister Donna has been involved in food hospitality for over two decades, and sister Tracey (who had leukemia) works for Flow Hive, an Australian company that created a way of harvesting honey without having to lift the frames from the hive. His brother Shaun works in Finance. Back here, in Whanganui, his sister Cindy is studying her teaching degree; Dean works in agricultural supplies; and Craig is in healthcare.

Growing up, Peter remembers his dad was the cook on Sundays and his mum the rest of the time.

“We had a garden at the back of the house, we were foragers too and often went fishing for paua, toheroa and crayfish, and could set nets before school,” he says.

Peter wrote his first cookbook at age fourit has since been lost - but he remembers always being in the kitchen with his grandmother. He also recalls watching cooking shows on TV like Hudson & Halls, and The Galloping Gourmet. He remembers distinctly everything being cooked in beef dripping – he’s not fond of it at all these days. One day, when Peter was seven, “dad stepped out of the kitchen and I snuck in, I fell off the stool, and pulled a pot of boiling beef fat on my head”. Peter had extensive fat burns to his head, shoulder, chest and arm which required skin grafts and extended healing time.

Gordon, aged between 11 and 12, at Rutherford Intermediate, Whanganui. His long hair covers the burns to his face.

Peter was becoming a more accomplished cook by the time he went to high school. At age fifteen he applied to be an apprentice chef at Air New Zealand but was unsuccessful, so he thought he might become a winemaker instead. Back at high school, in his seventh form year, he picked up chemistry in an effort to prepare for university study and become a winemaker. In his first year at university, Peter learned he was in the wrong program and if he wanted to be a winemaker he would need to go to Australia. So he went, but did not end up at Roseworthy (Australia’s foremost winemaking college).

His first real explosion of understanding food was when he arrived in Melbourne, aged 18.

“My sisters picked me up from the airport and took straight to the markets, I had this thing called and avocado and corn chips.”

Peter also recalls discovering Vietnamese, Moroccan and Thai cuisine. He also remembers having his first cappuccino. Peter eventually embarked on a four-year chef’s apprenticeship, graduating as the top theory student. The restaurant he was at during this time was a food revelation for Peter: “I discovered feta cheese, haloumi and couscous –foods I’d never heard of before”. By the end of his apprenticeship in 1985, Peter held his first head-chef position.

Soon after graduating, he started travelling, exploring food while moving through southeast Asia, India and Nepal. He travelled for

a year, discovering how to cook local recipes and working with local ingredients, all while expanding his understanding and love of food. At the end of this first epic food journey, he arrived in London, staying briefly, before heading back to NZ for family reasons. He stayed two and a half years in Wellington, setting up and then running the kitchen at The Sugar Club restaurant. By 1989, Peter was back in London,

making it his home for the next thirty-one years. This is where his career kicked up a gear and he was cooking at all sorts of places including a private residence in Wiltshire which had ties to estates in Scotland and France.

The original owners of The Sugar Club then opened two more incarnations: in Notting Hill in 1995; and Soho in 1998. Ultimately, the opportunity to set up The Providores + Tapa Room came along.

For the next few years, while Providores was building a following, Peter would spend his time between the UK and Aotearoa. In July 2019, Providores closed its doors for the last time.

Peter came home in March 2020, just as the world was locking down due to Covid-19, and just ten days after Alastair.

Peter has owned or consulted to three restaurants in Auckland; four in London; two in Istanbul; one in New York; and has helped numerous friends with their projects in addition to writing nine books, consulting to Air New Zealand, and filming.

He wasn’t looking to open another space, but they had discussed a cooking school where Peter could start to share his vast knowledge of food.

“One day Al saw a space on Trade-Me. I didn’t want to do another restaurant, but here we are, the largest I’ve ever had, this is Homeland,” he says, introducing his new venture.

Peter’s desire to become a winemaker in the past did not stop him from appreciating wine - making some great discoveries over the years. He did relay a story about not really knowing the storage of wine etiquette, having one day put a friend’s red wine in the fridge, Pétrus no less, thinking that’s where all red wine should be as his mother had done that with her box wine. Lesson learned.

Peter loves wine and has a few favourite varieties, including Pinot Noir, and is always willing to try something new. One of the wines he had at Providores was Waitaki Braids from North Otago – a company he helped establish. His favourite wine and food pairing experiences have been through the food and the wines of the city or country he is in.

Fusion cuisine is one of many significant things Peter is known for, and it seems that food culture, and the flavours and textures that come from cooking, are also fused into his DNA. Peter’s knowledge and understanding of managing a kitchen and dining space are currently told through the Homeland cooking school and restaurant. He is a great speaker and one of New Zealand’s treasures.

Aged 23, in Bali

At The Sugar Club, Wellington, in 1987.

Just in Case

LOOKING FOR WINE-RELATED GIFT INSPIRATION

THIS SUMMER SEASON? WE’VE BROUGHT TOGETHER SOME GREAT IDEAS TO COVER EVERYTHING FROM STOCKING FILLERS TO THANK-YOU PRESENTS, GRAND GESTURES TO PEACE OFFERINGS.

WAITER’S FRIEND CORKSCREW

Can we consign winged corkscrews to the nostalgia dustbin? After all, their only quirk was looking like a human with hyperactive arms. Upgrade everyone to a Waiter’s Friend. It’s a relatively simple tool but a good corkscrew really is worth having. Short knife for the foil (and any stray digits when it flicks back into place), a thin screw, a double-action pull, and a crown seal lever to boot. Robust, simple, effective. We got ours from Everyday Wine in Auckland for $14 but other versions span the price range from $8 to $50.

WORLD ATLAS OF WINE (8TH EDITION)

If there is one, and only one, wine book to have, it’s this. Nerds will point out that it doesn’t quite cover every region and denomination but, to be honest, it does a very comprehensive job nonetheless. Combining all the lose-yourself maps of a really good atlas with the accuracy and detail of a professional wine writer (and the sometimes forthright opinions born of experience), this is a truly excellent work. It’s hard not to recommend, even for owners of the seventh edition. Available through most bookshops and online retailers at around $90.

MATAHIWI ESTATE BRUT ROSÉ

The perfect wine to celebrate with!

“Aromas of fresh strawberry and red cherry, a fine lees autolysis development, some red apple and peach scents and a fine new complexity. A touch of frozen strawberry comes to mind as well. An explosive mousse reacts with the palate first, then as this subsides, the flavours of fine lees and red berry fruits return (Cameron Douglas, 93pts).” This Brut Rosé is a delicate bubbly perfect on its own, with a platter, or with seafood. Grab a six-pack today at an unbelievable price of $99 with free shipping.

$28.99 +64 (06) 370 1000 or Matahiwi.co.nz

WINE GLASS

Wine glasses tend to be a matter of personal taste. One household loves a clutch of Spiegelau stemless glasses, another might plump for the classic but delicate-stemmed Riedels. We’ve gone for the big guns here, with the ‘Jancis Glass’, produced by UK wine guru Jancis Robinson MW and designer Richard Brendon. They’re not cheap but they are pretty – and they are a delight to drink from.

Atelier Nash $199

CORAVIN TIMELESS

The ultimate winelover’s gift. Pour a glass from your favourite bottle without lifting the cork. Coravin uses a thin needle to traverse the stopper, allowing you to pour from the bottle, adding a touch of Argon gas once righted to stop the wine oxidising. You can even switch between bottles for a glass here and there. Once tapped, the bottles don’t last forever, but a Coravin is ideal if you want a glass or two over a week or so (Coravin says three months). Even wine professionals use them to taste and present library stock. Available from Dhall & Nash and numerous retail stores as well as coravin.co.nz (screwcap adaptors can also be purchased).

From $450

RIEDEL ULTRA DECANTER

The traditionalist’s choice, this is the classic decanter. They’re a pain to clean (most decanters are – and it’s worth working out a good cleaning regimen before investing in one) but there are few things more joy-inducing than pouring a much-anticipated bottle into one. Elegant and nice to pour from (even to the last drop), it’s hard to point towards anything else.

riedel.com/en-nz From $400

MONMOUTH WHITE FRIT CARAFE

While we hold the banner for the achingly classic Riedel decanter, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention the Monmouth Carafe. Hand-blown in Aotearoa New Zealand – and made from recycled glass –these are impressively individual objects. Their eye-catching look almost undermines their craftsmanship and finesse.

Monmouth Glass $260

JANCIS ROBINSON X RICHARD BRENDON

My Neck of the Woods

Favourite coffee spot in Perth?

“Telegram Coffee at the State Buildings. Great coffee and good vibes.“

Telegram Coffee State Buildings cnr. St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, Perth

Favourite destination in Perth?

With travel almost back to normal, it’s time once again to look at some wine regions and destinations abroad. While most tourist questions can be answered via the internet or through a good guidebook, sometimes a bit of local knowledge is worth its weight in gold.

So for this issue we’ve focused on Western Australia and Margaret River, and we thought we’d get some insider tips from acclaimed winemaker Josephine (Jo) Perry. Perry has worked in Burgundy, Bordeaux, New Zealand, US, Spain and the Canary Islands. In 2016, she picked up Australia’s prestigious Riedel Young Gun of Wine award and currently makes highlyregarded, low-intervention wines under her Dormilona label in Margaret River.

Favourite place to eat in Perth?

“Madalenas Bar, South Fremantle. Fresh fish, great drinks list and good times. The best.”

Madalenas Bar

406 South Terrace, South Fremantle

“Rottnest Island, just off the coast. Catch some fresh whiting on the way over and have beers off the back of their boat. Heaven… Also, I love Cott [Cottesloe Beach, Perth] – morning runs along the beach with the dog then brunch or lunch at the Shorehouse.”

Rottnest Island (Rottnest Express, Rottnest Fast Ferries or SeaLink Rottnest Island) Shorehouse 278 Marine Parade, Swanbourne

Favourite place to eat in or around Margaret River?

“Glenarty Road, south of Margaret River. Stunning wines and food come direct from the farm. All made in-house and seasonal. Just perfect. Also, Vasse Felix – classic Margaret River. Best wines and the dinning experience is exceptional.”

Glenarty Road Farm to Table Restaurant 70 Glenarty Rd, Karridale

Vasse Felix 4357 Caves Rd, Wilyabrup

GUIDEBOOKS AND WEBSITE REVIEWS ARE ALL VERY WELL, BUT WHAT IF YOU GOT WINE TOURISM DESTINATION TIPS FROM A REAL INSIDER? A WINEMAKER WHO LIVES THERE, FOR INSTANCE...

Jo Perry at Dormilona, Margaret River, Western Australia

Rottnest Island, Western Australia

Photo by Tourism WA

Favourite coffee spot in Margaret River?

“At the Stake Park – I don’t even know what they are called – but I’m there most mornings before school with kids and the coffee is kick-ass.”

West Coffee Co. Espresso Bar 31 Wallcliffe Rd, Margaret River

Favourite destination in Margaret River or Western Australia more broadly?

“Joey’s Nose - my local beach. There’s a 4WD track and has a great [surf] break for the whole family to enjoy. Also, there is a track from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin. I think it’s about 100km long. When the surf is no good my daughter and I pack snacks, drive to the point, then start walking. It’s stunning. The coastline is rugged, there are caves to discover, and wind-swept coastal plants and wildlife.

We have not completed it because we tend to get off the track sometimes and then I have to call my partner to pick us up with pin-drop [GPS]. Worth taking a day out to do some of the length.”

Joey’s Nose – Kilcarnup Beach, 4WD access near Margaret River

Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin – sevenday trail although numerous access points for day walks

What’s your favourite activity in the region when you have downtime?

“There are no cities here in Margs [the local name for Margaret River]. But Margaret River town has it all for a small coastal town.”

What’s your favourite beach?

“Joeys. Back the ute right up on the sand, with an Esky of treats on hot summer’s day and surf until your arms are jelly.”

What’s a must-do destination in Margaret River?

“Visit some of the pioneering wineries: Vasse Felix, Cullen, Leeuwin Estate… but also get off the beaten track and experience Si Vintners, Blind Corner, Windows Estate. Some of the new, cooler kids on the block, so-to-speak, haha.”

What’s an unexpected thing that’s cool to do in Margaret River?

“Coasteering Adventuring Margaret River! Totally epic – wetsuit, helmet, go nuts. Good times.”

Margaret River Adventure Co

margaretriveradventure.com.au or (+61) 0418 808 993

Coasteering with Margaret River Adventure Co.

Glenarty Road

Glenarty Road

THE LOIRE VALLEY:

fresh, fruity and friendly

Stretching across the heart of France is the country’s longest wine region, the Loire Valley, home to around 57,000 hectares (140,000 acres) of vineyards and a flourishing wine industry.

The valley follows the longest river in France, the Loire and its tributaries, flowing past castles, vineyards and other crops in the region’s beautiful and fertile backdrop. It’s this rich soil and history that has helped earn the Loire Valley both UNESCO World Heritage Site status, and a nickname as ‘the garden of France’.

The Loire is the third largest winegrowing area of French appellation wines and is split into four distinct vineyard regions: Pays Nantais, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and CentreLoire. Within these regions are more than 50 ‘appellations d’origine contrôlées’ (legally delimited wine regions also known as AOCs or AOPs).

Some AOCs were formed when the system began in France in the mid-1930s, including Sancerre, Saumur and Vouvray, but others are more recent, like Touraine Chenonceaux (separate to the Touraine AOC), which has been officially recognised as an AOC since 2011.

Winemakers and growers adhere to the differing regulations of each AOC in order to place its title on the bottle. The goals behind them have one thing in common: to protect the quality, standards and best practice of the area. This commitment to quality is something that runs through the core of many a Loire Valley winemaker.

DIVERSITY

Being such a long region, stretching from the Atlantic coast to the centre of France, the Loire Valley has great diversity in growing conditions. Each area has a slightly different climate that changes as you move east from the oceanic influences of the west. Beneath the surface it’s also diverse, with soils varying between region, and even vineyard sites.

At Domaine Bernard Baudry in Chinon, 32 hectares of organic vineyards are spread across

IN JUNE, BRYDIE ALLEN VISITED THE LOIRE VALLEY IN FRANCE, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES THE REGION SPECIAL AND SUCH A GREAT AREA OF OPPORTUNITY IN AUSTRALIAN RETAIL.

In the cellars of Maison Monmousseau in Touraine

a variety of soils in the Chinon AOC, running across the slopes and plateaux of the Vienne River – a significant southern tributary of the Loire River.

Owner and Winemaker, Mathieu Baudry, comes from generations of winemakers like his father, who started the Domaine in 1975. He knows exactly which vineyards and plots will allow him to create low-intervention wines with certain character, and chooses to harvest and vinify each plot separately to let the specific terroir shine. This is how he is able to create a number of different ranges of monovarietal wines under the same AOC.

Even the rosé is symbolic of the area, as Mathieu explained while pouring it for a tasting.

“Every year we make a rosé, but it’s still a rosé of terroir. It comes from a specific soil, located on the plateau … I like to make the rosé with this kind of soil, because that gives it the texture I am looking for,” he said.

The Loire Valley’s diversity is carried through from the array of conditions and soils into the wines themselves, with an array of styles available. However, as the head of Domaine Bernard Baudry intimates, it’s a region of just a few key grape varieties.

After phylloxera (a vineyard blight originating from North America) swept through France in the late 19th Century, the country began replanting French varieties onto naturally phylloxera-resistant American rootstock. When this happened, the Loire Valley chose to replant grapes that were most suited to each area’s conditions.

The main white grapes encountered are Melon de Bourgogne, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, wile the main red varieties are Cabernet Franc, Gamay and Pinot Noir. What may be small in quantity is large in variety, with winemakers using these key grapes (and other minority plantings) to carry on diversity by producing a huge range of wine styles: dry, semisweet and sweet; red, white, sparkling and rosé.

One of the most well-known AOC areas and wines in the Loire Valley is Vouvray, which uses one main grape – Chenin Blanc.

At the historic and iconic Vouvray institution, Marc Brédif, Chenin Blanc is used to make a number of wines of different kinds, from dry still and sparkling, to the sweet ‘Nectar’, which the domaine has been producing in optimum vintages since 1874.

Winemaker Jean-François Marchalot has been at the Marc Brédif domaine for decades, with his very first vintage in 1986.

“[I’ve stayed here] because I make a lot of different wines. There are not a lot of areas that offer you the chance to work on sparkling wine, still wine, dry and sweet, and also red – I make some reds in Chinon and work with some other winegrowers in different areas,” Marchalot said.

Domaine Sauvète in Touraine Chenonceaux

Wines and their soil profiles at Domaine Bernard Baudry, Chinon

“I could work for other areas, but so often you just make one or two wines. Here, we make really great wine that you can’t find everywhere.”

TRADITION AND INNOVATION GO HAND IN HAND

The Loire Valley is steeped in history, with origins dating back more than 2000 years. The Romans are said to have been the first to grow vines there. Thereafter, things really kicked off in the fifth century, and the valley has seen war, revolution, extreme weather and, of course, phylloxera. After such devastation, it began focusing on a core goal of quality.

Many wineries in the Loire Valley are led by people who also have a strong family history in the region’s wine industry, carrying on legacies and passing tradition, technique and passion through the ages.

One of the leading sparkling producers of the Loire Valley, Monmousseau, in the

Touraine AOC, began its family tradition in 1886. It might not be owned by the Monmousseau family anymore (although they remain in the wine industry elsewhere) but its operation continues thanks to other families of wine. Oenologist Thomas Ragot followed in the footsteps of his grandparents and uncle and aunty, all of whom are winegrowers at their own domaines. He has worked at Monmousseau for 15 years.

Emma Fontaine, Export Market Manager for the region’s wine trade body InterLoire, explained: “This is common – most of the winegrowers you’ll see will very often have wine in the family, and it’s always been in the family. You can get five or six generations of winegrowers.”

But despite the prevalence of family and heritage brands, progress is incredibly important. Since the 1970s, technological advancements and innovations have been embraced in the region.

At Clos Roussely, in the Touraine Chenonceaux AOC, you can see the evolution from tradition to technology in the cellar, located in a 250 year-old troglodyte cave. Shafts still connect the cellar to the vineyards above it - originally used to drop grapes directly from the field into the winemaking equipment below. Today, owner, winemaker, and fourth generation family member, Vincent Roussely, uses more advanced equipment and experiments with different things such as concrete eggs for fermentation to create a wide range of styles.

While there are still strict rules around the AOCs, the Loire Valley is certainly in agreement that these rules need to adapt to the times in order for quality to be maintained. The Touraine Chenonceaux appellation’s association has already done this in its relatively short history, with its members understanding that innovation is in the best interest of all.

This era of innovative adaptation also includes a commitment more environmental responsibility – something which began at the end of the 1990s. By 2021, 65% of Loire Valley vineyards were sustainably or organically farmed, a number which is constantly increasing towards the region’s goal of 100% sustainable or organic-certified vineyards by 2030.

It’s well known that consumer demand for sustainable and organic wines is on the rise, but for many sustainable growers in the Loire, these practices are driven by a deep respect for the land.

At Domaine Arnaud Lambert, run by its eponymous second generation winemaker, is an example of one producer embracing organics, and has been certified as such for more than 12 years. Lambert has a deep appreciation for the soil and his vines. He says that is where all wine quality begins.

The tasting lineup at Domaine Bernard Baudry

Arnaud Lambert in his cellars, Saumur

THE KIWI APPEAL

With great diversity in the wines, there’s a lot that New Zealand consumers can enjoy about Loire Valley wines. Because, despite their differences, they all do have one thing in common: their mantra to create fresh, fruity and friendly wines.

Pierre-Jean Sauvion, who heads-up communications at InterLoire and is the winemaker at his family estate, Sauvion, in the Sèvre et Maine at the western end of the Loire Vally, explained: “You can drink whatever you want – sparkling, still, off dry, sweet, red, whatever – but it needs to be fresh, fruity and friendly.

“When I say friendly, it doesn’t mean a simple wine, it means a wine with some drinkability. That comes from the balance of the wine; balancing fruits and acidity and not being too big with 14% alcohol … it’s wine you could drink all day long, and drink with pretty much everything.”

This is also why the Loire Valley’s qualitybased approach is important for, as Sauvion says: “At the end of the day, a bottle of wine needs to be drunk and needs to be empty.”

There is no point spending time, effort and money on technology and process changes if the wines at the end aren’t worth drinking, so the Loire Valley’s wine industry seeks to make every bottle an enjoyable experience.

A KEY EXPORT FOCUS

A number of New Zealand importers and distributors already engage with wine brands big and small in the Loire. Often, only a few products of a brand’s portfolio will make it to these shores, and they are often ones intended to meet the requirements of New Zealand consumers. In some cases, wineries have made specific adjustments to the wines going to this country with, for example, different label designs; vintages more prominently displayed; and wines put under screwcap instead of cork.

The total annual turnover of the Loire Valley wine region is €1.3 billion (NZ$2.25 billion), with just over a quarter of its annual 280 million bottles sold to the export market. Exports are soaring for the region – up by 18% in the last five years – and herald a solid opportunity for producers.

Neighbouring Australia is the fastest growing export market for the Loire Valley, up by 90% in the same period. However, this comes from a relatively small base in comparison to countries like the USA.

The key areas that Loire Valley winemakers are focusing on in the Oceania market are rosé and white wines. AOCs like Rosé d’Anjou, Cabernet d’Anjou and Rosé de Loire are already among the highest performing in Australia, for example, but whites and sparkling wines such as Vouvray and Crémant de Loire are also high on the agenda.

Export plans in general are high for the Loire Valley. According to InterLoire, a saturated French market means export markets are the next frontier for the region – by 2030, the goal is to reach 30% of sales exported. This is why Australia is a key focus, given only roughly 100 winemakers out of the thousands of producers in the Loire currently export to the likes of Australia.

With the number of exporters in constant growth, such solid support from InterLoire, and incredibly competitive prices, the Loire Valley is certainly a region to look out for in-store. W

This feature first appeared in National Liquor News.

Christophe Vigneau at Vigneau-Chevreau in Vouvray

A glass of Loire white at the L’Auberge des Isles restaurant on the River Thouet (a southern tributary of the Loire)

The cellars of Maison Monmosseau

The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail

The wine and food journey to take this summer.

Taste your way through Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington, and Marlborough – an easy-driving journey through the heart of New Zealand that takes you through regions accounting for more than 80% of New Zealand’s wine production.

Enjoy stunning scenery, beautiful forest parks, buzzing nightlife and indulgent food experiences. The trail joins up three major wine regions and the capital city, covers 380 kilometres, and serves up around 230 wineries and 120 cellar doors.

With new restaurants, cellar doors and tempting events it’s time to plan your driving holiday. www.classicwinetrail.co.nz

CELLAR 495

Let Aotearoa’s newest Master of Wine, Michael Henley, take you on a journey of wine at Cellar 495 in Hastings.

Combining neighbourly warmth and hospitality with world-class wine expertise, Cellar 495 (named for Henley’s Master of Wine number) opened last month and is already receiving rave reviews for its extensive wine selection and delectable bites.

Each wine on the menu has been selected for its ability to please and inspire, and Michael is behind the bar to share the stories that make your wines memorable.

www.495wineselect.co.nz

Hawke’s Bay

WALLINGFORD

Wallingford is a must-visit foodie destination where wine and food come together spectacularly for a memorable stay.

Tucked away in Central Hawke’s Bay hinterland, Wallingford offers a world-class food and wine experience at its elegant, historic homestead. Tranquil gardens and surrounds are matched by the warmth of your hosts, allowing you to switch off from the outside world and immerse yourself in a culinary journey. www.wallingford.co.nz

BRIDGE PĀ WINE FESTIVAL

Spend a fantastic summer’s day among the vines and discover the incredible wineries of the Bridge Pā Wine District at the annual festival next January.

The Bridge Pā Wine Festival sees seven of the sub-region’s wineries come together for a day of wine, food and music. Hop-on/hop-off buses connect each of the vineyards, allowing attendees to visit multiple cellar doors and enjoy a wide range of experiences.

The festival runs on Saturday 21 January, and involves Abbey Estate, Alpha Domus, Ash Ridge Winery, Oak Estate, Paritua, Sileni Wines and RedMetal vineyards. www.bridgepatriangle.nz

Hawke’s Bay, Food and Wine Country, is a feast for the senses with options to satiate even the most discerning of palates.

With so much to choose from, how do you make the most of the northern tip of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail?

Wairarapa

At the heart of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail, the Wairarapa region is full of character – where country tradition meets world-class food and wine. Crafted by hands-on producers, ideas and efforts lead to delicious outcomes with something new to discover at every table.

NGA WAKA

Established in 1988 Nga Waka is a familyowned winegrower producing small volumes from estate-grown grapes. Winemaker, Roger Parkinson, has made every wine since the first vintage in 1993. After a wait

of 30 years, Nga Waka’s new cellar door is now open in a brand new building on the way into Martinborough. Learn about Nga Waka’s passion for wine through a 40-minute guided tasting - a relaxed but informative

tasting of current releases plus one or two special wines to add to the experience. Alternatively, simply call in to drop in for a glass or two of wine. www.ngawaka.co.nz

TOAST MARTINBOROUGH Martinborough is a key stop on the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail: there’s no better way to experience it than at Toast Martinborough.

The festival returns on Sunday 20 November with seven sites featuring eight boutique Martinborough vineyards, great cuisine, and cool music.

ESCARPMENT

Escarpment, defined as a long, steep slope that lies at the end of a plateau, is a unique place within Martinborough. Big, open skies stretch across the Wairarapa (“glistening waters” in te reo Māori) and the ancient alluvial soils run deep beneath the land. There is natural balance here. Escarpment Winery translate that balance into wines that reflect these special regional attributes. The brand new Te Muna based Escarpment cellar door is located just five minutes’ drive from Martinborough village. Set aside approximately one hour for an unhurried, guided tour and tasting. Appointment only, book online at www.escarpment.co.nz

Along with new release wines, festival goers can sample wines from sold-out vintages which have been held over especially for the event. Full details and tickets at www.toastmartinborough.co.nz

Wellington

It’s a tough job being tucked between New Zealand’s finest wine regions, but some place has to do it. With world-class restaurants, incredible wine bars, and entertaining events, Wellington has all the ingredients for a true culinary capital.

KISA

Inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine with a large Turkish influence, Kisa’s food is jam-packed with flavour. At this newlyopened restaurant, you’ll find plates of smooth hummus, dips of smoky roasted eggplant and peppers, freshbaked handmade flatbreads, and lamb kebabs full of spices. www.kisarestaurant.co.nz

GRAZE WINE BAR

Tucked up above the city in Kelburn village, Graze is a neighbourhood wine bar with a thoughtful, ethical menu and a considered wine list. Owned by Max Gordy, a chef that has worked around some of Wellington’s most famous kitchens – including Hillside, Matterhorn, Hummingbird and Shed 5 –Graze is a community-focused restaurant to relax, reconnect, and enjoy some excellent food. www.grazewinebar.co.nz

WELLINGTON WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL

Making the most of the long summer days, the Wellington Wine and Food Festival (10 December) showcases a variety of local and international wineries and breweries, as well as chefs and foodies known for their tasty bites. Throw in a hefty dollop of live music, entertainment and lawn games, and you have the perfect recipe for a summer day in Wellington. www.wineandfoodfestival.co.nz

YOTAM OTTOLENGHI - FLAVOUR OF LIFE 2023

Chef, restauranteur and much-loved author Yotam Ottolenghi will be visiting Wellington (27 January) for his highly anticipated “Flavour of Life” tour. In conversation with award-winning author and broadcaster Alice Zaslavsky, this will be an exclusive opportunity to hear Yotam discuss the tastes, ingredients, and flavours that excite him, and how he has created a career from cooking. www.wellingtonnz.com

Image by Arada Promotions (pixieset.com)

Marlborough

Whether you’re a wine aficionado, or just love sharing wine and food with friends, a wine tour of Marlborough wineries is the perfect getaway.

VINES VILLAGE

Discover six artisan stores nestled among expansive tranquil lakeside grounds in the heart of Marlborough just 15 minutes from town. The Vines Village is Marlborough’s artisan hub specialising in the best of Marlborough’s art, craft, food, fashion, wine and design. An essential stop on your wine journey through Marlborough, the Vines Village is just 12 minutes’ drive from central Blenheim. www.vinescafe.co.nz

TOASTIE PICTON

Welcome to Toastie New Zealand (aka. Carb Heaven). Toastie prides itself on making simple, yet bloody delicious toasties. Visit the store to see what the fuss is all about. www.toastie.co.nz

FRANKS OYSTER BAR

More than just oysters, Frank’s is here for you to park up and enjoy modern, vibrant and shareable dishes with friends. Relax and enjoy some of Marlborough’s best local fare. One of the newest venues in town. www.eatatfranks.co.nz

SUMMER EVENTS

Summer is on the radar now with the border open and flights flowing in and out of the country. There are a few events this summer you’ll not want to miss out on.

Marlborough’s Wine and Food Festival will be held on Saturday 11 February. This premium event showcases the very best wine and food Marlborough has to offer, and for more information and to purchase tickets visit www.marlboroughwinefestival.com

The annual Havelock Mussel & Seafood Festival is a vital part of Marlborough’s summer and it’s back for its 19th year: Saturday 11 March 2023 at the Havelock Domain. Located in Havelock, the gateway to the picturesque Marlborough

Sounds, it’s the perfect way to enjoy fresh seafood alongside great kiwi music and entertainment for everyone. As well as the native Green Shell Mussel, the festival

also celebrates New Zealand King Salmon and the Pacific Oyster which are also grown in the pristine waters of the Marlborough Sounds.

BY CAMERON DOUGLAS, MASTER SOMMELIER

Sparkling Wines

There’s always a good reason to open a bottle of sparkling wine, but that means you need to have one chilled and ready to go should that reason present. If you have a bottle and it’s not chilled, fear not: be sure to have a clean cotton tea towel close by, soak it in cold water, wrap it around the bottle and pop it into the freezer for 15-20 mins.

In Aotearoa we are spoiled for choice when it comes to producers of sparkling wine – often on price too. Do keep in mind that sparkling wine can be produced in several different ways that dictate price. The most traditional method is the Champagne Method – called ‘Méthode Champenoise’ – a French term applying only to bottle-fermented sparkling wine from the Champagne region in France. This method requires a second fermentation (the one that creates the bubble) to be completed in the same bottle in which it is ultimately sold. Similar sparkling wine (“Méthode Traditionnelle”) is made throughout France and around the world, often using the same process, but cannot be called Champagne.

In New Zealand there are many excellent producers of Méthode Traditionnelle produced the same way as Champagne.

Whatever wine selection you make, be sure to keep the bottle stored in a cool, dark place and move it to the fridge at least two hours before you’re ready to serve.

If you’re not used to opening one of these bottles, be sure it’s well chilled to reduce the pressure inside the bottle. After you’ve wiped away the condensation, untwist the wire ring tied to the neck of the bottle (six half-turns) to loosen the cage, but don’t remove it. Place a tea-towel or cloth over the top of the bottle, covering the cork, and hold it tightly in place with one hand. Then, with your other hand, twist the bottle from the base of the bottle to force the cork to loosen (don’t twist the cork, just the bottle). As you feel the pressure in the bottle pushing against the cork try to counterbalance it (takes a bit of muscle and practice); the aim being to ease the cork out without letting it ‘pop’ loudly (if it does, never mind).

The taste of great sparkling wine is typically a combination of citrus and stone fruits, sometimes strawberry, and with a plush marshmallow-like mousse texture; high acidity; flavours of cereal, water crackers or baked goods and a lengthy finish. The bottom line is, be sure you have great friends close by to share the wine and just celebrate.

No.1 Reserve Méthode Traditionelle NV Marlborough

Full-bodied, rich and complex; a wine of elegance and power, charm and sophistication. From the moment you take the first sip of this wine, I am certain you will know instantly you made the right wine selection. There are seamless links between the fruit and deep autolysis flavours, acidity and mouthfeel. Grapefruit and white peach; red apple, brioche and wholemeal bread. Perfectly balanced, elegant and lengthy – a fantastic wine.

97 Points

RRP $96.00 no1familyestate.co.nz

No.1 Rosé Méthode Traditionelle NV Marlborough

Enticing, pretty and complex. A beautiful bouquet of white flowers and delicate red berry fruit scents. Plush, elegant, fine and delicious on the palate, a satin texture touches first followed by a soft and caressing mousse, and with the acidity transports flavours across the palate. Red apple and light red berry fruits, there’s a seamless link between the autolysis flavours and fruit leading to a lengthy and delicious finish. A wine perfect as an aperitif and with fresh cheeses or seafood.

96 Points

RRP $49.00 no1familyestate.co.nz

No.1 Cuvée Méthode Traditionelle NV Marlborough

A precise, pure-fruited and enticing bouquet with aromas of fresh citrus fruits and white peach melted into layers of autolysis showcasing brioche and baked goods. A delicate, silky texture touches the palate briefly before a fine mousse wells up, carrying flavours that reflect the bouquet. Youthful and tasty – a wine of charm. An excellent aperitif choice and perfect with oysters.

95 Points

RRP $38.00 no1familyestate.co.nz

Clos

Marguerite Méthode Traditionnelle Rosé 2019 Marlborough

A fine, elegant and immensely floral bouquet with aromas of fresh red cherry and strawberry; a touch of apricot and rose. Polished and complex on the palate with flavours that mirror the bouquet. A lovely texture with a chalky saline mouthfeel, raspberry and strawberry flesh, a brioche lees autolysis and lengthy, plush finish. Totally delicious, fresh and fine. Best drinking from 2022 through 2028.

96 Points

RRP $65.00 closmarguerite.co.nz

Quartz Reef Méthode Traditionnelle Vintage Blanc de Blancs 2017 Central Otago

A wine in a perfect drinking window. Satin through silky textures touch the palate first with a mushrooming and gently forceful mousse. Taut and youthful with a crisp acid line carrying a saline note, then flavours of lemon and white peach. The autolysis suggest flavours of sourdough bread and crackers, while a floral, mineral layer adds complexity and depth. A delicious and complete wine ready to drink from today and through 2027. 95 points RRP $85 www.quartzreef.co.nz

Quartz Reef Méthode Traditionnelle Brut NV Central Otago

Complex and alluring bouquet of sparkling wine with an intense biscuit, brioche and toasty autolysis followed by aromas of white strawberry, pear, apple and lemon. A deep-seated floral and mineral core extends the aroma profile. Bold, powerful mousse; full-bodied and richly flavoured on the palate; flavours reflect the nose with a core of autolytic flavours leading to a lengthy and fine finish. Delicious! Drink now and through 2025.

95 Points

RRP $39.00 quartzreef.co.nz

TASTING NOTES SPARKLING WINES

Champagne Roger Manceaux

Premier Cru Brut Cuvée de Réserve NV, Rilly-La-Montage , France

This is a delicious, fresh and delightful Champagne made with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay suggesting aromas and flavours of strawberry, spiced pear and apple, and a fine yet intense leesy quality. It is both elegant and refreshingly new and youthful. As the wine touches the palate, the flavours of lees and strawberry arrive first; then pear and apple with some old grapefruit and white spice layers. There’s a distinctive, chalky mineral quality and vibrant core of energy and youthfulness. The mousse is refreshing and moderately fine with a slightly salty note and delivers the flavours and acidity with ease. Balanced and well made with a lengthy aperitif finish. Best drinking from day of purchase and through 2029.

94 Points

RRP $59.95 champagnecru.co.nz

Pirramimma Sparkling Shiraz NV McLaren Vale, Australia

Excellent bouquet of dark berries and plum, spiced raspberry and blackcurrant with some fine, earthy peppery spice qualities. Crisp, spicy, fruity, refreshing and dry with core flavours that mirror the bouquet with some licorice and anise qualities. Dry on the finish with best drinking from 2022 through 2026.

93 Points

RRP $28.00 sanzglobal.co.nz

Mumm Rosé 2017 Marlborough

Aromas of fresh cherry and raspberry, some cranberry, then a fine lees autolysis quality. Cereal and toasted bread, red fleshed fruits and a fine, new sparkling wine quality. Delicious on the palate with red fruit flavours to reflect the bouquet; a fine autolysis quality and crisp, almost crunchy, mouthfeel. Dry with a plush mousse texture, high acid line and even finish. Best drinking from day of purchase and through 2025.

92 Points

RRP $45.99 pernod-ricard-winemakers.com

No.1

Assemblé Méthode Marlborough NV Marlborough

This is a complete wine with weight and intensity, flavour and finesse. Flavours of citrus and stone fruit, apple then a light oatmeal and mineral quality. The mousse is bold and expressive with flavours and minerals that reflect the bouquet along with a touch of salinity within the acid line layering in a mealy quality to the mouthfeel. Delicious, fresh and ready, a wine for all occasions.

94 Points

RRP $34.00 no1familyestate.co.nz

Mumm Brut Prestige NV Marlborough

Nicely complex and lifted bouquet of white fleshed fruits and oatmeal cereal autolysis layers. Flavours on the palate of lemon and apple, fresh quince and a touch of button mushroom. The mousse is quite fine, very crisp and adds a tautness to the palate as well as highlighting the citrus and apple flavours suggested in the bouquet. Fresh, crisp and dry and ready for drinking from today through 2027.

92 Points RRP $40.99 pernod-ricard-winemakers.com

Osawa Wines Prestige Collection Méthode

Traditionelle Brut NV Hawke’s Bay

Tasted over two days this wine holds onto its bubble and mousse texture along with flavours of white peach and sweet lemon laced with a fine lees autolysis and lengthy, chalky finish. This is the best expression of méthode I have encountered from the Osawa stable of wines: balanced, well made, flavourful with a decent mousse leading to a dry finish. Best drinking from 2022 through 2025.

92 Points

RRP $60.00 osawawines.co.nz

Aromatic Whites

Aromatic and semi-aromatic grape varieties can produce wines with power and finesse, seductive scents that can remind us of flowers, perfumes, fleshy juicy fruits and exotic, spicy flavours. Indeed, one category of wine that has filtered through from the winemaker’s vernacular to the consumer is ‘aromatic’.

Some varieties produce berries, juice and wine with a package of scents that identify the variety and wine with specific combinations of aroma and flavour. Included in this list are the muscat and muscat-like varieties: Torrontés, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grain, Muscat

of Alexandria, Wurzer, Gruner Veltliner and Gewurztraminer. Other, also aromatic, varieties include Riesling, Viognier and Albariño. Pinot Gris is classified as semi-aromatic.

To a greater or lesser degree, these varieties each carry distinctive – sometimes intense –aromas of flowers, white-fleshed fruits, musk, candy, herbs, and spices. The origin of these core aromas and flavours come from naturally occurring compounds in the grape skin called terpenes. Alcohol and acidity in a finished wine can intensify these attributes even more.

Aromatic wines can be produced bone-dry through to exceedingly sweet and that means it

might be a little harder to match you, the reader, to the right wine. But it’s never impossible. My sister-in-law does not like Riesling and refuses to buy or try it – mostly because she thinks all Rieslings are sweet. Not true: some of the most beautiful white wines to drink are dry Rieslings. Off-dry to medium styles are well-suited to dishes with creamy textures such as oily fish or pasta with soft proteins.

A quick check of a few wine retailers online had between thirty-five and fifty-seven Pinot Gris for sale and several dozen available with prices ranging from $6.99 to over $60 a bottle.

2021 North Otago

Lifted, fragrant, bright, fresh, varietal and mineral-laden. Flavours of pears and white soil, aromatic spices and apple, white spice and a whisper of ginger spice. A silky texture with contrasting acidity and delicate chalky mouthfeel. A delicious wine ready to drink from today and through 2027 and beyond.

94 Points RRP $34.50 valliwine.com

Lake Chalice The Falcon Riesling 2021 Marlborough

Very pretty bouquet with aromas of blossoms and white fleshed fruits with scents of lime flower and mandarin, red apple and lemon. Off-dry on the palate with contrasting acidity and flavours that reflect the bouquet. The finish swings back to flavours of blooms then lemon, green apple and a wet stone mineral quality. Best drinking from 2023 through 2029.

93 Points RRP $19.99 lakechalice.com

Leefield Station Pinot Gris 2021 Marlborough

Flavours of fresh green pear and baked apple. There’s a warm, white peach and gentle spice quality, then flavours of asian pear and quince. A silky texture with contrasting acidity, fleshy fruit flavours and a touch of spice. Great finish with best drinking from 2023 through 2026.

93 Points RRP $21.99 marisco.co.nz

Valli Waitaki Vineyard Pinot Gris

Blanc Sauvignon

Year-on-year, more Sauvignon Blanc vines are being planted in Aotearoa. New Zealand is a powerhouse for the variety, with significant amounts exported to fans around the globe. With climate change and extreme weather events starting to have impacts on many different places, disease pressure in the vineyards grows as well. This means research into countermeasures must follow and research into new clones of the variety are being developed. Vineyard practices are changing too, to counterbalance potential threats. Sustainability and research are behind a lot of the successes of Sauvignon Blanc.

While some Sauvignon Blanc is made in generic styles – and these wines sell well –there are regional differences to be discovered and new styles on offer. These are made with techniques promoting focus on texture, with wine resting on lees for extended periods, and neutral barrel ageing delivering some fascinating expressions. Aged Sauvignon Blanc is becoming more common as well.

The classic Sauvignon Blanc signature is herbaceous, citrus and tropical fruit aromas.

Barrel fermented, or barrel-aged examples can have a fuller, richer, almost heady bouquet –some with a baking spice suggestion on the palate. Expect plenty of acidity on the palate with Sauvignon Blanc, sometimes piercing and laser-like. Great Sauvignon Blanc should have fruit concentration counterbalanced by acidity and texture. There is also an increasing demand and availability for vegan-friendly, organic and biodynamic examples.

Some of the more interesting and complex Sauvignon Blanc wines I have enjoyed showcase more texture, mouthfeel and layering from lees contact (skin-contact for some) and the use of older barrels for ferment and/or ageing.

If there are any under twenty-dollar 2019s left in your wine cellar, drink up. Most of the 2020s are still looking great – as are the 2021s – but do look to wine critics’ assessments of the 2022s, as quality can vary. That said, I have had some fantastic examples.

Marlborough remains the largest regional producer of Sauvignon Blanc with over 295,000 tonnes crushed annually, followed by Hawkes Bay, then in decreasing order: Nelson, Gisborne, North Canterbury and the Wairarapa.

Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc

2021 Marlborough

Complex and new; a core of minerality suggesting chalk and white spices, then lemon and apple, grapefruit and a fine lees adding complexity. As the wine opens up in the glass, a sense of place becomes stronger with sweet earth and wild white flowers. On the palate, these ideas are enlivened by a backbone of acidity with a saline edge, flavours of white blossoms and citrus fruits, apple and white peach. Excellent mouthfeel and finish – this is a delicious wine. Best drinking from 2023 through 2029.

96 Points

RRP $35.00 closhenri.com

Greywacke Wild Sauvignon 2020 Marlborough

Distinctive, complex, varietal and enticing bouquet of wild flowers and Meyer lemon; wet pebbles with a flinty quality, then hay and some moments of passionfruit, then white flowers. Delicious on the palate: saline, citrus, peach and mineral followed by preserved lemon and white spice, some nettles and hay flavours leading to a lengthy and vibrant textured finish. Chalk, lemon, wild peach and apple. Textured, flavourful, well made and edgy. Nothing overdone. Yum!

95 Points

RRP $40.00 greywacke.com

Framingham F-Series Sauvignon Blanc

2021 Marlborough

Complex, sophisticated, pure, ripe and enticing with aromas and flavours of citrus and gunflint, a fine lees complexity and moments of barrel spice, layers of apple, and a core mineral quality. Fantastic texture and length with the acidity enhancing the core fruit flavours and barrel flavours. A complex and delicious wine ready for drinking from 2023 through 2030. 95 Points

RRP $34.99 framingham.co.nz

Lawson’s Dry Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Marlborough

Complex, herbaceous, mineral and fruity with some spice highlights from wood and lees. Lovely weight and texture with a light saline effect through the acidity. Spice and fresh stone-fruit flavours with a tropical fruit twist. Generous and fresh, textured with a satin finish. Great drinking from 2023 through 2026. 95 Points

RRP $25.00 lawsonsdryhills.co.nz

Lawson’s Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Marlborough

Lovely, pure white fleshed fruit bouquet laced with a cool, wet stone mineral quality and aromas of Meyer lemon and tropical fruits, then fresh sage and basil herbs. The palate reflects the bouquet with ripe, white fleshed fruit flavours, herbs and tropical fruit highlights. Vibrant, fresh, salivating and dry on the finish. Best drinking from 2023 through 2027. 94 Points RRP $20.00 lawsonsdryhills.co.nz

Saint

Clair Pioneer Block 3 43 Degrees Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Marlborough

Aromas and flavours of gooseberry and peach then citrus and white spice. There’s a fine mineral and nettle quality along with a leesy spice quality adding breadth and intrigue. A lovely wine with a fine saline quality; precise and perfectly aligned acid line, core of fruit and lengthy finish. Best drinking from 2023 through 2027. 95 Points

RRP $26.90 saintclair.co.nz

Loveblock TEE No Sulphur Added Sauvignon Blanc 2021 Marlborough

Complex and detailed, youthful and vibrant. Flavours of grapefruit and fine lees, yellow apple and gooseberry, peach and a stony, mineral quality. Silky textures touch the palate first then acidity and youthful energy offer contrast and style. Salivating, with a core of fruit. A light saline quality adds to the complexity. A balanced, refreshing and well-made example – what’s not to like! Great drinking from 2022 through 2026. 94 Points

RRP $29.99 glengarry.co.nz

“If

Matahiwi Estate Sauvignon Blanc

2022 Wairarapa

Pure, ripe, lifted, varietal and enticing bouquet. Aromas of fresh green herbs are melded with tropical fruits. White peach, fresh red apple and grapefruit show off the cooler climate influences. Delicious on the palate with a salivating, lush core of fruits accentuated with acidity but leaving room for a mineral, almost silty, soil signature. Vibrant and fruity, herbaceous and fresh – a lovely wine for drink from summer 2023 through 2026+.

94 Points

RRP $22.99 matahiwi.co.nz

Maude Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Central Otago

A delight to taste this wine: pure, ripe; cool-climate bouquet of grapefruit and summer hay; lemon and gooseberry; mineral, some citrus blossom and some white-fleshed stone-fruit moments. On the palate, there’s a lovely sense of place with the voice of minerality speaking first, then white fruits and citrus along with a touch of gooseberry speaking second. High acidity, perhaps a touch of spice; a noticeable saline note adding softness to the finish. Delicious, new and fresh – a wine for enjoying from 2023 through 2027 and beyond. 94 points RRP $28.00 maudewines.com

Blind

River Sauvignon Blanc

2022 Marlborough

Pure, ripe, vibrant and fresh with a bouquet of grapefruit and lychee flesh, lime and apple with a savoury, dried herb quality. A seam of stony mineral notes precedes a vibrant acid line leading to flavours that mirror the bouquet. Well made, youthful and ready for drinking from early 2023 through 2026. Classic and delicious.

93 Points

RRP $25.00 lawsonsdryhills.co.nz

Leefield Station Sauvignon Blanc

2022 Marlborough

Varietal, ripe and fruity with core aromas and flavours of apple and citrus fruits. There’s a fine tropical fruit line with white pineapple and fresh lychee. Smooth satin texture with a fresh herb and core gooseberry and apple-fruit quality; crunchy acid line and lengthy finish. Lots to like about this wine. Ready to drink from 2023 through 2026.

93 Points

RRP $21.99 marisco.co.nz

Saint

Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Marlborough

An enticing, complex and perfumed bouquet with aromas of wild white flowers, a pebblelike mineral quality and pure fruit aromas of citrus, apple and exotic tropical fruits. There’s a natural herbaceous quality adding power and breadth. After a satin texture touches the palate, flavours of fresh orchard fruits layer in and acidity carries them throughout for mouthfeel and intensity. A lovely example with best drinking from 2023 through 2027.

94 Points

RRP $33.90 saintclair.co.nz

Giesen Uncharted Sauvignon Blanc 2021 Marlborough

Excellent bouquet of gooseberry and sweet citrus, apple and white peach. Flavours on the palate confirm the nose with a core of flavour, a whisper of sweetness, contrasting backbone of acidity and minerality delivering a fine, mealy texture. Delicious, fresh, tropical and ready to drink from late 2022 through 2026. 93 Points RRP $19.99 giesenwines.co.nz

Delta Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Marlborough

Pungent and fruity, varietal and classic with aromas and flavours of tropical fruits and citrus, white peach and fresh, grassy, herbaceous qualities. Some gooseberry and nettle suggestions emerge as the wine settles on the palate with the backbone of acidity to carry fruit and freshness. Ideal summer 2023 drinking and through to end of 2025. 92 Points RRP $20.00 deltawines.co.nz

Sileni Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Marlborough

Ripe, fresh, pure and new. Aromas of fresh apple and lemon, some tropical fruit highlights and stony mineral qualities. On the palate: a just-dry wine with a core of fruit flavours that reflect the bouquet;, there’s also a light saline note adding to the texture and mouthfeel. The mineral reflections of wet stone and steel add complexity and depth. Best drinking from late 2022 through 2025. 92 Points RRP $16.99 shop.sileni.co.nz

Chardonnay

hardonnay is one of the most interesting and versatile wines you can enjoy. Oak is not a given; fermenting or ageing in barrels is not a given; and conventional farming is no longer standard.

Nonetheless, what has long been regarded as the classic, buttery, creamy, oaky, not-so-dry and high-ish alcohol version of Chardonnay remains a very popular expression. These wines often deliver the perfect texture, simple flavours and a mouthfeel that make them an easy by-the-glass choice and great with dishes that have similar attributes.

Whatever style of Chardonnay you like, there are often inherent attributes you identify with, such as flavours of baking spices; ripe stone fruits; a sense of sweetness; and a satin, silk or creamy texture that your palate welcomes.

Chardonnay is changing, though, and expressions from individual producers are as varied as the soils, vineyard conditions and

Cwinemaking. With an average vine age of twenty-five years for many Aotearoa producers, the quality, concentration and potential – in conjunction with excellent harvest conditions – offers winemakers more scope to craft a style and expression that is worth trying. While oak and Chardonnay are great friends, the demand for new-barrel flavours has lessened in favour of complexity and mouthfeel. This can make these wines easier to find food matches for as well.

Winemakers also take notice of what wine critics and wine judges, both in New Zealand and Internationally, say about their wines. Some are pragmatic, making minor adjustments to their winemaking to try to appeal to a broader audience base, while others continue to explore the boundaries of acceptability by allowing more skin contact or using little to no preservatives, ensuring a more natural flavour.

There are now many clones of Chardonnay – some are better-suited to cooler climates (as is the case with New Zealand) while others more suited to warmer climates (such as California). A clone is a variant copy of its parent and New Zealand has tended to rely on four main Chardonnay clones: Mendoza; UCD clones 6 and 15; and clone B95.

Palliser Estate Single Vineyard Om Santi Chardonnay 2021 Martinborough

Immediately complex and detailed bouquet of minerals then citrus and white fleshed fruit. The quietly emerging layers of toasty barrel add additional complexity and intrigue. A delicious wine on the palate with a grand cru Chablis-like feel with the minerals and fine fruit qualities. Fruit flavours mirror the bouquet and acidity offers contrast and freshness while the oak and mineral layers deliver breadth and finesse. A complete wine with moments of gunflint and white spice, a fine cashew nut oak quality and lengthy, complex finish. Best drinking from 2023 through 2031.

97 Points

RRP $85.00 palliser.co.nz

Skeetfield Chardonnay 2021 Hawke’s Bay

Fabulous bouquet, fine and modern, varietal and distinctive. Aromas and flavours of fresh grapefruit and gunflint, peach and apple. There’s a core mineral quality enhanced by acidity with a saline quality. Medium-plus body with stone fruit and white fleshed orchard fruit flavours; minerals, a refreshing acid line, and lengthy complex finish. Fantastic drinking from 2023 through 2029.

96 Points

RRP $70.00 tonybishwines.co.nz

Dicey Bannockburn Chardonnay 2021 Central Otago

Fabulous complexity with a youthful core of cool-climate fruits with grapefruit, yellow apple. Reminds me of golden kiwifruit and white flowers. All is revealed on the palate with flavours of fresh peach and quince, red apple and golden kiwifruit. No mistaking the youthful side with vibrant acidity and abundant tannins delivering mouthfeel and foundation. A lovely example that will age well with best drinking from mid to late 2022 through 2029+.

95 Points

RRP $32.00 dicey.nz

Domain Road Vineyard Defiance Chardonnay 2020 Central Otago

Complex and complete, youthful and layered. A core of fruit and subtle, sweet barrel scents lead to aromas of citrus and peach, apple and flowers, and a core of mineral complexity suggesting white clay. Fantastic on the palate with a dance between flavour and texture. Youthful and fresh with barrel spice and gunflint, then fruit flavours that reflect the bouquet. Fine wood tannins, complex and delicious, lengthy and delicious. Keep in the cellar till late 2022 then drink through 2030+.

96 Points

RRP $33.00 domainroad.co.nz

Church Road 1 Chardonnay 2021

Hawke’s Bay

Enticing, complex bouquet with scents of spice and orchard fruits; stony mineral qualities with a whisper of gunflint; cashew nut butter and ripe citrus. Full-bodied with an elegant, silky texture; flavours of stone fruits and ripe citrus, apple and lemon. Acidity and tannins layer-in mouthfeel, texture and freshness while the core fruit flavours remain persistent. Lengthy and well made – a wine of quality and length.

95 Points

RRP $100.00 church-road.com

Hunter’s Offshoot Chardonnay

2020 Marlborough

A bouquet of place, time and complexity with a modern twist. Aromas and flavours of gunflint and grapefruit, chalk and lemon, apple and white flowers. There’s a leesy, barrel- spice complexity adding texture and breadth of flavour on the palate. Plenty of weight and mouthfeel. This wine is delicious and new, modern and very stylish. Best drinking on its own or some freshly steamed shellfish or hāngī food.

95 Points

RRP $34.90 eurovintage.co.nz

Craft Series ‘The Pioneer’ Chardonnay 2018 Marlborough

Golden yellow hues and shiny appearance lead to scents of baked peach and vanilla, a burnt butter and toasty barrel quality, fresh apricot and apple. Full-bodied and satin textures touch the palate first with flavours of apple and citrus then peach and a nuttybarrel spice quality. Medium acidity and balanced, even finish. A wine for enjoying from day of purchase through 2026.

93 Points

RRP $65.00 marisco.co.nz

Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley, Chardonnay

2019 North Canterbury

There’s no mistaking the power and intensity of this wine. Before I even begin to take in the aromas, the scents of oak spice, lees and toasted yellow stone-fruit invade the senses. Roasted cashew nut and baking spices, peach and nectarine, roasted apple and grapefruit peel. There’s also a baked custard and hard clay, earthy quality. Bold and proud bouquet overall. Full-bodied, oaky and fruity with flavours that mirror the bouquet from stone fruits to citrus, barrel to earth. Youthful, with some fruit and wood tannins, a decent acid line and persistent lengthy finish. Best drinking from mid to late 2022 through 2030.

95 Points

RRP $45.00 pegasusbay.com

Giesen Uncharted Chardonnay

2020 Marlborough

Very enticing bouquet of sweet toasty barrel and roasted stone fruits, a vanilla cream custard quality and raw cashew-nut. Flavours on the palate mirror the bouquet with a decent, creamy nut and toasty barrel core; then flavours of roasted stone fruits, grapefruit, baked apple and baking spices. Acidity and fine tannins set the foundation and core fruit-flavours coat the palate driven by acidity and alcohol. Best drinking from 2022 through 2026.

92 Points RRP $29.99 giesenwines.co.nz

Hunter’s Chardonnay 2020 Marlborough

The familiar bouquet of peach and vanilla cream are enticing and welcomed. On the palate, a vibrant texture with core fruit flavours of grapefruit and peach, then vanilla and sweet wood; fresh, creamy custard and kitchen spices. Medium-plus acidity and weight with a satin texture. A wine ready for drinking from 2022 through 2027 onwards.

93 Points

RRP $24.90 eurovintage.co.nz

Photo by Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers

Sweet Whites

Our palate can detect sugar easily and many of us gravitate towards sweet foods – it is hard to say no to dessert, me included. Residual sweetness in wine can be noticed from around three grams per litre, and most of us start to really sense sugar at around 10 grams per litre. Three grams does not make a wine sweet – in fact it will still be dry, even at seven grams. A dry wine is considered ‘dry’ if the wine causes the palate to dry out after swallowing and how high the alcohol is will affect this outcome as well. The structure of wine and how acidity plays a role in its balance can often lead the taster into thinking a wine is dry when in fact it is not. Some German wines are adept at teasing the palate in this way – so too can some New Zealand Rieslings.

If you taste a wine and describe it as sweet, it is. However, one person’s scale of sweetness will be different from someone else’s. An actual sweet wine will carry enough information on the label to guide the buyer/taster in how sweet the wine will be. Medium-dry, medium and medium-sweet are good indicators on the wine label. Noble, Botrytised, Aszu, Puttonyos, Kabinett, Spatlese and Icewine/Eiswein are definitive terms for sweet wine. Honey, beeswax, marmalade and even apricot juice can often be part of a sweet wine’s flavour profile.

Dessert wines are a category of sweet wine. Try not to confuse them with wines that are very fruity to the taste. Some sweet wines can have both attributes and your palate won’t lie, so there’s no rocket science to consider. Sweet wines can be fantastic with starters that contain natural sweetness or sugar such as Thai food or many Pacific Island dishes. I have had an amazing match with baked salmon and noble sweet wine.

Sweet wines that have very high acidity (making them finish dry) make excellent aperitifs, while dessert wines with noticeable concentrations of sugar are best with cheese or dessert courses, but not always. A hot blue cheese soufflé is excellent with a sweet wine at the beginning of a meal, or at the end.

Pegasus Bay Finale Waipara Valley Noble Sauvignon Semillon 2019 North Canterbury

Fantastic bouquet of preserved stone fruits; honey and honeysuckle; moments of elderflower and beeswax; exotic fruits and grapefruit. Creamy, slippery textures touch the palate first followed by a core of fruit flavours that reflect the bouquet. Some fragrant, baking-spice moments, high acidity, plenty of sweetness, balanced, exotic, fresh and lengthy. Best drinking from today and through 2029.

Try with Cartwheel Creamery Nanny Blue Cheese from the Manawatu.

95 Points RRP $42.00 pegasusbay.com

The

A very noble bouquet with scents of honey and poached stone fruits, pineapple and pear. Very creamy and silky on the palate with flavours that reflect the bouquet plus a tropical fruit and fresh herb quality reflecting the variety. Sweet with contrasting acidity and a core of fruit flavours. Delicious, creamy and ready with best drinking from day of purchase through 2027 onwards.

94 Points RRP $31.99 marisco.co.nz

A striking package of aromas from apple tart to apricot nectar then brown sugar, sweet gooseberry and baked pineapple. Some light dried herb qualities reflect the variety and add complexity. Very sweet but decadent and luscious with contrasting acidity and flavours of sweet apples and apricots, tropical fruits and a whisper of dried herbs. Lengthy and delicious with best drinking from day of purchase through 2027 onwards.

94 Points

RRP $25.99 marisco.co.nz

Kings Series ‘A Sticky End’ Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2021 Marlborough

The Ned Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2021 Marlborough

Rosé

There is no colour guide for rosé producers to follow. The trend is currently to lighter, more onion-skin or pale pinkish/reddish hues and only recently has the wine trade body of Provence, France (the world’s largest producer of rosé), come up with a basic colour palette for the styles they are well known for.

Rosé is best drunk upon release and for around a year – maybe two at best. While many rosé wines can last two years and occasionally more, they show best when young.

Rosé sells well because it’s simple, easy to drink, goes with practically any cuisine style and, most of all, is a reliable and affordable choice. The price of rosé has increased, but so too have the choices and quality. There are more local producers than ever before in NZ and with imports of rosé steadily increasing, there is plenty to go around.

Rosé is not a complicated wine to make. It should be a lightly coloured wine, crisp in texture, and have an obvious fruity quality. The better wines also show minerality: typically stone or granite-like qualities. Rosé can be produced from any red grape variety including Pinot Noir (the most popular in NZ) with Merlot, Tempranillo, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc among the more widely used.

Wineries that specifically produce red wine have the option to change the juice-to-skin ratio, allowing winemakers to produce a darker coloured wine. To achieve this, they bleed off some juice in a process called ‘saignée’ (a French term meaning ‘to bleed’). The juice that is bled away two to 12 hours post skincontact is used to make a rosé. The second method, and one that produces a better wine, is when the intended outcome of 100% of the fruit harvested is for a rosé wine.

I have tasted many examples in the last two decades and the trend recently is towards drier wines – not bone-dry, just dryer – with more fruit concentration and texture. These drier styles make a great aperitif option and examples with slightly more tannin and texture work well with entrée dishes such as baked eggplant with miso; earthy flavoured soup; tuna; and sashimi.

Quartz Reef Méthode Traditionnelle

Vintage Rosé 2016 Central Otago

There’s an immediate sense of complexity, charm and elegance about the bouquet of this wine. Aromas of strawberry and red apple; a warm summer’s evening; a complex autolysis and package of red berries and a bouquet of flowers. A texture-driven palate with a super fine mousse, youthful acid line and long finesse-driven finish. A beautiful wine, perfectly balanced and ready to drink from 2021 through 2026 and beyond.

96 Points RRP $110.00 quartzreef.co.nz

Church Road Gwen Rosé 2021

Hawke’s Bay

Very pretty bouquet with scents of flowers and light, red berry fruits and a whisper of minerality. A fine satin texture touches the palate first, then flavours of fresh strawberry and red cherry flesh. Contrasting acidity salivates the palate and the wine finishes as it begins: fruity, plush and juicy. Ready to drink for summer 2023.

92 Points RRP $24.99 church-road.com

Maude Estate Rosé 2022 Central Otago

Beautiful hues of apricot and peach lead to a palate filled with flavours of fresh cherry and red apple skin, raspberry and yellow plum. Fruity, crisp, salivating and dry. A very fine fruit-vtannin texture and decent acid line contrast the core fruit flavours adding length and breadth. A charming wine ready to drink from 2022 through end of summer 2024.

93 Points

RRP $28.00 maudewines.com

Fleurty Rosé 2022 Hawke’s Bay

Fragrant and bright with aromas of cherry and red apple, some tropical fruits and red papaya flesh. Brand new on the palate with a dancing texture accentuated by acidity, then flavours of strawberry and red cherry with a tropical fruit overlay. Crisp and refreshing, well made and perfect for summer 2023.

92 Points

RRP $24.90 askernewines.co.nz

PinotNoir

If there is one wine that can capture a sense of place, it’s Pinot Noir. ‘Pinosity’ is a term I like to use when describing good Pinot: there’s not only that sense of place, there’s power, finesse and elegance; the drive of a bouquet; precision on the palate; the shape, form and polish – even ripeness – of the tannins; and an acid line that carries flavour, mouthfeel and complexity.

Pinot Noir’s popularity becomes a little clearer when you find that one wine that pulls you in and holds you. Finding these special examples is where the fun part of the Pinot journey begins. Tasting and discussing the nuances and story behind a particular Pinot is what attracts many to the variety and often holds them as a loyal follower.

Pinot Noir is a challenging grape to grow and many winemakers and viticulturists would politely say it is fickle and completely dependent upon season; weather conditions at flowering; harvest windows; and then how a winemaker manages the fruit once it arrives at the winery. The judicious use of oak (which forest and cooperage used) can make all the difference when flavours of wood are introduced to the fermenting or fermented juice. Wood should not overpower the fruit, however.

Finesse and elegance come from an understanding of how and when a wine can find its sweet-spot on the palate, often through gentle winemaking and bottle age.

Pinot is a medium-weighted wine with light red fruit flavours; fine, needlepoint tannins; not too much acid or oak; and a lot of personality. It should have pinosity. To describe a Pinot Noir accurately may include words such as red cherry, raspberry, cranberry, wild strawberry or black cherry. Floral tones can be purple and red flowers, violets and lilacs. Some herbal or spice qualities can have a quiet yet obvious voice such as the wild thyme, tea leaf, dried herbs, fennel, anise and clove. Other aromas and flavours include savoury, game, earth, minerality, chalk and limestone.

Pinot Noir is nearly always a dry wine, with medium weight (body), fine to elevated tannins (that chalky texture) and elevated acidity in the finer examples. Although it is widely accepted that Pinot Noir’s first home is Burgundy, France, it has been cloned and planted in all corners of the globe. Fine Pinot Noir can be discovered in Germany, Italy, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand.

Framingham F-Series Pinot Noir 2021 Marlborough

Pure, ripe, fresh, varietal, complex and new. Aromas and flavours of ripe, organic farmers’ market cherries and blackcurrant fruits. There’s a fine clay mineral quality and layers of barrel spice with vanilla and clove highlights. Equally pure and vibrant textures from chalky tannins and a sweet acid line, and a judicious use of barrel all lead to a lengthy, complex and soft, smoky wood finish. Great drinking from 2024 through 2034 and beyond.

96 Points

RRP $44.99 framingham.co.nz

Valli Bendigo Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 Central Otago

An enticing and elegant bouquet; floral and fruity with scents of fresh raspberry and cherry, some apple skin and wild sweet thyme features. A savoury, dried-herb quality adds to the complexity and places this wine firmly in Otago’s rugged landscape surrounds. Complex and new – a wine with texture and taut youthful mouthfeel. Flavours of berries and thyme mirror the bouquet; tannins are firm and acidity is still fresh and new. A wine for the cellar with best drinking from 2025 through 2035 onwards.

96 Points

RRP $75.00 valliwine.com

Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Pinot Noir 2019

Waipara Valley, North Canterbury

Fantastic bouquet; enticing, complex, varietal and savoury. Aromas and flavours of dark cherry and berry fruits, barrel spices and youthful energy. Dark cherry and blackberry flesh, some plum and blackcurrant notes then anise and toasty-clove barrel flavours. Firm, youthful tannins need time to integrate more; acidity is lively and fresh carrying the flavours. A savoury, dried-herb quality and textures of fruit, oak and pinosity. A delicious and complex wine that will age well if given the chance. Best drinking likely from 2025 through 2034 and beyond.

95 Points

RRP $100.00 pegasusbay.com

Palliser

Estate Single Vineyard Hua Nui Pinot Noir 2020 Martinborough

A complex and immediately enticing bouquet; varietal and layered with scents of dark red berry fruits, preserved cherry and old strawberry compote mixed with barrel scents and fine lees-ageing qualities. Fantastic on the palate: complex and equally enticing with an abundance of fine needlepoint tannins accentuated by acidity and flavours of baking spices and mild, toasty barrel qualities. A youthful core of red berry fruit flavours burst on the palate as the wine opens up over several minutes. Complex and delicious with best drinking from late 2024 through 2032 onwards.

96 Points RRP $115.00 palliser.co.nz

Valli Waitaki Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 North Otago

Fantastic bouquet with fragrances of minerals and spice, dried herb and a core of dark cherry and raspberry. Equally great on the palate – a highly textured wine with an abundance of fine chalky tannins, polished and ripe, then an acid line that carries the core fruit flavours through a lengthy and delicious finish. Best drinking from late 2023 through 2030.

96 Points RRP $85.00 valliwine.com

Valli Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 Central Otago

Aromas and flavours of fresh red cherry and blackcurrant flesh; ripe plums and a fine, savoury, dried thyme quality. Delicious on the palate; a medium weighted wine with fine tannins and medium-plus acid line. The core fruit flavours are lush and precise with wood tannins and barrel spices adding complexity and length. Youthful, fresh and delicious with best drinking from 2024 through 2032 and beyond.

95 Points RRP $75.00 valliwine.com

Dicey Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2020 Central Otago

Lovely complexity and concentration with ripe red berry fruits and a core of stony minerality; some light dried herbs and layers of oak spice and fine toasty qualities. On the palate: equally complex and fruity with layers of pinosity and panache, youthful intensity and chalky-textured mouthfeel. An abundance of coarse silk tannins and back bone of acidity contrasted by fruit and textured mouthfeel. A delicious wine, youthful and fresh, needs time to integrate and develop with best drinking from late 2022 through 2029 onwards.

94 Points

RRP $42.00 dicey.nz

Leefield Station Pinot Noir 2021 Marlborough

Aromas of cherry and plum then a fine stony soil quality and some baking spice and toasty barrel qualities. An abundance of fine tannins and acidity layer-in texture and core fruit flavours add a plushness to the mouthfeel. Cherry and mushroom, a whisper of blackcurrant, and vanilla barrel spice. Balanced and well made with best drinking from late 2023 through 2029.

93 Points

RRP $27.99 marisco.co.nz

Giesen Uncharted Pinot Noir 2020 Marlborough

Aromas of dark red berries and vanilla; sweet black currant and plum. On the palate, flavours of the same plus dusty clove and vanilla; a smoky wood quality; and an abundance of fine tannins. Acidity ties the flavours and texture together into a rather delicious and ready to drink wine from 2022 through 2028.

92 Points

RRP $29.99 giesenwines.co.nz

Loveblock Pinot Noir 2021 Central Otago

A very pretty bouquet with a refined varietal lift and complexity. Aromas of dark roses and autumn leaves, fresh red berries and fine, sweet barrel complexity. A scent of minerality and soft stony soils adds depth and curiosity. Delicious, dry, fresh and luscious on the palate. Flavours of red berries, some plum and strawberry, coat the palate with contrasting fine tannins and mediumplus acid line. A lovely example for enjoyment from late 2023 through 2027 and beyond.

94 Points

RRP $36.99 glengarry.co.nz

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2019 Central Otago

A youthful core aroma of red cherry and wild berries followed by a crushed stone mineral quality and fine, toasty barrel spice highlights. Even more youthful on the palate – a wine with time on its side but not without a decent combination of texture and core fruit flavours. Firm tannins and medium-plus acid line; lighter weighted with a fine, savoury complexity and decent length. Best drinking from late 2023 through 2029.

93 Points RRP $50.00 wooingtree.co.nz

“Tasting and discussing the nuances and story behind a particular Pinot is what attracts many to the variety and often holds them as a loyal follower.”

Other Reds

The classic red wines of Bordeaux, France have been accepted benchmarks in the blended red wine category for decades –perhaps not so much anymore. While the style is emulated around the world, site, soil, climate and vine age have allowed new and sometimes better expressions to emerge. Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, separately or together, are the backbone and powerhouse of any red wine blend. Cabernet Sauvignon provides power and intensity with its bold tannins and acidity then flavours of blackberry and dark plum, baked bell-pepper, tobacco and bitter chocolate. Cabernet Franc has similar aromas, flavour and structure attributes plus violet, olive, dried herb, and dark red berry fruits.

Syrah is an exciting variety for NZ: it can be fragrant and elegant, or bold and powerful. It can make complex wines showcasing mineral and soil flavours as much as fruit and winemaking technique. Aromas can hit notes of blackcurrant, raspberry and plum as well as meaty scents (aged or fresh), mushrooms, olives, licorice or even earthy notes. Spices, from pepper or peppercorn to cinnamon and aniseed, can be discovered in many examples. Shiraz/Syrah is a very oak-friendly variety and nearly all producers use it, layering-in complex flavours of toast and sawdust – even a burnt cedar can be noticed. Syrah holds acidity well and when I say in my wine notes “backbone of acidity”, I mean that the acid level is critical to the texture of the wine and provides for longevity and freshness. Tannins will nearly always be bold and firm – this is part of what makes these wines so textured and compelling.

Church Road 1 Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Hawke’s Bay

Aromas of violets and cassis, dark plums and black berry fruits. Sweet oak scents with toasty smoky qualities, some cocoa and stony gravel suggestions, with an iron sand note. On the palate: power and intensity of fruit and oak spices; gravel earth and dark berry flavours with firm, ripe tannins and plenty of acidity. Youthful, firm, ripe and ready to drink from late 2025 through 2035 and beyond.

95 Points

RRP $120.00 church-road.com

their voice of youth, tautness and power. Baked mushroom with some meaty, clove and toasty barrel flavours. A wine that needs time to develop, but will reward if you can wait. Lengthy finish, warming alcohol, a backbone of acidity and lengthy finish.

94 Points

RRP $120.00 church-road.com

Church Road 1 Syrah 2020 Hawke’s Bay

A powerful bouquet of dark fruits with black currant and baked raspberry. There’s a gunflint, graphite-like quality, then aromas of stone and barrel. On the palate, a dry wine with dark red fruit flavours. There’s a fleshy texture just before the tannins and acidity layer-in

2022 Cameron's Best Wines of I

f you get the chance to look back through the Winter 2022 edition, there’s a Best of 2022 So Far section. Those wines still make the cut but here we bring that rundown to a close with the remaining wines in my Best of 2022 list.

Since publishing that winter list, I have tasted through many wines from Aotearoa as well as multiple examples from overseas. In fact, as we go to print for this edition, several hundred more samples will pass by my desk for tasting and evaluation. The list that follows showcases some outstanding wines from throughout our fine country. I do hope you get the opportunity to try some of them soon.

Millton Clos de Ste. Anne La Bas Chenin Blanc 2020, Gisborne Elegant and sophisticated with core mineral and varietal scents of baked apple and wet chalk, wild white flowers with a touch of quince and sweet lemon. Fantastic on the palate with an equally elegant mouthfeel. 2023 through 2033+. 97 Points

Paritua 21.12 Red Blend 2019, Hawke’s Bay

Blackberries and roasted plums, tobacco and cigar scents with toasty barrel and baking spice complexity. Full-bodied and complex; intense, fruity, toasty and young. Firm tannins and acidity layer-in foundation textures and mouthfeel. A delicious wine – a classic wine. Exacting, lengthy and complex. 2025 through 2040. 97 Points

Quartz Reef ‘Billie Jean’ Royal Series Bendigo Pinot Noir 2019, Central Otago Flavours of dark cherry and dried raspberry, spiced plum flesh and spices of the forest and

barrel. A fine savoury quality and core earth and mineral statements. Coarse silk tannins and a saline, refreshing acid line. Barrel spice and earth-smoke layer-in complexity. 2024 through 2030+. 97 Points

Trinity Hill ‘125 Gimblett’ Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2021, Hawke’s Bay

Fabulous bouquet; new, ripe, fresh and complex. Ripe, fleshy stone fruits; grapefruit and Red Delicious apple flesh. Barrel and wood spices add complexity and structure with tannins and acidity wrapping around the core fruit flavours. 2023 through 2029. 97 Points

Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc 2021, Marlborough

A core of minerality suggesting chalk and white spices and then lemon and apple, grapefruit and fine lees adding complexity. A sense of place with sweet earth and wild white flowers. Excellent mouthfeel and finish – this is a delicious wine. 2023 through 2029. 96 Points

Domain Road Vineyard Defiance Chardonnay 2020, Central Otago

Complex and complete, youthful and layered. A core of fruit and subtle, sweet barrel scents; citrus and peach, apple and flowers. A core of mineral complexity suggesting white clay. Fine wood tannins, complex, lengthy and delicious. 2022 through 2030+. 96 Points

Escarpment Kiwa Pinot Noir 2020, Martinborough

Distinctive, earthy mineral qualities with red berry fruits followed by a powerful core scent of hard clay and tilled soil combinations then

scents of dried herb and barrel. Dry, with polished needlepoint tannins, medium-plus acid line and a lengthy, complex finish. Drink from 2024 through 2034+. 96 Points

Misha’s Vineyard ‘The High Note’ Pinot Noir 2020, Central Otago

Fabulous fragrance, varietal, youthful, loaded with fruit and statements about minerals and dried herbs. French barrel scents layering its voice, but also complexity and power. Delicious on the palate with a core of fruit, but also taut and still new. Everything about the vineyard and its windswept, rugged charms are on show. 2026 through 2035+. 96 Points

Neudorf Rosie’s Block Amphora Chardonnay 2021, Nelson

A complex and highly textured bouquet with scents of fine gravel and sand, a core of peach and sweet citrus flesh, layers of fine lees with an autolysis effect adding substance and weight [to the bouquet]. No oak. A fantastic wine showing the true flavours of the vineyard; a core of stone fruit and citrus, great acid line and dry finish. 96 Points

Palliser Estate Hua Nui Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020, Martinborough

Flavours of dark red berry fruits, preserved cherry and old strawberry compote mixed with barrel scents and fine lees-ageing qualities. An abundance of fine needlepoint tannins accentuated by acidity and with flavours of baking spices and a mild, toasty barrel qualities. 2024 through 2032+. 96 Points

Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir 2020, North Canterbury

OUR RESIDENT MASTER SOMMELIER ROUNDS OFF HIS RUNDOWN OF THE YEAR’S TOP WINES FROM AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND.

There’s no mistaking the sense of place with aromas of white soil and wild flowers. The varietal signature of red berries with cherry and old strawberry sit nicely alongside moments of plum, then spice. Fine tannins. Youthful and new, complex and varietal. 2024 through 2034+. 96 Points

Rockburn ‘Nine Barrels’ Parkburn Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021, Central Otago

Red fruits from raspberry and red cherry of the forest and farmers market. There’s also plenty of smoky wood scents with spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Taut and youthful with tannins and acidity driving the texture, then wood spices and a core of ripe fruits and a light, savoury, dried-herb quality. 2024 through 2032+. 96 Points

Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir 2021, North Otago

Fantastic bouquet with fragrances of minerality and spice, dried herb and a core of dark cherry and raspberry. A highly textured wine with an abundance of fine, chalky tannins, polished and ripe, then an acid line that carries the core fruit flavours through a lengthy and delicious finish. 2023 through 2030. 96 Points

Askerne Reserve Chardonnay 2021, Hawke’s Bay

Fresh white fleshed stone fruits, grapefruit and a light gunflint quality. Oak and spice weave between a core of fruits from citrus to peach to apple and pear. A delicious, satin-textured wine ready to drink from late 2022 through 2028+. 95 Points.

Black Barn Vineyards Block 5 Chardonnay 2020, Hawke’s Bay

Intriguing, complex and new. Primary and loud with a bouquet of yellow peach and baked apple, lemon and grapefruit, new oak, cashew nut and baking-spice barrel qualities. Bold and expressive, ripe and smoky. 2023 through 2030+. Overall, a fantastic wine. 95 Points

Black Estate Home Chenin Blanc 2020, North Canterbury

Pure, bright, perfumed, fruity and varietal bouquet. There’s no mistaking the fragrances of apple and minerality, white flowers and fine lees textures in the aromas. Delicious on the palate with a new wine mouthfeel. Flavours dance across the palate with the help of the acidity layering in freshness and pizazz as well. 2023 through 2033+. 95 Points

Burn Cottage Sauvage Vineyard Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2019, Central Otago

Complex and new, warm and generous aromas of dark cherry and dried raspberry, then core complex scents of crumbled clay and silty, mineral qualities. A taut mouthfeel from acidity and fine needlepoint tannins in abundance with finesse and power. 2029+. 95 Points

Church Road 1 Cabernet 2020, Hawke’s Bay

Violets and cassis, dark plums and black berry fruits. Sweet oak scents with toasty smoky qualities; some cocoa and stony gravel suggestions with an iron sand note. Power and intensity on the palate with fruit and oak spices, gravel earth and dark berry flavours, firm tannins and plenty of acidity. 2025 through 2035+. 95 Points

Foxes Island by John Belsham ‘La Lapine’

Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Marlborough

Fabulous bouquet of complexity and development with primary and secondary aromas from preserved lemon to fine lees, some echoes of passionfruit to dried peach. There’s a fine lees and old barrel quality adding breadth and intrigue. Excellent

drinking from day of purchase through 2025+. 95 Points

Giesen Organic Syrah 2019, Marlborough

A bouquet and palate of dark olive and blackcurrant. There’s a fine, dried herb quality then flavours of baked field mushroom, a smoky pepper quality, then flavours of leather and dark plum, five-spice and anise. Great texture and polish from tannins and acidity with a lengthy finish. 2024 through 2032+. 95 Points

Te Pa Organic Pinot Noir 2021, Marlborough

Dark cherry and wild forest berries; there’s a distinctive savoury minerality and layers of wood spice from clove to vanilla and nutmeg. Fleshy textures, red berry fruit flavours, firm

youthful tannins with a chalky mouthfeel, plenty of acidity and a long finish. 2023 through 2029.

95 Points

The Boneline Sharkstone Waipara Chardonnay 2020, North Canterbury

A bold and expressive bouquet: peach and vanilla, Brazil nut butter, grapefruit and a distinctive core mineral quality. Fine tannins and youthful acid line showcase the core fruit and plush ripeness. Judicious use of oak and mineral-centric finish. 2023 through 2030.

95 Points

Matawhero Irwin Chardonnay 2020, Gisborne

Youthful, complex, fruity, varietal and enticing peach and new French oak; baking spice and grapefruit; a clay, mineral quality with apple and

a whisper of lemon. Full-bodied with a silkycream texture, very fine wood tannins, a touch of lees spice and cashew-nut-cream wood quality. 2023 through 2029. 94 Points

Mount Brown Estates Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2021, North Canterbury Smoke and toast, roasted yellow stone fruits and ripe grapefruit, vanilla custard with a touch of nutmeg. A gun-flint layer will attract many to the youthful, complex drive currently at this wine’s core. Full-bodied, dry and weighty with a creamy mouthfeel, peach and baked apple then grapefruit and mineral gun-flint qualities. 2023 through 2030. 94 Points

Smith & Sheth CRU Omahu Syrah 2020, Hawke’s Bay

Great core of dark raspberry, black olive and blackcurrant fruits; layers of clove and baked vanilla, toasty wood spices, a field mushroom and aged meat quality with a dry stone mineral baseline. Complex and young. Weighty, fresh, satin-smooth and delicious. 2024 through 2029. 94 Points.

The Landing Bay of Islands Chardonnay 2020,

Northland

An elegant and pure expression with a weighty texture and core fruit flavours of white fleshed orchard fruits laced with grapefruit and light nut barrel flavours of cashew then baking spice. A fine tannin texture with a youthful backbone of acidity. A touch of gun-flint highlights a mineral note. 2022 through 2028. 94 Points

Unison Gimblett Gravels Syrah Rocks 2019, Hawke’s Bay

Berries, dark fruit and spice scents with cracked pepper and blackcurrant, raspberry, plum and barrel spices with a stony earth gravel quality surrounding the fruit and presenting a complex, ripe and fruit-centric wine. A backbone of acidity precedes flavours of dark berries and plum with layers of oak, nut and gravels. 2024 through 2029+. 94 Points

Brick Bay Matakana Pinot Gris 2021, Auckland

Plush, ripe and intensely varietal bouquet with layers of pears and white spice, apple and lees, fresh quince and minerality with a clay-stone quality. A silky texture touches the palate first in an off-dry style. Warm and lush with a contrasting acid line. 2022 through 2026+. 93 Points

Collaboration Wines ‘Verdant’ Chardonnay 2021, Hawke’s Bay

Youthful, taut, mineral and ripe with a citrus focused bouquet. Grapefruit and sandstone, white peach and apple flesh. There’s power and lots of energy both on the nose and palate. A wine with a taut, youthful structure; some great core fruit flavours, chalky mouthfeel and lengthy finish. 2023 through 2029+. 93 Points.

Poppies Rosé 2021, Martinborough

Very pretty bouquet with aromas and flavours of fresh peach and apricot. There is a red apple and papaya tropical note. Acidity fuses all the flavours together with a very fine, chalky tannin mouthfeel. Great balance and length. 2022 through end of summer 2024. 93 Points

Two Rivers Phoenix Pinot Gris 2022,

Marlborough

Precise, pure, ripe and varietal bouquet with scents of quince and red pear, apple and white spice. A fine wet-stone mineral quality and fine lees complexity. A silky texture touches the palate first followed by a core palate of pear and white nectarine flavours. 2022 through 2026+. 93 Points

Millton’s Clos de Ste. Anne vineyard in Gisborne –the source of one of Cameron’s top wines of 2022

CAMERON TAKES A MOMENT TO SAVOUR HIS GOOD FORTUNE IN THIS, HIS LAST DROP (OF INK) FOR WORLD OF WINE MAGAZINE.

Last DropTHE W

e’ve had a lot of fun bringing this issue to you – I especially enjoyed spending time with two of New Zealand’s industry heroes: master chef Peter Gordon and wine genius Daniel Le Brun. They reminded me that Aotearoa is indeed a special place to live, and sharing their stories of growing up, while different and unique, the one thread they had in common was that they shaped their life and career around a passion for something that made them happy.

Our wine sector in New Zealand is in good shape currently and, while there are challenges with export mostly around shipping and transport costs, our international reputation remains solid. We can also be very proud of our food culture; our restaurants consistently offer high quality, fresh, local ingredients staging the best of Aotearoa on a plate for you and our international visitors. The wine and food pairing options are endless.

This will be the last issue of World of Wine for me. I have very much enjoyed being part

of this magazine and am immensely proud of the content in every issue. You can still catch me wandering the vineyards of New Zealand, taking pictures, always researching, and talking to winemakers. My wine review and wine news website camdouglasms.com will continue, so do visit when you can.

As we go to print, I’ll be chairing the Canberra International Riesling Challenge wine competition then heading to Brisbane to work with and continue training my team at The Lodge Bar. Following this I’ll be presenting at SommCon in San Diego and to the wine trade in Toronto for New Zealand Winegrowers.

It’s important to discover and drink only excellent wine, and we are spoiled for choice in New Zealand with local and international examples. I hope that, like me, you are open to trying new wines, varieties and styles.

Thanks to Oliver Styles, Wendy Steele and the team behind the scenes at World of Wine for their expertise and patience. Kia Kaha, Mā te Wā.