Welcome to Spring in New Zealand
From today 1 September 2011, our Blog moves to it’s new home.
I regret there will be no more updates made to this blog…
But do come and visit us at our new website
http://www.nzwinedirectory.co.nz/
Just click on BLOG on the menu bar.
Cheers, JB….
Wairau River Wines (pronounced why-ra-ow) produces wines exclusively sourced from their family estate vineyards first established in 1978 by Phil & Chris Rose. Hand tended in small batches from vine to bottle, low crops and ultra ripe fruit are utilised to produce premium wine that has become renowned for exhibiting intense fruit characteristics and classical elegance.
With five estate vineyards of around 500 acres, Wairau River Wines can maintain total commitment to quality by carefully managing these sites to keep yields low and quality high. Their flagship wine is Sauvignon Blanc, while the rest of the portfolio comprises Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Viognier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir including a Reserve range of carefully selected parcels of fruit which they believe epitomize Marlborough wine characters, dimensions and flavour profiles.
The extended Rose family are all heavily involved in the business – so are a true “family owned and managed winery.” The wines are excellent and the food is delicious – we had lunch there recently and were impressed with the food, wine matches and friendly service so can recommend a visit to Wairau River Wines – To find out more visit their Website , Like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
Back in 1998 Quintin and Avril Quider were living on Stewart Island, a natural wilderness and conservation sanctuary at the southernmost tip of New Zealand. Along with fishing and diving they were both keen pinot noir fans and when they were offered a patch of bare land at the end of Felton Road in Bannockburn, Central Otago, they knew it would be perfect for their own vineyard.
What they didn’t know was that ten years later their 2006 vintage pinot noir would be awarded the Trophy for Best Red Wine and Champion Pinot Noir at the world’s largest wine competition, the International Wine Challenge in London.
These awards, along with four other trophies that same year, endorsed a string of gold medals won for every vintage up to then. To be named Top Pinot Noir in 2009 by Cuisine magazine for the 2007 vintage was further encouragement.
The sole aim of Wild Earth is to create the finest pinot noir, riesling and pinot gris their two vineyard sites can produce. They’re working with young vines, planted from 1999 – 2001 that are already showing incredibly exciting potential.
To find out more about Wild Earth Vineyards and buy their wines, click the banner above to visit their website or Like their Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter too.
Anchorage Wines is one of the Nelson region’s longer established wine companies and the founding family, the Drummonds, hold firm to their belief that the rich fertile soils surrounding the Motueka township, coupled with balmy sea breezes and some of New Zealand’s consistently highest sunshine readings are the ideal climate in which to craft their aromatic wines.
Pioneers in horticulture and agriculture in the region since the 1800s, the Drummonds now use their land-savvy and more than a century of local knowledge passed down from generation to generation to produce their own wine savvy. Grapes from their vineyards in the nearby Moutere add a further dimension to their range of classic aromatic varieties.
Next door to the scenic adventure playground of the Abel Tasman National Park, their vineyards produce high quality Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Viognier, both for the Anchorage label and the company’s export label Torrent Bay.
To find out more aout Anchorage Wines, Visit their Website, Like their Facebook Page or follow Christopher Drummond on Twitter.
Glenys and I attended a Celebration day at Clos Henri.
Here is a photographic essay on our day there.
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Our special combination of soil, climate and water, our innovative pioneering spirit and our commitment to quality all come together to deliver pure, intense and diverse experiences. In every glass of New Zealand Wine is a world of pure discovery.
New Zealand Winegrowers is the national organisation for New Zealand’s grape and wine sector. The organisation currently has approximately 1000 grower members and 700 winery members who conduct a wide range of tasks on behalf of the grape and wine sector.
These include Advocacy at regional, local and international levels, Providing a global marketing platform for New Zealand wine, Facilitating world-class research on industry priorities, Giving the industry timely and strategic information and Organising sector-wide events such as The Bragato Conference and Awards and The Air New Zealand Wine Awards: These activities are developed around the goal of:
To find out more about New Zealand Wine, the Wineries and Vineyards, People, Events, News and Information and much more, click the banner above to visit the official New Zealand Winegrowers website. You can like their Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter too.
Stonyridge Vineyard is a world-renowned Cabernet-blend winegrower, located on the beautiful island of Waiheke, near Auckland, New Zealand. They are dedicated to producing the finest Cabernet blends in the world (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, combining traditional winemaking with meticulous organic viticulture.
Stonyridge is located in a gently north-facing valley, 1 km from both Onetangi Beach to the north and Putiki Bay to the south. It is sheltered from the cold southwesterly winds by Stonyridge, a long ridge running from one coast to the other. Their viticulture is meticulous, with at least 5 full-time staff working in their 6-hectare vineyard throughout the year. They select the finest clones and graft them onto the best low-vigour rootstocks they can find.
The Stonyridge flagship wine ‘Larose’, is one of the top Bordeaux-style reds in the world, ‘Pilgrim’ a Rhone-style red is New Zealand’s first Rhone Ranger wine and “Luna Negra” their “Black Moon” a straight Malbec from vines cropped low on a steep northeast-facing slope. Their other range “Fallen Angel” is made up of wines from the Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago regions. Apart from the five Bordeaux grapes, they are also doing trials with many other grape varieties.
To find out more about the Stonyridge Vineyard and their world beating premium wines click the banner above to visit their Website like their Facebook Page or Follow them on Twitter.
Bald Hills Pinot Noir
Blair and Estelle Hunt produce Award-Winning New Zealand Wines from their Vineyard in Central Otago. They are proud to be an accredited member of SWNZ – Sustainable Winegrowing of New Zealand, a proactive environmental management system that enables the production of high quality wine by employing environmentally responsible processes in the vineyard and winery.
Winemakers Grant Taylor and Christopher Keys along with Viticulturist Grant Rolston produce Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling & Rosé – I had the opportunity to taste and reveiw a vertical of the Pinot Noir courtsey of the lovely Estelle and after enjoying them all over three nights here’s what I thought…
Bald Hills 2008 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir - Dark violet/indigo in the glass – Plums and black berry fruit, herbal notes, bit of savoury smoke? Full of flavour on the palate with lots of dark berry fruit, plums, still some great tannins there good weight on the palate with fabulous length, dry, gritty complex layered wine finishing nicely. 87/100
Bald Hills 2009 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir - Darker than the 2008 Black Cherry almost, plums and herbal again much more savoury but still some fruit and floral notes. Lots going on in the mouth, again layered and succulent but not as complex as the 2008 – still needs some time for the fruit, acid and tannins to integrate but has potential to be brilliant in a couple of years. 85/100
Bald Hills 2010 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir – Bright dark garnet/ruby in colour, a little shy initially in the nose, earthy notes, sweet berry fruit coming through once it warmed up a little, quite “front of mouth” on the palate, acids and tannins a bit taut, but good depth of fruit, was only recently bottled so will need time to settle and for its components to integrate – but again I can see a lot of potential for this to be a great wine in 2-3 years time. 82/100
Of the three wines both Glenys and I preferred the 2008 which is starting to drink nicely now – these big Central Otago wines need time to develop so will look forward to tasting them again in a couple of years (if I am so lucky!)
To find out more about Bald Hills Wines, visit their website like their Facebook Page or follow Estelle on Twitter
In the last twenty years, the global wine industry has become increasingly internationalised and sophisticated. Along with other new-world producers, the New Zealand wine industry has grown rapidly. This success has created demands for highly trained and skilled participants and for locally focussed scientific research of the highest standards.
The Wine Science Postgraduate Programme at the University of Auckland caters for these demands. The programme uses the experiences of winemaking in New Zealand to highlight the multiple dimensions and applications of wine science. A central theme is that wine science is more than simply winemaking.The programme is organised around the understanding of wine production as a process that runs “from the vine to the mouth.”
The University of Auckland is also actively engaged in a wide range of research projects directed at applying the latest advances in various discplines for the benefit of the New Zealand wine industry. These research activites are run with the close involvement and co-operation of New Zealand wine companies, whose on-going interest and support is an essential part of their success and the ultimate up-take of knowledge advances by the local industry.
To find out more about the Wine Science Programme at the University of Auckland click the banner above to visit their website.
Kate Radburnd Wines
Last week we promoted Kate Radburnd Wines as our New Zealand Wine Website of the Week. Since then I’ve just had the pleasure of tasting all three new release wines from Kate, an award winning winemaker and co-owner and Managing Director of the C J Pask Winery.
Kate believes “the essence of New Zealand Wine is the pristine fruit characters derived from our superb climate and dramatic geography” and has produced a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, a Pinot Gris from the Hawke’s Bay and a Martinborough Pinot Noir which are all exceptionally good value, quality wines.
Kate Radburnd Bud Burst Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Light green tinge clear and bright, fresh grapefruit & tropical fruit in the nose tiny bit of green capsicum, on the palate it”s all fresh limes and passionfruit, nice dry crisp acidity gets the juices flowing, finishes long and leaves you wanting more. 13.5% RRP Under $20.00 (89/100)
Radburnd Sun Kissed Hawke’s Bay Pinot Gris 2010
Bright pale green with a hint of onion skin in the colour, nice viscocity (great legs) Peach, Pear and tropical fruit in the nose, on the palate, great minerality dry, tart acid, but fruit sweetness comes through towards the finish. 13% RRP Under $20.00 (88/100)
Kate Radburnd Vine Velvet Martinborough Pinot Noir 2009
Dark cherry/plum red in colour, savoury and herbal nose with some plum in the nose, herbal & forest-floor ccharacters with some dark berry fruit (raspberry?) nice “velvety” tannins and just the right amount of oak present on the palate. Much less of a fruit bomb than Otago PNs more earthy – a really nice rich Pinot Noir – Glenys really loved it too and she’s pretty picky when it comes to Pinot Noir… 13.5% RRP Under $20.00 (90/100)
To find out more about Kate and her wines, visit the CJ Pask Website or here Interactive Facebook Page and don’t forget you can follow Kate on Twitter too.
