Rippon Vineyard in Autumn. Image credit: Thirst Press. In this episode of Wine for Normal People I catch up with Elizabeth to chat about Central Otago – an area my family has spent many years in. Although Central Otago accounted for only 2% of total production in New Zealand for 2016, the wine from this regionContinue reading “Wine for Normal People: Central Otago”
Tag Archives: New Zealand
Wine For Normal People: Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
The view from Bilancia‘s vineyard in Hawke’s Bay. My next episode with Elizabeth Schneider at Wine for Normal People moves to my home turf, New Zealand. We take a closer look at the Hawke’s Bay region, including the Gimblett Gravels region, the wines and the people. Some of the producers we chat about include: AlphaContinue reading “Wine For Normal People: Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand”
Mammoths – who doesn’t love them?
Image credit: Mahana Estates “I want drinkers and winemakers to be shaken up, there are so many pathways that are undiscovered”. Michael Glover is taking us through a tasting of his latest releases from Mahana Estates and Mammoth Wines in Nelson, New Zealand. Here is a man who after years in the business is still clearlyContinue reading “Mammoths – who doesn’t love them?”
Wine Times Hong Kong: Craggy Range, Hawke’s Bay
Published Wine Times Hong Kong, 8 July 2016. Image credit: Craggy Range. Recently I attended a tasting of Craggy Range wines from Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand’s North Island. Chief Winemaker, Matt Stafford, led us through a selection of Pinot Noir from the Te Muna vineyard in Martinborough together with the Le Sol and Sophia wines from TheContinue reading “Wine Times Hong Kong: Craggy Range, Hawke’s Bay”
The Drinks Business: Side Projects
Published Wine Times Hong Kong, 21 December 2015. Chat with any winemaker and you are likely to find they have a barrel or two tucked away dedicated to that special project – a side project – representing their latest experiment and quite often, something rather special when it makes it to the glass. The notion ofContinue reading “The Drinks Business: Side Projects”
New Zealand Pinot Noir – a regional focus
(Image Credit: Seifried Estate) As part of the Watson’s Wine Grand Tasting Week a masterclass with seven key Pinot Noir producers was held at The Mira in Hong Kong. On offer was a selection of 12 wines covering the main Pinot Noir producing regions spanning from Central Otago in the South Island through to MartinboroughContinue reading “New Zealand Pinot Noir – a regional focus”
Wine Times Hong Kong: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc shortage
First published Wine Times Hong Kong August 2015 print edition. (Image credit: Harvesting Sauvignon Blanc for Greywacke Wild Sauvignon, Yarrum Vineyard, Marlborough. Photo: Kevin Judd.) Recent reports in the press suggest a shortage of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc may be imminent due to the comparatively small 2015 harvest and while quality has been assessed as veryContinue reading “Wine Times Hong Kong: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc shortage”
Syrah – top drops from New Zealand
Syrah vines at Stonecroft. Credit: Stonecroft. Wines Tasted Bilancia, Hawke’s Bay, La Collina Syrah, 2010 Stonecroft, Hawke’s Bay, Sereine Syrah, 2013 Te Whare Ra, Marlborough, Syrah, 2011 This is the final in my series of articles from our recent trip back to New Zealand and once again I find myself starting with “you may notContinue reading “Syrah – top drops from New Zealand”
Dessert Wine: A stack of “stickies” from New Zealand
“Stickies” is a term commonly used in Australia and New Zealand to refer to dessert wines and on our recent road trip to New Zealand we came across three fabulous examples from Alpha Domus in Hawke’s Bay, Greywacke in Marlborough and Waipara’s Pegasus Bay. Representing a fraction of New Zealand’s exports (0.02%, or 37,000L in 2014) these wines certainly pack aContinue reading “Dessert Wine: A stack of “stickies” from New Zealand”
New Zealand Chenin Blanc – well worth a look …
In thinking about New Zealand white wines Chenin Blanc is unlikely to be the first variety that comes to mind. In fact, I am told anecdotally that there are less than ten producers in the entire country and with Chenin Blanc accounting for 0.7% of the total production area that is not hard to believe. HistoricallyContinue reading “New Zealand Chenin Blanc – well worth a look …”
Simone Madden-Grey : Happy Wine Woman 