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Ellero, Central Otago
Leaving the sanctuary of the warm Maude Wines tasting room, we made the short drive down State Highway 6 to meet John Montero, owner of Ellero Wines.
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2013 Bacardi Legacy NZ Competition
No-one was more surprised than me when I was asked to judge the NZ Bacardi Legacy competition. Spirits are an integral part of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust qualifications, but cocktails are not.
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TOSQ Wines, Central Otago
Artisan Winegrowers of Central Otago, a group of six tiny (2000 or fewer cases) committed producers who have banded together to promote their common interest of ‘small batch, high-quality viticulture and winemaking’.
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Artisan Winegrowers of Central Otago
This week Emma and I spent a few days in Central Otago as guests of the AWCO group, Artisan Winegrowers of Central Otago.
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2011 Doctors Flat Pinot Noir
Steve Davies makes one of Central’s loveliest pinots. Never overblown, he manages to keep the fruit in the red spectrum; cherry, raspberry and red plum without ever veering into the dark, super extracted end of things.
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The Chosen One?
That Marlborough sauvignon blanc is the engine room of the country’s wine is a given. But in a typically New Zealand fashion, we seem to both be extremely proud and incredibly dismissive of the grape and style.
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Martinborough Day Two : Tasting the 2011s
My notes taken on Thursday 18th April 2013 at the Martinborough Hotel. I had no idea which wineries had submitted wines, all wines were pre-poured into identical glasses and tasted blind. This was a genuinely exciting line-up of wines. A spectrum of colours, very different approaches to winemaking
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Martinborough Day One : Meet the Winemakers
An invitation from Wines of Martinborough to spend a couple of days in the region was an offer I couldn’t refuse. It meant I could finally get to use my new camera but, looking at my distinctly amateurish snaps, have realised I’m going to have to get over my paranoia at taking pictures of winemakers. […]
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2012 Rippon Gamay Noir
I have arrived rather late at the gamay appreciation party. Starting out in the UK wine trade in the mid 1980s, my only exposure to gamay was on Beaujolais Nouveau Day when I had to get up at an ungodly hour to unload a van full of thin, charmless red wine.