Established in 1973 by Hermann and Agnes Seifried, over the last 40-odd years the family (children Heidi, Christopher and Anna are now part of Team Seifried too) has crafted a range of strongly varietal wines that reflect their Nelson origins.
2018 Matawhero ‘Irwin’ Chardonnay
It has turned out to be a little run on chardonnay at the IWM; this time round a wine from a region where it is the dominant variety. Gisborne can often seem to get the short end of the straw in the NZ wine industry.
Kumeu River Winery : 2019s
Michael Brajkovich is not a man given to hyperbole. So when, at the launch of the Kumeu River 2018s last year, he said ‘wait for the 2019s’ and accompanied this statement with a very slight raising of his eyebrows, I took that to mean he thought the ‘19s would be something special.
The Landing and Helio Chardonnays
It’s always fun when new faces and places cross one’s path. This week, the Landing Chardonnay made for the first entry of a Bay of Islands wine into my tasting spreadsheet, and Hawke’s Bay producer Helio was also a new name to me.
Quartz Reef duo
Bendigo is a tricky subregion to get right, its (relative) heat and exposure can render it chunky and charmless at times but Rudi is very much amongst the safest of Bendigo hands. The alignment of his experience on his site and winemaking skill have delivered a fitting tribute to the vineyard that put the subregion on the map.
Etna-tastic
Wine remains one of a few products transparently connected to its place of origin, telling that story via its soil, climate and the people who coax it from vine to bottle. This link from producer to consumer can get overlooked even by those of us who love and obsess over wine.
Must try harder
Given the choice and budget, most of her friends prefer to buy one of the hard seltzers such as White Rhino instead of wine. However whilst tidying up some magazines and press releases she read out a tasting note for a newly released wine and was incredulous that a paragraph of flowery prose seemed to be the only information offered to entice a consumer to purchase.
Trinity Hill Estate Collection
It seems only reasonable that New Zealand’s top wines should command decent prices – this after all is the way of the world. Perhaps we have just become used to our wines being too modestly priced and we should rejoice in the upwards trend. That the three wines have now sold out shows price was no barrier to their fans – indeed, perhaps it was even an enticement?
2019 Eva Sauvignon Blanc
Eve Pemper was born in Croatia but has just gained her New Zealand citizenship making her a proud Criwi. She has worked in Marlborough for a number of years but wanted to launch her own label and in 2019 was able to do so. Eva released a 2019 Sauvignon Blanc and she hopes that in…
2017 Grasshopper Rock Pinot Noir
Central Otago’s Grasshopper Rock is located in Alexandra, a sub-region chosen (according to the GR website) for being the most world’s most southerly, the driest in NZ, and the one that experiences the biggest diurnal temperature shift (Alexandra has also recorded New Zealand’s hottest and coldest temperatures). Extreme to say the least. So it always…
Masters of Wine Trip 2019
” There have been more lavish trips. There have been more luxurious trips. There have been shorter trips and longer trips. There have been trips with less farting and bus drivers with slightly more interesting delivery. But I don’t think there has ever been a better trip. “
Chard Farm 2017 Pinot Noirs
Chard Farm may be located in one of the world’s more spectacular settings for a winery but the wines themselves are resolutely unshowy. Indeed, when tasting Chard Farm’s stable of pinot noirs, it’s hard not to think about John Wallace, winemaker for the past two decades