Heron’s Flight vineyard in Matakana (approx 1 hr north of Auckland New Zealand, depending on the traffic) has just opened a fantastic new restaurant/wine-bar/tasting room. The new facilities are located at the highest point of their property. From that vantage point you can take in fantastic views around the area. The neat thing about this [...]
Of all the wines I have had the pleasure of drinking this year one stands above all others. The 1996 Louis Roederer Cristal Magnum (1500ml) that I enjoyed with my wife a couple of months ago. The depth, power and presence of this wine was just sensational. Plus Cristal has all the street cred you’ll [...]
O K so how do we get this vintage confusion I talked about in part 1. Well let’s take the 1996 Champagne vintage in the New Zealand market as an example and how some “nameless†distributors handled it. These wines began to creep into the market place a few years ago now. The press for [...]
Vintage does seem to cause a bit of confusion in the world of wine and not just with consumers. The industry seems to have it’s troubles too. Now I don’t mean the vineyard owners or even the wine makers, they are all too aware but the resellers, marketing departments and sometimes even some wine writers [...]
I heard this on the radio first and it made me laugh, a lot. This guy from Otago University has managed to swing a deal that lands him in Champagne for six months to study “how Champagne is perceived both as a region and as a productâ€. I suppose he’ll have to try a few [...]
If you want to increase your enjoyment of wine the easiest way is to upgrade your glasses to a few Riedel stems. Reidel designs glasses specially for varieties and regions altering the volume and shape and rim cut to enhance a wines positive characters and suppress any negative ones (like excessive tannin in some red [...]
While New Zealand Wine Growers are adding some window dressing to their competition guidelines following the Wither Hills fiasco. Australian wine makers have applied to Food Standards Australia New Zealand to raise the water addition limit in wine to 7% from the prior limit of 3%. These regulations, if changed will apply to wines in [...]
Want to try something different for this festive season. Sparkling Australian reds are a fantastic change from traditional foaming wines. If you have never tried them think full on Aussie red with bubbles. The bright pink foaming mouse is a sight to behold. Prices wise they range widely, but you would usually be advised to [...]
Came across Omori Estate at Kuratau on the shores of Lake Taupo (North Island New Zealand) today. Unfortunately they were closed although they are apparently open by appointment (I could not get an answer when I phoned the number on their sign). I was really intrigued by the requirements of viticulture on this volcanic plateau [...]
Check out this post on Dr Vino. Baboon issues in South Africa. Reminds me of an episode a couple of years ago when I was working for Man O’ War Vineyards on Waiheke Island we had a very odd pest, a wild boar that had taken a liking to Chardonnay in the properties best Chardonnay [...]
I was looking for some pictures of this new bizarre new bottle and glass in one from Hardy’s when I stumbled across their preservative free range which is far more interesting. I’ve not seen these before in New Zealand and I don’t think they are available here although please post a comment if you have [...]
Last week it was hard to avoid the Wither Hills debacle. The episode has raised serious questions about wine shows validity and about time too. The key problem with wine shows for the consumer is the much-vaunted blind tasting system that they employ and its relevancy to real world wine consumers. Wine show judges assess [...]