I’ve been on a field trip around Taupo for the last couple of days. I was staggered by just how dry the Waikato is. No photos, I managed to loose my camera. The effect this will have on the local and whole New Zealand economy will not be insignificant. I hope the farmers of that [...]
I attended a very interesting tasting last weekend. Opened were a two vintage of Ornellaia Masseto, namely the 1997 and 1998. As well we tried the Puriri Hills Reserve from the wine growing Mecca that is Clevedon, South Auckland We tried the Puriri Hills 2004 reserve first. I always feel I’m damning a wine when [...]
Having tried a fairly interesting range of wines recently I thought I would post some thoughts on them. I could write tasting notes and rate them out of 100 or something but I’d rather pull my own fingernails out. First up preservative free wines! I’ve had so many comments and emails on this subject that [...]
It seems to have started early this year. How much is too much for Bordeaux’s top wines. It now seems to be facing some internal criticism as the prices of top vintages soar out of the reach of most wine lovers. Speculation has been one of the key drivers of this but also the wines [...]
A friend opened an extra large bottle of Bollinger in the weekend. There were some doubts as to what the quality would be like due to the age. It certainly was not a “fresh†bottle as many retailers insist you need when it comes to non-vintage champagne. In fact we were not sure of its [...]
I came across a rather odd article on Reuters last week about global warming and how the New Zealand wine industry upbeat about global warming. Somewhat alarmed by the title I read on. Nobody likes smug people and pronouncements that “The big picture for New Zealand wine is very, very good,” are perhaps not an [...]
Lincoln University has announced a study into the effectiveness and timing of leaf removal for Pinot Noir. Link: Stuff
I have heard through sources out of China that Hong Kong may reduce the wine import duty to zero. If true and this action is passed it would have a significant impact on distribution in Asia. However at this stage this is really only a rumor. UPDATE: My sources were correct.
Alder at vinography has posted a great topic “wine marketing techniques that need to stopâ€. It’s a good fun and a great read. Also wine producers should take note, this sort of stuff is a symptom of poor product differentiation. The other thing bugs me are the clichés and buzzwords used. You know the ones; [...]
You really can’t go past champagne or some other form of bubbly for Valentines Day it’s celebratory and energetic. I’d stay clear of roses though. The colour looks great but they don’t always deliver on the promise of the colour and they can be quite pricey. Rose Champagne also often need a bit of cellaring [...]
Last week I mentioned a list of gold medal New Zealand wines put together by Sue at wine of the week. Out of that list only one wine had won gold at 5 different shows. Namely the; Saint Clair Block 2 Sauvignon. Given the way the results had gone I was interested to see why [...]
I’m always surprised by the number of people who end up here looking for information on preservative free wines or the effects of sulphur dioxide (the primary preservative used in wine). I’ve never really considered making wine like this but it seems like a challenge and I’m even considering producing a experimental batch! For those [...]
I’ve been wanting to do some research on local wine show results for some time to see what sort of repeatability there is in the results. Fortunately Sue over at wine of the week has done it for me! Well not actually for me, but she’s done it anyway. As I’ve said before I’m not [...]
Greylands Ridge of Central Otago New Zealand are releasing their first wine on February the 17th. It’s from the 2006 vintage and I was lucky enough to try it mid winter last year prior to release. It’s a generously structured example of Central Otago Pinot Noir and is well worth trying if you’re a Pinot [...]