I first visited Martinborough just over eight years ago, and now I was back. Part of the Wairarapa, it has been an important region for Pinot Noir in New Zealand,…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (9) Trinity Hill’s Homage Syrah
Trinity Hill planted their first Syrah in the Gimblett Gravels in 1995, using cuttings from Stonecroft, a clone known as Mass Selection. The first vintage was 1997. The current releases…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (8) De La Terre
De La Terre is a Hawke’s Bay gem, and it’s the project of Tony and Kaye Prichard. Both started their careers as food technologists. For a long time, Tony was…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (7) Clearview Estate
Matt Kirby is an Aussie winemaker who previously worked in the Clare Valley. But he migrated to New Zealand is now the winemaker at Clearview Estate in Hawke’s Bay. His…
Two superb Central Otago Pinot Noirs from Akitu
A relatively new arrival on the Central Otago Pinot circuit is Akitu. Andrew Donaldson planted this vineyard in Wanaka back in 2002 on old schist, and the wines are made at…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (6) Paritua
Paritua is an impressive property, with a state-of-the-art winery and a sizeable 54 hectares of vineyards surrounding it, based in the Bridge Pa district of Hawke’s Bay. The vineyard…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (5) Sileni and their Pinot Noirs
It’s all change at Sileni, which has just been bought by New Zealand financial service company Booster. Booster have also recently purchased Waimea Estate (Nelson) and Bannockbrae (Central Otago), and…
Pictures from the Marlborough Wine Show Dinner
So I’m in Blenheim, acting as one of the judges at the Marlborough Wine Show. Last night we had the judge’s dinner at Arbour, and it was a splendid occasion….
Libiamo Amphora Chenin Blanc 2017 Gisborne, New Zealand
This is quite special. It’s an amphora-fermented Chenin Blanc with a dash of Marsanne, that’s on its skins for 222 days, and then pressed and bottled unfiltered with minimal SO2…