I’m super-proud to be the co-founder and CTO (Chief Tasting Officer) of WineFriend, the best personalised wine delivery service this side of the black stump. We help our customers navigate the vast number of wines out there in the marketplace then we match them to wines that unique and awesomely tasty. Read more about WineFriend

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Tironui Above & Beyond Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2021

July 28, 2021

Tironui Above & Beyond Hawke’s Bay Rosé 2021 $25 Crafted from a handpicked, co-fermented blend of 54% malbec, 33% merlot and 13% cabernet sauvignon grown on a tiny, terraced vineyard high up on the limestone-laden soils of Sugar Loaf Hill, this shiny new rosé looks a million bucks in the glass. Coloured like a cross … Read More

Riverby Estate Marlborough Grüner Veltliner 2019

July 27, 2021

Riverby Estate Marlborough Grüner Veltliner 2019 $19.99 The Riverby vineyard started life as a sheep, beef, and cropping property farmed by the Matthews family for nigh on a century, yet these days those ovines and bovines have made way for grapevines and a growing reputation for delivering awesome aromatic white wines right across the spectrum. … Read More

Two Rivers Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021

July 20, 2021

Two Rivers Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $22 Holy jalapeno Batman!! One thing’s for certain. The second someone pours a glass of this wine, you’ll be able to smell its crazy punchy pungency from across the room. Or possibly across the street. Who knows – soon you may be overrun by sauvignon blanc zombies clawing … Read More

Church Road Grand Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019

July 20, 2021

Church Road Grand Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 Paired with Lemongrass and Chilli Beef – NZ Herald Canvas Magazine 23.7.2021 When beef is boosted by a whack of chilli and lashings of lemongrass, step away from the cabernet and pick up a bottle of the shiny new and ludicrously lush Church Road Grand Reserve … Read More

Middle Earth Nelson Viognier 2020

July 18, 2021

Middle Earth Nelson Viognier 2020 $24.99 Well butter my crust and call me crazy if this isnt just the freshest, friskiest, zestiest viognier I’ve seen in aeons. Nelson has again proved that it’s an aristocrat where producing aromatic wines is concerned. Scented with classic apricot, jasmine and honeysuckle while in the mouth it does a … Read More

Drummond Farm The Long Walk Martinborough Pinot Noir Rosé 2020

July 17, 2021

Drummond Farm The Long Walk Martinborough Pinot Noir Rosé 2020 $29 From the best little winery you’ve never heard of comes a pinot noir-based rosé that boasts mysterious, savoury and seriously spicy, smoked cherry complexity on the nose and buckets of fresh cranberry and rhubarb characters which canter across the palate nicely. Crafted by Alex … Read More

Sileni Circle Grand Reserve Hawke’s Bay Semillon 2019

July 17, 2021

Sileni Circle Grand Reserve Hawke’s Bay Semillon 2019 $25 Sileni were one of the very first Hawke’s Bay producers to leap into making classlc dry semillon back in the early 2000’s. Before that, most wineries were using the variety to simply create sweet, dessert styles. The deep, iron-rich soils of the Bridge Pa Triangle sub … Read More

Terra Sancta The Italian Central Otago Red Blend NV

July 17, 2021

Terra Sancta The Italian Central Otago Red Blend NV $44.95 Who’d have thought you could sip a slurp of Italy all the ways down in Central Otago? Not me. But then that was before I tasted their blend of dolcetto, lagrein and barbera grown in the Winery Hill and Little Italy blocks of their Bannockburn … Read More

Millton Vineyard Libiamo Gisborne Gewürztraminer 2020

July 17, 2021

Millton Vineyard Libiamo Gisborne Gewürztraminer 2020 $40 I know ‘Libiamo’ translates to ‘Let’s Drink’ but unfortunately, as much as I’m a gewürz nut, I couldn’t bring myself to drink more than a few sips of this wine. Maybe I’m missing something, probably am, as I often do. And maybe I’m too simple in my tastes, … Read More

Monowai Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir Rosé 2020

July 15, 2021

Monowai Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir Rosé 2020 $24.99 Sometimes I make myself do a personal SWOT analysis and it’s never pleasant. The main reason I force myself through this excruciating exercise is so that I can reward-slash-console myself at its conclusion with something delicious made by Emma Lowe at Monowai. Her new rosé brings the … Read More

Eaton Fforte Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019

July 14, 2021

Eaton Fforte Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019 $47.99 This is a whole heap of sauvignon blanc and some. Carefully hand-harvested with gloves made from the spare fur from new kittens, the juice is given extended contact with its skins to add texture and a lick of astringency before being gently separated in a traditional basket press … Read More

Thirsty Work is a television show that unearths some of the personalities behind New Zealand’s successful and innovative Wine and Beverage Industry. Broadcast on Food TV (SKY ch.9), Thirsty Work soaks up New Zealand’s beverage landscape.  Not just vineyards, but barrel halls, tank rooms, cellar doors, wine stores, supermarkets, breweries and backyard vignerons.

Missed Series 4 of Thirsty Work? Fret not, just  click  here to zoom directly to view on demand.