-
YVONNE LORKINA fan of all things fermented...Get in touchscroll down to read my latest reviews -
Co-Founder & Chief Tasting Officer WineFriend Owner/Executive Producer Thirsty Media Ltdscroll down to read my latest reviews
-
Wine Writer NZ Herald CANVASscroll down to read my latest reviewsWine & Beverages WriterdishMagazine
I’m super-proud to be the co-founder and CTO (Chief Tasting Officer) of WineFriend, the greatest personalised wine delivery service in all the land. Founded in 2015, we match wine to people. We help our subscribers navigate the crazy-vast number of wines out there in the marketplace by pairing them with wines that only suit their individual tastes. Wines that are delicious, unique and definitely not seen in your average supermarket. Read more about WineFriend
CHECK OUT THE LATEST REVIEWS
Keep up with the very latest below or browse for your favourite reviews
Ayrburn Homestead Central Otago Pinot Noir 2024
15 July 2025Ayrburn Homestead Central Otago Pinot Noir 2024 $65 Exotically spiced and roaring with dark cherry saturation, typical of fruit ripened under the baking Bendigo heat. Baked rhubarb, rooibos tea, heightened blueberry and blackcurrant characters merge with seductively spiced, smoky oak, juicy, grainy tannins and showing a strong, warming, muscular, sinewy finish. Deliciously drinkable now, yet … Read More
Ayrburn Central Otago Bonnet Rouge Nouveau Pinot Noir 2023
15 July 2025Ayrburn Central Otago Bonnet Rouge Nouveau Pinot Noir 2023 $45 The winemaking team at Ayrburn have opted to have a crack at crafting a lighter ‘nouveau’ style pinot noir that’s just as happy being chilled down to serve on a sizzling day, or sipped fireside during winter. Aromatically it’s ultra-bright, perky, roaring with redcurrant, raspberry, … Read More
Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Syrah 2016
15 July 2025Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Syrah 2016 $46 Nine years on from vintage, and this syrah is heading into its tertiary period, where the fruit is morphing into deeply savoury, gamey spectrums, the once peppery aromatics are now more leather and earth-focused, and the tannins have softened considerably. Shepherded from berry to bottle by local legend Karl … Read More
Ayrburn Central Otago Pinot Gris 2024
15 July 2025Ayrburn Central Otago Pinot Gris 2024 $40 From one of the most exciting new wine businesses emerging from Central Otago comes a Pinot Gris that’s so beautifully balanced it’s been headhunted by the Cirque du Soleil tightrope team. No joke. Sourced from vineyards in Gibbston Valley, it’s scented with poached pear, softly spiced quince and … Read More
Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2014
14 July 2025Lansdowne Estate Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2014 $42 Hear me out. Sometimes you can find absolute treasures inside the most unassuming packaging. This wine is an excellent example of that. Eleven years old and made by one of the Wairarapa’s legendary winemakers, Karl Johner, this pinot noir, grown on the original Beetham-owned farm (famous for Heritage … Read More
Pegasus Bay Virtuoso Waipara Chardonnay 2021
10 July 2025Pegasus Bay Virtuoso Waipara Chardonnay 2021 $68 Mat Donaldson and his team only create a Virtuoso when the fruit is exceptional, and in 2021, clearly the Chardonnay gods were smiling on their vineyards in Waipara, North Canterbury. The result is a deeply smoky, complex wine laced with baked stonefruit, charred pineapple and grilled grapefruit. Caramelised, … Read More
Hungarian Wine Tasting June 2025
5 July 2025Csányi Teleki Válogatás Villány Olaszrizling 2024 One of Hungary’s most popular wine grape varieties, Olaszrizling is responsible for producing loads of different styles, mostly on the light, zesty, citrus-forward spectrum. Known internationally as Welschriesling, and despite its name’s reference to Riesling, it’s not related to Riesling. I know. Confusing much? “Olasz” translates to “Italian” in … Read More
Le Grá Cut Cane Wairarapa Merlot 2023
3 July 2025Le Grá Cut Cane Wairarapa Merlot 2023 $67 Crafted in an experimental ‘Amarone’ style, the team at Le Grá have cut the grapevine canes, which denies the ripe berries access to water and nutrition, so they naturally begin to shrivel, concentrating the sugars and creating a really unusual style of merlot. Aromatically it’s a different … Read More
Lateral Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir 2022
3 July 2025Lateral Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir 2022 $40 Crafted by Austin Black and Pip Battley are the talented twosome behind this punchy, plucky pinot noir. Slightly unusual in that it comes in a Bordeaux bottle, but nothing unusual about its classic Gibbston Valley vavoom. Stacked with ripe rhubarb, dark cherry, bright berries, black tea and complex … Read More
Le Grá Wairarapa Sparkling Cuvée 2024
3 July 2025Le Grá Wairarapa Sparkling Cuvée 2024 $47 Brian and Nicky Geary have blended a parcel of their Sauvignon Blanc with a hefty splash of skin-fermented Pinot Gris and put the wine through a method traditionnelle fermentation to create a uniquely herbaceous, citrus-stacked style of sparkler that’ll get any party started. Le Grá
Alta Alella Privat Brut Nature Organic Cava Rosé 2021
1 July 2025Alta Alella Privat Brut Nature Organic Cava Rosé 2021 $40 Entering its mature phase, this wine is organically certified and crafted from monastrell (or mataro) grapes grown in sauló (sandy-granitic) soils in Catalonia, just south of Barcelona. In fact, Alta Alella is the closest winery to the city. It’s an attractively dry, minerally, spicy, chalky … Read More
Folding Hill Orchard Block Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
30 June 2025Folding Hill Orchard Block Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021 $65 Named after the western boundary of the vineyard, which happens to be an orchard of cider apple trees and the most sheltered spot on the vineyard site. It’s a super-stylish example and more intensely aromatic and textural than the previous vintage. An extended 18-month maturation … 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. Originally broadcast on Food TV (SKY ch.9) then on TV3 with subsequent eps on Amazon Prime, 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.
