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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
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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
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Two Suns Last Light Central Otago Pinot Noir 2025
13 October 2026Two Suns Last Light Central Otago Pinot Noir 2025 $tbc From the sub-region of Pisa, which sits at the base of the Pisa Range, around 20kms north of Cromwell, this is an energetic style crammed with smoked raspberry, cranberry, black tea, rhubarb and elevated spices. Crafted by Katie Carter, it’s tightly coiled and very youthful, … Read More
Two Suns First Light Central Otago Pinot Noir 2025
13 October 2026Two Suns First Light Central Otago Pinot Noir 2025 $tbc Crafted by winemaker Katie Carter from fruit grown in the Pisa sub-region, this is an ultra-fresh, fruit-saturated style of Pinot Noir which has been fermented and matured in tank rather than oak barrels. This has preserved the purity and vibrancy of the fruit, and delivers … Read More
Carrick Excelsior Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2022
8 October 2026Carrick Excelsior Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2022 $110 Featuring a label painted by Dunedin artist Alice Toomer, the Excelsior is Carrick’s finest example, their flagship Pinot Noir, made only in tiny quantities and only in years winemaker Rosie Jaffe-Menzies deems the fruit supreme enough to warrant it. Which, if you suffer from OCD and want a … Read More
Carrick Organic Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2023
8 October 2026Carrick Organic Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2023 $56 Crafted from two vineyard sites that were planted back in the mid 1990s on their own roots, with each vineyard parcel fermented and matured separately in barrel for 10 months with 25% new oak barrels before being blended and aged for a stretch in tank to knit together … Read More
Carrick Organic Bannockburn Riesling 2026
8 October 2026Carrick Organic Bannockburn Riesling 2026 $32 Winemaker Rosie Jaffe-Menzies knows a thing or thirteen about how to craft Riesling that hits all the bullet points for snappy-fresh dryness while delivering generosity and a comet’s tail of quartzy minerality to finish. Maybe she’s made for it. Maybe it’s Maybelline. Maybe I should stop regurgitating advertising slogans … Read More
Carrick Organic Bannockburn Chardonnay 2024
7 October 2026Carrick Organic Bannockburn Chardonnay 2024 $39 Straight out the gate, I love this wine! It is just so deliciously satisfying, cleansing, yet delivering the kind of creamy complexity that had me going back sip after sip. Awash with poached stonefruit, pineapple pings, and ribbons of grilled grapefruit twisting around a core of caramelised, softly toasty … Read More
Neudorf Tiritiri Nelson Rosé 2025
22 September 2026Neudorf Tiritiri Nelson Rosé 2025Neudorf Tiritiri Nelson Rosé 2025 $25 I tasted this wine during Māori Language Week, so it was lovely to learn that Tiritiri means ‘to plant and/or cultivate’. And they’ve well and truly planted a thirst for great rosé after releasing this. It’s a rosé crafted from 100% Pinot Noir grown in … Read More
Neudorf Rosie’s Block Moutere Riesling 2025
15 September 2026Neudorf Rosie’s Block Moutere Riesling 2025 $33 This is a super-pretty, apple-tastic, classically cleansing and juicy style stacked with honeysuckle sweetness and lime curd characters from woah to go, from first impresh to its long fin-esh. Energetic, laced with mandarin and a dusting of minerality, it’ll perk up even the most flaccid of tastebuds. Beautifully … Read More
Neudorf Rosie’s Block Moutere Riesling Dry 2024
11 September 2026Neudorf Rosie’s Block Moutere Riesling Dry 2024 $33 If you love Riesling with a backbone of creamy citrus and crushed-shell minerality with a ribbon of clover honey and gentle apple juiciness, then this is your jam, Aunty Pam! Organically grown in the clay gravels of Nelson’s Moutere Valley, hand-harvested and wild-fermented, unfined and bottled in … Read More
Two Rivers Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2026
3 September 2026Two Rivers Convergence Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2026 $24 With a hefty splash of the blend being fermented in a concrete egg fermenter and another portion fermented in a large clay amphora, this Sauvignon is all about as textural as you could possibly imagine. Brand new, yet delivering deliciously calm, assured aromas of greengage plums, apples, … Read More
Responsible Hedonist Rush The Stage Hawke’s Bay Red 2023
24 August 2026Responsible Hedonist Rush The Stage Hawke’s Bay Red 2023 $35 If you’re happy to skate down the lighter, more savoury, dried-herb and wild side of the cul-de-sac, then this Syrah from Bridge Pa will be your happy ramp. It’s less fruity and more on the furry, fabulously feral, earthy, smoky side, characteristics which will also … Read More
Responsible Hedonist Rush The Stage Hawke’s Bay Red 2022
19 August 2026Responsible Hedonist Rush The Stage Hawke’s Bay Red 2022 $35 What you have right here is a light, cherry, berry and spice-laced style of Syrah from Bridge Pa in Hawke’s Bay that’s been shepherded into the bottle by Chicago-born winemaker/engineer/sommelier and writer Diana Hawkins. It’s unfined and unfiltered to capture all its essential florals and … 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.
