Monowai Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2021 $24.99 
There’s something soothing and savoury and earthy and gently juicy about this 2021 vintage from the cooler, inland region of Matapiro. It’s softly spicy and sprinkled with dried herbs, fleshed out with cocoa and smoke. Winemaker and owner Emma Lowe, is a huge talent and the grippy, beautifully chewy tannins in this wine, reinforce that. You learn lessons as your children grow older. If your children happen to be pinot noir grapevines, treat them well and they’ll eventually deliver fruit that creates wine that’s bright and berryish, with cherry and rhubarb notes on the nose and a palate that’s savoury, smoky, pepper-packed, and meaty. If they’re human children, you’ll just spend years moving cups away from the edges of tables, adjusting seatbelts, and checking lost property for no reward.
