Speights Apple Cider

3 February 2012By Yvonne

Speights Apple Cider 330ml $16x6pk Great stuff!  This is one of my favourite summertime sips because it smells and tastes like a cross between braeburn and cox’s orange apples, tart, tangy and boasting a clean, clinging texture.  It also has great length of flavour – in fact it’s so good it’s hard to believe it’s … Read More

Hāhā Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011

3 February 2012By Yvonne

Hāhā Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $15  Sourced from fruit grown in the Wairau Valley, this newcomer has classic passionfruit, citrus and herbaceous aromas which ooze through onto the palate.  Not too sharp, the acidity is spritzy and beautifully balanced while the palate is full, rich and fruit-driven. Nicely made. Hāhā Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 For … Read More

Three Boys Brewery ‘Tres Amigos’

3 February 2012By Yvonne

Three Boys Brewery ‘Tres Amigos’ 330ml 5%alc I know I shouldn’t say this but the packaging had me hooked.  Three little stickmen one in a sombrero, one in a huge moustache and one in a poncho holding hands and looking happy sit above some guff written in Mexican which I think told me to drink … Read More

A Summer Riesling Riot…

3 February 2012By Yvonne

  view pdf of newspaper article… “Are you going to ask me about politics and religion?” asks goatee-bearded New York-based bar owner, riesling aficionado and founder of the ‘Summer of Riesling’ concept Paul Grieco.  God no, I thought.  Having just sipped and spat my way through 67 rieslings from around the country at Tipapa Homestead … Read More

Hens, Chickens and Frost…

3 February 2012By Yvonne

You’d expect at the end of January things out there in winery land would be all go.  With harvest just weeks away surely there’d be no end of things to do; tanks to clean, barrels to wash, equipment to sterilise and loads of general endeavour by everyone concerned.  So on a sneaky little trip to … Read More

Pinot Noir 2013 is Good to Go!

3 February 2012By Yvonne

In a year’s time the Wellington waterfront will be awash with New Zealand’s best Pinot Noirs, the world’s leading wine media and wine lovers and traders, makers and viticulturists. It is Pinot Noir NZ 2013 – New Zealand’s premier wine event. It starts 28th of January and wraps up on the 31st. This is the fourth … Read More

Kingfisher Bay Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc 2011

2 February 2012By Yvonne

Kingfisher Bay Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $10 Apart from exhibiting all those classic passionfruit, lemon, peapod and grassy notes we love so much about Marlborough Sauvignon, this has the added burst of bubbles giving it a celebratory feel. Best of all it’s sealed with a re-useable ‘zork’ stopper meaning you can pop the bottle back in … Read More

Stoneleigh Latitude Marlborough Pinot Noir 2009

2 February 2012By Yvonne

Stoneleigh Latitude Pinot Noir 2009 $34  Spending eight months in French oak barrels (a third of them new) has produced a wine chock-full of youthful fruit sweetness combined with spicy layers of plum, cherry and toast. It’s bright, vibrant and very drinkable, although I’m not sure how this wine will do in the cellar so … Read More

Deutz Prestige Marlborough Cuvee 2008

2 February 2012By Yvonne

Deutz Prestige Marlborough Cuvée 2008 $38  Elegant and restrained, this wine has tiny pinprick bubbles and soft aromas of almond, oyster shell, lemon and mineral notes. In the mouth it is delicate and cloudlike, yet has delicious freshness, substance and citrus complexity. Vibrant and rich, this is definitely a new favourite for me.

Margrain Vineyard La Michelle Methode Traditionnelle

2 February 2012By Yvonne

Margrain Vineyard ‘La Michelle’ Methode Traditionnelle $38  66% pinot noir and 33% chardonnay is the blend in this ultra pretty, white gold hued sparkling. I love the aromas of malt biscuit, grilled peach and toasty breadcrust along with its tangy, minerality and lemony-rich, mouthfilling layers of flavour. A very sexy sparkling indeed. www.margrainvineyard.co.nz Margrain La Michelle Methode … Read More