Riptide Waitaki Dry Riesling 2018

December 20, 2019By Yvonne

Riptide Waitaki Dry Riesling 2018 $30 If you’re looking for a ‘wham bam thank you maam, fruit-fest of a riesling, then you’ve come to the wrong place here.  Winemaker Renan Theilloux has gone against the grain, creating a style that has beautiful boniness, minerality and succulence while keeping its structure from being whole-cluster fermented in … Read More

Wild Waves Gisborne Chardonnay 2017

December 20, 2019By Yvonne

Wild Waves Gisborne Chardonnay 2017 $21 French winemakers Renan Theilloux and Aurélien Mansuy have thrown themselves into making the Wild Waves range of wines, a brand dedicated to their winemaking adventures over oceans, in distant lands before they set roots down in New Zealand.  This chardonnay has all those good Gisborne signatures such as ripe … Read More

Bald Hills Kirameki Central Otago Pinot Gris 2017

December 20, 2019By Yvonne

Bald Hills Kirameki Central Otago Pinot Gris 2017 $30 Kirameki is a Japanese word for ‘sparkle’, ‘glint’, ‘glitter’ or ‘glow’ and the good folk at Bald Hills felt it was a great way to describe the rocks that line the Northern tip pinot gris vineyard which sits high up in Gibbston Valley.  It’s a style … Read More

Coal Pit Central Otago Rosé 2019

December 20, 2019By Yvonne

Coal Pit Central Otago Rosé 2019 $31 Crafted from 100% pinot noir grown in Gibbston, this rich, rockstar of a rosé wiggles across the stage in its slippery lycra trousers and leaves a trail of spiciness in its wake. It’s the kind of style that makes you crack a huge smile and go for a … Read More

Bald Hills Friends and Lovers Central Otago Rosé 2019

December 20, 2019By Yvonne

Bald Hills Friends and Lovers Central Otago Rosé 2019 $30 Crafted from two clones of hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and cool-fermented pinot noir (Abel and 115) and showing gutsy raspberry, cherry and creaming soda, it’s a style that’ll bring the grins and satisfied slurps and have you longing for lashings of smoked salmon and sriracha … Read More

de la terre Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2016

December 19, 2019By Yvonne

de la terre Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2016 $40 Ex- Church Road winemaker Tony Prichard has sourced the fruit for this beautifully balanced blockbuster from his tiny, Hill Country Estate vineyard, up on Te Mata Peak. The super-ripe, ultra-clean grapes were 100% handpicked and 100% barrel fermented with a mixture of wild and inoculated yeasts … Read More

Moana Park Hawke’s Bay Blanc de Blanc NV

December 12, 2019By Yvonne

Moana Park Hawke’s Bay Blanc de Blanc NV  $24.99 While the print on the label did remind me of a B&B bedspread and the brown writing is all a bit 1990’s wedding invitation, once that cork is popped, it’s all modern class and style. Scented with almond, lemon shortbread and cream, there’s an underlying bagel … Read More

Vin Padro Poesia DO Catalunya Garnacha Blanca 2018

December 12, 2019By Yvonne

Vin Padro Poesia DO Catalunya Garnacha Blanca 2018 $18.99 Padró is a winery in Bràfim, a Spanish town in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia.  Founded in 1898 by brothers, Joan and Daniel Padró Valldosera, five generations on, we’re finally seeing Padró in New Zealand.  Made from white grenache, I love the ripe, white peach, and … Read More

Nautilus Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019

December 9, 2019By Yvonne

Nautilus Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019 $23 If you were an invader from outer space holding a deadly piece of artillery to my face and demanding to be told what was the best sauvignon blanc in the country in 5 seconds or be incinerated – (hey, far-fetched, but freakier things have happened at sea) – … Read More

Junction Red Card Central Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2015

December 4, 2019By Yvonne

Junction Red Card Central Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2015 $19 Four years on from harvest and this little chardonnay is still going strong.  Lighter to medium-styled, it’s leaning into the creamy, cashew-like end of the spectrum, yet still showing peach and hints of citrus in the background.  Soft, juicy and very easy to sip, it’s a … Read More