A Tasty Trifecta for under $20

1 August 2015By Yvonne

Published NZME Regional Newspapers Sat 1 Aug 2015   It’s about that time of year when couples the length and breadth of the country start to freak out because their spring wedding is just around the corner and they still haven’t organised the drinks for the reception!  If your budget happens to be on the … Read More

Don’t ignore 2012’s from Hawke’s Bay

15 October 2014By Yvonne

An email arrived halfway through January from Michael Henley, CEO of Trinity Hill Wines. “Trinity Hill are releasing our 2012 Gimblett Gravels wines and I was wondering if you would be interested in receiving some samples?”  “Save your samples”, I wrote back, “I’m actually in Hawke’s Bay right now and I’m happy to pop over … Read More

Chefs Create ‘Zealous Passion’Tribute to Noel Crawford

22 July 2014By Yvonne

MEDIA RELEASE                                                     NZ Top chefs join for top dinner Avid foodies will have to be quick to get tickets as some of New Zealand’s best chefs create a four-course dinner on 30th August 2014 in celebration of their friend and colleague the late Noel Crawford.  But that’s not all.  Their purchase will raise funds … Read More

Boost your wine know-how on a Budget

16 July 2014By Yvonne

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked “How can I get better at tasting wine and deciding what styles I like?” This one is easy to answer.  You’ve got to practise.  Taste anything and everything you’re exposed to and soon grasshopper, it will all become clear which types of wines will … Read More

Sauternes 2001 Library Tasting

10 July 2014By Yvonne

Library Tasting of 2001 Sauternes Here’s your chance to be one of the privileged few to taste 12 of the greatest sweet wines (including Ch. D’Yquem) from “Perhaps the greatest Sauternes vintage in modern times” according to Jancis Robinson MW. Held in Wellington, at the Tasting Room at Regional Wines & Spirits at 6pm, Thursday … Read More

Go Go Greystone!

25 June 2014By Yvonne

If you thought great New Zealand pinot noir only poured out of Central Otago, then here’s a nugget of knowledge for you.  Waipara is fast becoming where it’s at.  Well, this week it was anyway, with the announcement that the Greystone ‘Brothers Reserve’ 2012 ($69) scooped the prestigious International Pinot Noir Trophy at the Decanter … Read More

MATAWHERO MAGIC

4 June 2014By Yvonne

Has it been six years?  Really? When I first met Kirsten and Richard Searle they were a fresh-faced young couple bursting with nervous excitement having just taken possession of the iconic Matawhero Wines in Gisborne.  It was 2008, they had three babies, a whopping mortgage, a rundown, rambling wine estate and wide-eyed dreams for the … Read More

A Year In Burgundy DVD is near…

8 November 2013By Yvonne

  A Year in Burgundy Now on VOD & DVD “Tender and real. It shows the hard work, the travails and tribulations of working the soil for a living.”  — Wine Spectator VOD Streaming — Watch Now! A YEAR IN BURGUNDY is available now on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and all other leading VOD platforms internationally. … Read More

Rimu Grove Pinot Gris 2010

18 January 2013By Yvonne

Rimu Grove Pinot Gris 2010 $31 ★★★★½ Exotic confection and sweet, strudel-like aromas make way for a wave of luxuriously slick spices, succulent stonefruit and zesty acidity which creates a platform for excellent persistence of flavour. Not a pinot gris for the fragile or faint-hearted.  www.rimugrove.co.nz