Greystone Organic Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2019

1 March 2021By Yvonne

Greystone Organic Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2019 $42 This is the real deal if you’re a fan of coconut, roast pineapple, vanilla and peachy vavoom, then this is your plucky, plush poison. Certified organic and crafted by the ultra-talented Dom Maxwell, this peaches and cream-fest of a chardonnay is juicy, layered with soft almond and nougat … Read More

Main Divide North Canterbury Rosé 2020

17 February 2021By Yvonne

Main Divide North Canterbury Rosé 2020 $20.99 The label describes this wine as being crafted from the ‘free run juice from a unique assemblage of varieties’, which means that a little bit of the first juice to run out of the press (delicate, fruity, high quality) from different grapes when they’re harvested, have been used … Read More

Main Divide North Canterbury Pinot Gris 2019

1 February 2021By Yvonne

Main Divide North Canterbury Pinot Gris 2019 $20.99 Golden in the glass and showing distinctive honeyed, beeswaxy aromas from some earlier-picked and  later-ripened fruit being included in the mix. They’re aiming for ‘a classic Alsatian style with a North Canterbury twist’, so the grapes were all fermented in stainless steel tanks to preserve freshness and … Read More

Greystone Erin’s Reserve Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2018

13 September 2020By Yvonne

Greystone Erin’s Reserve Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2018 $100 Before you ask (and I know you’re about to) this wine is absolutely. worth. every. cent. Expertly crafted by Dom Maxwell, awarded Winemaker of the Year accolades from both Decanter Magazine and Winestate Magazine, the Erin’s Reserve 2018 chardonnay could be, in my opinion, his greatest achievement … Read More

Black Estate North Canterbury Treble Rosé 2020

27 August 2020By Yvonne

Black Estate North Canterbury Treble Rosé 2020 $32 It’s called the ‘Treble’ because to craft this wine, the team at Black Estate have blended five varieties of grapes (pinot noir, riesling, chenin blanc, cabernet franc and chardonnay) harvested from their three, certified organic vineyards together. Wild fermented with cultures kick-started in the vineyard itself, this … Read More

Main Divide North Canterbury Gewürztraminer 2019

2 July 2020By Yvonne

Main Divide North Canterbury Gewürztraminer 2019 $20.90 Paired with Sticky braised chicken with star anise, ginger and chilli in Issue 92 of dish Magazine The Main Divide North Canterbury Gewürztraminer 2019 ($20.90) is the knees of the bees with this spice-heavy, sticky-braised bird and you need to try it tout suite! Perfumed with lanolin, ginger, … Read More

Black Estate Home North Canterbury Chardonnay 2018

30 June 2020By Yvonne

Black Estate Home North Canterbury Chardonnay 2018 $41.99 Paired in dish magazine Summer 2020 Barbequed beer-can chicken Ahoy chardonnay squealers!  You’re gonna be wanting to know about the groovy and gorgeously tasty Black Estate Home North Canterbury Chardonnay 2018 ($41.99) because it’s finger-lickin’ with this chicken. The style oozes grilled citrus, layers of caramelised, spicy … Read More

Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017

22 March 2020By Yvonne

Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017 $75 When I say this pinot noir brings the funk, I don’t mean the kind of funk occurring in the ‘used mats’ bin down the local Bikram studio, I mean freshly-turned-earth funky, old, seasoned leather funky, wild cherries and spiced rhubarb funky.  Unfined and unfiltered, it’s cloudiness … Read More

Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2018

12 March 2020By Yvonne

Pegasus Bay Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2018 $44 The vines that pump out the fruit from which this chardonnay is crafted are over 30 years old.  Now that might not seem that old, but if you think about New Zealand’s modern wine industry really only kicking off in the late 1980’s, and even then, the nation … Read More

Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017

31 January 2020By Yvonne

Black Estate Damsteep North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017 $45 Get ready to get swept into a vortex of Chinese herbal tea, hedgerow fruits, seasoned leather and wild cherry characters on the nose and in this very nicely structured, organically grown pinot noir, there is an exotic intensity that rolls through to the palate.  It literally … Read More