Posts on the wines of New Zealand
Winery businesses come in all sizes within the Family of Twelve: Villa Maria at one end of the scale and the small but beautifully formed Fromm winery in Marlborough at the other end. Set up by Swiss wine lover Georg Fromm, this estate has specialised in small-batch Pinots and Chardonnays, with some obligatory Sauvignon Blanc
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Sauvignon Blanc’s worldwide success has led to interest from other wine regions who reasonably enough want to join the party. From my Italian perspective, this same ‘inward investment’ effect has been seen in regions as diverse as Chianti Classico, Bolgheri for Super Tuscans and Franciacorta for bubbles. Nautilus Estate, owned by the Australian Hill-Smith family,
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Sauvignon 2016 was not a dull affair. After the serious stuff, there were trips to wineries, a garden party at Timara Lodge, a train ride to a beach party at Kekerengu and a Gala dinner featuring WOW, World of Wearable Arts. Here are some pictures of the Sauvignon Celebration 2016. Return to New Zealand
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The timing of my Family of Twelve scholarship was finally determined by the dates of the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration which was held in Marlborough on the first three days of February 2016. Fully subscribed at over 300 delegates this brought together speakers and wine makers from around the world with a substantial Kiwi presence. Billed
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Ata Rangi is one of the four original estates of Martinborough which in the 1980s kicked off the Pinot Noir revolution in New Zealand. Clive Paton and Phyll Pattie recount the story of how Clive went to a seminar put on by the mayor and doctor of the town explaining the potential of this dry, inhospitable
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Martinborough is a small, chic town, close to the south of New Zealand’s north island. It is a magnet for the well-heeled of Wellington, an hour or so away and for the tourist. It combines some historic buildings, such as the Martinborough Hotel where we stayed, with bistros, coffee shops, boutiques and, of course, wine-related
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Craggy Range is a well-funded, model winery which acts as something of an ambassador for the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawkes Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island. However, its range extends much further than just Hawkes Bay. Gimblett Gravels as a sub-zone is well named as this is a stony gravel
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James and Annie Millton of Millton Vineyards and Winery are very congenial hosts. They don’t draw sharp lines between their business, their views and their lives. They have created something special from their Gisborne base especially from the steep hillside named the Clos de Ste Anne. The coast here can be very beautiful even on a
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Villa Maria is the big boy in the Family of XII, as well known to the supermarket shopper as to the wine connoisseur. In recent years it has crushed about 27,000 tons of fruit each year. On our visit in January 2016 to the Auckland winery, 20 wines had been lined up for us to
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On our first, bright and hot, morning in New Zealand we visited Kumeu River estate, world-famous for its Chardonnay production. We learnt: Unusually the vines here are predominantly Lyre-trained (see the pictures). The split canopy means better exposure to both the sun (helps with ripening) and breezes (less disease). The vines are planted at 2,500
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