Want to try something new, and not already a member? Come on your own, grab a friend, workmate or partner and join us for our next tasting. Take a look and see who's presenting.
If you drilled down from New Zealand through the earth’s centre, where would you come out, Iberia? If it were not in Spain, it would level with the wine heart of Portugal.
Therefore, there must be something special that links the viticulture and the wines of our two countries.
Victor from Confidant Wines will present a mix of special boutique wines from New Zealand, some wonderful new wines from Portugal, and several repeated favourites.
This is your chance to try some new varieties and vineyards and support one Hawkes Bay vineyard (with a great sparkling Rosé) that was impacted after the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle. The evening will take a small journey from Hawkes Bay to Nelson to Waipara in North Canterbury; and then to Portugal with an array of blended wines and, to finish, a Tawny Port. Be prepared to be impressed.
We will see the influence of terroir in Waipara wines, the influence of climate on Nelson wine, what makes Hawkes Bay special, and some delicious red styles from award-winning Casa Santos Lima vineyard in Portugal. The Portuguese selection will focus on new vintages and some previous wines that were very popular and still available. Do you remember Waipara Pinot Blanc? Something new, something known, gold medals, new vintages, comparisons and varieties to experience. This array of wines has been specially selected we believe to suit the members’ preferences for this tasting.
In summary, we will kick off with a Linden (NZ) Sparkling Rosé, followed by a Portuguese Rosé and two classic NZ white wines, Riesling and a Viognier or Chardonnay. We will then compare the new award winning Portuguese Confident red and a blended Mosaico red with a NZ Pinot Noir. We will conclude with a delicious Tawny Port from the home of all great ports.
We look forward to enjoying these wines with you. Please remember your tasting glasses.
Humans have made wine for about 7,000 years, and experts agree that until relatively recently, it may not have tasted perfect. For millennia wine has been the ultimate expression of agriculture. Still, once grapes are transported from the vineyard to the winery, it is up to the winemaker to apply their hand to create the best beverage possible. While cold fermentation is a relatively new technique introduced in the 1950s, many other practices are as old as winemaking. Many terms are casually tossed around by those in the know, so here is a quick explanation of some of the more common winemaking terms you may come across and how wine is fermented will affect the final product.
Cold Fermentation
Of course, wine is made by fermentation: Yeast converts grape sugar to alcohol, and the result is this glorious liquid we love. One of the byproducts of fermentation is heat, which, left unchecked, could cause temperatures to rise to the point that yeast dies and fermentation stops. Fermentation at higher temperatures can also create a wine with lighter aromatics, unpleasant flavours, and a lack of elegance or finesse. A colder, slower fermentation preserves aromatics, fruit flavours and colour. External cooling jackets or pipes filled with cold running water maintain temperatures within the tank, allowing the winemaker to control the fermentation speed.
Barrel Fermentation
Some wines, like the Malbec in Argentina, are fermented in concrete eggs. David Silverman/Getty Images
Wine may be fermented in various containers, including stainless steel tanks, concrete vats or “eggs,” fibreglass tanks, terra cotta amphorae, or wooden barrels or vats. While stainless steel, concrete and fibreglass are considered neutral and do not impart flavour or texture to the contents within, fermenting in a barrel adds flavour to the wood and a buttery or creamy texture. This method leads to a richer mouthfeel and may bring flavours of vanilla, baking spice, coconut or coffee. It can be used for white wines like Chardonnay or Verdejo and red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Nebbiolo or Tempranillo.
Yolanda García Viadero, proprietor and winemaker at Bodegas Valduero in Ribera del Duero, Spain, began using this technique 12 years ago with external rollers that rotate horizontal barrels during fermentation. She told Robb Report, “For fermentation, wood is interesting. The structure is improved, and all the grape characteristics are reinforced and amplified. But at the same time, the texture and flavour are softer.”
Malolactic Fermentation
Sometimes shortened to “malo” by winemakers, malolactic fermentation converts tart malic acid to more creamy or buttery lactic acid. This is easy to remember because “lactic” pertains to milk; a class of bacteria known as lactobacillus are responsible for the conversion. Technically it is not truly fermentation because yeast isn’t involved. It lowers acidity and raises pH, resulting in rounder, smoother or fuller wines. It can occur spontaneously during primary fermentation or after the first fermentation. Many red wines and some white wines, such as Chardonnay, Viognier or Soave, undergo malolactic conversion, which adds stability to wines but may decrease the sense of freshness.
At Bodegas José Pariente in Rueda, Spain, winemaker Martina Prieto Pariente uses malo in her Finca Las Comas wine, a single-vineyard, small batch Verdejo. She explained to Robb Report, “This vineyard tends to maintain a high acidity and therefore also a somewhat higher than normal malic acid content. The partial malolactic conversion in this wine allows us to soften the acidity and provide greater aromatic complexity due to the light notes of butter and cream, respecting the primary aromas as it is partial and not complete. This translates into a wine with more volume, silky texture and depth.”
On the Lees
Champagne has to spend at least a year on the lees, but this bottle spent nearly four decades.
Although the process sounds highly unattractive, ageing on the lees heightens many of the pleasant characteristics of wine’s aroma, flavour and texture. Admittedly, this step isn’t fermentation itself but using the byproduct of fermentation to influence the final product. Called sur lie in French and Sobre lias in Spanish, this is the practice of allowing the wine to remain in contact with dead or spent yeast cells. As fermentation occurs, sediment falls to the bottom of the tank or barrel. The first to sink is gross lees, consisting of dead yeast, grape skins and yeast cells—fine lees, which have a sleeker texture and settle to the bottom throughout the fermentation. Lees can be filtered out, but winemakers may also leave them in to provide more complexity to the finished wine.
This method is always used for Champagne; non-vintage Champagne must spend at least 12 months on the lees, while vintage Champagne must remain in contact with the lees for a minimum of three years. This can add aromas and flavours of almonds, hazelnuts, baking bread, brioche and toast—many other wines, whether white, red or rosé, are also aged in this way.
“The process of ageing Chardonnay on the lees adds complexity, both in the secondary aromas and flavours that it adds to the wines and what it delivers in texture,” Graham Weerts, winemaker for South Africa’s Capensis told Robb Report, “Chardonnay can be subtle in its primary fruit characters, but it’s one of the few white varieties that gains complexity through its evolution over time. The intent for Capensis has always been to produce wines that rival the best white wines in the world in terms of quality and longevity, and lees ageing is a fundamental part of the approach.”
28 Club members chose to attend this diverse and interesting pink evening, but those that did were pleasantly surprised by most of the wines tasted, educated and now appreciative of Rosés.
From when to drink Rosé, regional styles, and the variety of grapes now used for the various wines, from the opening bubbly, everyone connected with and enjoyed the tastings. Opening with a Toi Toi Sparkling Rosé, which comprised of a mixture of Riesling and Merlot, through to the last McArthur Ridge Lilico Pinot Rosé, the diverseness of the 21st-century Rosés was indeed on display. Rosé is a style of wine, not a grape variety.
The wines were selected from wine sites and supermarkets, which were below the $20 mark, so they can be purchased and enjoyed by everyone the next time they’re shopping or browsing the computer. The wines we sampled during the evening were:
Toi Toi Sparkling Rosé NV – Riesling and Merlot blend from Marlborough
2021 Giesen Estate Riesling Blush – from Marlborough and Waipara
2022 ME by Matahiwi Estate – Pinot Noir from Masterton this was thought to be the best value for money in wines
2021 Haha Hawkes Bay Rosé – Merlot and Malbec from Hastings and Bridge Pa this is a Bordeaux blend with added Cab Sauv and Cab Franc
2020 Left Field Moon Shell Moth Rosé – Arneis, Pinotage and Merlot from Hastings
2020 Middle Earth Pinot Meunier – a faux pas for the evening, turned out to be red! A Pinot Meunier – this was enjoyed by everyone nonetheless and will go on to be purchased
2019 Spade Oak Voysey Blonde Rosé – Tempranillo, Albarino, Syrah, Viognier and St Laurent from Gisborne – this was indeed Blonde! And was a special blend as this vineyard has been on-sold since this mixture was bottled
2019 McArthur Ridge Lilico Pinot Rosé – Pinot Noir – from Central Otago
What a great turnout for our Trifecta event from the Hawkes Bay vineyards!
This event was well attended by Club members, plus we had four guests attend. There were eight wines to sample for the evening, plus the owner Peter Robertson was there to let us in on some of his planting/vineyard secrets.
Peter explained to us how he started his wine career working for McWilliams making a rose spritzer that they used to export to Fiji! Times have certainly changed as have tasted in the 21st century.
2022 Fiesta Rose – a Syrah dominant variety, floral with strawberry and melon on the tongue
2022 Robertson Pinot Gris – this variety was from Brother John of Mission wines who introduced Peter to a 15-year-old bottle of this Pinot!
2021 Bergman Chardonnay – named after the Ingrid Bergman roses on their property. A more modern style rather than the heavy buttery style of old
2021 Barrique Fermented Viognier – surprisingly smooth in the mouth with fresh mineral notes
2021 Back Block Syrah – this variety had its first vintage in 2000, spicy and this is their biggest-selling wine!
2020 Ohiti Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – light and spicy but smooth with a year in old oak
2021 Hillside Syrah – actually grown on land that Peter was invited to use to grow grapes. Woody but smooth in the mouth.
2019 Reserve Vintage Gold Label Cabernet Merlot – a Bordeaux style wine, black fruits with subtle spice, this is wine is closed with the traditional cork stopper.
Our thanks go to Peter for his generous support for the Club, and to members for their support through the volume of sales.
The April evening with Sarah and Russell was well supported with 36 Club members turning up to sample the choice of wines and the presentation. This was a new format being tried by your committee and Sarah and Russell made it a fun and memorable evening, with their intimate knowledge of the wine industry.
Sarah and Russell personally selected their take on some of the Gold Medal winners differing from the norm in terms of variety and some new labels – all were seen for their quality as surprisingly affordable and most freely available. Particularly the Daniel Le Brun No.1 Assemble, the very unique Clearview Semillion, a ‘Barossa Shiraz from the Ink series’, a challenging Albarino, and an offshore Tempranillo and Viognier.
We had a well-attended evening for the wine and food match, with 41 people attending.
It was notable that the vineyard used compostable plates and utensils for the tasting, so our green miles are good! And this goes in with the vineyard’s practices of being vegan friendly and on their way to being organic certified. Great for the planet.
The wines we tried were:
2020 Waipara Sauvignon Blanc
2018 Waipara Sauvignon Blanc partnered with toast and Bruschetta
2020 Waipara Pinot Gris partnered with Indian dahl
2020 Waipara Viognier
2016 Waipara Riesling partnered with Beef Thai salad
2020 Canterbury Pinot Noir partnered with Pulled Pork slider
2019 Waipara Pinot Noir partnered with spicy lamb koftas with couscous
2017 Waipara Pinot Noir
2016 Dr Khols Waipara Riesling partnered with Banoffee pie
While it would have made the evening more interesting to have a bit more banter about the wine from the presenter, this was a very enjoyable evening and the members were fed well.
A special note of thanks to Nicola Fraher and friends for the food, as well as to our pourers Carolyn & Terry and our food servers Fiona and Evelyn. It really was a great effort by everyone involved.
And it was pleasing to see all that mahi result in significant wine orders on the night, coupled with requests for personally signed cookbooks.
Hawkes Ridge owner & winemaker Douglas Haynes with a small range of his wines.
Douglas Haynes with the assistance of Anne Boustead presented a well-received tasting last month and a great turnout. This was an exciting evening, with some very different expressions of wine varieties on hand to taste. Interestingly this vineyard also has its own brand of olive oil. Hawkes Ridge Wine Estate is a family-owned, boutique winery located in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. The wines we tasted were:
Cest Beau Rose: The introductory wine. This was a non-vintage Viognier base with both Tempranillo and Semillon that was late harvested in the Moscato style
Deux Blanco 218: A Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 50/50 blend that was entirely barrel fermented where the grapes were picked early
Viognier 2020 was also completely barrel-fermented. Viognier is Douglas passion and this Viognier did not disappoint.
Rosado 2020 is a 100% Tempranillo rose being entirely stainless steel fermented and aged. This wine was one of the highlight wines of the evening.
Pinot Noir 2014 was a surprise wine from Hawkes Bay with an interesting back story. The wine was aged in French oak for 10 months and just bottled before Christmas 2020
Syrah 2014 had classic Syrah characteristics of dark berry fruits with coffee, chocolate and subtle spice
Grand Reserve Tempranillo 2015: This is Hawkes Ridge Winery’s premium wine. It was another highlight of the evening. The wine was only bottled in 2018 and should cellar well
Late Harvest Viognier 2016 is one of three late harvest/noble wines that Hawkes Ridge Winery produce. This wine was bottled in 2018 and although very rich, it was true to Viognier’s varietal characteristics.
Thank you to everyone who supported Hawk Ridge by ordering wines, as well as their olive oil which was on the order form, albeit not tasted. This meeting was great to start our tasting year.
Saint Clair Family Estate from Marlborough with Alison Downs presenting.
Last month we had Saint Clair Family Estate from Marlborough with Alison Downs presenting.
This was an extremely well-presented evening and was enjoyed by all club members present – 40 of us!
It was interesting hearing Alison’s wine journey from the UK and Europe to the New World and her enduring wine passion and growing knowledge and experience.
The committee was unanimous in their agreement that Alison is probably the best presenter we have had in recent memory.
Our orders from the evening were substantial with people enjoying all the wines presented, especially interesting to get to sample the Pinot Blanc, a new white grape for most.
14th October – This month we have Saint Clair Family Estate from Marlborough with Alison Downs presenting.
The Saint Clair Family
Saint Clair Family Estate was established by Neal and Judy Ibbotson in 1994, having been viticulture pioneers in Marlborough since 1978. From their first vintage, when all their wines won medals, including gold, the name Saint Clair has been synonymous with quality and its award-winning record continues today.
Saint Clair is 100% family-owned, with the next generation also involved in the day-to-day running of the company.
Daughters Sarina and Julie both work within the business in sales and marketing after studying wine business marketing at Adelaide and have a vast knowledge of the wine industry. Son Tony is responsible for the design of all Saint Clair’s packaging, promotional material and advertising. He owns a design consultancy business, the Creative Method, in Sydney. Tony designed the original Saint Clair labels back in 1994 when he was a student and has been refining and expanding the range of Saint Clair labels ever since.
Our mission is to create world-class wines that exceed their customers’ every expectation.
Starter Wine
2019 Saint Clair Origin Pinot Gris Rosé
Wine Tasting
2018Saint Clair Pioneer Block 28 Pinot Blanc
2019 Saint Clair Origin Hawke’s Bay Viognier
2019 Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
2019 Saint Clair James Sinclair Chardonnay
2018 Saint Clair Pioneer Block 22 Pioneer Block Pinot Noir
2017 Saint Clair Origin Hawke’s Bay Merlot
Book it in now – Tasting: 14th October, starts at 8pm J’ville Community Centre – look out for our sign outside
It’s excellent now we’re in COVID19 Level One! Well done everyone!
“One of the most prestigious tastings in the 40 years of the club’s existence”. That’s what the Independent Herald wrote in their 17th September issue when reviewing last month’s tasting. And what a night it was. For those of you fortunate enough to attend our second (and last?) meeting under COVID Level 2, I am sure you will agree it was impressive.
Presented by Life Member and former President, Alan Evans, this carefully curated (by Alan and Wayne) selection was sourced from Alan’s temperature-controlled cellar and the Club’s cellar. This is what they came up with:
2016 Ogier Cotes du Rhone Blanc
2016 Askerne Semillon
2017 Dom. Vincent Careme Vouvray Le Clos
2011 Penfolds 389
2001 Penfolds 389
1991 Coleraine
2017 Troplong Mondot St Emilion Grand Cru
It is difficult to pick favourites as all the wines were superb. However, there was some consensus at our table, so I will highlight a couple. Of the whites, the Ogier Cotes du Rhone Blanc was our pick. This bargain-priced (under $20) blend contains five grapes: Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bouroulene, Roussane and Viognier. Produced without any oak at all, it showcases the region’s fruit above all else. Alan has become an expert in that region since, as he explained, at the Magnum Society the popular areas of France, i.e. Bordeaux and Burgundy, had already been taken. No one wanted Cotes du Rhone, so he took it!
Of the reds, it was the two Penfolds 389’s, their classic and much sought after Cabernet Shiraz wine, that was favoured at our table. Opinion differed as to which was the best but to me, it was 2001. Deep colour and very concentrated, it showed the benefits of keeping this wine for almost two decades. Alan explained that Bin 389 is often referred to as ‘Poor Man’s Grange’ or ‘Baby Grange’ because the wine is said to be matured in the same barrels that held the previous vintage of Grange. Interestingly 2001 was under cork while 2011 had a screw cap. Alan gave us the latest thinking on screw caps where there have been some disappointing results for cellared wines: the sulfur dioxide levels can be too high and produce rotten egg aromas. Some producers are returning to cork now that they can get guaranteed taint-free products like the Diam. The majority of Penfolds’ top-end red wines are now 100 per cent cork-sealed. They are also looking into the use of glass closures. Alan’s tip on removing that sulphur rotten egg smell: dip a copper penny into the wine and it will convert it to odourless copper sulphide!
This meeting was a highlight of our 40th Anniversary year and was a good opportunity to taste older cellared wines. A huge thanks go to Alan who indicated he is happy to do a similar tasting at some stage in the future.
39 members attended for the evening and orders for the wine & 5 cookbooks exceeded $3K which is one of our more successful orders.
An interesting note from our orders is that the 2019 Wairarapa Viognier was the preferred wine, with 2018 From the Ashes Riesling second. The Viognier also illustrates how they grow grapes and bottle wine from various areas around NZ, even though they are based in North Canterbury.
The list of wines we sampled during the evening for your recollection is below:
Another great evening with nice wines and an informative presenter. John Loughlin was a pleasure to deal with and kept the meeting running to time. A good level of orders resulted. But that all our tastings were as easy to organize as this one was. John says he would be more than happy to come back and has some interesting wines that we haven’t yet tried. We will keep this in mind.
The wines tasted included; Askerne Sauv Blanc / Sauv Gris / Semillon 2018 as the quaffer; followed by; Askerne Reserve Chardonnay 2016; Askerne Viognier 2018; Askerne Gewürztraminer 2016; Askerne Syrah 2015; Askerne Merlot Cab Franc Cab Sauv Malbec 2015; Askerne 2016 Cabernet Franc; rounded off with the Askerne Dessert Cabernet 2018.
