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. Scroll down to view the website.
It was great to have a Central Otago winery present to us by Justin, the North Island and Australian sales manager presenting. We had 32 people attend, with lively and enquiring discussions and somewhat very different tastings to experience.
We found out that the owners of Peregrine are heavily into bird conservation, hence the name of the vineyard, although it’s not a NZ Hawk. Their prime focus in this area is the Saddleback [Tieke], with injured birds being housed, recuperated and released back into the wild.
Nadine Cross is their wine maker and focusses on balance in the wines she produces. While the whole team help with vintage, from picking by hand usually, to processing and finally bottling, so everyone gets an all-round experience with the vineyard.
Peregrine are situated in a mountainous wine growing area, with their vineyard sites in Bendigo, Pisa and Gibbston areas. They were certified as organic from their 2017 vintage and have now been certified as Biodynamic recently. Congratulations!
A reminder of the wines we tasted during the evening:
Wednesday 13th November, 8 pm Start Door Price: Members $20 / Guests $25
Discover the Art of Sparkling Wines: A Special Wine Tasting Event
EURO-FIZZ
Join us for an exquisite journey through some of the finest sparkling wines from around the world. Whether you are a seasoned connoisseur or a novice eager to explore, this curated selection promises to delight your palate and expand your appreciation for bubbly wines.
The Club can provide a flute for members, stressing one per member, but please feel free to bring your own if you wish for the evening.
Here’s what’s on our tasting list
Hunters Offshoot Pet-Nat Origin: Waihopai Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand
We kick off this sparkling adventure with the charming Hunters Offshoot Pet-Nat. Sourced from the picturesque Waihopai Valley, this wine is a true artisanal creation. With its natural fermentation process, it captures the essence of the lush Marlborough terroir. Expect vibrant bursts of fruit and a refreshing, slightly effervescent profile that sets the tone for an exciting tasting experience.
Louis Perdier Brut Excellence Origin: Languedoc, France
Next, we venture to the sun-kissed vineyards of Languedoc for the Louis Perdier Brut Excellence. Known for its elegant balance of fruit-forward flavours and crisp acidity, this Champagne-style sparkling wine is predominantly composed of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Its fine bubbles and hints of green apple and brioche make it a delightful choice for those who appreciate the classically refined sparkling wines of France.
Tempus Two Prosecco Origin: King Valley, NSW, Australia
From the King Valley in New South Wales, we bring you the Tempus Two Prosecco, crafted from the Glera grape. This refreshing sparkling wine charms with its light, fruity notes of pear and citrus, accompanied by a delicate floral aroma. A perfect aperitif, it pairs beautifully with antipasti or can be enjoyed on its own for a sunny afternoon.
Gancia Prosecco Origin: Trentino, Italy
We cross the globe to Italy’s Trentino region to sample the renowned Gancia Prosecco. Known for its crispness and elegance, Gancia Prosecco features a light, frothy mouthfeel with an array of flavour notes from ripe peaches to refreshing herbs. This wine is a testament to timeless Italian tradition in sparkling wine production—perfect for any celebration.
Maude Methode Traditionale NV Origin: Central Otago, New Zealand
Experience the careful craftsmanship of Maude Methode Traditionale NV from Central Otago, an area celebrated for its unique climate and soil, ideal for high-quality wine production. This traditional method sparkling wine offers complex layers of flavour, featuring stone fruits, nutty undertones, and a long, creamy finish, making it a standout selection for any true wine lover.
Champagne Lanvin Origin: Epernay, France
No sparkling wine tasting would be complete without the iconic Champagne. We proudly present Champagne Lanvin from the heart of Epernay. This exquisite bubbly epitomizes the elegance of true Champagne, characterised by fine bubbles, balanced acidity, and flavours that blend ripe fruit, floral notes, and a touch of minerality, making it a luxurious choice for any occasion.
Veuve du Vernay Brut Rose Origin: France
We conclude our tasting with the beautifully vibrant Veuve du Vernay Brut Rosé. This charming French sparkling wine features a delightful pink hue and lively notes of red berries, perfect for those looking for something fruity yet refreshing. The appealing aroma and taste will leave a lasting impression, making it an excellent way to end the tasting.
We look forward to seeing you Wednesday 13th November for a memorable evening.
The idea of a blended wine isn’t news to wine lovers. Wines are individually made then mixed together to achieve the product you see on the shelf. Bordeaux wines are a combination of as many as five red wines to make one signature blend, and even non-vintage champagne is a blended wine where chardonnay pinot noir and pinot meunier wines are used to achieve a house style. In this instance, the blend undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, giving the champagne its signature bubbles.
A lesser-known style of blend is the field blend. This wine is traditionally made from grapes that have been grown together and are then co-fermented. While a traditional blend is mixed in the winery after the fact, a field blend is created in the vineyard before the wine is made. With this comes a level of faith by the winemaker that they have put the right grapes together, and a certain unpredictability about the outcome. This is certainly a case where the vintage matters because the blend can change year on year, meaning you always have a different outcome.
Field blends are sublime, fresh and crisp with layers of aroma and flavour thanks to the multiple grape varieties that feature in the mix. I love this type of blend because I believe it is the ultimate reflection of terroir. It is a true expression of where the grapes are grown, as the focus is not on one particular grape and what that single varietal wine ‘should’ taste like. Instead, it’s a wine made from a mixture of grapes grown together in the same vineyard, reflecting what is truly special about that place.
Field blends are usually found in restaurants, as they are incredible food wines, or in specialist liquor stores. They are worth seeking out – I promise you won’t be disappointed.
What a brilliant evening! For those that couldn’t attend, you missed a good evening. We had 22 in attendance.
The evening’s presenter was Manu, Misty Cove’s South African born, and French trained Chief Winemaker. He spoke with us, answering questions and explaining why they use mainly Acacia wood barrels or rather ‘puncheons‘, which are smaller-sized barrels; as well as oak, and the effects of both woods on the various wines they make. These are imported from France and Italy. He explained how they do their harvest and where grapes come from, from the different plots they have and sometimes, where grapes they use come from outside of their district, i.e. Gisborne!
Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Bolliger
The wines are made to be on the slightly dry side, rather than the sweet side and were very interesting to taste, with sometimes surprising results.
Misty Cove has previously focused on the export market to date but have now begun focussing on the New Zealand market to introduce their wines to.
A reminder of the wines we tasted during the evening:
2022 Misty Cove Waihopai – this is their Rosé, this year the blend is Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, made with a slight fizz, and yes, it’s the champagne mixture! Their Rosé is not necessarily made with the same grapes every season.
2024 Misty Cove Estate Sauvignon Blanc – this was a surprise to non-white drinkers, whilst it smelt like a Sauv Blanc, it was smooth in the mouth!
2023 Misty Cove Estate Pinot Gris – this has 2% Gertz within in, and Manu said that over time this could get more dominant within the mixture.
2024 Misty Cove Landmark Albarino – a Spanish grape that it gaining in popularity, the grapes for this vintage come from the Gisborne area
2024 Misty Cove Landmark Riesling – again, 10 ton of grapes were brought from contract growers for this vintage, and while this wine is young it will get the kerosene people are used to with age
2022 Misty Cove Landmark Chardonnay – smooth and light in the mouth
2023 Misty Cove Estate Pinot Noir – this is their entry-level label, but with lots of fruit flavour in the mouth, this tipple was popular with those at the table.
Wine with Altitude | Peregrine Wines Wednesday 9th October, 8 pm Start Door Price: Members $14 / Guests $18
Taking a ‘hands on’ approach to winemaking since 1998 the McLachlan family strive to produce wines that embody the absolute best of Central Otago.
This passion for the land runs in their family and is a hallmark of Peregrine as a business.
Organic farming is fundamental to every aspect of Peregrine Vineyard Estates, with an holistic approach that integrates crop and livestock farming with vineyard management.
The talented estate farming team are as adept at nurturing wines, as they are developing new land, or working with livestock.
Cellar door & Barrel hall tasting rooms.
Peregrine’s quest for outstanding Central Otago wine begins in the three distinct sub-regions from which they draw their fruit: Bendigo, Pisa and Gibbston, where their landmark winery rises up amongst rugged rock reefs and ancient hills.
In each of these locations, their commitment to the organic farming and viticulture guarantees fruit of the highest quality, imparting the clearest expression of character to every vintage.
A natural extension of their passion for the land, Peregrine are dedicated to helping protect some of NZ’s rarest native birds. As well as taking part personally in some of this country’s most successful preservation programmes, Peregrine is proud to have worked with the Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust, DoC and the Fiordland Conservation Trust.
Peregrine wines spectacular, architecturally designed Winery and Cellar Door are open Mon-Sat 11 am-4 pm for wine sales and experiences.
Our wines for the evening:
2023 Saddleback Riesling
2023 Peregrine Sauvignon Blanc
2023 Saddleback Rosé
2023 Peregrine Pinot Gris
2022 Saddleback Pinot Noir
2022 Peregrine Pinot Noir
We look forward to seeing you Wednesday, 9th October.
Six of our Club joined Western Hills Wine Society for a Rockburn evening.
The Western Hills Wine Society sent an invitation to us, which was shared along with our last newsletter, to join them for their wine club evening hosted by Rockburn from Central Otago. The presenter was one of their wine-making team, Malcolm Rees-Francis.
Rockburn specialises in Pinot Noir, but the wines for the evening were:
2023 Rockburn Stolen Kiss Rose
Rockburn Amber is a Pinot Gris fermented like a Pinot Noir
Rockburn Chardonnay
Devil’s Staircase Pinot Noir
2023 Rockburn Pinot Noir
2022 Rockburn Eleven Barrels Pinot Noir
2022 Rockburn Twelve Barrels Pinot Noir
2022 Rockburn The Art Pinot Noir
We were asked to keep a little of each of the Pinot Noirs in our glasses for a vertical tasting as they rolled out. As always, it was an interesting comparison, with some divergence as to which was best.
The Amber wine was called an ‘orange wine,’ and this type of wine originates from the Georgia area of Europe. It is an interesting tipple with a nice orangey colour, slightly murky, i.e., not filtered when it left the barrel, and the Pinot Gris has spent a year in oak. This wine is built to age over ten years if you like to cellar it.
It was an interesting and fun evening with a welcoming crowd.
34 members and one guest attended the evening; tastings and sales were good.
Our presenter for the evening was Brent Linn from Wairiki, and as well as giving a brilliant talk about the terroir of the region and how the wines were different, Brent gave a personalised view of the owner of Petane and his families’ losses from Cyclone Gabrielle where they lost everything. Phil Barber lost his house, vineyard, restaurant, and a neighbour’s brewery; his brother also lost his property. The good news is that they didn’t lose family; all were safely rescued.
Phil Barber continues to make wine, but now the grapes are from neighbours, and the latest batch he is working with is from Gisborne. His wines are worth seeking out.
The different labels certainly made for an interesting evening, and a reminder of the wines we tasted during the evening are:
Wednesday 11th September, 8 pm Start Door Price: Members $12 / Guests $16
This evening is to be presented by Misty Cove’s South African and French-trained Chief Winemaker, Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Bolliger. Manu’s philosophy is simple: get the grapes right and do very little in the winery. When he is not getting his hands dirty in the vineyard innovating their wine program with Acacia wood puncheons, working with new varietals or just getting all-round creative with new styles of wines – you’ll find Manu off the grid, hunting somewhere in the wilderness, or creating his own cheese, cured meats and olive oil at his piece of paradise in Rarangi.
Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Bolliger
Misty Cove isn’t your typical wine brand. Founded in 2008 by New Zealander Andrew Bailey, it’s a story of breaking conventions. Now led by a tight-knit crew team, who blend traditional winemaking with Kiwi ingenuity, crafting bold wines that defy expectations. With vineyards across Marlborough and New Zealand, their wines travel worldwide, embodying their motto, “Wine for Good Times.” They celebrate individuality, encouraging people to forge their own paths and share memorable moments over a glass of Misty Cove Wines.
Our wines for the evening are:
2022 Misty Cove Waihopai
2024 Misty Cove Estate Sauvignon Blanc
2023 Misty Cove Estate Pinot Gris
2024 Misty Cove Landmark Albarino
2024 Misty Cove Landmark Riesling
2022 Misty Cove Landmark Chardonnay
2023 Misty Cove Estate Pinot Noir
Misty Cove Wine Group Limited offers more than just quality wines. The company also boasts cellar door accommodation located in the heart of the Marlborough wine country, away from it all, while still being close to all the good stuff. The accommodation comes complete with a private pool, garden, barbecue facilities, free WIFI, and free private parking.
From the Misty Cove website
Ask any winemaker and they’ll tell you that the flavour and characteristics of a wine shouldn’t be overly influenced by the wood during fermentation. Instead, the wood is intended to support the wine – and merely add a little ‘spice’. It’s a balancing act between the flavours of the wood and the fruit.
Lately, a few winemakers have been questioning the dominating role that oak has played in winemaking. There is the view that by adding something to the wine – that ‘woodiness’ in oak – you’re merely masking or adding too much to the fruit and fermentation.
In walks acacia wood to the scene, who is now unquestionably the new player in town. Winemakers have discovered that judicious use of acacia barrels during production adds floral notes, improved texture and less of a “woody” taste. Thus, the appeal of acacia barrels lies not so much in the flavours they impart but rather the lack of flavours. Compared with oak, acacia’s contribution is mostly textural.
Firstly, it’s native to America and it was brought over to Europe in the 17th century. Its common name is Black Locust tree. And it’s actually a family of the legume, so it’s a legume. Acacia, which comes from forests in northern France, is sawed rather than split into saves, and is now used by a handful of wineries worldwide.
‘Every other night I do vodka, but the other nights I do brandy, bourbon, Irish whiskey, and honey whiskey,’ Elinor Campbell Feihel says.
For 101-year-old Elinor Campbell Feihel, the secret to a long life is belief in God and the occasional veneration of the spirits – the alcoholic kind. “I drink a little,” Feihel told WSYX in Columbus, Ohio. “I have a whole bar.”
“Every other night I do vodka, but the other nights I do brandy, bourbon, Irish whiskey, and honey whiskey,” the great-grandmother told the station in an interview that aired Wednesday.
Feihel’s birthday is Oct. 14, but she’s not making any big plans to celebrate this year, noting that the party for her centennial was the “last hurrah.”
Often compared to Sophia from the TV show “The Golden Girls,” for her zinger comebacks, Feihel was born in 1921 at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties but grew up during the Great Depression.
“I learned from the Depression,” she said. “It did not victimize me. It was good for me. I was about to be a princess, and princesses don’t have a good life.”
With three children, nine grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren, Feihel said she continues to expand her network of acquaintances.
“I’m in touch with a lot of people, a lot of people,” she said. “I send out 130 to 150 Christmas cards. I’m good for something. Not just taking up space.”
And while she says part of the key to staying positive is not planning ahead, she does keep Saturdays open for actor Tom Selleck – the “Blue Bloods” version, not the “Magnum, P.I.” one.
“Tom Selleck and I have lunch every Saturday because he’s on Friday night,” Feihel said, adding that she tapes the show.
Membership is still at the top of mind for your committee members. Can all members please endeavour to seek out new members. Bring along fellow wine enthusiasts, neighbours or friends that want to join in our monthly evenings, emphasizing that this is a very good value proposition and a great exposure to wines you may never have known about, or tasted!
Please remember to promote that as a bonus for potential members, our meetings are held in close proximity to both the Johnsonville Train Line and the bus station.
The committee is formulating a short pamphlet for anyone who wants one to hand out to explain our Club a little bit.
Thanks
Thanks again to everyone who helps with the tables and chairs at the start of our evenings and taking the same down after the meeting. Also taking the tables contents: spittoons/water jugs/cracker plates back to the kitchen.
Looking ahead
September – Misty Cove, Blenheim with presenter Carlos Rojas Stiven October – Peregrine, Gibbston Highway Queenstown November – Bubbles Evening, tbc
The location in the CBD was easy to get to and easy to get home from. The evening was a success, as usual, with 29 happy diners. Everyone was handed a glass of bubbly from your Club Cellar upon arrival.
Below is a reminder of the menu for the evening:
To start
Prawn fritters Woodys’ smoked chicken breast with cranberry sauce and toast Pumpkin & haloumi fritters
Main courses
Honey-roasted ham off the bone with roasted baby potatoes, carrots and a mustard sauce Prosciutto wrap chicken breast with roasted baby potatoes, spinach & a sage butter sauce Pan-fried fish with fried new potatoes & salsa verde
Dessert
Deep South vanilla ice cream with Hershey’s chocolate sauce Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce White chocolate cheesecake
Whilst the evening was very enjoyable for those in attendance, given the low attendance, Waye is surveying all members who chose not to attend to see if there are any learnings that the committee needs to consider when planning future dinners. Wayne will provide a summary of the findings in a future newsletter.
NOT TO BE MISSED: These are two vineyards you normally don’t see and taste,
Wednesday 14th August, 8 pm Start Door Price: Members $15 / Guests $19
Wairiki Estate was founded by Brent Linn in 2008, but his passion for wine began long before that. Brent’s interest was sparked when he worked in banking, helping winemakers find the funding to plant their vines in the soil and establish their labels. From there, his curiosity about the industry grew.
In 2008, a special property was found on the terraces high above the Garuroro River in the Maraekakaho area of Hawkes Bay. ‘The winery was named ‘Wairiki’ because of the importance of this land. Wairiki means ‘little water’ in te reo, and our land is blessed with a small stream that runs through it in Winter. Our soil, climate and passion for viticulture have brought us here: we’re proud of the results. Our small batch Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines are select, special and full of flavour.’
In 2010, family and friends worked together to plant just under 2 hectares of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. After supplying commercial wineries with our grapes for several years, we grew restless, wanting to see the true potential of our land realised in our wine label. The first Wairiki vintage under our label was released in 2018.’
Feast on the flavour of our handcrafted, small-batch wines. Wines for the evening will be:
Petane is in the Esk Valley and was severely impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, with their vineyard suffering extensive damage. Thanks to the support of their family and friends, community and customers, they continue to create beautiful wines made with love and dedicated to the production of boutique single-vineyard wine. Their wines are unique from vintage to vintage.
To give us an understanding of the quality that these two wineries can produce, we will be tasting the following wines:
Grace White Pinot 2023
Petane Viognier
Wairiki The Matriarch Chardonnay 2023
Wairiki La Briar Rosé 2021
Wairiki The Optimist Pinot Noir 2020
Wairiki The Redeemer Reserve Pinot Noir 2020
Petane Merlot Cabernet Franc
If you want to read about these wines in more detail, you can go to the following websites:
