Tasting wine in Johnsonville since 1980.
The BBQ at Derek’s was the usual success with the weather playing its part.
Thanks to everyone who brought a salad or a dessert, but special thanks to:
There was a good turnout for the evening, although numbers were down due to illness, and in one case, nearly the whole table was absent due to Covid. We hope everyone is feeling much better at this stage.
Wayne had organised this evening on his own and had a bit of a shortbread competition with his wife – not mentioning who won!
The first half of the evening was simply tasting some of the wines and discussing the different grapes and countries these came from.
The second half of the evening was a taste and tipple scenario. We had shortbread, strawberries, cheese & crackers, and Christmas cake to sample after we had had our first taste of each wine. This was to see if our taste buds registered any meaningful changes to the taste and texture of the wines.
The wines we sampled were:
Two more mysteries to go with the Christmas Cake to finish off – these were also both poured blind:
Check out the Complete Guide to Sparkling Wines.
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:
On Wednesday, 3rd August, some Club members attended the last evening meal put on by WelTec’s Bistro52 Training Restaurant for this year. It was a well-balanced and portioned meal with well-matched wines.
The food was prepared, presented, served to a high standard, and was top-grade! The menu we savoured included:
| Tasting Menu Sourdough Bread, Cultured Butter, Kapiti Sea Salt |
 Course OnePrawn Chorizo Sausage, Puffed Pork Skin, Scallop XO, Almond Crema, Nashi Pear Compression Wine Match: Sauvignon Blanc Green gages on the tongue, this wine took away some of the saltiness of the food and smoothed things out. |
 Course TwoSalt-Fish & Potato Churro, Fennel Bulb Confit, Saffron & Tomato Sofrito Miso Wine Match: Te Mata Chardonnay Wine toned down the spiciness of the food on the back of the throat, nice. |
 Course ThreeSlow Cooked Lamb Rump, Leek Custard, Lost Bread, Puy Lentils, Pickled Mushrooms, Red Wine Salt Wine Match: Babich Syrah Smooth, divine, blackcurrants on the tongue, the food made the wine almost caramelly. |
 Course FourHangi – Kumara Steamed Pudding, Kumara Skin Infused Buttermilk Ice-Cream, Spiced Caramel, Torched Mandarin Wine Match: Veuve du Vernay I’m sure we’ve had this at the Cellar Club; bottle fermentation left a light fizzing on the tongue, and the food brought out extra fruit flavours in the wine. |
The only query I had for the Maître that evening was course three: at our table, we debated if the ‘lost bread’ that accompanied the lamb rump was a euphemism for mountain oysters! It wasn’t, but the Maître was both amused and said he would speak to the chef about perhaps changing the description of the petite loaf that came as part of the meal!
In 2018 we contacted Gordon Russell to see if he could present a tasting some time, and he said yes, he would be delighted, but it would need to be 2021!
Roll onto 2021 when sadly, the Covid levels meant that our Esk Valley tasting had to be postponed to that year. So, imagine your committee’s disbelief when Gordon contacted us in the week of our tasting to say sadly that his wife had COVID-19 and that he was having to isolate himself. He said he was disappointed but then offered to fast courier the tasting notes and wine to us so the meeting could continue. Thankfully, Richard Taylor then stepped up to the plate and, using the tasting notes, entertained us with an interactive evening that went down well and was much appreciated.
The club’s appreciation of the wines presented was subsequently reflected in the 141 bottles ordered by members.
The wines for the evening were:
Of the above, the most ordered was the Chenin Blanc. This reflected both the quality of this wine and likely the fact of how starved we are of this variety in New Zealand. Thanks again, Richard, for arranging this tasting and then stepping in to deliver it for Gordon. I am told that Gordon has already offered to do this again in 2024. You would be most welcome, Gordon.
This was held at Field & Green in the Wellington CBD last month. It was well attended, albeit we did have a couple of last-minute cancellations due to Covid, which meant we did not hit the maximum seating of 48 that we were booked for at the beginning of that week.
Everyone was welcomed with a glass of the Club’s bubbly, and a good variety of wines was brought to create a jovial atmosphere for the evening. The food was well presented, and the committee received a host of favourable feedback after the event, indicating that this was a venue that members would like to attend again sometime in the future.
We know members particularly enjoyed the Treacle Tarte with clotted cream. Laura, the chef at Field & Green, has kindly agreed to share her recipe with club members, and you will find it as a separate attachment to this newsletter. Thanks, Laura and thanks, Helen, for securing this for us.
We thank Terry Friel for suggesting Field & Green and working with them to produce an excellent menu for the night.
The Te Mata evening last month was a great success, with Keith Tibble and Brett Newell from EuroVintage filling in for Te Mata’s Reps. They were both informative and interesting about the vintages, the people who own and work the vineyards and the different classes of wine that Te Mata produces and sells. There was a good level of orders from members.
The vertical tasting of the two Cabernet Merlots was also interesting, as these helped educate us on the different processes that are used on the different classes of grapes the Winery handles. The taste of these two wines was an eye-opener.
NB: Don’t forget Brett Newell’s tip that you don’t decant older wines too early before you want to drink them, as their taste will not be the best by the time you drink them. ‘Old’ is anything older than ten years.
The orders are in hand if a little delayed. Keith Tibble from EuroVintage has been ill and given the orders are compiled in Auckland and then shipped as a single order to Wellington, there has been a delay. The orders are due to Murray by the end of this week and as soon as received will be delivered to you or arrangements made. The charges at this point have not gone on to your credit cards. Apologies for the delay.
26 people attended the AGM and enjoyed the supper and selection of the club’s wines that followed.
Matter arising from the meeting requiring action post the AGM were:
If you couldn’t make the AGM, copies of both of these have been uploaded to the Club’s website for your perusal.
There was some discussion at the AGM about the need for the Club to have a liquor licence and the associated high annual cost. Suggestions were made that approaches should be made to City Councillors and politicians, especially in light of the upcoming elections.
Richard Taylor, who has managed the licencing process for the Club for several years, has made the following comments in order to inform members of his experience of the current position with regard to the licence. He advised he has already spoken to Councillors who have advised that the District Licensing Committee, which is administered by WCC, is only applying current law, so there appears to be no opportunity for change at that level. Local MPs he has spoken to have said trying to make a change by way of a Member’s Bill is extremely unlikely to succeed.
That leaves, as the only avenue, submissions at the time of the next review of the Sale of Liquor Act. Richard said he continues to keep a watch on the situation so that any favourable shifts can be seized upon straight away
Thanks go to Jan Sammons for providing feedback to the committee post the AGM that reaffirmed that the use of the Community Centre sound system would mean over a 50% increase in the cost of us hiring the hall for each tasting. Rather than incur this cost, the committee has resolved to first try using a suitable lapel microphone and use that with the boom box/speaker at the back of the room. Also, they will ask the presenter to try and stay behind the table.
The committee was asked to consider ways that absent members might be able to order wines. Several logistical issues were identified and after discussing these, the committee resolved not to pursue this idea any further. Instead, the committee preferred an informal arrangement where an absent member could ask a friend attending or one of the committee before the tasting to order the wine for them.
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.
The March evening with Victor Kattenbalt and Confidant Wines was a taste experience for all those that could attend. We tried some Waipara Downs wines, which are largely exported to Australia, and some Portuguese wines that were quite different grape varieties to what we see in NZ.
Victor explained a little about the areas of Portugal where the Portuguese wines came from, and some of the Cellar Club members started dreaming of visiting and exploring those regions further.
Our thanks go out to Victor for moving his planned tasting forward to March at very little notice.
The evening with Everything Pinot was a tippling success, with 37 people turning up for the Club’s own members to present to, plus a special guest for the evening’s last pinot – John Dawson with a whisky distilled in pinot barrels from Central Otago’s Lammermoor, ‘a farm to bottle distillery’: Lammermoor Distillery.
We tasted our way through the Club’s cellar after our opening pinot Waipara Hills Pinot Noir Rose’. Followed up with three 2017 Pinot Gris, from Peregrine Saddleback, Giesen Marlborough and Church Road McDonald series. The comparisons were quite distinct, and the discussion was good.
This was then followed by three 2016 Pinot Noirs, from Peregrine Saddleback Central Otago, Yealands Reserve Marlborough, and Russian Jack Martinborough.
The January BBQ at Derek’s was the start of our calendar year and was a lovely afternoon in the sun for the approximately 40 club members who came.
Thanks to Derek for letting us use his house for this event, Anne for her organising skills, Richard and Wayne for their culinary skills and to all those who supported the event, and their wine and food contributions.
In a change to previous years, the committee decided to eliminate the salmon and do a major upgrade in quality for the burgers and bangers. Wayne successfully approached the Cameron Harrison butchery shop on 4 Crofton Road, Ngaio and arranged for them to supply 48 x 100gm Venison patties and 60 Pork, Apple and Sage gourmet sausages at a very competitive price. Whilst still not cheap, it was evident from the feedback at the BBQ that this change was meet with wide appreciation, as their quality was excellent and the Cranberry sauce on the patties a wonderful accompaniment.