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.
As a courtesy, can we remind members to please listen when the invited presenters are presenting during their sessions? We will build in time during the presentations for discussion at your tables.
For those wondering what wine & tasting etiquette may be about, check out:
Your committee is again considering having our next Club dinner in the Courtenay Place area, close to public transport. This time we are considering going to the prestigious Istana Malaysia with a fixed banquet menu rather than individual meal choices. However, before further planning, we need to have a show of hands at the September tasting to gauge support for this idea. This is a spacious venue, great for BYO and well-established. If you can’t make the September tasting evening, please let the Editor know if you have any comments about this idea.
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.
This promises to be a great evening at a very good restaurant. As of last weekend, we had reached our maximum of 48 people, which is very pleasing to the committee who view this as a huge reward for all the effort that goes into planning such events.
Wayne currently has a waitlist in operation in case COVID or some other sudden reason prevents someone from attending. If you find yourself in this situation, can you please let him know ASAP either by text to 027 452 3802 or email?
Next week you can expect to receive an email from Wayne giving you your seat number and the confirmation of what you have ordered. If that information is correct, you do not need to do anything apart from seeking out a bottle of wine to match your food. But if you need to change something or Wayne has misrecorded your choices, please get back to him urgently. That email will also include another copy of the menu.
If you intend to use public transport to get to the dinner, then simply get off the bus at Courtenay Place, walk down Allen St, turn left onto Wakefield Street and you will find the restaurant on your left approx. 30 metres.
As is usual, please try to arrive close to 7 pm as possible, as arriving too early can cause issues. Thanks in advance for your co-operation with this.
Menu
Entrees
Mushroom soup, Madeira cream Smoked trevally soufflé, leek and chive sauce Duck, prune and green peppercorn rillettes, toasted brioche, chutney
We welcome you all to our mid-winter dinner at one of Wellington’s best restaurants. The recipient of a Cuisine Good Food Awards ‘Hat’, Field and Green offer seasonal selections to reflect European influences showcasing the very best of New Zealand flavours. Taking into account your feedback on previous dinners, this establishment is spacious, at ground level and close to public transport, being a 4-minute walk from Courtenay Place.
In keeping with their emphasis on seasonal food, the chef is creating a new Winter menu and we will be some of the first to taste it. The dinner will be announced at the Club’s Te Mata Tasting on 8th June and bookings will also be open that day. While we expect to be able to cater for everyone that wishes to come, the restaurant has a limit of 48, so bookings will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Do not miss this opportunity to dine at the restaurant which the Cuisine review says:
The lack of opulence that greets you as you step off the busy streets of Wellington into Field & Green belies the richness of the rustic culinary experience that awaits.
It is usual for a President’s Report to be EITHER comprehensive and an ordeal OR for it to be cryptically short and to the point. So it seems in this most unusual of years that short is best. As such this should allow the AGM to proceed swiftly so as to enjoy the wines from the club cellar and the supper on offer tonight.
It has been my absolute privilege to have been the club’s President this year. I want to begin by thanking most sincerely all of youas valued club members for your support in a trying year. For your subscriptions, of course, but particularly for your support at the scheduled tastings and sundry other monthly events such as the dinners and annual club BBQ. Our membership has held upwell again this year. This despite all the pressures our communities and families have endured. Last year I reflected at some length in my report on the impact for the club of the pandemic so I will quickly move on from that. Again this has been a challenging year for all of us but through the club activities we have generated good company and a focus for interest in a time of lockdowns. Most particularly theattendance numbers at tastings and dinners have been regularly and phenomenally good which signals there must be something right about the way tastings are delivered, enjoying the company of friend and the functioning of the club. So, to all of you my thanks.
May I briefly review the tastings and activities [11] that we have been able to achieve for these past 12 challenging months. Tastings included Mahi Wines (Marlborough), Western Australia by Keith Tibble (Eurovintage agency), Butterworth (Gladstone Wairarapa), Crater Rim (Waipara), Portugal (Confidant agency), the Gold Medal wines from the NZ International Wine Show (2021), a celebration of Pinot (club members) as well as dinners at La Marche Frances and Juniper as well at the club’s January BBQ
I wish to extend the club’s thanks to the wineries, presenters and agencies that have supported the club during a year that has been challenging for their businesses, where labour restrictions, lockdowns, cancellations and social distancing have impacted us all. At least three wineries were unable to present in 2021 but have indicated they are keen to return for 2022/2023 and we are organising with them
As well as thanks to the meeting presenters and the tasting organisers, it is the committee that also deserves our appreciationfor their work for the club. As a group they have met regularly and communicated frequently with each other in most constructive manner. This has been the prime reason for tastings continuing to happen when withdrawals have occurred or organisation of meetings has hit road blocks or come up against Covid limitations. Without naming committee members, because you know all of those involved – our secretarial servicing, our financial management, our newsletter communications with members, the meeting venue organisation efforts and suppers, cellar management, the facilitation of the tasting programme and deliveries have all kept pace and been successfully undertaken without there seeming to have been any hitches at all – even though there have been a few, and one cancellation. It has been a demanding time organisationally but the efforts of the 8 person committee have shone through and for that I wish to sincerely thank them one and all for their efforts on behalf of the club membership.
I am thrilled to report that the committee collectively has indicated a willingness to continue to serve the club for a further year and I am indeed grateful for that. The committee’s co-operation, sharing of the load and their special skills and interests continue to be the cornerstone of how we have managed to keep this great little club moving forward, fulfilling its wine appreciation objectives whilst providing a source of company, regular meetings and the occasional glasses of vino. Being Wellington’s premier and enduring wine society for over forty years is no mean feat. It is you as members, and the committee’s efforts, that have ensured that this continues to be the Cellar Club reality. We will move next to the election of the club’s officers. My best wishes to all club members as you navigate the societal challenges we are all facing.
Saturday 11th December is your Cellar Club’s Christmas dinner at Juniper Gin Bar & Restaurant, 142 Featherston Street, Wellington.
Arrive at 7 pm for seating at 7.30 pm.
Thank you for returning your meal choices to Wayne. He is planning to email all dinner attendees with their meal choices to check that he has your choices correct. This will also give you a chance to pick out a wine to bring with you to match your food choices. His email will also be providing details of your table seating and the Covid requirements for the venue under the new traffic light system.
Juniper Gin Bar & Restaurant
Given there are some members attending the dinner for the first time, it is perhaps an opportune time to mention how our dinners operate.
You are asked to arrive as close to 7 pm as practical. Please don’t turn up early as it can cause confusion at the venue.
When you arrive, you will be greeted with a complimentary glass of bubbles.
The meal is BYO wine, and your prepaid cost includes corkage. During the evening, it is customary to share your wine with your neighbours.
We are expecting to finish sometime between 9.30 pm and 10 pm, but this is a guideline only, in case you are arranging transport home. Please try and stay as flexible as possible.
We were to be entertained in September by Gordon Russell from Esk Valley. Gordon is described as one of the Godfathers of the wine industry.
Unfortunately, due to the current situation with the Delta variant of COVID19 this month’s Club evening has had to be cancelled. We can’t meet until we are down to Level 2.
While this is disappointing for us all, for your information and interest, the wines we were going to be tasting were largely from Esk Valley’s new range: Artisanal. Wine f.y.i.:
Wednesday 14th of July is Bastille Day and in keeping with this day, a French-inspired menu has been arranged with Chef Veronique at Le Marche Francais on Thorndon Quay.
This July is the 10th Anniversary of the opening of Le Marche Francais in Thorndon, so this is a triple celebration! A ta Sante! Je leve mon verre a la liberte (Cheers! I raise my glass to freedom.).
The menu etc will be available shortly. However, here is some additional information:
Le Marche Francais is situated on the first floor of the Woolstore Building on Thorndon Quay. Nearby is the motorway overpass and just south of that is bus stop 5492 which is used by bus routes 1, 19e, 24, 25, 26, 52, 56, 57, 58, 60e and 83.
When it comes to going home, you can use bus stop 5024 just north of the motorway overpass. So again, just a short distance away.
Chef Veronique is French, and her café provides authentic French food during the day. However, she has agreed to make her café available for our club dinner and she and her restaurant will certainly be celebrating France’s National Day with style.
This could be the perfect opportunity to bring out a French wine or two from your cellar that you’ve been saving for just such an occasion. And in keeping with the French theme, feel free to dress with a little je ne sais quoi red, white and blue anyone – or perhaps just some French flair!
So, watch your Inbox and be prepared to act quickly.
Sadly the delayed Wellington/Burger on a Plate has meant that the restaurant is unable to finalise our menu until after that event finishes. That means we won’t receive it until the first week of November. We have reluctantly accepted this, as it does ensure that we end up with a menu that should make the best of what is seasonally available.
But rather than leave everything to the last minute, we have decided to ask you to reply to this email by completing, as appropriate, the boxes below and at the same time crediting our bank account 06 0541 0056031 00 with $70 per person wishing to attend.
If your email software doesn’t allow you to input directly to these boxes when you go reply, we suggest you use your mouse to select the boxes and then copy and paste them into the reply section of your email.
If you don’t currently use internet banking, we can accept your cheque although this dinner is likely to be the last occasion that we can do this, as the ANZ is no longer accepting cheques for clearance after 1 June 2021
Important points
We will require the full name of each person attending [not just first and last names] as I believe this needs to be provided to Parliamentary security early in November we will provide the final menu and seek your menu choices. If the final menu is not to your liking, let us know and we will refund you immediately.
In addition to your meal choice, the table will also be served with a plate of each of the sides. These and corkage are all included in the dinner price. Also included will be your customary glass of bubbles on arrival. The dress code is smart casual [think summer wedding]. For women, that’s classy casual and for men, jacket with tie optional. Table seating is either 6 or 8 places. Sorry, there can be no large groups.
Please reply before the end of October. Bellamys have limited seating and for this reason, we will be operating on a first-come basis and if the number is exceeded, we may need to add you to a waiting list. Whilst Bellamys’ limit does exceed the attendance levels of our past 10 dinners, we do think that the special nature of this dinner could prove to be a challenge so please reply as soon as possible.
We did contemplate limiting the dinner to just members but decided that this was unfair to those non-member partners who have been regular attendees at our past dinners. Nor has this ever been an approach that has been applied in the past.
Menu
Entrée
Green Onion Panisse, Layered Beetroot, And Mount Eliza Raw Milk Cheddar Emulsion
Portobello and Pinot Noir Bourguignon, Jerusalem Artichoke and Shaved White Button Mushrooms
Dessert
Gisborne Citrus Sorbet, Meringue, Citrus and Black Sesame Crumb and Chantilly
Dark Chocolate Cremeux, Buttermilk Mint Sorbet, Cookie Crumble, Aero Chocolate and Caramel
Sides
Triple-Cooked Beef Fat Thick Cut Fries Truffle Oil and Parmesan Thyme and Garlic Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Balsamic Fresh Garden Lettuce with Citrus and Tahini Dressing Kumara and Potato Gratin
Without a doubt, this would be one of the most prestigious tastings in the 40 years of the club’s existence.
And who better to present these wines, than one of our life members, Alan Evans.
Alan joined the club in 1987 and has held the roles of Editor [10 years] and President [8 years]. He was made a life member in 2010 and still attends our dinners and the occasional tasting.
He is also a Past President of the Magnum Society that was a Wellington-based wine group founded in 1972 and currently is the Cellar Master of the Tinakori branch of the international Beefsteak and Burgundy Club.
Alan’s love of wine was a natural progression, he says, from an interest in ciders in the 1960s to the wines of Henderson in the mid-1970s. He has an extensive temperature-controlled cellar and over the years has developed a love of European wines which he augments with premium NZ and Australian varietals.
2001 Penfolds 389
The committee approached Alan to see if he would be prepared to present some of his premium cellared wines as one of our marquee events to celebrate our 40 years of tastings and he has not disappointed. The following list of wines is stunning.
2016 Ogier Cote du Rhone White [Introductory wine]
2016 Askerne Semillon
Loire Chenin Blanc
2011 Penfolds 389 [from our own cellar]
2001 Penfolds 389
1991 Coleraine
2017 Troplong Mondot [St Emilion Grand Cru]
1991 Te Mata Estate Coleraine
The ’91 Coleraine was rated by a group of wine experts three years ago as the 5th best Coleraine ever made and is a personal favourite of John Buck, winemaker and Chairman of Te Mata Estate Winery. It was also rated by Geoff Kelly, alongside the 1987 Stonyridge Larose, as “one of the few great achievements in the first 26 years or so of cabernet and cabernet/merlot wine styles, in the modern phase of New Zealand viticulture”.
And if that isn’t enough to wet your taste buds, go and google our last wine.
As I said at the outset, this is a prestigious tasting of premium wines which I suspect, many of us have never tasted before. We are indeed lucky to have that opportunity this month.
Wednesday 12 August – Victor Kattenbelt of Confidant Wines
Wednesday 16 September – Alan Evans and Ageing of quality wines
Wednesday 21 October – St Clair Family Estate, Marlborough
Wednesday 18 November – Club Anniversary dinner at Bellamy’s (run by Logan Brown)
December tbc
An invitation
Now that we’re past the shortest day/longest night of the year for this Equinox, if anyone would like supply a short article about their ‘Drop of the Day’, i.e. their go-to wine for this season, to share with the rest of the Club, please feel free to submit it.
We hope all members are coming out of the hibernation that was COVID19 lockdown levels 4-3 and are looking forward to some normality re-energising their lives. We are now allowed to meet and lots happening so let me set things out for you. Firstly a major change is planned with Evelyn Dawson taking over the Editorship of your Newsletter. Evelyn has other commitments and will not be joining the committee, we are however, very keen to seek a new member or two into the committee with both Steve and Robin withdrawing. Think about it, please.
Evelyn Dawson (New editor)
Fletcher, David, 1952: I’ve been told to stop trivialising the work of politicians…
As everyone will realise we have been through strange and challenging times in recent weeks with the Cellar Club being in suspension. As people have sat in isolation and reviewed the meaning of life I have had an epiphany. I want to be the Editor of the Club’s Newsletter. The following are a couple of Club issues we need to deal with.
No mid-year dinner
There will be no July Dinner but instead, the AGM has been deferred until July. See “Looking Forward” for detail. Organising a dinner in the current somewhat fluid “Level” system is just too difficult. We do have planning well in hand for our celebration dinner in November which will be special and should compensate. More later on that.
Wairarapa trip & alternatives
We were all a bit sad that Covid19 meant that the planned Wairarapa trip in March could not proceed. We have been looking at alternatives and we are currently working on a deferment until February 2021. We will continue to work on this alternative and will keep you all informed.
Robin (retiring editor)
Robin, Pat and grandkids. 2015
You will note that I am relinquishing my role as your Newsletter Editor. I am also looking to stand down as a committee member and would love it if someone else would put up their hand for a turn. I have always believed that a little “churn” in committee membership allows for the introduction of variety and new ideas. I have been on the committee for 20 years and Editor for 9. Time for a change. I will continue to be a member of the club. Far too much good wine yet to be tasted to give up that privilege.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the committee and very much appreciate the support I have received over the years. Best wishes for the continued success of the Club.
