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.
Hosted by Michelle Fraser, Clearview Sales Manager and occasional Wine Judge
Wednesday 10th April, 8 pm Start Door Price: Members $14 / Guests $18
Please remember your tasting glasses
Immediately after the Gold Medal Winners from the New Zealand International Wine Show were announced last October, your club set out to acquire 3 bottles of 7 gold medal wines for us to taste this month. April was chosen to do this as that is a time of the year when the wine industry is busy with harvest and thus many wineries are unavailable to present to us.
The beauty of doing this immediately that the announcements were made were two-fold. It meant that the wines were still available and more importantly it also gave us an opportunity to secure 5 that were trophy wines, one of which was also the overall Champion Wine of the Show.
And to help us present these wonderful wines to you all, we have invited Clearview Sales Manager, Michelle Fraser back to help us. You may recall that last year she mentioned that she has been a wine judge but she also comes with an extensive knowledge of viticulture and wine making, so is well placed to provide background and her take on each of our wines that we will be tasting.
The wines we will be tasting are:
Lindauer Special Reserve Rose NV – Gold & Trophy for Champion NZ Sparkling Wine
2022 Leefield Station Gewurztraminer -Double Gold & Trophy for Champion Gewurztraminer
2022 Brancott Estate Letter Series O Chardonnay – Double Gold, Trophy for Champion Chardonnay plus Champion Wine of the Show
2021 Daisy Rock Reserve Pinot Noir – Gold Medal
2021 Esk Valley Artisanal Hawkes Bay Malbec Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon – Gold Medal
2021 Trinity Hill Hawkes Bay Syrah – Double Gold, Trophy for Champion Syrah, Trophy for Champion Syrah & Predominant Blends & Trophy for Champion Commercial Red Wine
Wow, nine wines! This was an interesting evening full of updated information about the Esk Valley region and touching on areas of Portugal that most members present haven’t been to yet.
The variety of wines was great, beginning with Linden Sparkling Rose’ from Esk Valley, a blend of Merlot and Pinotage, a delicious start to the evening. The rest of the evening’s selection was:
Confidencial Reserva Rose –10-grape blend
2020 Casa Santos Lima Chardonnay
2022 Moutere Hills Riesling
2020Waipara Downs Pinot Noir
2020 Confidencial Tinto-Red – 10 grape blend
2019 Mosaico De Portugal
2017 Colossal Reserva Casa Santos Lima
Parcelas Portuguese Tawny Port
Most of the wines for the evening had received at least one gold medal in competitions, with some receiving ten gold medals.
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.
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.
Quality and consistency have put Seifried Family Winemakers on the map with their 2019 Nelson Sauvignon Blanc releases – awarded a combined haul of seven gold medals and the “Best of Show” trophy.
The winery’s premium Aotea by the Seifried Family Sauvignon Blanc 2019 has been awarded three gold medals across New Zealand and international wine shows, including the title ‘Best of Show NZ White’ in the MUNDUS VINI 2019 in Germany. Their Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019 has now achieved its fourth gold medal since release to market.
Both Sauvignon Blancs have just been awarded gold medals at the 2019 New Zealand Wine of the Year™ (the official NZ wine industry competition, replacing the Air New Zealand Wine Awards). Recognition at these awards is particularly huge, given the hundreds of entries. An accolade at this competition is about celebrating New Zealand winemaking excellence, and is a win that is proudly shared among the whole team at Seifried.
Seifried Estate says that although it is a small grape growing region, Nelson’s climate and talent for crafting world class wine is clear. “We’re so proud of the recognition for our team’s commitment and hard work to making great wines. We’re also very proud of Nelson / Tasman and our fellow growers and producers, many who, like us, started from humble beginnings.
Combining the famous creative artisan spirit with the soil and climate in this special place at the centre of New Zealand, Nelson is a region known for some of the finest food and beverage products in the world.
We’re incredibly proud to call this place home.” – Seifried Estate Sales and Marketing Manager, Anna Seifried.
The third generation of Seifried family carry on the legacy during this year’s harvest. Photo credit: Chocolate Dog Studio.
Proven over time – a snapshot of achievements:
The accolades begin with New Zealand’s most awarded dessert wine, Seifried Winemakers Collection Sweet Agnes Riesling. Awards include ‘Champion Sweet Wine’ at the 2015 Air New Zealand Wine Awards, as well as ‘Best New Zealand Sweet’ at the UK Decanter World Wine Awards 2017 – to name a few.
Seifried Nelson Pinot Noir has had its share of recognition and was named as a “Rising Star” in the ‘2019 Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification’ which lists only the top quarter of New Zealand’s Pinot Noir producers.
It’s not always the garden varieties associated with Nelson or New Zealand either. Aotea by the Seifried Family Méthode Traditionnelle NV took out the ‘WineWorks Champion Sparkling Wine’ at the 2017 Air New Zealand Wine Awards.
The family is working hard with some lesser known varietals too, such as the Seifried Nelson Würzer, an aromatic white wine found only in very small quantities, even in its home country of Germany. Seifried Nelson Zweigelt, the Austrian classic, made with a Kiwi twist is another – “Great stuff for someone looking for something different. Real presence and grip.
Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Gold – New Zealand Wine of the Year™ 2019, New Zealand Gold – The New Zealand International Wine Show 2019, New Zealand Gold – AWC Vienna 2019, Austria Gold – MUNDUS VINI 2019 Summer Tasting, Germany 93 Points – Cameron Douglas MS, The Shout, August 2019, New Zealand
List of recent awards
New Zealand Wine of the Year™ GOLD: Aotea by the Seifried Family Sauvignon Blanc 2019 GOLD: Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Silver: Seifried Nelson Gewurztraminer 2019
25th Grand International Wine Award MUNDUS vini “Best of Show New Zealand white”: Aotea by the Seifried Family Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019 GOLD: Aotea by the Seifried Family Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019 GOLD: Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019
AWC Vienna – International Wine Challenge GOLD: Aotea by the Seifried Family Sauvignon Blanc 2019 GOLD: Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Silver: Old Coach Road Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019
NZ International Wine Show GOLD: Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2019 GOLD: Seifried Winemakers Collection Nelson ‘Sweet Agnes’ Riesling 2019 Silver: Seifried Nelson Riesling 2019 Silver: Seifried Nelson Pinot Noir Rosé 2019
Contact SEIFRIED ESTATE Chris Seifried – Winemaker Email: chris Tel: +64 3 544 5599 Cell: +64 21 544 750 www.seifried.co.nz
