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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:
First half
Lindauer Free ‘non-alcohol’ Brut was our surprise starter. It was made from Chardonnay and Pinot noir grapes and was poured blind. Whist some thought it was closer to a cider in taste and style, nobody guessed what this was correctly!
Tosti Prosecco DOC form the Piedmont region in Italy
Perelada Brut Reserva Carva NV –Spain
Morton Estate Premium Brut – NZ
Second half
Grant Burge Petite Bubbles Dry Sparkling – Australian
Louis Bouillot Perle De Vigne Cremant De Bourgogne – French
Two more mysteries to go with the Christmas Cake to finish off – these were also both poured blind:
Love a natty or a wine spritzer? Pop a piquette next
Emma Gleason | March 3, 2021
Little Crush by Garage Project
Light, low in alcohol, and made from waste-optimising practices, piquette ticks every box for what we’re wanting to imbibe now. More mellow than a pét-nat, a little bit murky with a subtle fizz, a handful of recent releases suggest that winemakers and drinkers alike have rediscovered the beauty of this humble drop.
Piquette is made from pomace — the grape leftovers from winemaking — and water, which is then left to ferment, resulting in a highly drinkable, crisp, aromatic, sparkling beverage.
It’s a method with centuries of history throughout Europe, dating back to the classical period, and more recently was enjoyed by field workers at lunch. As with many old-fashioned practices, piquette feels grounded in a more sustainable way of living. The process harnesses a by-product of the wine industry, helping to minimise waste.
Its earthy flavour and dash of fizz may make it the next favourite tipple for natural wine fans, and piquette also possesses a lightness that will appeal to those of us partial to a wine spritzer.
Low in alcohol (most available in New Zealand are between five and seven per cent), piquette gives you less of a buzz, which, in our opinion, is sometimes a nice thing. Piquette also has fewer calories.
All of this makes it unsurprising that this modest, delicious drink is appealing to local winemakers.
Kindeli by Alex Craighead Wines
Alex Craighead Wines launched its 330ml cans of Kindeli piquette in June 2020 (wine-in-a-can has a dear place in our hearts). “It was really interesting from an experimental point of view,” founder Alex Craighead tells Viva. “It also sits really well with me as it is adding another step and product to the lifecycle of the grape.”
Made from certified organic grapes from his biodynamic home vineyard in Nelson, Alex describes Kindeli as something of a hybrid. “We added a tiny amount of cider ferment to give it a natural spritz. Our piquette is literally naturally produced CO2, grapes and a micro-amount of apples.”
What makes piquette wine so special, according to Alex, is the reuse that’s inherent to its creation. “There is so much waste in the world at the moment, so using the same grapes for wine, piquette, then in our vineyard compost blend is awesome.”
There’s a delicious Australian piquette, called Atomic Bomb by BK Wine, worth trying, and is available at, who deliver nationwide.
Another local variety on the market is from Garage Project. I’ve been enjoying its very quaffable piquettes all summer, and reached out to co-founder Jos Ruffell to find out more about their piquette range, Little Crush , which launched late last year.
It was a fruitful idea to come out of the stasis of 2020. “During lockdown we had more time to tinker with some ideas,” Jos says. “Making piquettes was one that just made a lot of sense — and our mate Cosmo said we should make one, so we did!”
With a relatively simple process and light flavour, it provides opportunities for a wealth of creativity and experimentation. “We love that piquettes allow you to create a quite different expression from regular wine,” explains Jos. “You can build up and layer piquettes — adding in more skins from lots of different varieties you typically wouldn’t see together.”
To make them even more unique, we used a variety of grapes not typically used in wine. They give our Little Crush Piquettes bright, juicy flavours you won’t find in a glass of Sauv,” says Jos.
“They’re also striking in colour and minimise waste in the winery — everything goes to use.”
Locally, the piquette market is small — for now. “The early adopters seem to be craft brew fans and natural wine drinkers,” says Alex. However, he predicts it will grow in 2021 as New Zealanders discover the joys of this old, down-to-earth treasure. “They are a great lower- alcohol alternative to wine and low-carb alternative to beer. They work really well as a glass with a light meal or aperitif.”
Jos sees piquette becoming a charming addition to the family of natural wines on offer in Aotearoa. “They are a celebration of the harvest — best drunk fresh and not to be taken too seriously and should be at an approachable price for everyone.”
“They are fizzy, lower alcohol, refreshing and delicious — what’s not to like?”
The 2014 vintage started at Wrights on 1st February – quite possibly the first grapes in NZ to be harvested. With the increasing demand for low alcohol wines – we are producing a low alcohol pinot gris and pinot rose this vintage -we will keep you posted on the expected release date for these.
As always, we have a family focus, it is all hands on deck for the first pick of the season. At age 2, Luke is proving to be particularly dexterous with secateurs – nothing is safe! Occasionally, he even contributes to the harvest.
The crop is delivered straight into the sparkling new winery. We are excited to have Richard and Rick Alexander on the wine making team this vintage. The Wright boys are always on hand to complete the quality control team on the juice. Our new winery is now set up – well nearly- we have a few jobs yet to do, but here are some photo’s of the set up. It is exciting to move out of the shipping containers and move into something more permanent and waterproof!
Recently, we made the front page of the local rag. A great story about harvest to date – here is the link.
This vintage and with our new vineyard, we have done something thinking outside the square with our increased tonnage – we are producing an organic red and white grape juice through Chantal Organic Wholesalers – these drinks should be on the shelf this month!
With our new premise and revamped cellar door, we have been run off our feet at our cellar door. Fantastic to see our regulars and coverts alike. Our cellar door is now open from Fri – Sun 11am-4pm. Live music every Saturday from 1.30pm. Pop in and enjoy some lovely food, wine and a fantastic relaxing environment – you might even get to taste some fresh juice from the winery!
Welcome to the newsletters newbies. We like to give our supporters a great deal, not available anywhere else. As always we would like to offer you a great deal. This month (until 14 February) you have the opportunity to purchase online 3 bottles of our wine for $60 (excludes reserves). This is the same great deal we offer to our wine club members (includes reserves) every month. If you like it, then join up to become a wine club member. The three bottle deal includes Wrights Chardonnay 2013, Wrights Gewurztraminer 2012, The Natural Wine Co Merlot 2012. Here is the link for this deal.
