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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.
Wine News by Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen – Robb Report – also known as the World Wine Guys, are wine spirits, food and travel writers, educators and hosts.
Sparkling Wine Will Break Free of the Holidays
The Wine Press has been saying this for years, but it looks like consumers are finally embracing the idea that Champagne and other sparkling wines are not only for special occasions and holidays. Expect to see a lot more of your friends ordering a glass of Champagne or popping a bottle open at home at regular dinners and get-togethers, not just celebrations.
The Coming Bubble Boom will have people looking beyond Champagne
RAY MASSEY/GETTY
The increased demand for sparkling wine means that we’re all going to be drinking a vriety of styles and regions, including Spanish Cava; Italian Franciacorta, Trentodoc and Prosecco; and California sparkling. Wine bars, restaurants and shops will also be offering more renditions of ‘pet-nat’, a natural sparkler than can be from anywhere wine is made.
Rosé is Going Haute
Drinking Rosé throughout the year has gone from tend to permanent status and we will see more and more premium offerings entering the market. We’ve been expecting to see luxury competition for pioneers in the space such as Domaine Ott, Château d’Esclans and Gérard Bertrand for some time, and LVMH’s major investment in Château Minuty earlier this year sealed the deal as far as we’re concerned. Expanded – and pricier – Rosé selections are on their way to a restaurant near you.
Expect Italy to Heat Up the Auction Block
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We tapped Nick Pegna, Sotheby’s global head of wine and spirits, for his thoughts, and he in turn polled some of the auction house’s younger specialists to see what they’re hearing about new bright spots in the wine sphere. According to Pegna, Piedmont is on its way up in the auction world, so look to see more Barolo and Barbaresco. We’ve been hearing a lot about (and tasting plenty of) Brunello as well, so keep an eye on Italy’s three B’s.
Connoisseurs Will Have Better Options for Low and No-Alcohol Wines
As Dry January, Sober October, ‘Mindful Drinking’ and well, just drinking less persist in their upward climb, no and low alcohol wine will continue to grow as well. Many people stop drinking temporarily for numerous reasons that include pregnancy, medication regimes or training for a marathon or triathlon, yet they still want to enjoy the social aspect of having a glass of wine with friends.
Although at the onset the category was flooded with low quality dealcoholized bulk wine, we are seeing a growth in single vineyard offerings from well-known regions.
You’ll Be Hearing More About Carbon Footprints
The future of the wine industry is in peril due to rising summer temperatures and unstable weather patterns, and many producers are taking it upon themselves to sound the alarm and become changemakers. Expect to see an increase in the number of back labels talking about sustainability, low water utilization, and regenerative farming, and don’t be surprised when even top icon wines start using lighter-weight bottles to reduce the impact of freight shipping and material usage.
Younger wine drinkers are driving the movement toward transparency on this front.
White Wine’s Upswing Is Nigh
While it was thought for many years that serious wine drinkers only drink red wine, it is now obvious that for multiple reasons white wine is finally starting to be treated with equal respect. A lot of attention is being paid to white Burgundy, Napa, and Sonoma Chardonnay, the whites of the Rhône Valley, and Riesling and other aromatic varieties from Germany, Austria, Alsace, and Alto Adige in Italy. And we’re seeing a rise in interest in premium white wine from Spain, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, New Zealand, and other Italian regions. As much as we love our steak and Cabernet Sauvignon, since we all are moving toward a lighter style of eating—at least occasionally—we are going to see our wine choices change to match.
Two Words Collide – June NZ House & Garden
If you can’t decide between wine or beer, check out Garage Project’s Savoir Faire Pinot Noir Raspberry ’18. It’s a beer/wine hybrid, made from hand-harvested Marlborough pinot noir grapes, lightly crushed, added to a specially brewed malt wort and allowed to ferment for a week before being aged in oak wine barrels then rested on fresh raspberries. 750ml $35 from garageproject.co.nz.
Something Different – July NZ House & Garden
SOUTHERN CHARMS: New to the gin game, Bluff Distillery draws inspiration from the spirit of New Zealand’s southernmost town, making gin that reflects the essence of Bluff – ‘clean, bold and unapologetically authentic’. The London Dry-style gin comes in a custom bottle in the shape of an old glass buoy, a symbol of the maritime heritage that defines this tiny town. 700ml $89.85 from bluffdistillery.com.
ROCKIN’ VERMOUTH: Central Otago distillery Scapegrace has teamed up with its wine-making neighbours, Profhet’s Rock, to produce Scapegrace x Prophet’s Rock Vermouth, available in red and white. Mostly made with local ingredients, the white vermouth is bright and herbaceous with candied floral notes, finishing woody and bitter with wild thyme and wormwood. 705ml $72 from prophetsrock.co.nz and scapegracedistilleryy.com.
Plus, a handy guide for deciphering your methodes from your Champagnes.
Photo / Babiche Martens
If the bubbles that have dominated most thoughts of late are the ones we’ve been living in, there’s hopefully something we can toast, even if it’s just the passing of 2021.
There’s good news on the fizz front, as there has never been a more delicious and diverse array of sparkling wines to enjoy in Aotearoa.
Here’s a selection of the best from my blind tasting of bottles from across the world. Their corks are definitely worth popping, to cheer the spirits if our parties must be virtual, or celebrate with on the return to fully social occasions.
STYLE GUIDE: WHAT’S IN A STYLE? Sparkling wines are made in a wide variety of ways that dictate their flavour, quality and price. It can be confusing, so here’s a rough guide to styles and terms you might see on a bottle that suggest the kind of wine you might find within.
Traditional Method Most of the highest quality sparkling wines, including Champagne and cava, are made by the traditional method, also known as methode traditionnelle. It’s an elaborate system that adds to the cost of the wine, but is widely regarded to create the most complex flavours and finest mousse (bubbles).
A second bubble-inducing fermentation is triggered in the bottle, followed by a period when the wine remains in contact with its yeasts. These impart complex bready and nutty flavours to the wine depending on how long it remains on these yeast “lees”.
The yeasts are then removed by a lengthy process of “riddling” that gradually shifts the yeast into the neck of the bottle, which is then frozen. The frozen plugs of yeast are removed, the bottle topped up and then re-stoppered in the wine’s “disgorgement”.
Some examples state a disgorging date, which provides an idea of a wine’s maturity — recently disgorged can mean fresher flavours, and older more toasty notes.
Bottle Fermented (Transfer Method) If it’s traditional method, most wineries trumpet this. So if you see “bottle fermented” on a label, this suggests the wine has likely been made by the slightly simpler transfer method. Sparkling wines made in this manner can still be very good, but are cheaper to produce than the traditional method. This is basically identical to the traditional method up to the point of riddling, when the bottles are instead disgorged into pressurised tanks, where they’re filtered. They’re then re-bottled in a new bottle.
Tank Fermented Less likely to appear on a label, but influencing the final flavour, is the Tank Method. Also known as the charmat or Martinotti methods, or cuve close. The wine’s second fermentation takes place in a pressurised tank rather than a bottle, and the final fizz bottled under pressure. You don’t get the yeasty character of bottle-fermented methods, but this is often preferable for more aromatic grapes and fresher styles, such as the prosecco that’s made this way.
Methode Ancestral (Pet-Nat) Undergoing a revival currently is the methode ancestral, responsible for the petillant maturels (pet-nats) that have burst onto the natural wine scene in particular. Likely the oldest way of making sparkling wine, the wine is bottled while still undergoing its first fermentation. This finishes in-bottle, producing its effervescence.
Some winemakers choose to leave the yeast in the bottle, leading to a cloudy appearance and the possibility of drinking a bottle at different stages on its path to dryness. Others filter or disgorge and rebottle for a clearer and more consistent end product.
Champagne (NV and Vintage) Champagne can only come from the eponymous region in north-eastern France. Its name, synonymous with luxury and celebration, is protected in law and cannot be borrowed by wines from elsewhere. Its wines have to adhere to strict criteria, which includes bottle aging of 15 months for non-vintage wines (NV) and three years for vintage.
Its chilly climate makes it a challenge to ripen grapes, which has led to the practice of blending wines from multiple vintages, with vintage wines being made with only the best grapes in the best years.
The practice of making and labelling sparkling wines as “NV” has been adopted beyond Champagne and tends to suggest the tier below a winery’s more premium “vintage” release.
Styles and Sweetness Various terms originating in Champagne indicate the grapes used, and consequently suggest the style of a sparkling wine. Blanc de Blancs is made from 100 per cent chardonnay, which tend to be lighter and racier. Blanc de Noirs is a white sparkling wine made from just black grapes, which tend to be fuller bodied.
There are also descriptors highlighting levels of sweetness. The most common is Brut for dry to off-dry, with the likes of Demi-Sec, meaning sweet and Doux, lusciously sweet.
A growing movement towards near bone-dry styles means seeing more bottles sporting terms such as Ultra Brut, Extra Brut, Brut Nature and Zero Dosage, which signal the driest of the dry.
Detergent is the enemy of effervescence, so always rinse your sparkling glasses in warm water to get rid of any residue. Photo / Getty Images
WHAT’S IN A GLASS?
Wisdom on what makes the best glass from which to drink sparkling wine has shifted over the years. Certainly, the wide-rimmed shallow coupe popular in the early 20th century has fallen out of favour, for good reason.
These may work to some extent for softer, sweeter styles, but the wine’s large surface area in these means bubbles swiftly dissipate and they go flat quicker. The narrow shape of the iconic flute fares far better for retaining effervescence, but also suppresses aromas.
Current thinking on the foremost stemware for fizz, particularly the more complex traditional method wines, is a tulip-shaped glass with a wider middle and a narrow top. Similar to a white wine glass, it provides a slightly larger wine surface area than the flute and has a shape and greater space above the wine conducive to funnelling aromas up beyond its rim.
It’s also supported by findings of the rigorous research currently being conducted on bubble behaviour, by the likes of Champagne physicist Dr Gerard Liger-Belair at the University of Reims in Champagne.
The Comite Champagne, which represents independent Champagne producers, now officially recommends a tulip-shaped glass in which to enjoy its members’ wines. Something like Riedel’s egg-shaped Veritas Champagne Wine Glass fits the bill ($113 for 2 stems from Kitchenware.nz). However, the flute still works fine for simpler fruit-driven styles, such as prosecco.
You can enjoy fizz from a standard white wine glass. However, it’s still optimal to use a glass that’s been designed for sparkling wine as this will contain a “sparkling point”. Bubbles attract and carry aromatic compounds to the surface of the wine and need somewhere to start.
In sparkling glasses they’re directed from a single point etched on the bottom of their bowl, rather than forming randomly off the likes of fibres left in a glass from tea towels.
Whatever glass you choose, there are further ways to ensure you maximise your bubble count. Detergent is the enemy of effervescence, so always rinse your sparkling glasses in warm water to get rid of any residue. If you dry them manually, make sure it’s with a lint-free cloth to avoid unruly effervescence!
FRANCE’S FINEST
THE BEST SPARKLING WINES OF THE SEASON: FRANCE’S FINEST
1. Taittinger Millesime Brut Champagne 2014, $125 This Grand Cru-dominant blend is made only in the best vintages and aged five years on its lees to gain added complexity. The result is a Champagne with great intensity and finesse, with elegant and crisp notes of red apple and citrus, hints of apricot, mineral and blossom, over a subtle hazelnut base. Stockists: Countdown; Glengarry; Vineonline; Fine Wine Delivery; Vintners.nz
2. Paul Launois Monochrome #1 Grand Cru Extra Brut Champagne NV, $82 This stylish Champagne is an exciting new find: from third-generation growers Julien Launois and his wife Sarah, who started making wines in 2015 from their small family estate in the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The Monochrome #1 is an impressive ultra-dry 100 per cent chardonnay, with a pure and poised palate of crisp apple and lemon, hints of almond paste, acidity and an intense flinty minerality. Stockists: Barewine.co.nz
3. Andre Clouet Grande Reserve Brut Champagne NV, $68 A 100 per cent pinot noir Champagne that offers great value. Its attractive notes of apple and stonefruit are underpinned by rich toasted brioche and hazelnut notes. All this is supported by a fine and fresh line of lemon and mineral salts and a fine mousse. Stockists: Black Market; New World; Dhall & Nash
4. Marion-Bosser Premier-Cru Brut Rosé Champagne NV, $90 Marion-Bosser’s impressive grower Champagnes are made by the mother and daughter team of Bernadette and Elodie Marion in the Premier Cru village of Hautvillers. Their elegant and fresh rosé Champagne combines delicate raspberry and redcurrant fruits with a suggestion of apple and almond pastry. Stockists: Threefrenchvines.com; Winedirect.co.nz; New World
NZ’S FINEST
BEST LOCAL BUBBLES
5. No 1 Family EstateReserve Marlborough Blanc de Blancs NV, $96 It’s perhaps no surprise that one of the top wines in this year’s sparkling tasting is made by a 12th-generation Champagne winemaker. Daniel Le Brun crafts this exquisite Reserve example in Marlborough, which layers white flowers, white fruits and citrus over subtle nutty, biscuity nuances, wrapped in a creamy mousse. The release is limited to just 1000 individually numbered bottles. Stockists: Glengarry; No1familyestate.co.nz
6. Koyama Waipara Methode Traditionnelle Brut Nature NV, $45 A delicious bone-dry pinot noir-dominant blend made in tiny quantities by Takahiro Koyama, in which rich notes of gingerbread and toasted breadcrust are counterpoised by a powerful line of lemony acidity. Koyama has had a growing focus on sparkling wine with his original label and at Mountford Estate, which he now also runs, and this is a fine addition to Aotearoa’s sparkling scene. Stockists: Great Little Vineyards; Hamilton Beer & Wine Co; Star Superette; By the Bottle; Natural Liquor
7. Mumm Marlborough Brut Prestige NV, $40 A decidedly Champagne-like local traditional method wine, from a collaboration between the Champagne House of Mumm and Pernod Ricard NZ, makers of the likes of Brancott Estate. It expertly juxtaposes richness with freshness in its notes of crisp apple and lemon curd, savoury praline undercurrent, and long nutty finish. Stockists: New World; Countdown; West Liquor; Liquorland; Super Liquor; Glengarry; Moore Wilson’s
NZ’S FINEST
8. Quartz Reef Bendigo Estate Methode Traditionnelle Central Otago Rose NV, $43 Refined strawberry and redcurrant meld with hints of rose-like florals, creamy notes and an appealing savoury dimension. A complex and compelling rose which finishes with a dynamic wave of freshness and lingering minerally note. Stockists: Glengarry; Fine Wine Delivery; Farro Fresh; Quartzreef.co.nz
9. Hunter’s MiruMiru Marlborough NV, $29 Hunter’s has been making its MiruMiru for two decades from the classic trio of Champagne varieties — pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier — over which time it’s established the wine as consistently offering great quality and value. Its latest release over-delivers once more with a lovely lemony freshness to the fore, joined by white fruits and more complex toasty, yeasty elements. Stockists: Fine Wine Delivery; The Good Wine Co; Wine Direct; First Glass Wine & Spirits; Primo Vino
10. Morton Estate Brut Methode Black Label NV, $20 Ridiculously good value for a traditional method sparkling wine, Morton’s pink-tinged crowd-pleaser ushers in baked apples, juicy lemons and a touch of toastiness. Rumour has it, its price may be rising soon, so stock up for the festive season and beyond. Stockists: New World; Pak’nSave; selected specialist liquor stores
EURO-FIZZ
EURO-FIZZ
11. Borga Prosecco Extra Dry, Italy NV, $25 Light, bright and bone dry, this is a lovely expression of prosecco from a family-run estate in the Treviso region of Veneto. Its crunchy green apples and mouth-watering lime join hints of stonefruit, perfumed with a touch of jasmine. Stockists: Caro’s
12. Vilarnau Barcelona Cava Organico Brut Reserva, Spain NV, $25 There’s plenty of richness to this organic cava, with its notes of spiced honey cake, baked apple, stonefruit, toasted nuts and bread characters, offset by crisp lemon. Full of flavour, gorgeous packaging and great value. Stockists: Caro’s; First Glass Wines & Spirits
13. Ramon Jane Tinc Set Escumos Brut, Spain 2019 $33-35 A biodynamic pet-nat made with wild yeasts and no added sulphur from local grapes in the cava country of Spain’s Penedes. It’s ultra-dry, pure and savoury in style, with brisk citrus and restrained apple and pear, laced with white pepper and herb, an underlying vegemite-savoury richness. Stockists: Star Superette; Cahn’s Wines & Spirits; Fine-O-Wine; By the Bottle; Cult Wine; Planetwine.co.nz
14. Sartori Prosecco Rosé Brut, Italy NV, $25 Following the popularity of prosecco and the fashion for drinks pink, prosecco rosé became an official denomination in Italy last year for bubbly made from the traditional white prosecco grape Glera and a dash of Pinot Nero (pinot noir) for colour. While some “ro-secco” can be on the sweeter side, the Sartori is a more serious dry style that’s fresh, citrusy and moreish with strawberry scented with rose. Stockists: New World; Dhall & Nash
15. Privat Reserva Brut Nature Rosé Cava, Spain 2018, $32 This very appealing bone-dry organic cava is made from a blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. It combines green apple and fresh lime notes, with more complex nuances of honey and toasted breadcrust. From: Hamilton Beer & Wine Co; Regional Wines; Stvincentscave.com
Kiwis motivated to make delicious and interesting wines under their own labels are changing the way we think about négociant winemaking.
The business of winemaking can be, well, a little dry. Especially if what you are looking for is just something good to drink. But the truth is, who owns and does what can make a qualitative difference to what ends up in your glass. My first job in wine was in a shop that proudly only sold “estate bottled” wine, which meant that all of the wines were made by the same people who grew the grapes. The alternative is probably best described by the French term négociant winemaking, where wine is made with grapes grown by someone else.
In the old world (Europe), a lot is made of the difference between these two models, and despite winemaking being the endpoint of both, they are – for legal and taxation purposes – recognised as different types of businesses.
The cost of land and plant can act as a prohibitive barrier to entry for young adventurous winemakers.
In terms of quality, the general consensus is that wines made by the people who grow the grapes on their own land are better. It makes sense; the farmer who is also the winemaker is invested in the final product from start to end, they understand best how the quality of the fruit they grow determines the quality of the wine they make.
It is also a fair assumption that the grape grower and the négociant winemaker might have conflicting financial motivations that don’t add up to better wine. Beyond this simple idea of quality control, there is also a sense in which an “estate bottled” wine is a unique expression of the specific place and people that it came from, in a way that wine made from purchased grapes won’t be.
In Aotearoa, there is less focus on the difference between these two models of how wine gets made. That is probably to do with small artisan farmer-producers, including winemakers, cheesemakers, and other producers, not historically had the same status here as in Europe.
It is also the case that our winemaking history is simply shorter, and so it makes sense that we’ve looked for trusted brands and flavour profiles, rather than focused on place and tradition as markers of quality, as those places and their traditions are still being established.
What’s more, the accessibility of vineyards and winemaking facilities is not the same here as in the Old World. Where in parts of Europe, forgotten or neglected wine regions have provided an opportunity for young adventurous winemakers to establish themselves at a relatively low cost, here the cost of land and plant can act as a prohibitive barrier to entry.
Kiwis motivated to make delicious and interesting wines under their own labels have however found another way and in doing so, are changing the way we think about négociant winemaking.
Corofin
corofin.nz
Mike and Anna Paterson of Corofin in Marlborough, like the other producers featured here, have neither a winery nor vineyards. Perhaps counterintuitively, it is precisely this lack of a stake in a vineyard that is fundamental to them making wines that are uniquely connected to the sites they come from.
Corofin works mainly with Pinot Noir, with a little chardonnay, and each of their wines come from single sites, small corners of vineyards, all located in the foothills of the southern valleys of Marlborough. Their approach to winemaking is to dial back fruit character and varietal expression, believing that more reserved, savoury wines show better the differences made by the specific geography and geology of the vineyard sites that they want to promote.
This model for making site-specific wines is reflective of the best parts of the négociant model in Burgundy, where law and tradition codify the unique nature of specific parcels of land, and farmers and négociant-winemakers are left to focus on their part in allowing those places to best reflect themselves.
The Patersons go a step further by promoting not just the physical growing conditions of their chosen vineyards, but also the family winegrowers who farm those sites. Not only are they in this sense advocates for the most interesting places to grow grapes in their region, they also shine a light on growers who are committed to best quality farming practices.
The best Corofin recommendation I can give you is to take the opportunity to taste each of the site-specific Pinots of a given vintage. The differences between each of the wines tell the story of those unique sites. A fascinating and delicious exercise.
This particular one from the meticulously farmed Wrekin vineyard is bold, savoury and concentrated, reflective of the relatively low yields taken from the site.
A Thousand Gods
athousandgodswines
Lauren and Simon Sharpe’s story is increasingly familiar. New Zealanders who spent a significant part of their lives and careers learning their craft overseas, in their case France, returning with their young family to put those skills to use in their homeland.
Of course, a return home can be challenging for a number of reasons, not least of which is the cost of starting afresh and wanting to establish your own business.
A Thousand Gods, Blanc, 2020 (Athousandgods.com) $36
The opportunity to purchase fruit from Churton vineyard in Marlborough, one of the best growers and vineyard sites in the country, and to lease space in a shared winemaking facility, meant that the Sharpes were able to establish their label A Thousand Gods relatively quickly after their return, and without the prohibitive capital outlay of purchasing a vineyard, or the lead-time of planting one according to their no doubt exacting standards.
Which is all the better for us, as already their wines are some of the most thoughtful, interesting and delicious in the market.
Being able to get their label underway has also allowed them the time and resources for what is next, which is establishing their own small winemaking facility, opening up further opportunities to experiment and show off their well-honed craft.
Sauvignon blanc, but not as we know it. A precise balance of texture, perfumed aromatics, and just right acidity that adds up to a glass I just can’t put down.
Bryterlater
Some of the freshest and most interesting new New Zealand wines are being made under labels that are a side-hustle for their talented producers.
James + Olivia vintage ’21.
Ambitious young winemakers, such as Bryterlater’s James Graves Opie, are holding down demanding viticultural and winemaking jobs and making their own wine on the side. Connections made in the industry through their ‘day jobs’ provide access to both information about where to source the best fruit, as well as access to expensive equipment and unused space, not to mention a network of seasoned professionals willing to lend advice and the odd hand where needed.
Bryterlater, Swell, Sauvignon Blanc Pet Nat, 2021 – $39
Opie, situated in North Canterbury, sources premium organic fruit from local growers, and with it is crafting some impressive wines. His work with Sauvignon Blanc, especially in his sparkling wines, show new and delicious sides to a varietal many of us may have tired of.
I believe it’s partly the freedom of financial pressure associated with buying land equipment that gives Opie’s approach an air of experimentation, trial and error, and ambition. Like an increasing number of similarly minded winemakers, he’s not letting the absence of his own vineyard and winery stop him from producing his own wines.
The result is more exciting wines to drink, which is always a good thing.
Yeasty creamy texture and fine bubbles in this delicate sparkler are complemented by gentle pear flavours, all of which offset the shouty fruit-forward character normally associated with sauvignon blanc. Really impressive, and super refreshing.
