My Favourite Wines of 2013 – The Reds

January 24, 2014 admin

Here are some of my favourite and most memorable red wines I tasted (or mainly) drunk in 2013

Penfolds

For me, 2013 was the year I finally dug in to my stash of premium Penfolds wines. Penfolds make a wide, seemingly ever-increasing, range of wines in different styles and at different price points; but there are a few that wine lovers will instantly recognise the name of. Wine geeks should seek out The Rewards Of Patience which gives the full history of Penfolds.

I bought a six bottle case of 1995 Grange back in 2000 when I popped to the local Tesco near work for a sandwich. Pretty expensive sandwich! I’d just signed a contract for a new job and was over the moon when I noticed that Tesco had 25% of Australian wine when buying six or more. I was friendly with the wine section manager Gavin as he was actually in to wine as opposed to being a glorified shelf-stacker, so he gave me the nod that the store’s annual allocation of two half cases of Grange had just arrived in. As Grange is released 5 years after vintage it was the 1995 being offered; unsurprisingly, it wasn’t out on the shelves with the Hardy’s Stamp and Nottage Hill. Being a qualified bean counter I worked out that the 25% saving on a bottle would pretty much cover five more modest bottles – they would effectively be free! But then it occured to me that 25% discount on six bottles would save me even more money! I’m sure that logic works for some other people as well…. The shocked look on the lass at the till as the price came up for a bottle was hilarious.

I added to my collection when the same offer was on the following year for the 1996 vintage and then in 2002 buying the 1997 vintage, all with a 25% discount, but I gave up when the 1998 vintage was released at a much higher price. I found out why when visiting a neighbour of Penfolds in the Barossa in late 2003 – it was just a great vintage that cases were selling for double the release price in the car park just outside the cellar door!

I did, however, get a sixer of Penfolds Bin 707 (their top Cabernet Sauvignon) from the 1998 vintage. It generally retailed at 40% of the price of Grange, and this seems to hold true today.

So from 2000 to 2009 these cases of wine moved house with me a few times but remained unopened. Finally, when I got married in 2009 I gave a bottle of 1995 Grange to each of my four groomsmen (and the brother-in-law who stepped in to do the video at the last minute) as a thank-you, leaving me with the last for myself.

Just before Christmas 2013 we hosted two of my wine drinking mates and their wives; partially to give my wife a chance to make beef wellington for the first time in advance of Christmas day, but also a chance to catch up in a more relaxed atmosphere than some of the bigger tasting events. And it also gave me an excuse to open a few nice bottles! We had two bottles of Champagne (see forthcoming post on best Fizz of 2013), two bottles of white (ditto best White of 2013), four half bottles of dessert wine at the end and the following bottles of red:

Penfolds Bin 707 1998

Penfolds Grange 1997

Penfolds Grange 1996

They were all maturing, with light red to orange rims, but still a dense dark core. There was lots of black fruit to the fore and the tannins were quite mellow, though unmistakably present. The 97 Grange was marginally preferred to the the 96, but the Bin 707 was astounding. Far from being a poor relation, its shone out, still bursting with cassis and blackberry. Definitely my red wine of the year, and a bargain to boot. Was it a better wine or just an excellent vintage? Who knows, but I need to taste some more to find out.

The beef wellington went down a storm at the meal, and also on Christmas day itself. And what did I open to go with it the second time? My last remaining bottle of Grange 1995!

So was the Aussie Icon Grange worth it? In my opinion, the bottles I had weren’t worth their current price of £200 – £250 retail – but definitely worth the £75 I originally paid! The reward for patience…

Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape 2009

I had a spot of luck at the end of October (well two, actually, but I won’t mention the other one here!) as I was given a bottle of Rhône wine as part of the Rhône Wine Week promotions with the proviso that I write a short review. Expecting a generic Côtes du Rhône I was happily surprised to receive a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, probably the most prestigious AC in the southern Rhône.

Due to the widespread renown of the appelation (which was the first ever AC), and despite the fairly high standards demanded by the INAO (French wine regulators), some of the wines produced in the area are not worthy of the name. These are generally easy to spot as they are the cheapest on offer – especially if they are “50% off”. Other villages in the Rhône offer much better value, particularly Rasteau and Lirac.

So I opened the bottle with moderate expectations. And boy, was I wrong! My faith in Chateauneuf was restored anew. It showed deep black fruits and spice from the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre (GSM) dominated blend, and a luxurious round mouthfeel with a velvety long finish. It had such power (I was gobsmacked by the 15.5% abv, not obvious at all) but also finesse.

My wife asked for a sip and immediately demanded a glass, it was that good.

A profound wine which I will be looking out for again.

Errázuriz Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2003

I managed to swing an invite to a 4-decade vertical tasting of Errázuriz’s premium Cabernet blend Don Maximiano. Cabernet Sauvignon usually makes up around 85% of the blend with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot making up the rest, though the precise proportions vary depending on the vintage. “Don Max” is a definite contender for Chile’s best red wine.

The 1989 and 1994 were more like mature Haut-Medoc than something from the new world. The 2001 and 2003 were blockbusters, not a style everyone likes, but the 2003 was absolutely fabulous in my eyes (and those of most others I spoke to). Lots of deep cassis and plum with fine tannins and acidity still hanging in there. The 2008 was also very good though perhaps not yet of age. The 2010 was a more modern Cabernet, not picked quite as late and not quite as long in oak so the wine remained fresher. All four wines from this millenium were drinking beautifully.

Gaec François et Fils Côte-Rôtie 2011

This beauty was party of a Côte du Rhône tasting hosted by Jean Smullen, and was the finest Northern Rhône wine I have tasted for years. As is the norm in the North the wine is based on Syrah (95%), but with 5% of Viognier added for suppleness and fragrance. After tasting lots of Grenache blends with 14%+ alcohol this was more elegant and refined, medium in weight and only 12.5% abv – it didn’t drink like it was missing any oomph.

So how do they make it so elegant? Firstly, the Viognier is cofermented with the Syrah (i.e. the black and white grapes are fermented in the same vessel at the same time) which is a long standing practice in the area. Secondly, 400 litre oak barrels are used rather than the smaller Bordeaux barrique of 225 litres, and only 30% of them were new. Interestingly the soil in the Côte Brune is said to be similar to that of Coonawarra in South Australia, another high quality red wine area.

I will also be posting up my favourite whites, fizz and stickies of 2013, watch this space!

I hope you liked this post, please leave a comment and/or follow my blog  if you haven't done so already.

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Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #6 (Mystery)–Time to Vote!

January 14, 2014 admin

Get reading and voting folks!

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#MWWC6 – Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #6 – Mystery

January 13, 2014 admin

This is the sixth installment of the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge, but the first one I have been able to enter. The theme of “Mystery” was set by The Drunken Cyclist who won the previous month’s challenge.

Normally I read the other entries which are posted to get an idea, but on a couple of occasions I’ve seen other people have already had a great idea which was at the back of my mind – and plagiarism isn’t good, even the appearance of it.

So for this challenge I’ve gone way out of my comfort zone and attempted a short bit of fiction – something I haven’t done since English class at school! A little inspiration came from the badge created by The Armchair Cyclist…

The door was unlocked so I let myself into the hallway; the rain was coming down like bullets into the night so I needed to get out of the rain. I peeked round the corner – nobody there, so I headed down the stairs and took a seat at the bar.

“How are you Frank? What’ll you have?” said the bartender. He was new. His accent was strange..somewhere from the mid-Atlantic. His pale skin and red hair made him look like he would get sunburn from a lightbulb. He must have heard my name from the boss.

“Champagne. Bollinger. Vintage.”

“A glass?”

“No. A bottle” He obviously didn’t know me. Not. At. All.

“Two glasses then? Are you waiting for someone?”

“Do I look like I want company?” I growled. “Open the goddam bottle will you?”

The bartender opened the bottle with a brief sigh (the bottle, not him) and poured me a glass. He put the bottle in an ice bucket with a fancy towel over top. It said “Ely” on the towel.

I knocked back a mouthful – man, this was great stuff. Creamy, complex, red fruits and biscuit with a long finish. My kind of drink. In fact, it was my regular drink at Ely. Don’t get me wrong, I like some of the other fizzy stuff they had, but not the Italian or Spanish garbage – far too simple, far too easy.

I quaffed the rest of the glass then poured myself another. The bar owner walked in and nodded to me as he walked past. “On the usual, I see, Frank”. Obervant as usual. He was a nice guy, real friendly, but left me alone when I wanted to be.

“You still have eyes then, Fred” I muttered. “You know me, I know what I like.”

“Come on, my old friend, tonight you should try something else.” A raised eyebrow made him pause. “On the house!”

“Okay Fred, just to make you happy, I’ll try them again. Then you won’t ask me again, right?”

“Great, I’m sure you will like some of them, Frank!” He seemed excited, like a puppy. This had better be quick and had better get him off my case.

“Pour away, Fred. This here..” I tapped the bottle of Bollinger Grand Année. “This here is my benchmark. Whatever you give me has to match this baby.”

He took a bottle out of the fridge behind the bar and popped the cork. Reaching up, he grabbed a couple of glasses from the shelf above the bar.

“What the heck is that? That’s no Champagne cork!”

“My friend, this is frizzante Prosecco. It doesn’t need a big cork and wire cage, it’s not as fizzy as other sparklers.”

I didn’t like Prosecco. I hated it. In fact, I hated it with a loathing far beyond mere contempt. It was a chick’s drink. As Fred poured us both a glass, I looked round to make sure no-one else could see I was trying such an absurd drink.

Bam! Fruit all the way! But then it was gone, as quickly as it came, leaving a slight prick of acid in my throat. It was like using a water pistol instead of a real gun – surprise from the impact, but no lasting effect.

“Fred that’s nowhere near close,” I said. “I hope you’ve got something better than that”

“Coming right up, my friend.” He fished another bottle out of the fridge. This time it looked to have a regular Champagne cork.

Another pair of glasses. He poured again. At least this seemed to be properly fizzy.

“So you reckon this is better, huh? Where’s it from?” I asked.

“Just try it and see what you think, Frank.”

I took a mouthful. Nice and round in the mouth. Not sweet. Biscuitty. Chewy even. But then it faded quickly; far too simple. The label said Freixenet Elyssia. Sounded more like a medical complaint than a drink.

“Well Fred…it’s just like I thought. Those other drinks, now they’re just fine for other folks. But not for me, they’re far too simple. I need a bit of wonder in my beverages. I need mystery.”

Click here to vote.

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My 2014 Wine Resolutions

January 10, 2014 admin

It might seems strange, but I’m posting my 2014 Wine Resolutions before my 2013 Best Wines, mainly because it will be shorter.

So, here are a few of the wines I’m hoping to drink (more of) this year:

Muscadet

Yes, that’s right, Muscadet – the classic example of a bone-dry white wine. It’s supposed to be perfect with white fish and sea food, but as I don’t eat that much sea food at home I’ve nearly always tried it on its own. The Melon de Bourgogne grape doesn’t have that much flavour, so some of the better growers let it mature on its lees (dead yeast cells and other solid matter) to give it a bit more oomph. And that helps (a bit).

And how does it taste? Well, frankly, many of the bottles I’ve had over the years have been somewhere between vinegar and paintstripper. It’s usually very high in acidity with no residual sugar (RS) and the lack of flavour can make it taste thin and just, well, unpleasant.

However, as one of my favourite sayings goes: “It’s never too late to lose a prejudice”, so perhaps a few better bottles might change my mind. Muscadet is often cited as underpriced for its quality, and as a Yorkshireman getting VFM is a good thing. I’m thinking I might have to include a few different Muscadets in a mixed case from The Wine Society…

Cava

Most people with a bit of wine knowledge realise that Cava’s image is quite poor in the UK (where I’m from) and Ireland (where I live). It’s made in the traditional method like Champagne, but although the Chamapgne grapes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are permitted nowadays, Cava is often made from the indigenous grapes Macebeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo. Perhaps I’m being a snob here, but these grapes don’t sound that promising as base material for great sparkling wine. Whenever I’ve put a Cava into a flight of sparklers in a blind tasting it has been spotted by most of the tasters, usually because of its relative lack of refinement and a certain earthiness.

Cava is often one of the cheapest sparkling wines in the supermarket which sounds a bit crazy when you consider the production method, more costly than Prosecco’s tank method, for example. So how do they make it so cheaply? Firstly, grape yields are higher than Champagne (which are already high for a quality wine), so the same vineyard area produces more grapes. Secondly, many producers buy in grapes from growers, and the market price for grapes in Catalonia (where ~95% of Cava is made) is much lower than in Champagne. Thirdly, the miniumum length of the second fermentation in bottle is only nine months for non-vintage compared to fifteen in Champagne. Use of Gyropalettes (machines which enable riddling to be done in bulk in a much shorter period) is another significant cost saving and is now standard for Cava. Of course, some Champagne houses do use them as well. Finally, due to its place in the market there is far far less spent on marketing and publicity for Cava compared to Champagne.

So why am I going to try more Cava in 2014? After some interesting twitter discussions with Alex Hunt MW (@alexhuntmw), Lenka Sedlackova (@lenkster) and others last year I decided to ignore the dross and look for the best that Cava has. I took down some recommendations:

Gramona
Raventos I Blanc
Recaredo
Villarnau
René Barbier

I will also be scouring the Cava section of the Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & sparkling wine which I was lucky enough to be bought for Christmas. If you like fizz, buy this book!

Another target for 2014 for which I will be gleaning info from that book is:

Franciacorta

This is Italy’s quality traditional method sparkling wine made in Lombardy. I must confess I haven’t tasted a single sip to date! Franciacorta gets some good press, but as the volume of production is relatively low (about a tenth of Champagne) and domestic demand is high, very little is exported.

Some of the top producers I will try to find:

Ca’ Del Bosco
Bellavista
Guido Berlucchi
Barone Pizzini

Prestige Cuvée Champagnes

This resolution is very much wallet dependant! I’ve had many different vintages of Dom Perignon (it was the fizz on tap in Emirates First Class to and from our honeymoon in New Zealand) and tried Krug’s Grand Cuvée, Veuve Clicquot’s La Grande Dame and Louis Roederer’s Cristal, but there are still several top Champagnes I would like to try – even if that’s a taste rather than buying a bottle:

Salon
Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne
Dom Ruinart
Perrier-Jouët’s Belle Epoque
Philipponnat‘s Clos des Goisses
Pol Roger‘s Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill

So there are my 2014 Wine Resolutions – what are yours?

Please feel free to leave a comment.

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Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #6 (#MWWC6)

December 10, 2013 admin

I have a fully-functioning laptop and a bit of free time so no excuses this month!

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Sweeney’s On Tour Xmas Meal 2013

December 8, 2013 admin

Sweeney’s Wine Merchants in Glasnevin, Dublin, hold regular wine tastings on their mezzanine floor. A dozen or so of the regulars, including myself, have been socialising together for several years, whether for meals in town or tasting events arranged at each others’ houses (see Glasnevin Fizz Fest).

For our 2013 Xmas meal we descended upon Beirut Express on Dame Street in Dublin – not because we all adore Lebanese food (though I am a fan myself), but rather because they only charge €3 corkage which is perfect for winos on a budget!

Here is a selection of the bottles we enjoyed last night – and apologies for the poor image quality. My personal favourites were the Chateau Musar and the Yalumba Botrytised Viognier.

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Glasnevin Fizz Fest – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

November 3, 2013 admin

Veuve Ambal Cremant de Bourgogne 2011 was the surprise standout from last night’s fizz tasting…crisp acidity and racy citrus fruit against a background of yeast and toast. The balance and development were a happy surprise in such a young and inexpensive wine.

This wasn’t as much of a surprise: Pierre Gimonnet 1er Cru Cuis Blanc de Blancs NV (from The Wine Society) did all of the above and more. Being a Non Vintage it isn’t apparent which years’ harvest the grapes are from, but the developped bready (autolytic for you real wine geeks) nose and flavours were appreciated by all the tasters. I’m hoping I have another bottle or two left!

The two sparklers above were both “Good”, so now for the bad. Jean Louis Ballarin Cremant de Bordeaux is a blend of Semillon and Muscadelle, two of the three standard white grapes of Bordeaux (the third being Sauvignon Blanc). Unfortunately this example was faulty as the main flavour coming through was wet cardboard – yuck! The sibling Cabernet Franc-based Black Pearl was much nicer.

The biggest selling Champagne world wide is The Ugly – or more precisely the Short and Boring. This was served blind and tasters’ guesses as to its origins were all wide of the mark – no one thought it worthy of the badge Champagne.

Offering very little on the nose, muted flavours on the palate a short finish, Moet et Chandon is a triumph of marketing over winemaking. Give it as a present to someone who likes labels, but look elsewhere for good fizz.

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November Monthly Wine Writing Challenge (#MWWC5)

November 2, 2013 admin

Restaurant Review

Restaurant Review: FXB Crow St, Dublin

November 1, 2013 admin

Now I like fine food, just as I like fine wine, but sometimes I just want something a bit more straightforward, basic… gourmand rather than gourmet. And being a carnivorous male of the species that means a big eff-off steak! Vegetarians should look away now…

Francis Xavier Buckley opened a butcher’s in Dublin in 1930, and the group still maintains FX Buckley butchers along with five steakhouses and pubs. They pride themselves on the quality of their meat which they source directly and dry-age wherever possible. For my birthday we chose to visit their Steakhouse on Crow Street in Temple Bar in the heart of Dublin.

We were shown to our table shortly after arrival; but the cramped layout of the place was such that several other diners had to brush past the back of both our chairs to and from their table – quite irritating to be honest!

As the menus are available to browse online I already had a good idea what my food order was going to be, so I glanced at the specials board and checked out the wine list. The Amaretto Sour cocktail caught my eye as I love almond and amaretto flavours – and it was delicious.

However, when we gave our food orders the waiter almost walked away without asking what wine or other drinks we would like with our meal – what sort of place is this? The wine by the glass selection was fairly limited, but at least it appeared appropriate to the food being served. My wife Jess chose Argentinian Malbec (we have both converted from anti- to pro-Malbec!) and I selected a slightly more modest Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.

The starters:

As an admitted carnivore I chose Baby Back Pork Ribs, done in a sweet barbecue sauce. Thankfully the sweetness of the Amaretto Sour could handle the sauce as my red wine tasted quite bitter with the ribs.

Jess chose Castlintownbere Mussels – despite having some sort of fish and seafood allergy she seems able to tolerate mussels (and when I say “tolerate” I mean “devour with relish”).

The mains:

So what does a steak fan order on his birthday? A 22oz Bone-in Rib-Eye, that’s what!

It was amazingly tender and succulent, even better than I’d hoped! And finally the Chilean Cabernet came into its own, a good match for a perfectly medium-rare steak.

My wife is not as greedy as me so she ordered the 10oz 28 day Dry-aged Rib eye, and again it was juicy and flavoursome. She did the taste test against mine (which had the bone in) and narrowly preferred it, but both were excellent. The Malbec was still going well, as you’d expect of a big red wine made in a beef-producing country like Argentina.

Desserts:

After a suitable pause we moved onto the sweet stuff. There didn’t appear to be any dessert wine so I finished my red wine and just drank water with the Double Chocolate Tart. This was fairly, but not overly, sweet and mainly dark chocolate – I find milk chocolate too sickly and don’t even ask me about white “chocolate”.

Jess chose her perennial favourite – Créme Brûlée. This was a success and had a satisfyingly crunchy sugar layer on top.

Once our spoons were down we paid the bill and left – it didn’t seem a venue to linger over coffee.

Verdict:

Great steaks but poor layout and lacking in atmosphere. Not ideal if you are a wine lover.

Food 7/10

Wine 5/10

Service 6/10

http://crow-st.fxbuckley.ie/

Information

I Know What I Like – Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – Part 1

October 23, 2013 admin

This post is the first of several which encourage newcomers to wine or creatures of habit to try something a bit different from their usual drop.

It was prompted by a few requests from friends plus some of the twitter debates over the past few months or so, including whether wine expertise is bunkum or not. More precisely, one phrase often declared by novice wine drinkers is “I know what I like”, with the follow on (usually unspoken) being “I know what wine is best for me and I won’t try anything else”. Now, I’m not going to tell those people they are wrong (as such!) – I just want to give those that are hesitant to try something other than their favourite type a path which they could explore.

So firstly, why do people like Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc??

It’s crisp, fruity, fresh, widely available, consistent in quality and reasonably priced – it offers a lot of bang for the buck! In particular “Savvy” has more intense aromas and flavours than often found in white wine.

Of course I should declare an interest here and say that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favourite wine styles, though not every bottle. This article is also an excuse for me to post some of the photos I took on honeymoon in Marlborough in 2009!

So if you’re stuck with the same old bottle, week in week out, what should you do?

Step 1 – Buy A Better Brand

Nowadays most supermarkets will have a gondola end of Oyster Bay or even a made up label where excess production has been bought up at rock bottom prices and then vinified on the cheap. This came to a head when more vineyards came on stream at the same time as the Global Financial Crisis reduced demand for wine in New Zealand’s traditional markets.

Hopefully the glut is over, but there are still brands which are a notch above the bottom, even if they are mass-market.

Brancott Estate used to be called Montana but this caused confusion with American drinkers thinking it came from the US State of that name. Brancott’s everyday drinking Sauvignon Blanc is a great example, and it’s available nearly everywhere wine is sold in the UK and Ireland.

The other go-to label for me is Villa Maria, now sporting a new look for 2013. For many people in Ireland in the late 90s and early 00s this was a treat to look forward to at the weekend. Still privately owned, quality remains consistently good.

Step 2 – Pay More! (Trade Up)

Here I don’t mean pay more for the sake of it. While quality and price aren’t perfectly aligned, you often get what you pay for in New Zealand. There are lots of quality-conscious wineries in Marlborough, both large and small.

Cloudy Bay is the label that put the area and New Zealand as a whole on the wine map for international drinkers. It became New Zealand’s first “icon” wine, and for many years was only available on allocation. Although quality has wavered slightly over the years, especially as production volumes increased, it remains a great drop and is always the one to beat.

Villa Maria make a fine entry level SB, as mentioned above, but their black label Clifford Bay is on another plane entirely. Less immediately pungent but smoother and richer – it’s just sumptuous! In fact I like it so much that it was the white wine I chose to have served at my wedding.

Another well-regarded producer is Dog Point, founded by Ivan Sutherland & James Healy, the former viticulturist and oenologist respectively from Cloudy Bay. Their old boss Kevin Judd, who was the founding winemaker of Cloudy Bay, also left to set up his own firm Greywacke. For his first vintage he bought grapes and rented some winery space from Dog Point, but he moved on to purchasing his own vineyards and facilities.

Other Marlborough producers who are worth trading up to include Astrolabe (particularly their Awatere Valley), Stanley Estate (also from the Awatere Valley), Nautilus Estate, Saint Clair, Lawson’s Dry Hills, Mahi, Wither Hills and Mud House.

Step 3 – Same Again, But With A Twist!

One of the things many people like about Sauvignon Blanc is that it usually tastes fresh and hasn’t seen any oak, whether barrels or staves or oak chips in a teabag. This isn’t the only way of making Sauvignon Blanc, and some of the better Marlborough producers have been following the Sancerre (see next post) practice of either fermenting the must or maturing the wine in oak – or both. The amount of oak used really does vary, and for many wines only a proportion will be oaked, and perhaps with older rather than brand new barrels.

Great examples from Marlborough include Cloudy Bay Te Koko, Dog Point Section 94, Greywacke Wild Sauvignon, and the newly released Brancott Estate Chosen Rows. These wines will often be released a year or so after their unoaked stablemates.

Step 4 – Head Down The Road

In the eyes of many wine drinkers, Marlborough has become synonymous with New Zealand, particularly for Sauvignon Blanc. It does make up the vast majority of Sauvignon production, but if we do a tour of the rest of Aotearoa then we can find alternative expressions of the grape.

Firstly, to Nelson which is also in the north of the South Island. Sauvignons here are often more mellow and a bit weightier than Marlborough, so can be easier to match with food. The most prestigious producer is Judy & Tim Finn’s Neudorf, better known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Also check out Woollaston Estate (plus their sibling Tussock and Wingspan labels) and Greenhough.

Towards the east coast of the South Island, just above Christchurch, lies the up-and-coming area of Waipara (not to be confused with Wairarapa!) Waipara specialises in Pinot Noir and Riesling but does have some Sauvignon Blanc produced by Waipara Springs and Pegasus Bay under their Main Divide label.

Heading south west but keeping to the eastern side of the Southern Alps, we eventually reach Central Otago, the most southern of New Zealand’s established wine regions. “Central”, as it’s known for short, is Pinot heaven – the unique climate helps make powerful but supple Pinot Noir, primarily, but also Chardonnay, Riesling and some Sauvignon Blanc. The region actually has several sub-divisions, (with recommended producers): Bannockburn (Mount Difficulty, Carrick), Gibbston Valley (Gibbston Valley Winery, Peregrine, Chard Farm), Wanaka (Rippon) Cromwell Basin (Amisfield) and Bendigo (Misha’s Vineyard).

From Marlborough, taking the Inter-Islander ferry over the Cook Strait to Wellington then a short drive north east brings us to Martinborough, part of the larger Wairarapa region. Also celebrated for its Pinot Noirs, it has some fantastic Sauvignon Blanc producers in Ata Rangi, Palliser Estate, and Craggy Range (Te Muna Road). These can often be even more tropical than their counterparts in Marlborough.

Further north the long-established region of Hawke’s Bay, which includes the towns of Napier and Hastings, has a reputation built on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Some of these great producers (such as Trinity Hill, Mission Estate, CJ Pask) also make lovely, more gentle, Sauvignon Blancs.

I hope this has given you some ideas of what you could try as your first few steps out of your wine comfort zone. It’s always good to try new wines, you will hopefully expand your taste and find more types you like.

Part 2 looks at other countries’ versions of Sauvignon Blanc

Part 3 looks at alternatives to Sauvignon Blanc