Bud Burst for To Your Taste

Welcome to my first official blog posting of To Your Taste!

Even though this site is something new for me, it is really the continuation (in a different style and format) of the columns I had been writing for The Telegram up to April 1st. I am expecting this media to offer more flexibility for expression and discussion.

I’m pretty much going to pick up where I left off. I was in the middle of a trip to Australia and New Zealand and my last column was on wines from the state of Victoria in Australia – Rutherglen, Yarra Valley, and the Mornington Peninsula (see my Columns pages). My next stop was the North Island of New Zealand where I spent a day each on Waiheke Island (a short ferry ride from Auckland) and in Hastings in the Hawke’s Bay region.

We have more than 30 different wines at the NLC from New Zealand … none of them plonk … but for the most part they are from larger producers, such as Villa Maria, and from the best known regions, such as Marlborough.

You won’t find any wines from Waiheke Island here … and you shouldn’t have such expectations. The wineries on the island are mostly boutique places, about the size of small installations in the wine regions of Canada. They cater to tourists and local residents via cellar door and club sales, and quite often their own on-premises restaurants. Even the couple of “large” wineries, which include wines they sell/produce from other regions of New Zealand, would be considered small by most standards.

It’s interesting to note that every one of the five wineries we visited on Waiheke were linked into an international wine shipping agency that shipped to places like England and the United States, but not Canada. Canada was not on the list because of our wine import laws and complications.

Waiheke is set up really well for wine tourism. You can purchase a variety of wine touring options – the one we chose was the Wine Hopper bus, which included the round trip ferry from Auckland. There are six stops covering eight wineries, but the driver will let you off anywhere along the route. It’s a great way to see and explore the island, and enjoy some wine without worrying about driving.

Our stops included Mudbrick, Jurassic Ridge, Cable Bay, Te Whau, and Casita Miro. It’s fair to say that all of the wineries were committed to wine making and proud of their results. Te Whau and Jurassic Ridge made a point that they added absolutely nothing to their wines. Wild yeasts from the vineyards were the source of fermentation, and clarification was achieved by rack and return, instead of adding fining agents such as egg whites or isinglass. All of these wineries, with the exception of Jurassic Ridge, had on-premises restaurants featuring their own wines (of course) – note some of the honours won by Te Whau’s establishment in the photos below. During the main tourist season it is necessary to make reservations for lunch during your wine tasting trip. You have to pay a tasting fee at most of the places we visited on Waiheke, which is understandable since many produce only 1,000 to 5,000 cases a year.

Some of my favourites of the day were the Mudbrick Reserve Chardonnay 2015, the Cable Bay Rosé 2015 (one of the best rosé wines I have ever enjoyed), and the 2010 Te Whau Le Point (Bordeaux Blend). Jurassic Ridge had an interesting Montepulciano, which is a variety making a mark on the Island. Casita Miro offered its wine tasting with a pairing of tasty bites (see the photo below).

We only had a morning to spend in the Hastings/Hawke’s Bay area, visiting three wineries: Craggy Range, Trinity Hill, and Linden Estates, although we tried other local labels with our meals while we were in the area. Craggy Range has properties throughout the country with the express mission to display the terroir and best varietals/wines from each region. I thought that their Martinsboro Te Muna Riesling 2014 was spectacular. The Bordeaux blend Sophia 2013 from the nearby Gimblett Gravels was very much like a young Bordeaux from Graves, and is going to be fabulous in a few years.

The 2014 Sauvignon Blanc at Trinity Hill could easily be mistaken for a top-end Sancerre (as opposed to a typical highly aromatic kiwi Sauv Banc). I was also impressed by their 2014 Montepulciano.

We enjoyed a gourmet lunch at Linden Estates while squeezing in a tasting. The whole range exceeded expectations but the 2010 Syrah, with its red fruit, plums/prunes, raisins, and especially spice, was the one selected for purchase.

My take-away from this abbreviated tasting tour was that there is a lot more to New Zealand wine than aromatic Sauvignon!

Hastings

Waiheke Island

Wine Listings:

Sileni Cellar Selection Pinot Noir 2013, Hawke’s Bay (NLC $19.56) – The Sileni Pinot Noir is one of a handful of NLC wines from the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand. The colour is the expected pale hue of this grape, something like beet juice with a little extra dark purple. The aroma is abundant and enticing, full of black cherry and dried cranberry sweetness with smoke and earth accents. In the mouth there is a sour cherry counterpoint to the sweet fruit which helps to balance the flavours. Overall a marvellous New World expression of this variety worthy of a score of 16 – Very Good.

Quicknotes:

• The NLC Last Chance clearance of wines being de-listed continues with a few items found in most stores. Still some great bargains available.
• The recent New Brunswick court ruling on bringing beer and spirits across provincial borders has the potential to force change, for the positive, in our ability to access Canadian wines here, directly from the wineries.