Yvonne Lorkin: Juice from winery grapes has more kick

Yvonne Lorkin reviews another tasty trifecta of wines.

In all my years writing wine columns, one of the most common questions I'm asked is whether it's possible to find grape juice made from the types of grapes that make wine? Why? Because believe me, once you've tasted the juice of a wine grape, it's almost impossible to go back to bland old grape juice.

This'll sound snobby, but it's like the juice equivalent of 100 per cent cotton sheets. Once you've bought and slept in your first set of crisp, high-thread-count sheets polyester just makes you die a little on the inside.

So what makes wine grapes different? Well, wine grapes are grown in such a way as to concentrate and intensify the flavours in the berries - the vines are kept close to starvation so the vine channels its energy into tiny, explosively tasty berries. Conversely, the table grapes used to make everyday juice are grown for volume, with big bunches of berries swollen with watery, boring juice.

There are a few wine producers in New Zealand producing non-alcoholic grape juice from the same grapes as they make their wine, and they're great because they taste like the wine they'd normally make yet they're sweeter and contain no alcohol. The Millton Vineyard in Gisborne produces an organic juice called Amrita (nectar of the gods). This biodynamic grape juice is made from fruit picked by hand, gently pressed and made into juice on just one day of the year.

David Hoskins from Heron's Flight Vineyard in Matakana produced his first non-alcoholic grape juices for sale in 2004 and they're now hugely popular.

This week I tasted a new range of pure grape juices from First Press in Gisborne. They're made from Hexton-grown chardonnay, a lychee-laden gewurztraminer from Patutahi and fruit from Tolaga Bay goes into their merlot and a spicy-sweet rosé crafted from syrah grapes. Delicious and available from gisbornegourmet.com.

It's about that time of year when couples start to freak out because their spring wedding is just around the corner and they still haven't organised the drinks! If your budget happens to be on the skinny side here's how you can at least sort the reds out relatively painlessly

Arriba Tempranillo 2013, $12-$16

Bright and bouncing off the walls with red cherry and boysenberry flavours all stitched together with spice and cocoa characters. It's fresh, pretty to look at in the glass, smooth, ultra-fruity and will become a crowd favourite in no time. thegoodwine.co.nz

One Chain 'The Wrong-Un' Shiraz Cabernet 2014, $14.95

Apparently 'One Chain' has an imperial measurement of 22 yards, the length of a cricket pitch, so you can take that little nugget of knowledge to your next pub quiz. Dusty, peppery, leathery characters on the nose lead to tangy blackcurrant, plum and liquorice flavours on the palate. Slippery and succulent to sip. info@bdwine.co.nz

Anciano Tempranillo Crianza 'Aged 3 Years' 2010, $12-$17

A very lush, fruity red wine that oozes baked berry and savoury chocolate tones on the nose and palate. Smooth and velvety to drink, with a touch of toast on the finish " it's a great value wine for weddings, parties " anything! Vegetarians and Vegans may also like the fact that this wine is fined naturally by gravity, so no animal products are used whatsoever in the making of this wine. thegoodwine.co.nz