Three little things could make wine better

1. Better pinot noir

Winter always brings out my wistful side - I want it to be warmer, but now I'm also wishing there were fewer cheap pinot noirs about and that everything bottled as pinot noir was delicious enough to want more than one glass.

If you judged New Zealand's red wine success according to the increasing number of pinot noirs being made, you could conclude we're doing rather well. But that is not true.

This year pinot noir will overtake chardonnay to become our second-most planted grape and much of the increase will create more pinot noirs priced under $20. But few of the low-priced pinot noirs live up to the hype of the big-name, big-pricetag pinot noirs.

2. More adventurous wine drinking

A box of Chilean wines I tasted last month proved Chile is home to some of the best-value, low-priced cabernet sauvignons and merlots.

Wine importer Warren Bebb believes it is a hard job trying to convince us to buy Chilean wines because of some poor examples a couple of decades ago. But things have changed.

Bebb lived in Chile from 1996 to 2003. He has returned to New Zealand and is importing wines from Chile, which sell at New World supermarkets and online at his website. The biggest sellers are the Cono Sur gewurztraminer and viognier.

3. Less jargon

A friend has penned the perfect tasting note for a non-existent wine, which shows that we all need a reality check every now and then.

The following was written by Mike Hudson, a Spike Milligan fan. His tasting note on Sharp Point Pinot Noir (not a real wine) reads: "Bright ruby in colour with an initial smoky, herbal aroma followed by a slight pang of disgust. Light fruity cherryish flavour overwhelmed by the heady scent of a Penrose sheet metal worker's armpit.

"Its silky structure won't last and will probably collapse into a small misshapen heap. Good acid (I particularly enjoyed the late 1960s) but terrible acidity that doesn't carry anything with it but regret. I liked its complexity but am still finding it difficult to open. Musk and spice on the nose and wallop of black cherry over the thighs. With an earthiness that tastes of the earth with a suggestion of mud. Good drinking now and quite good later on. Nicely balanced if you hold it in one hand."