The most salubrious situation in which to sip this fizz would be while standing in the shade of the enormous oak outside Moana Park's cellar door on a sunny autumn afternoon. However, it's also excellent on drizzly evenings when you're cowering in the kitchen, cobbling dinner together and listening to children wailing from the bathroom, "Mum! Rory's trying to drown me!" One hunded per cent chardonnay has been crafted into a lemony-soft, biscuit-edged beauty that's the perfect self-reward for successfully managing to hide the loot for the kids' Easter egg hunt.
moanapark.co.nz
Tohu Rewa Vintage Rose Methode Traditionnelle Gift Box 2016 ($40)
This is sensational to serve with buttery croissants, classic pancakes or chunky fruit salad at that Easter brekkie or brunch. Named after Aotearoa's native honeysuckle tree (rewarewa), this ballet shoe-hued bubbles is crafted from 100 per cent pinot noir and aged in bottle for 26 months on its yeast lees before disgorging. This injects soft, crazy-creamy, cherry, berry and nutty niceness to its lemony brioche and toasted hazelnut layers. Finely tuned, seriously stylish, get it in your fridge pronto!
tohuwines.co.nz
Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($19)
Easter boaties ahoy! If this wine isn't just the snazziest thing to sip with whatever seafood you're sizzling up this Easter, then I'll be dipped in squid. With gentle aromas of bruised basil, sugar snap peas and passionfruit that lead the way to soft waves of peach and lemonade loveliness, this Nelsonian niceness will definitely appeal to those who prefer to steer away from the squint-inducingly acidic styles popular at pub quiz nights and hen's parties. Superb stuff.
seifried.co.nz
St Clair Pioneer Block 3 43 Degrees Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($28)
When it comes to what to sip while snacking on those "we've got visitors", Easter break cheeseboards, this silky new release is the business. It's sourced from Mark and Kate O'Sullivan's vineyard where the rows are unusually angled at 43 degrees, north-east to south-west. This means the southern side of each vine is shaded for longer, accentuating the herbaceous, green, grassy notes in the wine. Think crunchy capsicum, sweet pea, apple, passionfruit and loads of lemony, peachy punch alongside grassy goodness and tomato stalk saturation.
saintclair.co.nz
Stoneleigh Organic Marlborough Pinot Gris 2020 ($20)
Whether you bake your own or take a swing down convenient street and buy them from the supermarket, there's nothing nicer to sip with that sneaky, late-afternoon, buttery hot cross bun than a glass of good pinot gris. Stoneleigh's new, organic release has enough nutmeg, nashi and ripe quince-y character to be the knees of the bees with your spicy bun of choice. Refreshing, ripe and cleansing.
shop.countdown.co.nz
Villa Maria Earth Garden Organic Hawke's Bay Rose 2020 ($20)
If you're seeking out a sweet lolly-like rose, then you've come down the wrong cul-de-sac cobber, because this new, organically-crafted, 100 per cent merlot rose is perky, dry and dripping with spiced watermelon, red apple and flinty minerality in the mouth. Solid length of flavour makes it fabulous with those Good Friday fish and chips.
villamaria.co.nz
Westbrook Barrique Fermented Chardonnay 2017 ($29)
Two exciting things happened in Auckland in 1935. Arthur Engebretsen won the National Outdoor Lawn Bowls Champs and cousins Mick and Tony Ivicevich planted grapes on Awaroa Road in Henderson. That's when Westbrook Wines was born. Imagine creme caramel with grapefruit curd dolloped on the side and a squirt of apricot compote on top. This creamy, nutty, sexily smashable chardonnay has all that, as well as a smoky, toasty temper that'll appeal to those seeking a bit of savoury in every sip. Tarragon-roasted chicken? Cockle that doodle doo.
westbrook.co.nz
Stoneleigh Latitude Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017 ($20)
Easter is the perfect time to sling a lamb shoulder into the slow cooker, right? Make it even more heavenly by serving it with saucy, scalloped portobello mushrooms and a large goblet of this plucky pinot noir. Matured for eight months in 100 per cent French oak barrels, this wine sings with spicy, caramelised characters that merge with rumpty, roast cherry, tamarillo and tea notes, absolutely roaring across the olfactories with every sip.
Available in supermarkets nationwide.
Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz NV $25.50
Wondering what to sip with that mountain of Easter eggs? I absolutely adore an Aussie, sparkling shiraz with anything remotely chocolatey. It's a rich, robustly spicy, fizzy red wine and believe me, when you've spent hot, dusty days in the Outback fending off goannas and rabid tree-bunnies, it's the corka, rippa, cracker, bonza, bees-knees, mate. Sip it chilled, with any chocolate treat and magic will occur in your mouth. Made by Ben Riggs, the Black Chook boasts concentrated plum, cocoa and dark berry notes combined with intensely rich yet refreshing length. Yum!
finewinedelivery.co.nz
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Touriga NV $59
When you're after a cockle-warmer to sip on these cool, autumn nights, this luxuriously lovely, spicy, nutty, plummy port-style wine is wickedly lovely. Made from the traditional Portuguese varieties touriga nacional and francesca, (the most important grapes of the classic port wines of the Douro Valley in Portugal), it contains multi-vintage components dating WAY back to 2004! It's also a deliciously decadent treat to sip while nibbling a shard or seven of that hollow, chocolate Easter bunny that you accidentally crushed underneath the dog roll when you were packing the groceries.
trinityhill.com.
