Yvonne Lorkin
Back on November 14, the Hawke's Bay wine community achieved something rather incredible. It sold a record $141,000 worth of wine at the 24th annual Hawke's Bay Wine Auction and gave every cent to Cranford Hospice in Hastings.
Cranford is one of the leading palliative care facilities in the country, yet it relies on the generosity of the public to do the valuable work it does. So, every year since 1991, Hawke's Bay wine producers have gathered together to create unique, one-off lots to donate. More often than not, they're wines that you would simply never see on the open market.
Recently, wineries have collaborated with artists and restaurants to expand their offerings to items including sculptures, paintings, photography and large, degustation-based dinner parties.
One leading artist is also asked to create a painting for auction. This year, Martin Poppelwell's piece Portland 2015 sold for a showstopping $20,000, while highlight wine lots included a 225-litre barrique of syrah from the Bridge Pa Triangle wine district ($9500) and a half-barrique of 2014 Shotgun Chardonnay from Sacred Hill's Riflemans Vineyard fetched $6300.
The hammer dropped at $7000 for a Blend Your Own Wine workshop at Clearview followed by a four-course lunch.
I've been attending this event on and off since 1999 and it has been immensely satisfying to see it grow and develop into something which really is unique to this part of the world. No other event in the southern hemisphere even comes close in terms of the pedigree of the lots, the sheer energy and furious excitement of the bidding (which comes from all corners of the globe) and the tremendous goodwill which exists between the wine and business community to unite for a cause which sadly has touched almost every family in the region in some way.
We have an event that is essentially our Kiwi version of the ultra-prestigious Hospices De Beaune wine auction in France, now 155.
Next year the Hawke's Bay Wine Auction celebrates 25 years - on Saturday, November 12, so book your tickets, sort your travel, put aside your best frock and make sure you're there to soak up the action.
'Wow, that's one crazy sav'
The thing I love about wine is that just when I think I've got my head around how each style is supposed to taste, a wine will land on my desk that blows me out of my comfort zone.
Marisco Pride and Glory Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $65
For Brent Marris and his team this has been a special project to produce a sassily complex sauvignon sourced from the Waihopai Valley that oozes white peach, lemon verbena, creamy tropical characters and shows soft, chalky, nougat-like layers on the finish. It's a wine that offers something different with every sip, something that makes you say, 'Wow, that's crazy sauvignon'.
Bellbird Spring Home Block White 2013, $30
Guy Porter has blended together an eyebrow-raising combo of riesling, muscat, gewurztraminer and pinot gris to create a wine redolent of yellow roses and grandma's overnight bag - perfumed and sweet on the nose. In the mouth it has juicy white peach and persimmon notes, refreshingly creamy and complex. It's amazing partnered with spicy butter chicken.
Natural Wine Co. Organic Pinot Gris 2015, $19
This straw-gold pinot gris shows a lifted, chalky, nutty aroma and a rich quince and baked apple character. It's full, generous and has intriguing layers of complexity on the finish. It's a step sideways in terms of what you'd normally expect from pinot gris, but I really like this wine.