Winemakers create big things in a comparatively small area
How do you knock off 17 Waiheke Island wineries in one day? Book for the Waiheke Wine Expo, that's how. On September 22 New Zealand's smallest sub-region will unite to showcase its wares at the Sofitel Hotel in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour, from 4pm to 6.30pm. This is a brilliant wayto meet the winemakers and reps from many Waiheke wineries and taste their top wines - and you'll be the first to sample a bunch of exciting new releases.
Waiheke Winegrowers' Association chairman and organiser of the annual event, Rob Meredith, says: "This event is incredibly important to Waiheke's winemakers as it gives people the unique opportunity to sample in two and a half hours what would normally take a week travelling around the island to achieve.
Matt and Lindsay from Man O' War Vineyard on Waiheke Island at last year's expo.
Tickets at $30 each can be bought at the Sofitel Hotel, SkyCity, Princes Wharf, Waiheke i-SITES, the Waiheke Wine Centre and online at eventfinder.co.nz
Participating vineyards include Batch, Cable Bay, Frenchmans Hill Estate, Goldie Wines, The Hay Paddock, Jurassic Ridge, Kennedy Point, Man O' War, Mudbrick, Obsidian, Passage Rock, Peacock Sky, Poderi Crisci, SOHO, Stonyridge, Te Motu & Woodside Hill.
Southern comfort
Six years ago, a keen group of boutique viticulturists from Central Otago's Alexandra Basin banded together to hold their first New Release Event. This year, on October 26 at Oliver's Gardens from 1pm to 4pm, local producers will showcase 50 new release wines from this tasty sub-region.
Plus there'll be cheese and crackers at each of the stalls for people to enjoy and guest speakers to entertain and educate.
Taste the likes of 8 Ranges, Alexandra Wine Company, Barrington, Como Villa, Drumsara, Greylands Ridge, Hawkdun Rise, Hinton, Letts Gully Wines, Omeo Perseverance, Thyme Hill Vineyard and Weaver Estate. At $25 a ticket it's great value. For details and tickets contact Trevor Deaker, ph 027 222 3381.
The Yeastie Boys brewers had a huge win in Asia, when their Pot Kettle Black porter beat 400 beers from throughout the world to be crowned champion beer at the Hong Kong International Beer Awards.
Yeastie Boys' Pot Kettle Black.
The win follows Pot Kettle Black's champion beer accolade at BeerFest Asia, Singapore, in 2012. "These kind of wins are very rare, so to pick up two in as many years is simply incredible," said Yeasties' Stu McKinlay. "We were up against breweries that make more beer in a day than we do in a year, and have all the technical and sensory analysis that comes with such volume, so this is an amazing testament to true artisan brewing."
Wearable Arts bottles
Diehard World of Wearable (Wow) Arts fans can take their obsession with the event one step further by adding the 2014 series collection of commemorative wines to their cellar. Designed to coincide with the annual non-stop spectacular awards show season from September 25 to October 12 in Wellington, there are four collectable Wow series bottles on offer. The Brancott 2014 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc showcases Turangawaewae, by Napier's Anna von Hartitzsch; 25th Jubilee Guest, by Germany's Margarete Palz, adorns the Brancott Estate Hawke's Bay Pinot Gris 2014; Bobby Dazzler, by Dinah and Mark Walker from Auckland, inspires the Brancott Estate Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2013; and Labyrinth, by Napier's Anna Maria Gori, decorates the Brancott Estate South Island Pinot Noir 2012 bottle. They cost about $17 and are now available at select retailers throughout the country.
Remembering Richard
The man who gave me my first real job in wine sadly decided to leave this current vintage on August 29.
Richard Gregory employed me - freshly redundant from TVNZ and eager to turn wine from a hobby into a proper career - at Hawke's Bay's Havelock North Wines and Spirits in 1998. He was the person who opened up the world of wine to me and encouraged me to taste and learn, taste and learn, every day.
He was a wealth of knowledge, darkly funny, a mentor, a friend, and a great human being and I'll miss him.
A sauvignon that just bursts with ripe tropical tastiness, tangy lemon-lime notes - and a hint of sweet pea and basil sneak through on the nose and palate. A cleansing, fresh classic. Widely available.
Two Paddocks Central Otago Riesling 2013, $31
Sourced from their Red Bank Vineyard in Earnscleugh, Alexandra, this riesling is beautifully bonny and slices super-clean across the palate. With delicate notes of apple skin, chalk and quartz dust on the nose and a squeak of lime on the mid-palate.
Mudbrick Reserve Waiheke Island Chardonnay 2013, $45
Oozing poached peach, nutmeg, brazil nut and mango aromas and showing a rich, creamy texture on the palate which blankets a core of stonefruit, grapefruit and charred, toasty oak. A vein of tangy acidity adds to the complexity and concentration on the finish. Delicious.
