This week’s column focuses on sweet wines, in particular those made with grapes that have been infected by a fungus that is known in the wine industry as noble rot. The technical name for noble rot is Botrytis cinerea and when it infects wine grapes it dries them out which increases the concentration of sugars as the grapes are reduced to raisins.

Noble rot is relatively rare and only tends to strike in areas where conditions are damp. For example, a vineyard may have a slight dip in it where moist or foggy air collects allowing the rot to develop. Wineries that want the infection but do not have the spores present in the natural environment will spray the fungus on artificially. However, when it occurs naturally, only certain grapes on a bunch become infected meaning that some noble wines are literally harvested berry by berry, making the process highly labour intensive. Once pressed in the winery, the juice is a dirty brown colour which is far removed from the fined golden wine that ends up in the bottle.

Wine of Da Week

This week’s wine of the week comes from Johner Estate which is a fantastic boutique winery in Gladstone that arguably produces New Zealand’s best value for money wines. With the goal of producing top notch Pinot Noir, Johner was set up in 2001 by Karl Johner and his son Patrick who are both originally from Germany. Karl is the winery’s official winemaker and he spends a portion of the year in Germany; when he’s away manager Steven Bates takes the wheel.

The Johner Estate 2009 Noble Pinot Noir ($17) is a unique wine that is captivatingly golden in colour and made entirely from infected Pinot Noir grapes. Once it is poured into the glass, the wine sloshes around in a relaxed manner giving off rich, honey aromas with a subtle but complex layer of apricot and spice.

Recently I had this wine with two lovely ladies and we matched it first with blue cheese and then vanilla bean ice-cream and berries. Both combinations were ridiculously good with the latter producing a mind blowing caramel dimension. I wholeheartedly recommend trying these two matches if you want a textbook example of wine and food marriage.

This beautiful brute of a grape is easily the world’s most recognised, best-travelled red wine variety. It is often the backbone of many fantastic red blends, however, it has also been a significant and supportive bone within the New Zealand wine industry—let’s say the neck bone for good measure.

Rumour has it that Cabernet Sauvignon owes its existence to a chance crossing between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc during the 17th century in south-west France. It is a late and sometimes stubborn ripener, so it thrives in warmer climates. The variety’s grapes epitomise ‘concentration’ as the level of colour, flavour, and tannins packed into the thick skin of its minuet dark blue berries is absolutely ridiculous. This intensity means that Cabernet Sauvignon has great ageing potential, provided it is nursed by a decent winemaker and receives some solid barrel ageing.

The variety was brought to New Zealand by James Busby around 1832, and was popular with many of the country’s early winemakers. Cabernet Sauvignon underwent a revival in the 1960s and within a couple of decades it was planted in most wine regions, with the Hawkes Bay being the dominant location for plantings and production.

Wine of the Week

This week’s selection is one of the best value red blends around—the Instinct Cabernet Sauvignon (56%), Merlot (22%), Malbec (17%) ($18-20). The ‘Instinct’ wine range comes from the legendary and acclaimed New Zealand winemaker Kate Radburnd, who uses her years of experience and discerning knowledge to create a unique range of wines with the finest fruit from New Zealand’s greatest regions to match her vision.

Once in the glass, this wine has amazing spice and dark fruit aromas. As soon as I smelt it, I instantly thought of Watties canned black doris plums, with a hint of Ribena concentrate. Although that probably sounds like an absolute nightmare to some, I’m not going to lie; I find the visual deeply enjoyable.

Once tasted, this wine has great tannin depth and could easily be put away for a few years. When matching this wine with food, avoid delicate or spicy dishes as they may end up overpowered or tasting like rubber. I’d pair this with a good old roasted meat dish.

As the ancient saying goes, “when I think of Merlot, a few words come to mind.” This variety is one of the world’s most popular, and it is one of the principle blends in Bordeaux wine where it is the most abundant grape. In New Zealand, second to Pinot Noir, it is the most planted red wine grape with approximately 1371 hectares of vine in the ground.

It is rumoured that the name Merlot is derived from the Old French word for ‘young blackbird’, which probably alludes to the colour of the grape. Merlot is relatively easy on the ripening scale and its large berries and thin skins mean that the wine is generally less tannic, and can be tucked into sooner.

Merlot’s ‘easy drinking’ nature, market saturation, and presence in terrible movies such as Sideways has seen the variety cop a fair amount of flack from many of the worlds ‘wine buffs’. Don’t let this become a barrier on your highway though, as there are, without a doubt, many fine examples out there.

Being one of the softer red wine varieties, Merlot is versatile when it comes to food matching. Recently I had a glass while nibbling on a Moro bar. Deemed “loose as” by many, I actually found the combination to be both lavishly cute, and rewarding. This aside, Merlot tends to work the best with red meat and pork dishes.

Wine of the Week:

This week’s wine of the week is solid value for money and is the Thornbury Hawkes Bay Merlot 2007 ($13-15). The great thing about this wine is that, given its price, it isn’t just a tinny medicinal fruit bomb. Once in the glass, the wine gives off fantastic black fruit aromas as well as complex cedary oak and chocolate. Having had a couple of years in the bottle now, on the palate it is silky smooth and across the board it really does reflect the high quality and concentrated 2007 Hawkes Bay vintage.

Despite being highly elusive, early ripening and extremely sensitive to ‘terroir’ (physical environment) Pinot Noir is one of the world’s most sought-after and respected varieties. The French region of Burgundy is the spiritual home of Pinot Noir, and a top-quality bottle demands a top price. An Auckland retailer currently has a bottle of 1996 Domaine Romanee-Conti LaTache for $3700. ‘Nuff said.

The charm of Pinot Noir has seen many growers attempt to cultivate the grape in various countries and regions around the world, however, only New Zealand, Oregon and the coolest areas in California and Australia have had any luck. Pinot Noir loves a cooler climate, hence why it does so well in Central Otago. When planted somewhere hot it will ripen too fast and fail to develop any of the intriguing and complex aromas and flavour compounds its relatively thin skins can harbour.

Alongside Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir is another variety that has helped New Zealand ‘crack’ the global wine industry with many of the wines, particularly those from Martinborough, gaining world-class status. Pinot Noir first appeared in this country in the 1970s in the Auckland region. Within a decade the variety had made its way to Martinborough, Hawkes Bay, and most wine-growing regions in the South Island.

Given its international and domestic success, Pinot Noir in New Zealand is relatively expensive when put alongside other varieties. It really grinds my gears when I hear people preaching that only good New Zealand Pinot Noir comes from Central Otago and Martinborough. Yes, these regions do produce fine examples, but so too do Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and, more recently, Waipara. Lately I spoke to a respected Hawkes Bay winemaker who said that international demand for his locally grown Pinot Noir is huge, but on a domestic scale it suffers, potentially because consumers appear to be limiting themselves to the Central Otago and Martinborough hype.

Wine of the week

This week’s selection comes from Marlborough and is the Delta Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009 ($19-21). Delta Vineyard is situated to the west of Blenheim, located at the mouth of the Waihopai Valley on the West Coast Highway, where a steep-sided triangular-shaped hill splits the wide valley. The shape of this land mass is very similar to the symbol for the capital Greek letter delta, hence the name given to this site on detailed topographic maps of the area.

This wine is fantastic because of the complexity it achieves at the price level it demands. Instead of smelling like some sort of fruit spray paint, as some cheaper Pinot Noir tends to, the wine has red fruit, chocolate, spice and earthy aromas that combine awesomely with a silky and rich texture.

I’m breaking away from the bi-weekly varietal insight this week to focus on a relatively new and fascinating phenomenon—the increased involvement of the humble sheep in vineyard work.

Normally when you think sheep and wine you think nice meal, however, in recent years the acclaimed combination have been getting together before they end up on the plate and in the glass, with the sheep helping its gastronomic accompaniment come to fruition in the vineyard.

Every grape vine on a vineyard has an annual life cycle that begins when the vines become dormant during autumn, around this time of year, after the grapes have been harvested and the vine’s leaves fall off. At this point, some vineyard managers open up their rows to flocks of sheep that effectively become eating, breathing, sleeping lawnmowers by keeping grass and weed levels down, maintaining the general upkeep of the vineyard.

During the early stages of summer, after flowering, the grapes begin to develop on the vines, and although the sugars do not form, the maximum yield is set. At this stage vineyard managers may, depending on the particular grape varietal and the winery’s philosophy, begin the process of ‘leaf plucking’, which involves removing the vine leaves from around the fruit set to expose the grapes to more direct sunlight increase airflow and enhance veraison. The term veraison refers to the transition from grape growth to grape ripening, which sees the grape change from a bright green to dark purple, for instance if it is Pinot Noir.

Enter sheep. For centuries ‘leaf plucking’ has been the job of human beings, for example, vineyard managers may employ a gang of casual seasonal workers to complete the relatively labour-intensive job. However, in recent years, vineyard managers have said “I’ll call you” to the workers and have instead called up local farmers who then truck their mobs of sheep into a vineyard to let the sheep do the job. The sheep, which have no desire to eat the underdeveloped grapes, work at a solid pace and consume the leaves at fruit set height, as this is as high as they can reach.

The relationship is beneficial for both parties; the vineyard manager saves on manual labour costs and the farmer’s stock get decent grazing during a time when, particularly in New Zealand’s East Coast wine regions, general grass stocks are reduced.

I’ve seen sheep at work in vineyards and I can tell you that they looked genuinely stoked to be there. Good times all round.

Wine of the Week: Appleby Lane Syrah ($13.95), in the words of the great Merrill J. Fernando of Dilmah tea—“Do try it.”

This week we take a look at the relatively unheard-of Pinot Blanc, a white wine varietal that is a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir. When vine yields are kept low, Pinot Blanc produces stunning no-frills wines that are very approachable, and this week’s wine of the week is a textbook example.

Remember when it comes to drinking wine to keep one of the philosophies of this column in mind: be liberal with your dabbling, and don’t let popularity dictate your taste. In no way is this varietal inferior just because it hasn’t received the extensive coverage that some of the other white wine family members have.

On a global scale, Pinot Blanc is planted in a diverse range of countries such as Argentina, Germany, and extensively in Italy where the grape is known as Pinot Bianco. In New Zealand Pinot Blanc is certainly classed as a minor variety, with only 17 hectares planted from the Wairarapa down to Central Otago. This is a skerrick of the overall industry grape plantings, which, for your interest, total around 31,000 hectares.

When Pinot Blanc grapes are on the vine they have a radiant green skin and resemble Chardonnay in both colour, leaf structure, and bunch formation. Internationally this has produced problems for some growers who have found they have Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay intermingling in the same crop.

Wine of the Week

If you have never tried Pinot Blanc before, the Mount Edward 2009 Pinot Blanc ($19-21), made with fruit from Lowburn in Central Otago, is a fantastic introduction. Founded in 1997, Mount Edward winery is located in the spectacularly beautiful Gibbston sub region of Central Otago. The wine ethos at Mount Edward is hand-crafted quality, with the winery producing an average of only 6000 cases per year.

Once in the glass, this wine has a floral aroma with hints of spring blossom, white peaches and that crisp, fresh, vibrant aroma of apricot. Not apricot that has gone mushy, apricot that has just hit ripeness.

The wine is off-dry and delicate with a smooth texture that allows it to easily cruise its way around your mouth. The finish is clean with a degree of lushness, as though you’ve just eaten a couple of dried apricots.

If a mild seafood or chicken dish is on the menu I’d definitely recommend this drop as an accompaniment.

In this week’s column we head back down the aromatics road and take a look at one of the most pungent yet under -rated varietals—Gewürztraminer (Ge-vertz-tram-in-er), which is commonly known as Gewürz (Ge-vertz).

Despite gaining notoriety via France, Gewürztraminer has its origins in the German-speaking area of northern Italy, Alto Adige, hence its mouthful of a name. On that note, it could be argued that the global popularity of Gewürztraminer has been hampered somewhat by the fact that a large proportion of consumers simply struggle to pronounce the name. Don’t let such a basic factor hold you back though, the aromatic characteristics of the varietal, such as Turkish delight and clove spice, ensure that it is as seductive as they come.

Gewürztraminer tends to perform best in cooler climates, which is why many New Zealand examples are fantastic. When the grapes are perched on the vine they are pinkish/reddish in colour and have high natural sugar levels, which are the foundation of the flamboyant aromas that jump out of the wine.

The New Zealand wine industry has successfully dabbled with Gewürztraminer since the early 1970s, with Gisborne recognised as the varietal’s home in this country. In the present day, Gewürztraminer is planted in almost all wine growing regions within New Zealand, with two thirds of plantings in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

Wine of the Week

This week’s wine of the week is the Spy Valley Marlborough Gewürztraminer 2009 ($17–$21), which has cleaned up a few awards recently. Spy Valley has been producing under its current name since 2000, and the winery is situated in Marlborough’s Wairau Valley near the now infamous ‘spy base’ that was shredded with sickles last year.

The 2009 Gewürztraminer is made in a fruit-driven style, which reflects delicious aromas of rose petals, Turkish delight and lychee. These particular aromas are enhanced by a ginger spiciness that gives the wine uplifting warmth.

Spicy citrus flavours coupled with a lip-smacking satisfying mouth feel make this wine a true flavour bonanza, with extremely well balanced structure and finish. It really is hard to believe that this wine retails around the $20 mark. A true bargain.

This wine would go really well with smoked salmon, a chicken Thai green curry, or jam on toast.

This week we’ll peel back the covers and focus on one of the world’s most intriguing and widely planted varieties—chardonnay. This variety epitomises the globalisation of wine and is regarded as a rite of passage into the international wine market by many new world producers. Chardonnay grapes have a green skin and relatively neutral flavours that are definitely nothing to write home about, but could be worth a quick email or text message.

Many of the flavours within chardonnay fruit are derived from the climate and environment where the grape is planted. When this is combined with various wine-making techniques and the use of oak, the result is vastly different regional expressions throughout the world. Chardonnay produced in Chablis tends to be elegant and flinty, whereas Marlborough chardonnay is renowned for its vivacious zest and white peach aromas.

When it comes to chardonnay, New Zealand has well and truly thumped on the door of the international wine scene, acquiring a reputation for producing top-quality fruit-laden examples of the variety. The first records of chardonnay being planted in New Zealand date back to the 1830s, however from the 1970s onwards large-scale plantings of the variety started as public demand grew.

One thing that always flummoxes me is people who turn their noses up at chardonnay and label it as tacky and boring. In my opinion it is everything but. Chardonnay is fascinating and diverse with a constantly evolving array of styles that make the wine appealing with or without food.

Wine of the Week:

The wine of the week is arguably the best value for money chardonnay in the country and is the Redmetal Chardonnay 2009 ($14.95) from Hawke’s Bay. The focus of the Redmetal label is bang for buck, and the wines are made by Grant Edmonds, who is also the head winemaker for Sileni Estates.

This wine is fruit-driven, made for early drinking, and great in any situation. The bouquet is rife with nectarine, grapefruit, and also contains a subtle hint of oak. Mouth feel is clean, balanced and pure. If you’re keen on matching this wine with food then I’d recommend something more mellow and creamy rather than spicy. Fish, chicken pasta, and oven fries are all great options.

This week’s column will focus on one of the greatest varieties of all time—Viognier (pronounced vee-on-yay). Viognier, like Riesling and Pinot Gris, is an aromatic variety that is well-known for its floral aromas and rich texture which make it an excellent wine to drink with food.

The history of Viognier remains shrouded in a thick, dark cloud of mystery—the common presumption is that the variety was brought to Rhone in France by the Romans in ancient times.

Historians muse that the variety drew its name from the Roman pronunciation of via Gehennae, meaning the “road to Hell”. Don’t let this scare you though; Viognier is variety that has a warm and sensual embrace that you need to feel.

As far as the New Zealand wine industry goes, Viognier is relatively new on the scene. Pioneering regions for the variety have been Gisborne and Hawkes Bay, and as of 2009 New Zealand has 170 productive hectares of Viognier planted.

In my opinion, Viognier is a variety with an exciting future in this country; it just needs sustained, good quality exposure. If you’re interested, wineries such as Ngatarawa, Te Mata Estate, and Tietjen Witters all produce fantastic examples of Viognier between the $20-$30 mark that are well worth checking out.

Wine of the Week

This week’s wine of the week comes from a Hawkes Bay producer and is the Vidal Estate 2009 East Coast Viognier ($16.90).

Vidal Estate, located in the heart of Hastings, is one of Hawkes Bay’s oldest, most recognisable wine producers, founded in 1905 by Spaniard Anthony Vidal. If you’ve never tried Viognier before then this one is a great first example as it is approachable, like an inviting cashmere rug, and easy drinking.

This wine has the trademark varietal bouquet of apricot, pear and spice, as well as an apple crumble-esque/biscuit aroma which instantly slaps a smile on your face.

The texture is soft and rich with a spicy complexity that adds great length to this dry wine. I’d recommend drinking this wine on it’s own or with seafood, chicken or pork.

Its hard to find Viognier under $20 in Wellington, but you can scoop this one up from Moore Wilson’s for $16.90. Regional Wines and Spirits also have a big range and a few hidden gems under the $20 mark.

This week’s column will focus on a variety that has become increasingly popular with wine consumers in recent years—Pinot Gris.

Pinot Gris is essentially the white variant of Pinot Noir and is easy to spot on the vines, as the grapes have a unique pinkish/greyish/bluish colour.

The variety is versatile and capable of producing weight along with deep, rich varietal flavours without the use of oak in the winemaking process. In fact, as far as winemaking goes, Pinot Gris isn’t as challenging as other varieties for winemakers and is commonly bottled and out on the market within 4–12 weeks after fermentation.

Pinot Gris took off in New Zealand in the early 1990s, and overall plantings of the grape in this country have increased from 19 hectares in 1994 to around 400 hectares in present day. In New Zealand most Pinot Gris are made to be drunk early, within two years of bottling.

Winemakers in New Zealand seem to have mixed feelings about the variety that has been heralded as “The Great White Hope”. Even some of the country’s top winemakers have stated that they can’t get their heads around the variety.

The wine of the week this week is the River Farm Godfrey Road 2009 Pinot Gris ($14.95) from Marlborough. River Farm is a small-scale winery that crafts limited release distinctive Marlborough wines from selected vineyards that are closely managed to concentrate the wine’s flavour and character. River Farm is new to the industry and had their first vintage in 2008.

This Pinot Gris is dry and rife with the variety’s signature aromas of pear and melon. These aromas are more pronounced and slightly tweaked from partial wild yeast and oak fermentation.

The thing that this wine really has going for it is texture. The influence of French oak contributes to a creamy mouth-feel, as well as this, good acidity and an alcohol level of 13.5% lead to a long, lingering finish.

This wine would go really well with seafood or mildly spiced Asian dishes and is currently on special at Regional Wines and Spirits for $14.95, which is a pretty epic bargain as it sells for just under $20 on the River Farm website.