What follows in the coming reports and pictures is exactly what is includes in my previous blog http://wineworld.spaces.live.com/
The idea of bringing the reports to new space is mainly to keep the information in only one place.
I have not done any changes to the original posts, because I believe that every experience has its particular moment.
Perhaps, today I would have other opinion on some issues, but what I reproduce here belongs to that time.
In this Part 8, I report my experience in North Island – New Zealand, on April 2007.
Please, click on the photos to see the slide show.
Villa Maria Estate
Back in Auckland, after a little of travelling in Bay of Island - a beautiful part of the country in its extreme north part - I made my plans taking advantage of my time left in the biggest city in New Zealand and visit one winery close to it, at Mangere.
The first thing that caught my attention when getting into the estate; after a short walk from Manere Town; was a sign warning that birds control was taking place and that means that some shoots could be heard.
The estate uses it combined with net protection to keep the New Zealand worst plague out of its vines. It is not forbidden, as far as it doesn't kill any protected race such as Kiwi, however, grape does not seem to be kiwi's favorite food.
Villa Maria Estate has a unique location: it is inside the crater of a 20,000 year old volcano.
It is a very much award winning family business and very proud of that.
George Fistonich, one of the great innovators of the New Zealand wine industry, launched Villa Maria in 1961 in a Mangere garage. Today it is New Zealand's third-biggest wine company and the only on still privately owned.
Villa Maria also owns the distinguished Esk Valley and Vidal wineries in Hawke's Bay, and wines from all three labels are available at the showpiece. It also has a large winery near Blenheim (Marlborough) where its South Island wines are made.
The tour is charged in NZ$5, but it doesn't include taste, which I bought afterwards.
It starts from the showcase and carry on through the new and award winning building, which is designed to make the most of natural searches, such as the use of natural light and cool breeze. The business uses high technology and has some techniques which seem to be a New World introduced to wine business, one observed was the use of dry-ice to avoid the contact of grape most and air during fermentation process.
The winery adopted a “100% screw cap” philosophy and they are used in every single wine made on it.
Wines are labeled for its characteristics, such as:
Single Vineyard- Wines that are created from vineyards of exceptional quality when vintage conditions allow these sites to fully express their individual characteristics.
Reserve - Only wines of exceptional quality are awarded the designation "reserve" as they mature in cellars following vintage.
Cellar Selection - An emphasis on fruit quality and minimal handling results in intensely flavored, elegant, food-friendly wines.
Private Bin - Generously flavored wine style. It is the most exported of the range of wines.
It was a nice experience to visit a place where I could get know New Zealanders wines made by themselves, in a sort of business where its commonly seem massive companies from abroad taking control on local business.
Villa Maria is big, but is proudly national.
Stonyridge Harvest
Once again, I went back to the magic island of Waiheke. After receiving a call from Chris to join the crew and to put my hands on some grapes, I booked accommodation for two days in the island and made my way in the very next day.
It was a sunny beautiful Wednesday and we were all at the winery at 9 am ready for the harvest. The team was very diverse and I met locals, backpackers and adventures alike.
After an explanation of what exactly we were after: just the healthy grapes - we started to harvest the best vines of the field, which would be used to produce the most expensive wine in the country, (Larose), so, if you ever drink it (Larose, 2007), it was made with my little help.
We worked hard during 8 hours, with a break meanwhile for some food-fuel and little rest, and after finishing it had a very deserved glass of wine.
It was a good short experience and, once again, I learn a little more.
I was granted with two bottles of their Airfield for my voluntary help, what I did not complain and drunk partially in the very same day and the rest as an Easter treat.
Auckland Wine Region
Henderson, Kumeu and Huapai to the northwest of Auckland's city centre, are the traditional winemaking districts of the Auckland region. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay are the most popular varieties here although Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and other white varieties are also planted. Auckland's soils are mainly shallow clays over hard silty-clay subsoil or sandy loams. Vineyards are mostly planted in pockets of flat land on the drier east coast or in the shelter of western ranges. In the early 1980s Waiheke Island, in Auckland harbor, was established as a fashionable district for the production of high quality red wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Matakana, on the east coast about one hour's drive north of Auckland city, has also earned an enviable reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon and has since undergone a very rapid expansion in both red and white wine production. Auckland's most recent premium wine district, Clevedon, has established small pockets of vines in the rolling farmlands about half an hour south of the city.
Info from http://www.nzwine.com/regions/
Hawkes Bay Wine Region
Hawkes Bay is the country's second largest region; with 4,346 hectares of vineyard area, in 2006 (19.2% of the country production); and has a respected 100 year heritage in wine the varied topography and wide range of soil types, from fertile silty loams to free-draining shingle, produces a considerable range of wine styles in this large region.
There are 22 categories of soil types on the Heretaunga Plains alone, from stones to hard pans to heavy silts. Ripening dates for a single grape variety can vary by as much as three weeks between the hot, shingle soils of the Gimblett Road area to the cool, higher altitude vineyards of central Hawkes Bay.
Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape variety but the long sunshine hours attract a high percentage of later-ripening red grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, as well as the early ripening Pinot Noir. Sauvignon Blanc is the other main white varietal grown in the Bay, complemented by Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Semillon and Viogner is also found.
It is a great place to visit the wineries, within 32 opened to the public, located in the neighborhood of Napier, Taradale, Flaxmere, Hastings and Havelock North towns.
Info mainly extracted from: WEB site http://www.nzwine.com/regions/ and Winery Guide of the region.
Chuch Road Winery
I arrived in Napier, a charming Art-Deco style city on the 17th of April and spend the next day exploring the place and its history.
The 30s caracther is not a casual thing; it was chosen as a new face to the city which was almost completely destroyed in 1931 by an earthquake.
After a short drive from the city center, I arrived at Church Road Winery with my travel mate from Austria, Mirian. She was not as much interested in wine as I was - did not have a single sip - but joined me in the tour anyway.
The winery is one of the oldest ones in Hawke's Bay, founded in 1897 by former Marist brother Bartholomew Steinmetz. In the 1960s Steinmetz's former assistant, the inspirational winemaker Tom MacDonald, crafted a series of historically significant Cabernet Sauvignon based wines – an achievement commemorated in Church Road's super-premium flagship red, called simply "Tom".
Church Road Wines show a distinctive French influence, largely due to a long-standing relationship with the Bordeaux house of Cordelier. The winemaking emphasizes texture, food-friendliness and complexity over primary fruit flavors.
The visit was extremely interesting. In addition to a free tasting at the cellar door, visitors can pay NZ$10 a head to tour the winery, see the imposing Tom MacDonald Cellar (a superb venue for private functions) and visit an underground wine museum with relics and antiquities dating back to the Iron Age. The Museum is the first of its kind in New Zealand, traces a fascinating journey through the history and techniques of winemaking. Housed underground inside the original concrete wine vats the sights of old-time winemaking are recreated in this authentic setting.
While touring through the winery we could observe some of the work to be done - in this that is the business' busiest time of the year. However, everyone carried on their duties, included the team of winemakers who were trying samples from the barrels, and for the enthusiastic conversation was going on, they seemed to like what they were tasting.
Tucked away behind the winery, against a hill, is a large natural amphitheatre that is venue for the annual Church Road jazz concert, which attracts up to 8000 fans every February.
In the tasting room we tried several samples of wines, all of them very loyal to the winery tradional style, included de Sauvingon Blanc 2005 Cuve that has 9 months in oak, swimming against the flood of the Kiwi style.
Most of the white wines has rested in the lees for a while, which seem to be a practice in the many wineries in the region.
Their reds do not disappoint and among them my favorite was a Malbec 2003, Cuve (tasted also by an Argentinean, who was in the group and did not make any comment), which has some chocolate notes; good balance of tannins and was wonderful.
As I saw some of the grapes hanging in the vines, waiting for the late harvest, I offered myself to help to do it, but their team of pickers was complete.
Then I picked up my Austrian mate, who was a little bored of waiting for my long tour to the winery, but was kind to agree with one more visit - not that difficult considering that the next winery (Mission) was next door. So, there we go.
Mission Estate
We arrived at the winery in a short time, however we missed the tour, but I reckon one tour a day is enough. So, I was fine.
Mission is the New Zealand's oldest wine producer (founded in 1851 by the French priest Father Lampila , though at different site) basks on the sunny slopes of Mount St Mary, above the Napier suburb of Greenmeadows. The cellar door and the restaurant are housed in a gracious, colonial homestay - a former Catholic seminary.
Established to supply sacramental wine - and wine for the table - to Marist missionaries, the winery was run for more than a century by priests and brothers.
The whole propriety is stunning, ideal for catering and has many possibilities for that, what I have been finding very common in the whole country, where the business has a multifunctional face.
The wines, made by long-serving winemaker Paul Mooney, are sourced from vineyards in several Hawke’s Bay localities and represent a cross-section of the region's styles.
I tried a wide variety of its wines and most of them are good. For its best ones, there is the indication of origin - another similarity that New Zealand has with the "old world", such as Gimblet Gravel, for the Merlot 2005 and Jewelston for the blend Cabernet - Merlot 2004.
A wine which showed very much the characteristics from region was the Syrah (Gimblet Gravel) 2005 Reserve, which has a strong aroma of black pepper and it is very good indeed.
As I showed some interest on a dessert "ice wine” I was offered to try it, so I did. However, in fact, it is not an “ice wine” at all, I mean in the natural way of it, for the very simple reason that there is no much icy weather on the bay. As a result, they fake it frozen the grapes to produce the dessert wine. I have never tried an original one, so decided to buy the “fake” one and share on a dinner with my travel mate from Austria, curios to find out what she could think of the wine and to hear some comments from someone who comes from a country were some real ones are produced.
Miriam seemed to like it, and declared it was a very good “ice wine”. I still don’t know if she was just kind to me for the wine I bought to share or she just likes sweet wines and then got excited about it or it was really good. I liked it myself, but it doesn’t have anything exceptional. So I guess, that “forged” one satisfy my curiosity for wine from frozen-cold-places – for now.
Martinborough
Wellington is the official name for the large region which occupies the southern section of the North Island. Wairarapa, on the lower eastern side of the region, is Wellington's only wine district. Martinborough, as well as being a town, is also the oldest and best known wine area within the Wairarapa region.
Wairarapa – the place Maori named ‘the land of glistering waters’, is the place for boutique wines in the country, with small family run estates, passionate wine-makers and lots of sunshine, focused on producing quality rather quantity, relatively small yields enable winemakers to devote themselves to handcrafting superior wines.
Located in an ancient alluvial river terrace made up of deep, free-draining gravel overlaid with gravely silt loam, Martinborough has low rainfall, hot summers and a long, dry autumn. It is the consistency of the region’s autumn that’s believed to provide the right balance of warm days (creating ripeness) and cool nights (creating elegance).
Wines produced form the region are considered to have excellent concentration, texture and depth, due to the low cropping levels and the area’s unique soil and climate qualities.
Pinot Noir is the region's most planted and certainly most acclaimed grape variety. The success of Martinborough Pinot Noir has to a large extent driven the rapid development of this very dynamic and quality-focused region. Climatically Wairarapa is more aligned to Marlborough than to any of the North Island regions. The success and style of its Sauvignon Blanc is evidence of this alliance. Officially New Zealand's sixth largest region, Wellington is small in production terms but makes a large contribution to the country's quality winemaking reputation.
Info mostly extracted from http://www.nzwine.com/regions/ and the Escape Planner 2006/7 Wairarapa guide.
C J Pask Winery
After leaving Napier I went to Hastings, not far from there, with my travel mate who left the next morning to carry on her trip.
I explored a little the town and made my plans for the next day, including visits in all wineries which I could reach by foot. Not many, unfortunately.
The first one to visit was CJ Pask, located in the edge of Hasitngs.
The winery has played a leading role in the development of the Gimblett Gravels winemaking district and in the emergence of Hawke's Bay as a world-class wine region.
Its success can be attributed to the vision of founder Chris Pask - who, as a topdressing pilot, liked what he saw of the arid Gimblett Gravels from the air - and the talent of Australian winemaker Late Radburnd, who joined the company in 1991 and late became chief executive.
The winery owns and manages almost 100 hectares of established vineyard on its Gimblett Road vineyard. This land has been formed from deposits made by Ngaruroro River that flowed the area up until the late 1800's.
These gravely soils are free draining and low in nutrient status, making them ideal fro growing premium quality wines. With the vineyard sheltered from the prevailing winds by the landmark Roy's Hill, hot daytime temperatures coupled with the arming effects of the stony soil produce ripe grapes of intense flavor.
The winery is just that - a winery with a cellar door and no add-ons (such as cafe). But the wine alone justifies a visit. In the earlier years CJ Pask was chiefly noted for its powerful, concentrated reds, but more recently the winery has been making a good impression with its whites.
While tasting the wines in the Tasting Room which is just off the winery, the friendly lady who was helping me told about the trading of the company, which apparently, will have Brazil in the portfolio – I hope.
The Chardonnay 2005 from Gimblett Road has as distinctive flavour of its lees and it’s made from a “Mendonza Clone”, which presents small and big berries and the same bunch and results in a concentrated flavor wine.
I also tried a Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (old world style); “Bordeaux” blend of Cabernet, Merlot 2005 from Gimblett Road which was very good and still developing and the most interesting one was a Syrah Gimblett Road 2005 full of black pepper aromas and medium tannins.
Left the winery with a half-bottle made on measure for travelers and solo drinkers alike.
Vidal Wines
Next to try was Vidal Wines, where I felt I had all the time of the world to enjoy the wines and the warm hospitality of the hostess.
Established by Spaniard Anthony Vidal in 1905, it still occupies its original Hastings site but has long since severed any connection with the founding family, having been bought by the Villa Maria Group in 1976 after several ownership changes.
Vidal has built a reputation as a producer of consistently high-quality wines, mostly form Hawke's Bay but some (notably Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling) from Marlborough.
All the wines tried are made in the styles I have been finding most commonly in the country, showing the market focused approach of the company. However there was a precious one present among them: a Viogner, Hawkes Bay 2006, winner of three awards, full deserved in my opinion. The wine shows that it was rested in its lees but also a light pleasant floral aroma.
That was the one I chosen to buy and liked it so much that I have not opened it yet. I plan to do it so when I have a Thai dinner, which I believe it goes really well with – for the sake if my sommelier skills improvement and my complete timed pleasure.
Alana Estate
Martinborough is a short drive from Wellington city center or an hour train journey, in my case.
I took a train from the country capital city and was in Featherson at 10:20 am ready to join the group for a wine trip through the wine region.
As we are a little earlier than the wineries opening time we were invited to have a coffee in a local cafe - what I was very thankful as a good-morning-wake-up-call.
The group were mostly Australians, apart from the guide-driver: a local kiwi lady, in the business for 7 years; and me of course, which am a Brazilian - nationality rare to find over this part of the world, specially doing this sort of tourism.
The first place we visited was Alana Estate.
Ian and Alana smart’s handsome three-level winery is built against a hillside on stony terraces above the Huangarua River. It’s designed according to gravity-flow principles – winemaking starts at the top level and moves down – avoiding damage to grapes or wine by excessive pumping and handling.
The wines presented in the tasting match with what you would expect from their style in New Zealand. Apart from the Sauvignon Blanc 2006 that among the fruity Kiwi Style also had some toast flavor from the lees deposit on it.
The Pinot Noir, Taupapa, 2004 had a strawberry jam flavor and had some potential to develop.
The whole business is food friendly and the restaurant part of it, features plates to complement the wines. It is also a good spot for a snack among the vines and the flowers planted to distract insects and keep them away from what really matters: grapes.
Muirlea Rise
The second visit in Martinborough was a good representative of the region.
Muirlea Rise is a tiny winery founded by the late Willie Brown, a former wine merchant turned winemaker, and now run by his son Shawn.
Shawn has a Scottish sense of humor and made the tour very entertaining, he shared with us his interest for wine which he just discovered after his 30's - as it is happen to most of us all.
After his dad has died, Shawn took over the business and is keeping alive what was his father for father a great passion: "He had named every single row of vines - I am sure" - said Shawn, while showing the grapevine and explaining about the winegrow techniques, while birds flow constantly on the background during all the time.
In a small cozy place we tasted the non filtered all-red wines from the winery. Among them a Pinot Noir 2000; Cabernet Blend 2001 and the Mareth 2001 (Bordeaux blend style). They all very well balanced wines with good finish and, the last sample I would be happy to keep it for an extra couple of years to find out its whole beauty.
Tirohana Estate
After a wine match in the town center with fresh local food, we headed to the 3rd winery in included in the tour.
Originally the home block of Voss Estate Vineyard, Tirohana Estate was bought two years ago by British-born Raymond Thompson, and is managed by his daughter and son-in-law, Saranne and Toby James.
The cellar door is a restored barn where visitors in summer can enjoy their wine samples in a sunny courtyard. However, we arrived in a sunny beautiful day of... winter, so, we were invited to the mini-museum-tasting-room in the back of the shop, what wasn't too bad as the place was full with pictures of the vineyard in various stages of the year.
The most interesting sequence was during a night frost at one cold spring that woke up the crew that had to set fire among the vines to blow away the possible frost with smoke and warm, detected previously by a satellite and send as a warning - good and old techniques together.
As Pinot Noir is the star in region, it comes in a Rose version in this winery: Rose 2006, which has a very similar style to the old good red one, just a little lighter.
The Pinot Noir itself (2005) has pepper and wood characteristics and there was also a dessert wine (2006) made from Riesling and Sauvignon grapes affected by Botrytis.
Te Kairanga Wines
TK, as it’s commonly known, occupies part of the extensive pastoral holings once owned by John Martin, after whom Martinborough was named. It was also the site of the first modern-day vine plantings in the Martinborough district, thought the original vines – planted in 1978 by publisher Alister Taylor – failed from neglect.
Now owned by a public company, Te Kairanga is Martinborough’s second-largest winery, with vineyards spread across eight sites.
Among the staff of the winery are internationally experienced people who got their experience in a wide variety of places such as Australia, USA, UK, Spain and France. It even has a French winemaker; Mayi Caldwel married to Peter Caldwell, all very well connected.
The winery is in an attractive setting on the edge of Martinborough Terrace, above Huangarua River, with views of the surrounding hills.
It holds hospitality events throughout the year and have picnic loves welcomed in their premises.
The cellar door also has a wide variety of products, included some handcrafted wine and food accessories.
The samples tasted had also a big variety of wines, but the Pinot Noir kingdom in Martinborough was evident, with 4 samples of it. Among them there was John Martin Reserve 2005, claimed and confirmed their finest Pinot Noir named after the stockman who gifted the land for Martinborough township. This wine has been crafted from a selection of fine wines produced separately from small parcels separately from small parcels of fruit from individual sites on the TK's five Martinborough vineyards. Classic complexity would develop beautifully over the next year, with tannins in the right measure to support it.
The winery was the very last one on our tour and after visiting and trying so many samples (not drunk all of them, of course) I did not feel like buying a wine, so I bought instead a cheese's knife, very related to the subject and joined my marry group (who seemed to had not reject any of the wines) to finish the day with... a cheese plate in the town center.
Lindauer Cellars
Visit Gisborne was a last minute decision. It was a little off my track, but I though it could be nice to take advantage of a not-so-good weather and included a region where outdoor activity is not a must to do (not forgetting that I AM a tourist as well). So, I bought a bus ticket to travel to the middle east of the north island and join the kiwis (majority of them) in a 5 hours journey.
I must admit that I was really looking forward to be one of the first ones to see the morning light. But unfortunately, as the weather forecast has warned, there was no sun at all during my stay.
To compensate that I had a very nice walk in the drizzle through the city, where I found, in a relatively short distance, Lindauer Cellars (house of the most popular sparkling wine of NZ).
Owned by Montana group, the winery can trace its original back to the very beginnings of commercial wine making in Poverty Bay. Wine was first made in the district in the 19th century by French Catholic priest, Father Lampila, but it was German immigrant Friedrich Wohnsiedler who established the region's first commercial vineyard - in the Waihirere Valley just north of Gisborne - in 1921.
His company, Waihirere Wines became one of New Zealand's biggest producers and remained in family hands until it was sold to Montana in 1973. Montana produced its Chardonnays from the Gisborne region in the early-to-mid 1970s.
Today the Gisborne winery hosts Montana's largest and most comprehensive cellar-door facility included a winery museum, which seeks to replicate the atmosphere of France's famous Champagne caves.
I did a self guided tour in the museum, because I arrived too early and it was actually closed but they allowed me in, what was good to avoid the usual crowd of people and also to take my time in what interested me the most, which was the process of making sparkling wine, from the very beginning process until the closure with a funny shape cork, which a saw for the first time before being bottled.
I never had much interest to try Lindauer wines, mainly because they are widely available at the supermarkets and for a price which can make very suspicious the quality for a traditional method sparkling wine: very cheap.
The wines produced under the label are easy drinking and without complexity. It has a massive production as target and has a faithful consumer, fair enough.
What impress the most is how big Montana group is getting in the country, as an important and big (for New Zealand proportions) producer the very a wide variety of products.
You will find Montana's wine almost everywhere, what don't make them very attractive - to me at least.
To not leave the premises with empty hands, I bought two small bottles, one of their Gisborne's Chardonnay and other of their bubbly one. Neither of them excited me much, but it was in the right measure as a pairing for my simple hostel cooked meal.
See, there is a wine for everyone needs.
Works Cafe & Winery - Goldenvines Estate Wines
The next winery, Goldenvines, visit happened after a walk around the small city of Gisborne and its main tourist attractions, among them, the arrival site of Capitan Cook in New Zealand.
Goldenvines is a new label launched by young entrepreneur Tony Taylor. John Thorpe, also wine maker for several other local labels, makes the wines in this 99-year-old brick building on Gisborne's waterfront that once housed the freezing works.
The cellar door sells several other local wines besides Goldvines, including long established Gisborne labels Revington and Longbush.
Tony also acquired the Works Cafe in the same building, which offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
The cellar door is situated in the restaurant and I was offered a small cheese platter to go with my wine tasting.
It was a good way to improve my knowledge of cheese and wine matching and also, a reasonable priced deal: for NZ$ 10, which included 9 of their three range of wines.
The only down side of the cheese pairing was that their samples were mainly white wines, but it was interesting to find out some good combination surprises, such as Gewürztraminer (Goldvines, Estate, Gisborne, 2005) with blue cheese and Muscat (Goldvines, Estate, East Coast, 2005) with Brie. However, I would give the limelight spot to the Chenin Blanc made from 20 year-old vines, with a floral bouquet in the nose and a delightful feeling in the mouth, which was a big surprise considering that Chenin is not the local star and its not the most expensive in the list neither, it is NZ$32 / bottle, well behind from their sample of Gisborne's famous Chardonnay (Revington, (NZ$42).
Unfortunately I was not able to visit the winery as it was closed for work – wineries not only survive as a tourist attraction, fortunately.
Cheers,
Marcia Amaral
The idea of bringing the reports to new space is mainly to keep the information in only one place.
I have not done any changes to the original posts, because I believe that every experience has its particular moment.
Perhaps, today I would have other opinion on some issues, but what I reproduce here belongs to that time.
In this Part 8, I report my experience in North Island – New Zealand, on April 2007.
Please, click on the photos to see the slide show.
Villa Maria Estate
Back in Auckland, after a little of travelling in Bay of Island - a beautiful part of the country in its extreme north part - I made my plans taking advantage of my time left in the biggest city in New Zealand and visit one winery close to it, at Mangere.
The first thing that caught my attention when getting into the estate; after a short walk from Manere Town; was a sign warning that birds control was taking place and that means that some shoots could be heard.
The estate uses it combined with net protection to keep the New Zealand worst plague out of its vines. It is not forbidden, as far as it doesn't kill any protected race such as Kiwi, however, grape does not seem to be kiwi's favorite food.
Villa Maria Estate has a unique location: it is inside the crater of a 20,000 year old volcano.
It is a very much award winning family business and very proud of that.
George Fistonich, one of the great innovators of the New Zealand wine industry, launched Villa Maria in 1961 in a Mangere garage. Today it is New Zealand's third-biggest wine company and the only on still privately owned.
Villa Maria also owns the distinguished Esk Valley and Vidal wineries in Hawke's Bay, and wines from all three labels are available at the showpiece. It also has a large winery near Blenheim (Marlborough) where its South Island wines are made.
The tour is charged in NZ$5, but it doesn't include taste, which I bought afterwards.
It starts from the showcase and carry on through the new and award winning building, which is designed to make the most of natural searches, such as the use of natural light and cool breeze. The business uses high technology and has some techniques which seem to be a New World introduced to wine business, one observed was the use of dry-ice to avoid the contact of grape most and air during fermentation process.
The winery adopted a “100% screw cap” philosophy and they are used in every single wine made on it.
Wines are labeled for its characteristics, such as:
Single Vineyard- Wines that are created from vineyards of exceptional quality when vintage conditions allow these sites to fully express their individual characteristics.
Reserve - Only wines of exceptional quality are awarded the designation "reserve" as they mature in cellars following vintage.
Cellar Selection - An emphasis on fruit quality and minimal handling results in intensely flavored, elegant, food-friendly wines.
Private Bin - Generously flavored wine style. It is the most exported of the range of wines.
It was a nice experience to visit a place where I could get know New Zealanders wines made by themselves, in a sort of business where its commonly seem massive companies from abroad taking control on local business.
Villa Maria is big, but is proudly national.
Stonyridge Harvest
Once again, I went back to the magic island of Waiheke. After receiving a call from Chris to join the crew and to put my hands on some grapes, I booked accommodation for two days in the island and made my way in the very next day.
It was a sunny beautiful Wednesday and we were all at the winery at 9 am ready for the harvest. The team was very diverse and I met locals, backpackers and adventures alike.
After an explanation of what exactly we were after: just the healthy grapes - we started to harvest the best vines of the field, which would be used to produce the most expensive wine in the country, (Larose), so, if you ever drink it (Larose, 2007), it was made with my little help.
We worked hard during 8 hours, with a break meanwhile for some food-fuel and little rest, and after finishing it had a very deserved glass of wine.
It was a good short experience and, once again, I learn a little more.
I was granted with two bottles of their Airfield for my voluntary help, what I did not complain and drunk partially in the very same day and the rest as an Easter treat.
Auckland Wine Region
Henderson, Kumeu and Huapai to the northwest of Auckland's city centre, are the traditional winemaking districts of the Auckland region. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay are the most popular varieties here although Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and other white varieties are also planted. Auckland's soils are mainly shallow clays over hard silty-clay subsoil or sandy loams. Vineyards are mostly planted in pockets of flat land on the drier east coast or in the shelter of western ranges. In the early 1980s Waiheke Island, in Auckland harbor, was established as a fashionable district for the production of high quality red wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Matakana, on the east coast about one hour's drive north of Auckland city, has also earned an enviable reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon and has since undergone a very rapid expansion in both red and white wine production. Auckland's most recent premium wine district, Clevedon, has established small pockets of vines in the rolling farmlands about half an hour south of the city.
Info from http://www.nzwine.com/regions/
Hawkes Bay Wine Region
Hawkes Bay is the country's second largest region; with 4,346 hectares of vineyard area, in 2006 (19.2% of the country production); and has a respected 100 year heritage in wine the varied topography and wide range of soil types, from fertile silty loams to free-draining shingle, produces a considerable range of wine styles in this large region.
There are 22 categories of soil types on the Heretaunga Plains alone, from stones to hard pans to heavy silts. Ripening dates for a single grape variety can vary by as much as three weeks between the hot, shingle soils of the Gimblett Road area to the cool, higher altitude vineyards of central Hawkes Bay.
Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape variety but the long sunshine hours attract a high percentage of later-ripening red grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, as well as the early ripening Pinot Noir. Sauvignon Blanc is the other main white varietal grown in the Bay, complemented by Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Semillon and Viogner is also found.
It is a great place to visit the wineries, within 32 opened to the public, located in the neighborhood of Napier, Taradale, Flaxmere, Hastings and Havelock North towns.
Info mainly extracted from: WEB site http://www.nzwine.com/regions/ and Winery Guide of the region.
Chuch Road Winery
I arrived in Napier, a charming Art-Deco style city on the 17th of April and spend the next day exploring the place and its history.
The 30s caracther is not a casual thing; it was chosen as a new face to the city which was almost completely destroyed in 1931 by an earthquake.
After a short drive from the city center, I arrived at Church Road Winery with my travel mate from Austria, Mirian. She was not as much interested in wine as I was - did not have a single sip - but joined me in the tour anyway.
The winery is one of the oldest ones in Hawke's Bay, founded in 1897 by former Marist brother Bartholomew Steinmetz. In the 1960s Steinmetz's former assistant, the inspirational winemaker Tom MacDonald, crafted a series of historically significant Cabernet Sauvignon based wines – an achievement commemorated in Church Road's super-premium flagship red, called simply "Tom".
Church Road Wines show a distinctive French influence, largely due to a long-standing relationship with the Bordeaux house of Cordelier. The winemaking emphasizes texture, food-friendliness and complexity over primary fruit flavors.
The visit was extremely interesting. In addition to a free tasting at the cellar door, visitors can pay NZ$10 a head to tour the winery, see the imposing Tom MacDonald Cellar (a superb venue for private functions) and visit an underground wine museum with relics and antiquities dating back to the Iron Age. The Museum is the first of its kind in New Zealand, traces a fascinating journey through the history and techniques of winemaking. Housed underground inside the original concrete wine vats the sights of old-time winemaking are recreated in this authentic setting.
While touring through the winery we could observe some of the work to be done - in this that is the business' busiest time of the year. However, everyone carried on their duties, included the team of winemakers who were trying samples from the barrels, and for the enthusiastic conversation was going on, they seemed to like what they were tasting.
Tucked away behind the winery, against a hill, is a large natural amphitheatre that is venue for the annual Church Road jazz concert, which attracts up to 8000 fans every February.
In the tasting room we tried several samples of wines, all of them very loyal to the winery tradional style, included de Sauvingon Blanc 2005 Cuve that has 9 months in oak, swimming against the flood of the Kiwi style.
Most of the white wines has rested in the lees for a while, which seem to be a practice in the many wineries in the region.
Their reds do not disappoint and among them my favorite was a Malbec 2003, Cuve (tasted also by an Argentinean, who was in the group and did not make any comment), which has some chocolate notes; good balance of tannins and was wonderful.
As I saw some of the grapes hanging in the vines, waiting for the late harvest, I offered myself to help to do it, but their team of pickers was complete.
Then I picked up my Austrian mate, who was a little bored of waiting for my long tour to the winery, but was kind to agree with one more visit - not that difficult considering that the next winery (Mission) was next door. So, there we go.
Mission Estate
We arrived at the winery in a short time, however we missed the tour, but I reckon one tour a day is enough. So, I was fine.
Mission is the New Zealand's oldest wine producer (founded in 1851 by the French priest Father Lampila , though at different site) basks on the sunny slopes of Mount St Mary, above the Napier suburb of Greenmeadows. The cellar door and the restaurant are housed in a gracious, colonial homestay - a former Catholic seminary.
Established to supply sacramental wine - and wine for the table - to Marist missionaries, the winery was run for more than a century by priests and brothers.
The whole propriety is stunning, ideal for catering and has many possibilities for that, what I have been finding very common in the whole country, where the business has a multifunctional face.
The wines, made by long-serving winemaker Paul Mooney, are sourced from vineyards in several Hawke’s Bay localities and represent a cross-section of the region's styles.
I tried a wide variety of its wines and most of them are good. For its best ones, there is the indication of origin - another similarity that New Zealand has with the "old world", such as Gimblet Gravel, for the Merlot 2005 and Jewelston for the blend Cabernet - Merlot 2004.
A wine which showed very much the characteristics from region was the Syrah (Gimblet Gravel) 2005 Reserve, which has a strong aroma of black pepper and it is very good indeed.
As I showed some interest on a dessert "ice wine” I was offered to try it, so I did. However, in fact, it is not an “ice wine” at all, I mean in the natural way of it, for the very simple reason that there is no much icy weather on the bay. As a result, they fake it frozen the grapes to produce the dessert wine. I have never tried an original one, so decided to buy the “fake” one and share on a dinner with my travel mate from Austria, curios to find out what she could think of the wine and to hear some comments from someone who comes from a country were some real ones are produced.
Miriam seemed to like it, and declared it was a very good “ice wine”. I still don’t know if she was just kind to me for the wine I bought to share or she just likes sweet wines and then got excited about it or it was really good. I liked it myself, but it doesn’t have anything exceptional. So I guess, that “forged” one satisfy my curiosity for wine from frozen-cold-places – for now.
Martinborough
Wellington is the official name for the large region which occupies the southern section of the North Island. Wairarapa, on the lower eastern side of the region, is Wellington's only wine district. Martinborough, as well as being a town, is also the oldest and best known wine area within the Wairarapa region.
Wairarapa – the place Maori named ‘the land of glistering waters’, is the place for boutique wines in the country, with small family run estates, passionate wine-makers and lots of sunshine, focused on producing quality rather quantity, relatively small yields enable winemakers to devote themselves to handcrafting superior wines.
Located in an ancient alluvial river terrace made up of deep, free-draining gravel overlaid with gravely silt loam, Martinborough has low rainfall, hot summers and a long, dry autumn. It is the consistency of the region’s autumn that’s believed to provide the right balance of warm days (creating ripeness) and cool nights (creating elegance).
Wines produced form the region are considered to have excellent concentration, texture and depth, due to the low cropping levels and the area’s unique soil and climate qualities.
Pinot Noir is the region's most planted and certainly most acclaimed grape variety. The success of Martinborough Pinot Noir has to a large extent driven the rapid development of this very dynamic and quality-focused region. Climatically Wairarapa is more aligned to Marlborough than to any of the North Island regions. The success and style of its Sauvignon Blanc is evidence of this alliance. Officially New Zealand's sixth largest region, Wellington is small in production terms but makes a large contribution to the country's quality winemaking reputation.
Info mostly extracted from http://www.nzwine.com/regions/ and the Escape Planner 2006/7 Wairarapa guide.
C J Pask Winery
After leaving Napier I went to Hastings, not far from there, with my travel mate who left the next morning to carry on her trip.
I explored a little the town and made my plans for the next day, including visits in all wineries which I could reach by foot. Not many, unfortunately.
The first one to visit was CJ Pask, located in the edge of Hasitngs.
The winery has played a leading role in the development of the Gimblett Gravels winemaking district and in the emergence of Hawke's Bay as a world-class wine region.
Its success can be attributed to the vision of founder Chris Pask - who, as a topdressing pilot, liked what he saw of the arid Gimblett Gravels from the air - and the talent of Australian winemaker Late Radburnd, who joined the company in 1991 and late became chief executive.
The winery owns and manages almost 100 hectares of established vineyard on its Gimblett Road vineyard. This land has been formed from deposits made by Ngaruroro River that flowed the area up until the late 1800's.
These gravely soils are free draining and low in nutrient status, making them ideal fro growing premium quality wines. With the vineyard sheltered from the prevailing winds by the landmark Roy's Hill, hot daytime temperatures coupled with the arming effects of the stony soil produce ripe grapes of intense flavor.
The winery is just that - a winery with a cellar door and no add-ons (such as cafe). But the wine alone justifies a visit. In the earlier years CJ Pask was chiefly noted for its powerful, concentrated reds, but more recently the winery has been making a good impression with its whites.
While tasting the wines in the Tasting Room which is just off the winery, the friendly lady who was helping me told about the trading of the company, which apparently, will have Brazil in the portfolio – I hope.
The Chardonnay 2005 from Gimblett Road has as distinctive flavour of its lees and it’s made from a “Mendonza Clone”, which presents small and big berries and the same bunch and results in a concentrated flavor wine.
I also tried a Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (old world style); “Bordeaux” blend of Cabernet, Merlot 2005 from Gimblett Road which was very good and still developing and the most interesting one was a Syrah Gimblett Road 2005 full of black pepper aromas and medium tannins.
Left the winery with a half-bottle made on measure for travelers and solo drinkers alike.
Vidal Wines
Next to try was Vidal Wines, where I felt I had all the time of the world to enjoy the wines and the warm hospitality of the hostess.
Established by Spaniard Anthony Vidal in 1905, it still occupies its original Hastings site but has long since severed any connection with the founding family, having been bought by the Villa Maria Group in 1976 after several ownership changes.
Vidal has built a reputation as a producer of consistently high-quality wines, mostly form Hawke's Bay but some (notably Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling) from Marlborough.
All the wines tried are made in the styles I have been finding most commonly in the country, showing the market focused approach of the company. However there was a precious one present among them: a Viogner, Hawkes Bay 2006, winner of three awards, full deserved in my opinion. The wine shows that it was rested in its lees but also a light pleasant floral aroma.
That was the one I chosen to buy and liked it so much that I have not opened it yet. I plan to do it so when I have a Thai dinner, which I believe it goes really well with – for the sake if my sommelier skills improvement and my complete timed pleasure.
Alana Estate
Martinborough is a short drive from Wellington city center or an hour train journey, in my case.
I took a train from the country capital city and was in Featherson at 10:20 am ready to join the group for a wine trip through the wine region.
As we are a little earlier than the wineries opening time we were invited to have a coffee in a local cafe - what I was very thankful as a good-morning-wake-up-call.
The group were mostly Australians, apart from the guide-driver: a local kiwi lady, in the business for 7 years; and me of course, which am a Brazilian - nationality rare to find over this part of the world, specially doing this sort of tourism.
The first place we visited was Alana Estate.
Ian and Alana smart’s handsome three-level winery is built against a hillside on stony terraces above the Huangarua River. It’s designed according to gravity-flow principles – winemaking starts at the top level and moves down – avoiding damage to grapes or wine by excessive pumping and handling.
The wines presented in the tasting match with what you would expect from their style in New Zealand. Apart from the Sauvignon Blanc 2006 that among the fruity Kiwi Style also had some toast flavor from the lees deposit on it.
The Pinot Noir, Taupapa, 2004 had a strawberry jam flavor and had some potential to develop.
The whole business is food friendly and the restaurant part of it, features plates to complement the wines. It is also a good spot for a snack among the vines and the flowers planted to distract insects and keep them away from what really matters: grapes.
Muirlea Rise
The second visit in Martinborough was a good representative of the region.
Muirlea Rise is a tiny winery founded by the late Willie Brown, a former wine merchant turned winemaker, and now run by his son Shawn.
Shawn has a Scottish sense of humor and made the tour very entertaining, he shared with us his interest for wine which he just discovered after his 30's - as it is happen to most of us all.
After his dad has died, Shawn took over the business and is keeping alive what was his father for father a great passion: "He had named every single row of vines - I am sure" - said Shawn, while showing the grapevine and explaining about the winegrow techniques, while birds flow constantly on the background during all the time.
In a small cozy place we tasted the non filtered all-red wines from the winery. Among them a Pinot Noir 2000; Cabernet Blend 2001 and the Mareth 2001 (Bordeaux blend style). They all very well balanced wines with good finish and, the last sample I would be happy to keep it for an extra couple of years to find out its whole beauty.
Tirohana Estate
After a wine match in the town center with fresh local food, we headed to the 3rd winery in included in the tour.
Originally the home block of Voss Estate Vineyard, Tirohana Estate was bought two years ago by British-born Raymond Thompson, and is managed by his daughter and son-in-law, Saranne and Toby James.
The cellar door is a restored barn where visitors in summer can enjoy their wine samples in a sunny courtyard. However, we arrived in a sunny beautiful day of... winter, so, we were invited to the mini-museum-tasting-room in the back of the shop, what wasn't too bad as the place was full with pictures of the vineyard in various stages of the year.
The most interesting sequence was during a night frost at one cold spring that woke up the crew that had to set fire among the vines to blow away the possible frost with smoke and warm, detected previously by a satellite and send as a warning - good and old techniques together.
As Pinot Noir is the star in region, it comes in a Rose version in this winery: Rose 2006, which has a very similar style to the old good red one, just a little lighter.
The Pinot Noir itself (2005) has pepper and wood characteristics and there was also a dessert wine (2006) made from Riesling and Sauvignon grapes affected by Botrytis.
Te Kairanga Wines
TK, as it’s commonly known, occupies part of the extensive pastoral holings once owned by John Martin, after whom Martinborough was named. It was also the site of the first modern-day vine plantings in the Martinborough district, thought the original vines – planted in 1978 by publisher Alister Taylor – failed from neglect.
Now owned by a public company, Te Kairanga is Martinborough’s second-largest winery, with vineyards spread across eight sites.
Among the staff of the winery are internationally experienced people who got their experience in a wide variety of places such as Australia, USA, UK, Spain and France. It even has a French winemaker; Mayi Caldwel married to Peter Caldwell, all very well connected.
The winery is in an attractive setting on the edge of Martinborough Terrace, above Huangarua River, with views of the surrounding hills.
It holds hospitality events throughout the year and have picnic loves welcomed in their premises.
The cellar door also has a wide variety of products, included some handcrafted wine and food accessories.
The samples tasted had also a big variety of wines, but the Pinot Noir kingdom in Martinborough was evident, with 4 samples of it. Among them there was John Martin Reserve 2005, claimed and confirmed their finest Pinot Noir named after the stockman who gifted the land for Martinborough township. This wine has been crafted from a selection of fine wines produced separately from small parcels separately from small parcels of fruit from individual sites on the TK's five Martinborough vineyards. Classic complexity would develop beautifully over the next year, with tannins in the right measure to support it.
The winery was the very last one on our tour and after visiting and trying so many samples (not drunk all of them, of course) I did not feel like buying a wine, so I bought instead a cheese's knife, very related to the subject and joined my marry group (who seemed to had not reject any of the wines) to finish the day with... a cheese plate in the town center.
Lindauer Cellars
Visit Gisborne was a last minute decision. It was a little off my track, but I though it could be nice to take advantage of a not-so-good weather and included a region where outdoor activity is not a must to do (not forgetting that I AM a tourist as well). So, I bought a bus ticket to travel to the middle east of the north island and join the kiwis (majority of them) in a 5 hours journey.
I must admit that I was really looking forward to be one of the first ones to see the morning light. But unfortunately, as the weather forecast has warned, there was no sun at all during my stay.
To compensate that I had a very nice walk in the drizzle through the city, where I found, in a relatively short distance, Lindauer Cellars (house of the most popular sparkling wine of NZ).
Owned by Montana group, the winery can trace its original back to the very beginnings of commercial wine making in Poverty Bay. Wine was first made in the district in the 19th century by French Catholic priest, Father Lampila, but it was German immigrant Friedrich Wohnsiedler who established the region's first commercial vineyard - in the Waihirere Valley just north of Gisborne - in 1921.
His company, Waihirere Wines became one of New Zealand's biggest producers and remained in family hands until it was sold to Montana in 1973. Montana produced its Chardonnays from the Gisborne region in the early-to-mid 1970s.
Today the Gisborne winery hosts Montana's largest and most comprehensive cellar-door facility included a winery museum, which seeks to replicate the atmosphere of France's famous Champagne caves.
I did a self guided tour in the museum, because I arrived too early and it was actually closed but they allowed me in, what was good to avoid the usual crowd of people and also to take my time in what interested me the most, which was the process of making sparkling wine, from the very beginning process until the closure with a funny shape cork, which a saw for the first time before being bottled.
I never had much interest to try Lindauer wines, mainly because they are widely available at the supermarkets and for a price which can make very suspicious the quality for a traditional method sparkling wine: very cheap.
The wines produced under the label are easy drinking and without complexity. It has a massive production as target and has a faithful consumer, fair enough.
What impress the most is how big Montana group is getting in the country, as an important and big (for New Zealand proportions) producer the very a wide variety of products.
You will find Montana's wine almost everywhere, what don't make them very attractive - to me at least.
To not leave the premises with empty hands, I bought two small bottles, one of their Gisborne's Chardonnay and other of their bubbly one. Neither of them excited me much, but it was in the right measure as a pairing for my simple hostel cooked meal.
See, there is a wine for everyone needs.
Works Cafe & Winery - Goldenvines Estate Wines
The next winery, Goldenvines, visit happened after a walk around the small city of Gisborne and its main tourist attractions, among them, the arrival site of Capitan Cook in New Zealand.
Goldenvines is a new label launched by young entrepreneur Tony Taylor. John Thorpe, also wine maker for several other local labels, makes the wines in this 99-year-old brick building on Gisborne's waterfront that once housed the freezing works.
The cellar door sells several other local wines besides Goldvines, including long established Gisborne labels Revington and Longbush.
Tony also acquired the Works Cafe in the same building, which offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
The cellar door is situated in the restaurant and I was offered a small cheese platter to go with my wine tasting.
It was a good way to improve my knowledge of cheese and wine matching and also, a reasonable priced deal: for NZ$ 10, which included 9 of their three range of wines.
The only down side of the cheese pairing was that their samples were mainly white wines, but it was interesting to find out some good combination surprises, such as Gewürztraminer (Goldvines, Estate, Gisborne, 2005) with blue cheese and Muscat (Goldvines, Estate, East Coast, 2005) with Brie. However, I would give the limelight spot to the Chenin Blanc made from 20 year-old vines, with a floral bouquet in the nose and a delightful feeling in the mouth, which was a big surprise considering that Chenin is not the local star and its not the most expensive in the list neither, it is NZ$32 / bottle, well behind from their sample of Gisborne's famous Chardonnay (Revington, (NZ$42).
Unfortunately I was not able to visit the winery as it was closed for work – wineries not only survive as a tourist attraction, fortunately.
Cheers,
Marcia Amaral