In the mid-1980s New Zealand released to the world what would become one of the most distinctive and appreciated white wine styles of the modern era. Sauvignon Blanc was the grape variety responsible, and Marlborough was the region on the tip of wine drinker’s tongues world over.

Cloudy Bay was the first winery to make the all-important breakthrough, and whilst as a global brand it may have lost some of its providence, it typified what so many people loved about this amazing new wine style.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t hold back any punches, and by delivering big flavours it is hugely appealing and incredibly drinkable. The nose of freshly cut grass, nettles and gooseberry is only a precursor to the explosive party of tropical fruit and racy acidity that engulfs palate.

Located at the north eastern tip of the South Island, Marlborough benefits from a maritime climate, where its close proximity to the sea has a calming influence, bringing mild winters and cool summers. A key characteristic of this climate is the fall in temperature after dark. Whenever the grapes have been ripening during the day, consistent cold nights help bare fruit that will produce wines of high acidity, one of the trademarks of New Zealand wine.

The various vineyard plots make for interesting drinking. As the soils change so do the wines. The best sites have shallow, stony soils where irrigation is almost essential as they are naturally free-draining. Luckily, Marlborough receives relatively low rainfall otherwise it might not exist as a wine producing region at all.

Generally, the best wines come from winery-owned vineyards, where the winemaker can keep a tight control of irrigation, vine tending and harvesting. Some critics suggest that because contract growers are paid by weight, there is less emphasis on quality, although some now use contract wineries to make and bottle their own wine. The final proof can only ever be in the drinking.

With Sauvignon Blanc making such an impact it’s all too easy to overlook the other varieties on offer. Chardonnay is Marlborough’s second most planted white grape variety, but it certainly shouldn’t be looked upon simply as second best. Pinot Grigio (Gris) and Riesling will also stake a claim for the best white wine offering, but when it comes to red there’s only one. Don’t expect much change from a €20 note for the better Pinot Noirs, but these will often deliver better value than many a Burgundy Pinot Noir at twice the price.

For more information visit nzwine.com. To view the range from Curious Wines, with 20% off until the end of April, click here.

Fans of our top-selling wine for the last two years, The Ned Sauvignon Blanc, might be interested in the latest addition to our New Zealand range. Named in the World’s Top 50 Most Desired Wine Brands by Drinks International last year, Wither Hills was founded by none other than The Ned’s Brent Marris.

Wither Hills’ Ben Glover (above centre) explains: “My father grew grapes for many wine companies and so I have been involved in wine all my life. I met Brent Marris during his Oyster Bay days and when he left to set up Wither Hills, he asked me to jump on for the ride, and oh what a ride! Brent left the business in 2007 and I became Chief Winemaker, carrying on what we had set up in place. In reality, nothing changed! The Wither Hills team had to step up to the challenge of continuing to build our reputation. Our winemakers bring together a combination of experience, passion and drive for excellence. The current team have a lot of fun bringing all of this to fruition… in a glass!”

Best buy: Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Introductory price €10.99) Fleshy tropical melon, guava, ripe gooseberry aromas leap from the glass followed by more elegant refined herbaceous ripe green smells of fresh fennel, tomato leaf, coriander and nettles, all bundled together with citrus lime.

See the new range from Wither Hills here.

Hot on the heels of the arrival of the new Two Paddocks range to Curious Wines, we’re delighted to announce a visit from the Proprietor!

Sam Neill will be visiting us in Cork on Thursday the 8th November, and the Cornstore on the city’s Cornmarket Street will be the venue for a special lunch date with the Hollywood superstar.

There’ll be a Two Paddocks lunch special on the day along with your chance to try Sam’s wines and even meet the man himself. Sam will be there between 1.00pm and 3.00pm before we whisk him off for some sightseeing.

If you’d like to join us, you can book directly with the Cornstore on 021 4274777, or just come along on the day and take your chances you’ll get a seat!

There’s been a little bit more excitement than usual surrounding the latest new arrivals to the Curious portfolio. Last week we took receipt of our first shipment of Two Paddocks, a family-owned operation in Central Otago, New Zealand, with a rather well known proprietor.

The ‘Prop’, as he’s know around the winery, tells the story himself:

Two Paddocks is a small family wine producing business that is entirely dedicated to making great wine.
We started in 1993 with modest ambitions and first planted five acres of Pinot Noir at our original little vineyard at Gibbston, Central Otago in the deep south of New Zealand.
I wanted to produce a good Pinot Noir that would, at the very least, be enjoyed by my family and friends. Frankly, my friends will pretty much drink anything, so this didn’t seem too hard. To our great surprise, our first vintage in 1997 was much better than we hoped, in spite of a difficult growing season. 1998 was a more distinguished vintage, and in 1999 we were astounded to produce a Pinot that was, we thought, world class.
We hope and trust that you will enjoy Two Paddocks wine, as much as we enjoy making it. We certainly enjoy drinking it, which makes it a little scarcer than perhaps it might be otherwise. But good luck in finding Two Paddocks anyway!

- Sam Neill, Proprietor.

The Two Paddocks Picnic Pinot Noir and Two Paddocks Pinot Noir are now available from Curious Wines – we hope you find and enjoy.

Like a yapping child it’s as fickle, testing and annoying as they come, but ah… the hugs for daddy when it’s being nice! At its best this grape is as good as it gets – fountains of wondrous rose tinted raspberry nectar with oriental spice rainbows and insane aromas of truffles and farty undergrowth. Quite frankly, all other wine is for pussies.

Sam Brannigan’s take on Pinot Noir

I couldn’t really have put it any better myself, Sam. Except for the last seven or eight words maybe. But it is true that Pinot Noir can be fickle and testing. When you get it right, it’s very good. Sometimes truly great.

Many of those greats come from Burgundy in France. Now Central Otago (or ‘Otago’ for short) in New Zealand’s South Island is crafting out its own name for great Pinot. ‘Burgundy of the New World’ perhaps, if not for its white wines, most certainly for its reds.

There is no other region in New Zealand that is more dependant on one single grape variety. Pinot Noir accounts for around 70-75% of Otago’s plantings. The climate is continental, unlike any other area in NZ. The diurnal temperatures (from the highs during the day to the lows during the night) and seasonal temperatures means there are similarities to Burgundy, although the wines still tend to be more fruit driven. The vineyards are protected by mountains and many are planted on sun facing slopes.

Within Otago there are six informal sub regions, including Gibbston and Bannockburn. Informal in the sense that there is nothing to say they must grow certain varieties, produce their wine in a certain way or note the sub region on the label. But each does have its own geography and terroir, making the variation between the wine of each vineyard and sub region distinct.

As a wine producing region Central Otago is still young and has much potential to fulfill. The famous Marlborough winery Cloudy Bay recently announced their own release of a Pinot Noir sourced from Otago vineyards, and even one of our own Marlborough winemakers is doing the same – Ant Moore Pinot Noir.

The white varieties include Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, and although they have yet to receive the same recognition as the dominant red, there have been a lot of very promising examples produced. I suspect, for the time being anyway, Pinot Noir will remain number one because the region is so well suited to this noble variety that no one elsewhere in the country can quite replicate it in the same way. Also, with the glut of white wine coming out Marlborough, why play the same game?

Pictured, First Paddock vineyard of Two Paddocks winery, owned by film star Sam Neill.

Australian Ant Moore (pictured) plies his trade in New Zealand, making some of the most distinctive whites of the Marlborough region, and vibrantly fruity, yet rustic and complex reds of Central Otago. Here, in the second part of this two part series, his right hand man Craig Murphy talks us through the winemaking process.

This is a continuation. To view the first post click here.

We add the yeast to the Pinot Noir. Still on skins, it has been soaking for 3 days. The colour of the juice is now deep purple and it’s time to ferment. I like to pour the culture into a little nest. Start it off slowly, because when the reds take off fermenting it’s all done in days. And all the way through the cellar hands are plunging. Four guys to a tank, four times a day. Every day, every tank until done. Then we let it soak some more. Time to extract the tannins and develop the palate of the wine.

The Sauvignon Blanc is now settling in a stainless tank. The cooling is set at 8 degrees. All looking good. Time to let gravity do its thing. 2 days later we test the racking valve to see if it is clear. Perfect, as clear as water and still tasting fantastic. Time to rack the tank. One of the cellar hands hooks up the pump, sets up the lines and cleans everything. The destination tank is gassed and we let it go. All valves are opened and the clean, clear juice flows into the next tank. Three hours later the door is opened and we finish the racking. All we can smell is full on Sauvignon aromas that are just pouring out the door.

The Pinot has been soaking post ferment for 5 days, we have tasted every day and finally time to press the wine off the skins. The cellar hands set up the gear and drain the wine off the tank. Then, when wine is not flowing anymore and the free run tank is looking full, it’s time for the best job in the winery. Digging out the reds. The rookie cellar hand is told to get their boots on, harness up and they are handed the red shovel, and they are told to dig. Six tonne of Pinot Noir needs to be dug out and loaded into the bins then tipped into the press. Good chance to show how fast you can go and the records for fastest time are openly boasted about in the smoko room later that day. Time to clean out the tank, and get ready to load it with the next truck load of Pinot Noir that has just arrived.

The Pinot Noir now needs time in oak; we go through and select which clone is going to go to the best suited Barrique. All wine has been inoculated with malo to give some more complexity on the palate. Once the oak is full, they are moved into the warm room and left. Stirred every couple of weeks and then topped as each barrique loses some volume… the angels share.

Now what… which yeast are we going to use for the Sauvignon? Which yeast will enhance the structure and produce the best ferment? Yeast is mixed up and left to hydrate. Good fermenter this one, the culture is strong and the yeast smells good. Fresh baked bread, we add a little Sauvignon just to get it used to the extra sugar in the juice. Then we tip it into the tank, “Go forth and multiply little yeasties” is the prayer offered as the last of the culture is added. And now we wait. Two days and the tank is starting to prickle and the tell tale signs of CO2 are being released, well through the lag phase. Now onto the growth phase, 12 hours later the temp is lowered as the ferment is rolling over. Foam and CO2, and a fantastic aroma of tropical fruits, capsicum and cut grass are floating out the top of the tank. Temperature set for 12 degrees and the tank is perfect. We taste every day and make sure that all is looking good. Finally, after 15 days the ferment is done. All the sugar has been fermented and the alcohol is present. We now have wine.

Multiply this by 30 other tanks of wine and we have a vintage. Now for the best part. Blending.

Blending can make or break. I like to taste everything. Get an idea of what the vintage is like. Then it’s all on. 8 am let’s start tasting, 10 am and we have tasted 30 wines. I know what I want now. Mix this with that and taste. Try a little of this tank. Have to make sure the others are keeping up and the blend has been written down. By midday all the whites are done.

Generally a big day and by the end we are tired and are looking forward to a steak and cheese pie from the bakery. The blends are completed. A decision has been made. Time to finish the wines, filter and get ready for bottling.

The Pinot has now had 4 months in oak. Malo is complete and the wine sits and ages. We stir, we top, we taste, we stir some more, and so on. Then in February we need to blend and then the process starts again.

Bottling, 4 months from harvest the truck rolls in and we load the transport tank and watch it drive out the gate. The Sauvignon Blanc is prepped and then 6 am the next morning I roll into the bottling company and one final taste and the final sign off, everything is gassed off. No air around here, the labels look good, and the guys are keen to get rolling, big day today.

I watch as the glass rolls down the line, a blur of glass and wine, the colour of the labels as the bottles whizz past and then into the cases. But it does not stop there. Time to get it to market.

Winemaking in Marlborough, where Sauvignon Blanc is king and we do the best in the world.

Get up to 25% off the Ant Moore range before midnight Monday 30th April.

Co-winemaker Craig Murphy (Murph) is Ant Moore‘s right hand man in the winery. In these two posts, the second to follow next week, Murph invites us to better understand the winemaking process in their production of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. There’s some technical ‘wine-speak’ used here, but I think most of us will be able to follow easily enough. If you do have any questions, leave a comment and I’ll get one of the lads to answer for you!

It’s the beginning of April, the days are still hot, but the nights are starting to cool down, exactly what we want to ripen Sauvignon Blanc. The vineyards have stopped growing and the vines are starting to shut down. All the vine’s energy is now concentrating on ripening fruit.

The fruit is looking clean and very nice. Strong ripe berries with green golden colours. Each berry full of juice and flavours, two winemakers walking through the vineyard tasting and talking about what flavours we can taste. The refracto has been dusted off and we are testing for sugars. 22.5 brix, almost perfect. The weather is looking clear and the fruit is in great condition.

“Let’s do it” the decision is made. I make a call to the harvester and the winery and the fruit is booked in. Forty minutes later the harvester rolls in and starts to set up. We follow along to make sure the machine is picking well and taking all the fruit. The machine rolls over each row, shaking and beating the fruit onto the conveyors and into the holding bins on the harvester. The harvester runs up and back down the next row and has to empty straight to the truck. An hour or so later, 10 tonne heading down to the winery.

We are in the car again and moving to the Pinot Noir vineyard. The block has been looking really good. We had been in there two days earlier but thought it needed a little more time. Each vine perfectly manicured by the vineyard guys. Each cane of each vine producing two beautiful black bunches of fruit. Small black berries and strong skins. We taste for tannins and they are tasting ripe, the colour stains our fingers. Yes, time to go. The hand picking gang pulls up and they start to toss out the picking bins. Ten gang members to a row. Best way to do this so only the cleanest fruit comes in. Eight hard working hours later and the truck is loaded and the fruit pulls into the winery.

The winery is about 10 mins drive from the main Sauvignon Blanc vineyards. It pulls in and then backs up to the ramp. Paper-work is handed over and the load is dumped into the receival bin. 10.24 tonnes. The destemmer is switched on, must pump is primed and the press has been cleaned. Ready to go. 20 mins later the fruit is in the press and we are closing it up and setting the program. Now we wait for 3 hours. The press works away making its puffing noises as the air pressure is released and then it rolls and starts to blow up again to press out more juice. The first juice flows fast; it smells clean and full of tropical fruits, cut grass and tastes fantastic, sweet, cool and bursting with flavour. This is going to be an outstanding tank. All the buzz of the winery, staff running everywhere and in every direction, another truck rolls in with the next load and another press starts up.

The hand picked Pinot Noir is unloaded and weighed. Then through the destemmer and the must chiller and the whole lot, skins, pips and juice are left to soak, each open top tank holds 6 tonne of crushed fruit, and its black and a mass of skins. The cellar hands climb to the top of each tank and start to hand plunge the fruit back into the juice. We need to extract the colour and the flavour. I roll up my sleeves and plunge my arm in. Pull it out again and my skin has changed colour to bright purple. Looks great. I wash my hands but the colour does not come off.

Yes, you know the vintage is here when your hands are purple.

There’s a lot more goes into making good wine than you might think! Next week, in part 2, Murph talks open fermenters, oak barrels and the bottling cycle. Get up to 25% off all Ant Moore wines until the end of April.

It’s always good to get a feel for what goes on on the ground. There’s a lot more to it all than just squeezing a few grapes and hoping for the best. Here, winemaker Ant Moore takes us through his vineyard portfolio in Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island to give us a better idea of the difference terroir can make.

My vineyards are at the heart of what I do. I selected the sites, developed the infrastructure and planted the vines. Spread through three distinctive sub regions of Marlborough the vineyards are unique like the wines that they produce.

My first land purchase was on a hidden ridge in the Waihopai Valley. Considered by some to be too harsh and cold for grapes, I knew it was perfect from the moment I serendipitously set foot on it, and then did all I could to ensure it was mine. My first vineyard is called Ant’s nest, and is my home. The animals depicted on my label all reside here, and give hours of pleasure and excitement to my children, who roam the vineyard in search of adventure. Bounded on one side by the Omaka River, and exposed to the prevailing north westerly winds on the other, it is a fantastic site, and a place of which I never tire and constantly marvel at the changing of the seasons and sunrises and sunsets.

Living in the vineyard I’m constantly aware of the ‘work’ of the vines and the development of the fruit, and my children are learning the craft of the vintner, without even knowing it. It’s not a bad life, though I’m neglecting to mention the cold nights up frost fighting, or the hard slog out in vineyard in the hot winds, better to mention the “dreamy good stuff”.

After developing Ant’s Nest, I was excited about planting things, and developing raw land into beautiful vineyards, and so embarked on a major vineyard development drive. I planted two more blocks on the same ridge, as well as one further up the valley. All of these Waihopai sites are on elevated, clay ridges and terraces, which restrict growth and vigour, and provide “balanced” fruit. The flavour profiles from these vineyards tend lemon, lime, and stone fruit, with less of the herbaceous vegetal characters found in some parts of Marlborough. Apart from the fruit flavours, there is greater minerality and density to the wine, and better structure. These wines age well, and have more grunt than the heavily irrigated vigorous vines growing down by the Wairau River.

Whilst searching for a block on which to plant Pinot Noir, I stumbled onto a great site high in the Awatere Valley. Known as Upton Downs, the stunning views here give a preview of the stunning fruit from this area. Once again, clay and wind keep the vines in check. Fruit from here is minerally, and has potential to be very lifted and passionfruit (talking about Sauvignon here). For the Pinot Noir, the ripening is slow, and this area gets very little rain, so fruit can be left to hang to achieve good phenological ripeness without high alcohols, or disease pressure. This allows lovely savoury characters to compliment the ripe fruits often seen in Marlborough Pinot Noir.

Venturing into one of the coldest parts of Marlborough I planted Patriarch vineyard which lies on north facing terraces facing Mount Patriarch and Mount Fishtail. Once again a uniquely beautiful site, this vineyard has clay on the upper terrace and river stones on the lower terrace. This will give me more blending options, and provide some very pungent and classic Marlborough fruit.

Due to the extreme cold here, the vineyard is protected by full coverage water for frost fighting. If you haven’t seen the water freeze on the vines, thus cocooning them and protecting them from the frost, it’s a pretty amazing site, and a quirk of science that the vines can still be undamaged despite temperatures down around minus 5 C. This vineyard has been developed as a certified organic vineyard from day one, and this has been a hard road but one we believe worthwhile. All of our vineyards are sustainable, and we are looking to convert to organic over the next few seasons. As I, and some of my staff live on some of the vineyards, the more I can protect these environments and make them great places to live and work, the better they will be.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we look at the winemaking process with co-winemaker Craig Murphy. Get up to 25% off all Ant Moore wines until the end of April.

Last week Marisco Vineyards (The Ned and the King’s Series) was crowned NZ Winery of the Year. The award, presented by the International Wine & Spirits Challenge, is considered one of the most prestigious international accolades and follows a dream run of eight international gold medal wins for Marisco Vineyards over the past two months.

“The competition for this level of award is enormous,” said Marisco Vineyards Proprietor and Chief Winemaker Brent Marris after receiving the award. “We were judged against some of the best New Zealand wineries and it’s both thrilling and humbling to take the top spot.”

The International Wine & Spirits Challenge (UK) is considered one of the top three global wine competitions, alongside the Decanter wine awards (UK) and the Sydney International Wine Competition. More than 7,000 wines were entered this year, including 340 from 74 New Zealand wineries.

“I think what sets us apart is that we’re eternal optimists. We’re 110% focused on what’s possible, even when other people tell us it’s impossible. That’s seen us turn an old cattle farm into a high quality vineyard, develop entirely new technologies to incorporate into our high-tech winery, and tackle big international markets and find success there.

“I guess it’s a winning mix of no.8 wire mentality, and bold entrepreneurism, that exists in every person in our company,” he says. “Winning this title, with the highest international credentials, will really support our growth plans for 2012,” Marris says. “We’re on a very exciting journey and are immensely proud to be flying the New Zealand flag on the world stage.” Keep up the good work, guys!

Click here to view the range from Brent, including the new vintage Fairhall Cliffs, all currently buy 5 get one free.

Marisco Vineyard’s The King’s Favour Sauvignon Blanc 2010 has scooped a trio of gold medals at three leading international wine shows this month, on the back of picking up gold at the Sydney Top 100 in November 2010. The multi award-winning wine won gold medals at the prestigious Mundus Vini competition in Germany, International Wine & Spirits Challenge in the UK, and Austrian Wine Challenge.

Marisco Vineyards Owner and Chief Winemaker Brent Marris says the entire team are overwhelmed by the extraordinary reception the wine has enjoyed, and The King’s Favour now being Marisco Vineyards’ most awarded wine.

“We always knew The King’s Favour had enormous potential. At harvest we saw the most extraordinary fruit expression in the berries—they were electric, vibrant and powerful—and this has translated beautifully into the bottle,” says Marris.

The King’s Favour Sauvignon Blanc 2010 was the first vintage to be made in Marisco Vineyard’s brand new, state-of-the-art winery. It has an exceptional backbone and structure, off which fleshy ripe tropical fruit flavours deliver a sensory explosion. The wine demonstrates deep flavour intensity and variety, which can be attributed to individual blocks by the winemaking team.

“In 2010 we harvested our Sauvignon Blanc block-by-block at maximum flavour intensity over three and a half weeks, which in turn gave us enormous range in the juice once we were in the winery.

“The diversity in the terroir is what makes our Waihopai Valley property a winemaker’s dream, and we’re thrilled to be using it to deliver beautiful wines for the people all over the world to enjoy,” he says.

New Zealand wine, including the King’s Favour Sauvignon Blanc, has 20% off up to and including Monday 31st October.