I admit it, I’m not an expert when it comes to New Zealand wine, despite having enjoyed a fair number of bottles over the years.
I love the intensity of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, even if the style has become a little clichéd – and I wouldn’t kick the Pinot Noirs of Martinborough or Central Otago out of bed either. Even if, at least for me, they rarely achieve the classicism or elegance that is claimed. Rieslings and other white varietals can also be stunningly good.
But so far, my experience only goes skin deep. This Sunday 23rd March 2014 at 5pm CET is the perfect opportunity to learn more, by talking to a group of 10 wine producers whilst tasting their wines. The tasting is at the trade-only ProWein fair in Düsseldorf, but we want to open up the event to anyone online who’s a fan of kiwi wine, or just wants to know more.
All you have to do is tweet to me (@simonjwoolf) or @nzwine with your question – and tag it with #kiwiwinesunday – or if you don’t like twitter, add a comment to this post and I’ll make sure the question gets raised on Sunday. We will be online between 17:00 – 18:30, responding live to questions and generally broadcasting what we discover – while tasting an excellent selection of what the country has to offer (see the list below).
I’ve been thinking about what questions I want to ask – and here are some of them:
Are you worried about issues of oversupply, as 2014 is looking like such a bumper harvest? (15% up on the already impressive 2013 yields).
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Does everyone still love screwcaps?
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Are you sick of the world thinking NZ is just about Sauvignon Blanc?
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New Zealand winemakers are noticeable by their absence from London’s two “natural” wine fairs (Raw Fair and the Real Wine fair). Is the movement to lower intervention and all things organic/biodynamic/low sulphur not established here?
Wineries
Here’s a list of the confirmed wineries who are participating in the tasting and question & answer session (more TBC):
Giesen Wines (Marlborough)
Ohau Wines (Ohau – “New Zealand’s newset wine region”)
Craggy Range (Hawkes Bay)
Rockburn (Central Otago)
Gladstone Vineyard (Wairarapa)
Seresin (Marlborough – A personal favourite, and one of very few producers who’ve convinced me to love oaked Sauvignon Blanc)
Man O’War (Waiheke Island)
Villa Maria (Marlborough)
Spy Valley (Marlborough)
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More information:
I believe Seresin have been experimenting with some no added sulphur wines, which is exciting.
Pyramid Valley do great stuff too and were at Real last year. Sustainability seems to be NZ wine’s big thing and it would be good to understand how they think that translates to consumers.
Marlborough Savvy B seems to be increasing in price (in UK), and a greater focus on single vineyard wines to show different terroirs (eg Yealands) – will this win new/different audiences or will it alienate loyal followers?
Apart from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, Riesling and Pinot Gris, are there other grapes that New Zealand sees a future for? Villa Maria’s been trying Arneis, Framingham does a delicious Montepulciano.