New Zealand Wine Country
Blog: By Way of the World - 3 July 2009
By: Erin
New Zealand has two main wine regions, one in the South Island (Marlborough) and one in the North (Hawkes Bay).
Marlborough wineries, like those in other colder climates like Tasmania and New York State, are known for sweeter whites like Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Gewurstraminer. But the most well-known of the region are the tropical, fruit-forward Sauvignon Blancs. Dan really liked the dessert wines also. Our favorite wineries were Grove Mill, which had a plethora of great wines, and Seresin, which uses biodynamic methods. We tried the one winery in Kaikoura, on the rocky coast. While technically in the same region, Dan and I agreed this was the worst wine we'd ever tasted. But we did really like the wines from French Farm, near Akaroa (near Christchurch).
The Hawkes Bay area has more robust reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlots, as well as some nice "Chardies" (as they called them). Oaked Chardonnays, the really heavy kind we're used to from Napa, were pretty rare in general in Australia and NZ. They explained that Aussies and Kiwis just like their wine a bit lighter. We don't, so we generally didn't like these wines. A few places had some nice buttery Chardies, due to a technique called malolactic fermentation. I really liked those, but Dan didn't. In Hawkes Bay, oaked Chardonnays were more prevalent.
Our favorite wineries in this region were Church Road (located on, you guessed it, Church Road) and its next-door neighbor, Mission Estate. Both were recommended in Lonely Planet and both had an array of really nice wines, both whites and reds. Church Road had a really interesting oaked Sauvignon Blanc. While tasty, it didn't quite have the right balance of oak and fruit for our taste. Apparently both Church Road and Mission have excellent restaurants, which we were hoping to go to for Dan's birthday dinner, but Mission was booked the day we went, and church Road is only open for lunch. We opted to go to Take Five, a little bit of New York in the city of Napier. They had some live jazz, a good selection of local wines, and decent food. It was a nice change from fried rice in the camper!
Other good wineries in the Hawkes Bay region can be found on a little strip called Gimblett Gravels, which won some high praise last year. Our favorites were Trinity Hill (probably our overall favorite in NZ, but naturally, a bit pricier) and Te Awa, which had a fantastic 2004 Cabernet-Merlot. Some of their reds needed to age a few more years, but we thought they'd be great in the future. Crossroads was also pretty good across the board, and they have a big distribution in the US.
We also tried CJ Pask, another one recommended by Lonely Planet. We didn't like any of the wine they had for tasting, but chatted up the server, who took us into the barrels and served us some truly amazing 17-year-old port that has yet to be released. We are eagerly waiting!
General wine tasting tips:
- Go wine tasting when it's slow (Sundays, for example) and you'll get bigger servings.
- Chat up the servers and they'll give you a little extra ;)
- Limit yourself to two or three quality places per day if you're driving.
- Most wineries we went to were free. Some had a small tasting charge that is refunded if you buy a bottle. In general, we suggest skipping the wineries that charge, since we noticed a pattern of the best wineries were free, while the worst charged. We figure if they're a good wine and sell a lot, they don't really need to charge for a tasting, do they? And do you really want to feel incentivized to buy the bad bottles anyway?
- Sorry, Lonely Planet, but some of your wine recommendations are hit or miss. But, they did provide us with an overview of the region, which was helpful.
Wine tasting throughout New Zealand was a wonderful experience. We met some great people and tried some excellent wines. Hopefully we'll be able to find some of these wines back home!
Marlborough wineries, like those in other colder climates like Tasmania and New York State, are known for sweeter whites like Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Gewurstraminer. But the most well-known of the region are the tropical, fruit-forward Sauvignon Blancs. Dan really liked the dessert wines also. Our favorite wineries were Grove Mill, which had a plethora of great wines, and Seresin, which uses biodynamic methods. We tried the one winery in Kaikoura, on the rocky coast. While technically in the same region, Dan and I agreed this was the worst wine we'd ever tasted. But we did really like the wines from French Farm, near Akaroa (near Christchurch).
The Hawkes Bay area has more robust reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlots, as well as some nice "Chardies" (as they called them). Oaked Chardonnays, the really heavy kind we're used to from Napa, were pretty rare in general in Australia and NZ. They explained that Aussies and Kiwis just like their wine a bit lighter. We don't, so we generally didn't like these wines. A few places had some nice buttery Chardies, due to a technique called malolactic fermentation. I really liked those, but Dan didn't. In Hawkes Bay, oaked Chardonnays were more prevalent.
Our favorite wineries in this region were Church Road (located on, you guessed it, Church Road) and its next-door neighbor, Mission Estate. Both were recommended in Lonely Planet and both had an array of really nice wines, both whites and reds. Church Road had a really interesting oaked Sauvignon Blanc. While tasty, it didn't quite have the right balance of oak and fruit for our taste. Apparently both Church Road and Mission have excellent restaurants, which we were hoping to go to for Dan's birthday dinner, but Mission was booked the day we went, and church Road is only open for lunch. We opted to go to Take Five, a little bit of New York in the city of Napier. They had some live jazz, a good selection of local wines, and decent food. It was a nice change from fried rice in the camper!
Other good wineries in the Hawkes Bay region can be found on a little strip called Gimblett Gravels, which won some high praise last year. Our favorites were Trinity Hill (probably our overall favorite in NZ, but naturally, a bit pricier) and Te Awa, which had a fantastic 2004 Cabernet-Merlot. Some of their reds needed to age a few more years, but we thought they'd be great in the future. Crossroads was also pretty good across the board, and they have a big distribution in the US.
We also tried CJ Pask, another one recommended by Lonely Planet. We didn't like any of the wine they had for tasting, but chatted up the server, who took us into the barrels and served us some truly amazing 17-year-old port that has yet to be released. We are eagerly waiting!
General wine tasting tips:
- Go wine tasting when it's slow (Sundays, for example) and you'll get bigger servings.
- Chat up the servers and they'll give you a little extra ;)
- Limit yourself to two or three quality places per day if you're driving.
- Most wineries we went to were free. Some had a small tasting charge that is refunded if you buy a bottle. In general, we suggest skipping the wineries that charge, since we noticed a pattern of the best wineries were free, while the worst charged. We figure if they're a good wine and sell a lot, they don't really need to charge for a tasting, do they? And do you really want to feel incentivized to buy the bad bottles anyway?
- Sorry, Lonely Planet, but some of your wine recommendations are hit or miss. But, they did provide us with an overview of the region, which was helpful.
Wine tasting throughout New Zealand was a wonderful experience. We met some great people and tried some excellent wines. Hopefully we'll be able to find some of these wines back home!
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