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Vintages Pre-Release — New Zealand with Kent Currie |
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Thursday, 21 May 2009 |
Reported by Sylvia Lewis-Havard
Having never been to a Guild event before, I didn’t quite know what to expect upon walking into the old adult high school, nor did I know where to go once I was inside! Luckily the laughter lead me in the right direction, and I was quite impressed by the formal set-up of the Vendange Institute’s tasting room, having done the vast majority of my tastings at Algonquin’s C.A. Paradis Tasting Lab, which is more informal.
After beginning the evening with a glass of Solijans, a light, sparkling Muscat with a fruity ending and lots of residual sugar, Kent took us through some beautiful slides, both entertaining and educating us.
The presentation cannot be praised enough, including pictures of beautiful landscape views of vineyards, mountains and rivers, as well as maps, charts and educational tidbits. Always eager to absorb things, I took a few notes on the slides (perhaps better notes than on the wines), and so I share with you some bits and pieces from Kent’s presentation.
New Zealand is made up of two islands, and it’s considered a “cool” or “maritime” climate region, with the southern island, located in the southern hemisphere, being cooler than the northern island. The islands have a bit of a British feel, and the landscapes are absolutely phenomenal. Kent claimed the pictures couldn’t do it justice, but they were breathtaking.
The wine industry embraces intensive canopy management, not only on the vines but also on the intense windbreaks that are grown to protect delicate produce all over the country. They are steadfastly increasing their product quality, amount of exports and the quality of their wines (which can be directly correlated to the decreasing yield per hectare).
The first flight of whites contained the three main white varietals of the islands: Chardonnay, Riesling and, of course, Sauvignon Blanc. The Chardonnay was the overall winner, with no one citing the Riesling as their favourite, but very good support for the Sauvignon Blanc, although various people mentioned it had more of an unoaked Chardonnay air about it. The cork vs. screw cap debate was briefly touched on as Kent brought to light the need to perhaps decant young white wines: the sulphur cannot escape as readily through a screw cap, but dissipates quickly once the cap is removed. It may be beneficial to remove the cap from some young whites a bit early in order to let this happen.
For the second flight, Kent continued with his presentation and we enjoyed a flight of New Zealand’s second most produced grape, the holy grail that is Pinot Noir.
The evening ended with two Syrahs and two Bordeaux-blends, all in the $20 range, and all well worth a second look. All in all a most enjoyable, entertaining and educational evening. I look forward to joining Guild members again in July for some lawn bowling!
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