Author: Editor

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Seifried, Nelson – August 2017

Anna Seifried gave a presentation about the history of her family and the vineyard, where the wines were not the focus of the tasting, leaving the wines to speak for themselves.  It was an enjoyable, fascinating presentation which was well received by those who attended the meeting.  Anna was a confident and polished speaker and the presentation was well supported by a slide show.  She intends to use the presentation in the near future on a planned overseas trip to potential markets.  The weather was not the best on the night and a number of people were away due to sickness and other reasons.

24 people attended the tasting which was slightly lower than we had hoped for but despite these orders were good and Anna was pleased with how the meeting had gone.

Just to recap, the wines tasted included; the Old Coach Road Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (pre-release) as a quaffer and was followed with;

  • Seifried Nelson Gewürztraminer 2016
  • Seifried Nelson Würzer 2016
  • Seifried Winemakers Collection Barrique Fermented Chardonnay 2015
  • Seifried Nelson Pinot Noir 2015
  • Seifried Nelson Zweigelt 2014
  • Seifried Winemakers Collection Sweet Agnes Riesling 2016

A most enjoyable tasting.

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Seeing out the year, Woman power

Seeing out the year

Things are getting back to normal and it seems like we were never away. Although numbers were down due to the inclement weather last month’s Seifried tasting was a most enjoyable event. Seeing out the year we have the “Aging of Wines” tasting, Stonecroft from Hawkes Bay, a November Festive theme concentrating on Spanish wines and the Christmas Dinner. A great finish to the year, but surely it is not September already!!

Woman power

It is interesting to note that since September last year, and up to our October tasting next month, we will have had five wineries featured, the other meetings being dinners, a quiz night, AGM, and supplier presenters. Of those five three will have been supported by women presenters. Jane Hunter, Anna Seifried and in October Andria Monin from Stonecroft.

What an opportune time to highlight women in wine in New Zealand. The “In the News” section this month features a media release from New Zealand Winegrowers about the launch of a new group “Women in Wine NZ”. Women are having an increasingly significant role in the New Zealand wine industry, to the great benefit of consumers and the country alike.

Cheers
Robin Semmens, Editor

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Sussex Winery receives prestigious title at the inaugural UK Wine Awards

(English Wine Producers – 26 July 2017)

The Bolney Wine Estate was delighted to receive the prestigious ‘Winery of the Year’ award at the inaugural UK Wine Awards. Spearheaded by English Wine Producers’ Julia Trustram Eve and members of the EWP and the UK Vineyards Association, the UK Wine Awards is the national competition for wine produced from grapes grown in England and Wales, inspired by the growing popularity of English and Welsh wines.

The respected title for the Sussex-based winery, which is run by Sam Linter, is testament to the hard work Sam and her team have put into The Bolney Wine Estate. The ethos at the winery is to produce the best wines possible and ensure quality is at the heart of everything – something which has clearly paid off. The high standards Sam has set – from maintaining the highest level of viticulture and vinification to the training the staff receive – has seen the winery go from strength to strength.

Sam Linter, Winemaker and MD of Bolney Wine Estate comments: “We are over the moon to have won ‘Winery of the Year’ at the UK Wine Awards – we still can’t quite believe it! It’s such a prestigious accolade and an endorsement of the hard work each and every one of us at Bolney puts into our wines. We’re delighted that UK wine is finally getting the attention it deserves – and we’re incredibly excited for what the future holds for the industry.”

Bolney also won ‘Top Still Wine’ and ‘Most Outstanding Single Varietal Wine’ for its Foxhole Vineyard Pinot Gris 2016 with judges remarking it is “a delightful example of Pinot Gris; pure, expressive and fragrant with notes of honeysuckle and spiced pear.” A dry white wine with fragrant aromas of rose, jasmine and conference pear, the palate is wonderfully rich and creamy with a slightly honeyed character – a perfect summer’s wine.

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What age can do for wine – in September 2017

What happens when you unearth some older wines? We are arranging a September meeting with a difference.

1986MatuaValleyCabernetSauvignon
1986 Matua Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – drinking now or past it? You decide.

Have you ever wondered what age can do to wine? Many of you may remember the late Richard Gooch. He presented to the club several times and last year, his wife Linda donated some of Richard’s older wines to the club for us to use as a learning experience. The oldest ones date back to the early 1970’s. More about the wines next month but it includes a mystery wine for us
to determine what it is and we will have Cuisine wine writer John Saker on hand to help us assess their quality.

Some wines may be past their best, others may be superb. Who knows. But this will be a great learning experience for anyone wondering what age can do to wines that are left to languish forgotten at the back of our cellars.

But a word of warning. This tasting will be closed to just members and we will likely need to limit it to 36. So once this month’s tasting is out of the way we will ask you to register your attendance.

Check out the event details.

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Mid-winter dinner – Bistro 52 – July 2017

A late change necessitated a different venue for our mid-year dinner and fortunately Bistro 52 were able to step in, albeit a week later than the scheduled date.

33 people attended the July dinner at Weltec Bistro 52. We had 4 last minute cancellations. Feedback received about the dinner was excellent and the staff did well. There was comment that the 3 desserts were the best yet from Bistro 52. The atmosphere of the restaurant was enjoyable. There was no seating plan and some confusion over seating arrangements, however this did not detract from the enjoyment of the event.

The committee thanks Anne for organising the dinner.

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Editor back in charge, Coming events – From the Editor

Hi Team, I am back, and I am not quite sure that we, Pat and I, have organised this properly. We didn’t generally have the kindest of summer weather while we were away and we have been well aware that it is still very much winter since our return. We will need to time things a little better if we do this sort of thing again.

Editor back in charge

So after Acting Editor, then Acting Acting Editor, it is back to plain old Editor again. Whilst travelling around southern England I did note there were a few vineyards and wineries advertised. After our last trivia evening where a question revolved around the demise of British wineries due to climate change, I was interested to see where the industry is at now. For the same reason it collapsed, ie climate change, there has been a significant resurgence in the last few decades. There are currently about 500 vineyards covering 4,500 acres in Southern England and Wales. They currently produce only about1% of the world’s wine but it is a start. Note that “In the News” I have included an item about their first national wine awards.

As for visiting wineries and sampling European wines our touring did not incorporate any established wine regions. When we went visiting we took New Zealand wines when we could source them. Far better to encourage the British relatives to think about purchasing NZ wines.

Coming events

Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time -Winston Churchi
Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time -Winston Churchill

You will note that in the ”Coming Events” section there is quite a bit of TBAing. We have had a few late changes to deal with over the last couple of years and your committee think that we might commit to events a little too far ahead. We are trying not to get too far ahead but fear not, we have lots of great opportunities to tap into.

Cheers
Robin Semmens, Editor

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Wine exports to the USA surpass $500 million

Wednesday, 3 May 2017, 2:34 pm | Press Release: New Zealand Winegrowers

Leaves & vines from Kirkpatrick Estate Winery
Leaves & vines from Kirkpatrick Estate Winery

Wine exports to the USA surpass $500 million for the first time

The latest data from Statistics New Zealand show wine exports to the USA have surpassed $500 million for the first time, up 11% in the last year.

As the wine industry advances towards its goal of $2 billion of exports in 2020, there is significant potential for further growth in North America said Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers.

“New Zealand wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc, is very popular in the US and we expect consumer demand to continue to grow.”

“The new record level of wine exports into the world’s largest and most competitive market is an outstanding achievement for New Zealand wine exporters and testifies to the strong global demand for our wines.”

New Zealand wine exports reached a new record of $1.63 billion in March year end 2017. Wine is now New Zealand’s fifth largest export good by value.

The announcement of the new export records come at a busy time for the wine sector with the 2017 vintage nearing completion and the advent of International Sauvignon Blanc Day celebrations on Friday 5 May.

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July is Mid-Winter Dinner Month!

The Committee was looking to arrange the always-popular Cuba Street Bistro once again. But as the saying goes, the best laid plans of best-laid men oft gang awry. The building’s owner decided the chosen date would be a good time to undertake earthquake strengthening so the evening had to be scrapped.

However do not despair! Bistro 52 has been selected as the replacement. This is located in Lower Cuba Street and the Club has been there previously – and it very good it was too. The venue has been booked for Wednesday 19 July, with a 6.00pm start for a 6.30pm ordering of your meal. You will be welcomed with a glass of bubbles! Attached to this Newsletter is a Payment Advice for June 2017 (for both the dinner and your subscriptions). Price for the dinner is $52 per person including corkage – it’s BYO of course.

Note the date – this is a week later than the Club’s usual meeting evening. It’s the first week of the students’ new semester and they are still finalising the menu, but they have never let us down before!

This looks even now as though it will be a definite winner!

Payment Advice for June 2017

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AGM – May 2017

There was a good turnout of 27 at the AGM. Whilst the meeting was not over in the record time set in 2016, there were no contentious issues to deal with. The President gave a very full report in which he referred to the passing of two long-standing members – Maureen Davies and Ron Thomson. The supper after the meeting was enjoyed by all those attending.

The existing Committee were all re-elected. Since the AGM there have been some issues around the need for licences which are being addressed. This has entailed a fair amount of to-ing and fro-ing with WCC as can be imagined. We do not agree entirely with their view but appear to have little option but to fall into line.

Subsequent to the meeting, the Committee noticed there had been a small typographical error in the Notices of Motion. The reference to Clause 2(b) should have read Clause 4(b). To leave it unchanged makes a nonsense of Rule 2(b) so it is the intention of the Committee to implement the change as though Rule 4(b) was always the intention with appropriate advice to all members. There will also be a footnote to this effect in the AGM Minutes so the matter can be ratified at the next AGM.

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Editor offshore & Giesen

Your regular Editor is currently offshore enjoying weather that can only be warmer than here. I hope you find this edition, which is just a little shorter, of equal value to Robin’s.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Giesen/Lehman tasting. It has all the potential to be a winner.

Cheers
Richard Taylor, Acting Editor

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