Want to try something new, and not already a member? Come on your own, grab a friend, workmate or partner and join us for our next tasting. Take a look and see who's presenting. Scroll down to view the website.
The committee has begun preparations for the forthcoming AGM and the formal Agenda for this meeting.
Included with the agenda are a number of Notices of Motion that relate to proposed changes to our club rules. The reasons for these changes are also set out in the attachment.
Thank you
We also continue to be delighted and thankful of everyone’s help with set-up of the hall for our gatherings, and then the pack down at the end of the evening, thank you.
Looking Ahead
May – AGM and Notice of Motion to Amend the Club Rules
June – Gibbston Valley [Provisional]
July – Midwinter Dinner – venue to be confirmed
Look Out for Each Other
As always, please if you are feeling unwell, do not attend the evening’s presentation. Thanks.
Hosted by Wayne Kennedy, Murray Jaspers and Michael Kuus
Wednesday 9th April, 8 pm Start
Door Price: Members $16 / Guests $20
Immediately after the Gold Medal Winners from the New Zealand International Wine Show were announced last October, your club set out to acquire three bottles of seven gold medal wines for us to taste this month. April was chosen to do this as that is a time of the year when the wine industry is busy with harvest, and thus many wineries are unavailable to present to us.
The beauty of doing this immediately that the announcements were made were two-fold. It meant that the wines were still available and more importantly it also gave us an opportunity to secure seven trophy wines, including the McArthur Ridge Southern Tor Pinot Noir which was the Champion wine of the Show.
Many of these wines are hard to come by now, so we are fortunate that your committee acted so quickly. All that remains is for you to attend and enjoy a great trophy tasting.
Please remember your tasting glasses
The wines we will be tasting are:
2024 Leftfield Pinot Gris, Marlborough
2024 Wairau River Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
2024 Sileni Advocate Grand Reserve Albarino, Hawkes Bay
2023 Bladen Eight Rows Riesling, Marlborough
2022 Kirrihill Regional Series Clare Valley Shiraz, South Australia
2021 Church Road McDonald Series Merlot, Hawkes Bay
The committee sent flowers and a card to Gayl to note Mike’s passing, and there was a good turnout at the celebration of his life on Friday 21st Feb, with stories coming from family, friends and work colleagues.
Amusing anecdote – The Need to Watch What You Buy
Occurred in the preparation for the event on 21st.
The following anecdote is recounted by Wayne with the approval of Gayl. He hopes it has been accurately retold.
As is customary with any funeral or celebration of life, consideration must be given to the arrangements following the formalities. Most families prefer to delegate such responsibilities to the funeral parlour.
Consequently, the funeral director met with the family to review the funeral arrangements and sought confirmation regarding the provision of wines for the afternoon tea. One of Mike’s sons replied promptly, “Oh no! Mum will want to handle that personally.”
Subsequently, Gayl visited her local retailer and consulted with the individual responsible for wines about her desired selections. Among her choices were bottles of Rockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir, a wine she fondly remembered enjoying with Mike.
At this juncture, the store representative intervened, saying, “Sorry, but I don’t think that’s a suitable choice for a funeral.” “Why on earth not?” Gayl inquired. “Look at the label,” the store representative responded.
Tasting setup & thanks
We also continue to be delighted and thankful of everyone’s help with set-up of the hall for our gatherings, and then the pack down at the end of the evening.
Please remember: We can’t arrive to do the setting up activities any earlier than 7:30pm as we may interrupt the cleaner(s) schedule, who have the hall until that time.
We started the evening with a French Chateau Laubespin Rosé. Lucus’ presentation was lively with a sprinkling of history and news of the different areas and permitted grape varieties grown in each place, as he took us through an evening of Italian and Spanish wines.
The evening was well attended with 37 attendees, and the grape varieties were an interesting mix, as were the mixes of the different/familiar varieties.
It certainly made for an entertaining evening, especially the unexpected introduction to a Balsamic at supper time. This was a ground level product, and one that the Italians used as a digestive, by having a teaspoonful after their meal!. It was certainly NOT the quality of product NZers are familiar with. It was so much better with a depth of sweetness akin to that of date, rather than sugar, sweetness and was thick and creamy.
An evening of superb Italian and Spanish wines.
A reminder of the tastings we had during the evening:
PLUS, a special treat, a Balsamic aged in French oak for 30-years!
This tasting was clearly enjoyed, with the different grape varieties and areas they are grown in sparking conversations all evening. Del Munto received 17 orders from members which reflected just how much they enjoyed the evening.
A heritage like no other – Mission Estate Winery Wednesday 12th March, 8pm Door Price: Members $6 / Guests $10
Reaching NZ shores in 1838, pioneering French missionaries founded a legacy. From their many accomplishments now interwoven throughout history came New Zealand’s first winery, Mission , in 1851. Their inspiration, a legacy, continues.
Today their vineyards span two of NZ’s best winegrowing regions; Hawkes Bay and Marlborough. Hawkes Bay vineyards in the Gimblett Gravels and Taradale focus on Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah; but also include small clocks of other varietals such as Semillon and Cabernet Franc.
Whereas, their Marlborough properties, perfect for producing cool climate wine styles, grow Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.
Mission Estate Winery established in 1851 by pioneering French Missionaries is New Zealand’s oldest winery and the birthplace of New Zealand wine.
Paul Mooney, our passionate winemaker since 1979, was trained by the Marist Brothers themselves, Paul imparts the very essence of Mission’s French heritage winemaking philosophy into both our Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough wines.
We consider ourselves guardians of our heritage and our land, and for more than 20 years we have been proud to be a founding member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand. In 1998, we were also one of the first wineries in New Zealand to be certified with the internationally recognised environmental management system ISO 14001.
We start with 2024 Mission Estate Rosé as our conversation/entry tasting followed by:
2023 The Gaia Project Pinot Gris
2024 Mission Estate
2023 Reserve Chardonnay
2019 Mission Reserve Cabernet Franc
2020 Mission Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2023 Reserve Syrah
SPECIAL NOTE: The door prize on tasting night is going to be something a little special, namely a bottle of Lanvin Brut Champagne NV. Ticket prices for this will be $2 each.
This year’s Christmas Dinner was held at Le Marche Francais, as always a welcoming establishment for our Christmas dinner.
The food was as excellent as it is every time we visit. The staff were on the ball and welcoming towards us, too. The socialising and mingling at the beginning of the evening with our glasses of bubbly was most festive.
Dinner @ Le Marche Francais
With thanks to the staff in French from John Dawson and a welcome to Club members from Murray, our evening was set for a great Christmas treat.
Looking Ahead Further
March – Mission Vineyard
April – New Zealand International Wine Show 2024 Trophy Wines
February 2025 Wednesday 12th February, 8 pm start Door Price: Members $16 / Guests $20 It’s not just a drink in a glass; it’s the whole story behind it—the people, culture and place.
This evening is a taste of Italy and Spain from Del Mundo Presented by Lucas Monge. Established in Wellington, New Zealand, Lucas Monge, Founder of ‘Del Mundo’, imports and distributes sought-after traditional wine varieties from producers who believe wine is not just a drink in a glass but the whole story behind it; people, culture and place, producers that have proven passion for wine craftsmanship, land and sustainability.
The proposed wines available to purchase from Lucas may include the following:
2023 Rose Laubespin – 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Medoc, France)
Del Mundo is New Zealand’s official partner and home of Donnafugata, Fabiano, Manzanos, Siglo, Berceo, Voche, Montelvini, Guizzo, Martoccia di Brunelli Luca, Chateau Carmenere Richard – Barraud and Italian liquor, Meletti. Though the wines are yet to be decided upon, we thought you may like to get to practise some of the terms that are involved in Italian and Spanish wines:
Imbottigliato (im-boh-tee-l’yah’-toe)
Italian for “bottled.” “Imbottigliato all’origine” is the term for estate bottled.
Sassicaia (sah-see-cah’-yah)
A Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wine from the coast of the Tuscany region in Italy. The wine is very consciously based on the wines of the Haut-Medoc in Bordeaux, France, and indeed even the grape cuttings originate from there. This wine forever changed the landscape of Italian wines. Even though it had no official classification, it was one of the most expensive and critically acclaimed wines of Italy. It was at the forefront of a class of wines that have been called “Super Tuscans” each based on Cabernet Sauvignon, even though, at the time, Cab was not an allowed grape anywhere in the Tuscany region.
Because of the great popularity of these wines a new DOC designation was created in the region of Bolgheri for these wines, and a DOC Bolgheri Sassicaia was created for this wine alone.
Secco (seck’-o)
The Italian term for “dry” (meaning a wine without any residual sugar).
Soave (s’wah’-veh)
The best known Italian white wine, it comes from the Verona region in the northeastern portion of the country. Made from the Garganega grape, with the ubiquitous Trebbiano sometimes used in the blend.
Sherry (share-ee)
A fortified wine made in the Sherry district in southern Spain around the city of Jerez de la Frontera. The wine is made primarily from the grape Palomino. The grapes are brought into the winery and pressed. The first pressed juice (that of the highest quality) is reserved to make the “fino” styles.
Flor (flore)
A special type of yeast found on wine. In the Sherry district of Spain, the flor yeast help to make the finest Sherries. On other wines it is a pest and must be controlled. It is also the Spanish word for flower.
Macebo (mah-cah-beh’-oh)
The principal white wine grape of the Spanish Rioja region where it is known locally as Viura. Simple and crisp with a floral quality, this grape helped revolutionize the white wines of the Rijoa region by replacing the easily oxidized Malvasia grape.
On a recent trip around Taranaki to take in a few of the Fringe Garden Festivals gardens [well worth the visit], we (Evelyn) came across Okurukuru | Okurukuru Winery | Taranaki out on the Surf Highway in Taranaki.
Okurukuru is a West Coast vineyard with associated Luxury accommodation, Cellar Door, The Vineyard Bistro restaurant and extensive Function Centre.
They are a small operation and only make four wines, but they’re certainly different and worth a visit. The grape variety that survived on their, at first, exposed plot of land was Plantet and were obtained from a retired Kiwifruit grower, Mr Vern Evans. This is a red berry. Mr Evans had himself been gifted this grape variety from a friend who ran a nursery.
They also have accommodation on location, either Studio Apartments or Chalet Suites and are only 10km from New Plymouth CBD.
Our tasting was of all four of their wines and cost us $20 p/p. Their wines, all included in the tasting are:
Okurukuru Rosé – grown in Taranaki – presents inviting floral aromas and a mealy of vibrant red berries on the nose. The palate reveals a harmony of ripe strawberries, luscious cherries and a refreshing hint of watermelon. This rose delivers a balanced and delightful sip that lingers elegantly.
Christine Sparkling Rosé – grown in Taranaki – produced in the methode traditionelle style this rose, made from grapes picked from the Taranaki Vineyard, has a fresh, clean finish. This wine is gently expressed on the nose showing raspberry, lemon zest, apple and spice aromas, followed by a lively palate that is juicy and mouth-watering.
Sauvignon Blanc – grown in Marlborough for them – produced from our sister vineyards in Marlborough, this Sauvignon Blanc boasts inviting aromas of ripe tropical fruits, where juicy passionfruit and sun-ripened mango take centre stage. The palate is greeted by a harmonious blend of zesty citrus, succulent stone fruits and a subtle herbaceous undertone that adds complexity.
Plantet [French Style Red] – The Plantet is produced from selected grapes in the Taranaki vineyard, maturing for nine months in seasoned French barrels prior to bottling. Bright and fragrant, the bouquet shows dark cherry, plum, floral and subtle spice aromas, leading to a juicy palate that is nicely rounded and smooth. This wine offers youthful charm and vibrant fruit flavours, finishing long and silky.
They also have a restaurant on-site and we had polenta chips flavoured with Rosemary and Chilli with our tasting. All in all a lovely vista, different wines and great food for an afternoon experience.
As they are a small and unique vineyard their prices are way above what we expect to pay at the supermarket, but if you want something different and are up in Taranaki, it’s worth a tasting experience!
Le Marché Francais 262 Thorndon Quay, Wellington Wednesday 11th December
Please arrive at 6.30 pm for seating at 7.00 pm
We have dined at Le Marche Francois before as a Club and people enjoy the food, the company and the atmosphere.
Veronique Sauzeau [Vero] is the chef and owner and the menu she has prepared for the night is:
A selection of petite entrees
Mains – your choice of either beef, chicken or fish
Petite fours for dessert
And to repeat Wayne’s original instructions on getting there: Le Marche is upstairs in the furnishing shop quarter of Wellington’s Thorndon Quay. If using public transport, simply get off the bus at the old Woolstore stop.
Please Note
You are asked to arrive before 7 pm, as the roadside main doors are locked at this time.
Please come up the stairs to the first floor, where you will be greeted with a complementary glass of bubbles.
The meal is BYO wine, and your prepaid cost includes corkage and a discount on the meal. During the evening, it is customary to share the bottle of wine you have brought with your neighbours.
We are expecting to finish sometime between 9.00 pm and 9.30 pm, but this is a guideline only, in case you are arranging transport home. Please try and stay as flexible as possible.
Please contact Wayne if you wish to attend this event and have not already contacted him.
Cost is $85 per person and must be paid on or before the 1st December, which is the close-off date for this event.
