Greetings, we hope this finds you all coping well with the COVID situation and changing levels and news.
At this time, we intend to have our October 13th Cellar Club Monthly tasting – with Butterworth Estate from Martinborough (formerly Julicher) presenting to us.
However, we will have to confirm details after the PM’s announcement due to be on October 4th for any changing alert levels country-wide which may affect this.
Please bear with us and keep your wine glasses crossed!
For your information and to remind you of some of the detail for our next tasting:
Butterworth Estate, Martinborough
Renowned sailors, the Butterworth Family (Brad & Warren), is the new custodian of Julicher vineyard, planted in the iconic soils of Te Muna. The J-Knot on every bottle, the strongest knot you can tie, is a tribute to their vineyard’s founder, Wim Julicher.
Wim Julicher originally planted the Te Muna vineyard as an Olive Grove, but the site’s unique aspect made it far too cold for the olive trees. Luckily, it creates the perfect amount of pressure for the divine struggle required to produce world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The Butterworth Family has a viticultural heritage dating back to the founding days of the New Zealand wine industry – the original 1890’s vineyard property is still in the family today.
The wines for our evening are to be confirmed closer to the date.
Love a natty or a wine spritzer? Pop a piquette next
Emma Gleason | March 3, 2021
Little Crush by Garage Project
Light, low in alcohol, and made from waste-optimising practices, piquette ticks every box for what we’re wanting to imbibe now. More mellow than a pét-nat, a little bit murky with a subtle fizz, a handful of recent releases suggest that winemakers and drinkers alike have rediscovered the beauty of this humble drop.
Piquette is made from pomace — the grape leftovers from winemaking — and water, which is then left to ferment, resulting in a highly drinkable, crisp, aromatic, sparkling beverage.
It’s a method with centuries of history throughout Europe, dating back to the classical period, and more recently was enjoyed by field workers at lunch. As with many old-fashioned practices, piquette feels grounded in a more sustainable way of living. The process harnesses a by-product of the wine industry, helping to minimise waste.
Its earthy flavour and dash of fizz may make it the next favourite tipple for natural wine fans, and piquette also possesses a lightness that will appeal to those of us partial to a wine spritzer.
Low in alcohol (most available in New Zealand are between five and seven per cent), piquette gives you less of a buzz, which, in our opinion, is sometimes a nice thing. Piquette also has fewer calories.
All of this makes it unsurprising that this modest, delicious drink is appealing to local winemakers.
Kindeli by Alex Craighead Wines
Alex Craighead Wines launched its 330ml cans of Kindeli piquette in June 2020 (wine-in-a-can has a dear place in our hearts). “It was really interesting from an experimental point of view,” founder Alex Craighead tells Viva. “It also sits really well with me as it is adding another step and product to the lifecycle of the grape.”
Made from certified organic grapes from his biodynamic home vineyard in Nelson, Alex describes Kindeli as something of a hybrid. “We added a tiny amount of cider ferment to give it a natural spritz. Our piquette is literally naturally produced CO2, grapes and a micro-amount of apples.”
What makes piquette wine so special, according to Alex, is the reuse that’s inherent to its creation. “There is so much waste in the world at the moment, so using the same grapes for wine, piquette, then in our vineyard compost blend is awesome.”
There’s a delicious Australian piquette, called Atomic Bomb by BK Wine, worth trying, and is available at, who deliver nationwide.
Another local variety on the market is from Garage Project. I’ve been enjoying its very quaffable piquettes all summer, and reached out to co-founder Jos Ruffell to find out more about their piquette range, Little Crush , which launched late last year.
It was a fruitful idea to come out of the stasis of 2020. “During lockdown we had more time to tinker with some ideas,” Jos says. “Making piquettes was one that just made a lot of sense — and our mate Cosmo said we should make one, so we did!”
With a relatively simple process and light flavour, it provides opportunities for a wealth of creativity and experimentation. “We love that piquettes allow you to create a quite different expression from regular wine,” explains Jos. “You can build up and layer piquettes — adding in more skins from lots of different varieties you typically wouldn’t see together.”
To make them even more unique, we used a variety of grapes not typically used in wine. They give our Little Crush Piquettes bright, juicy flavours you won’t find in a glass of Sauv,” says Jos.
“They’re also striking in colour and minimise waste in the winery — everything goes to use.”
Locally, the piquette market is small — for now. “The early adopters seem to be craft brew fans and natural wine drinkers,” says Alex. However, he predicts it will grow in 2021 as New Zealanders discover the joys of this old, down-to-earth treasure. “They are a great lower- alcohol alternative to wine and low-carb alternative to beer. They work really well as a glass with a light meal or aperitif.”
Jos sees piquette becoming a charming addition to the family of natural wines on offer in Aotearoa. “They are a celebration of the harvest — best drunk fresh and not to be taken too seriously and should be at an approachable price for everyone.”
“They are fizzy, lower alcohol, refreshing and delicious — what’s not to like?”
Our Aussie evening with Keith Tibble (and his Manager Nick), from EuroVintage, was information filled and a great voyage of discovery of the three Western Australian vineyards – Sandalford, Xanadu and Moss Wood.
Our intrigue was sated, and the tasting was a really good experience of the different vineyards and the different categories of wines on offer.
As a reminder the vineyards we were introduced to were:
Sandalford
Xanadu
Moss Wood
Wines presented include:
2018 Pegasus Bay Sauvignon Semillon
2019 Xanadu Exmoor Chardonnay
2018 Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay
2018 Sandalford Margaret River Shiraz
2018 Xanadu DJL Shiraz
2017 Sandalford Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2017 Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon
We had good numbers attend, 44 in total and orders were excellent.
We were to be entertained in September by Gordon Russell from Esk Valley. Gordon is described as one of the Godfathers of the wine industry.
Unfortunately, due to the current situation with the Delta variant of COVID19 this month’s Club evening has had to be cancelled. We can’t meet until we are down to Level 2.
While this is disappointing for us all, for your information and interest, the wines we were going to be tasting were largely from Esk Valley’s new range: Artisanal. Wine f.y.i.:
New Russian law orders French producers to label their champagne ‘sparkling wine’. Photo / Getty Images
Russian oligarchs are facing a shortage of champagne after French producers temporarily cut off supplies to the country over a new law that will force them to label their drinks as “sparkling wine”.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin signed off on legislation stating that only wine produced in Russia could be labelled as “champagne”, while foreign makers would have to rebrand their bubbly.
Neither the President nor Parliament explained why Russia needed such a law.
The “champagne” controlled designation of origin is governed by very strict rules in France, which state that the wine must originate from a small area in the Champagne region, be made with approved grape varieties and mature for a minimum of 15 months.
Moet Hennessy, which produces drinks such as Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon and Veuve Clicquot, told partners in Russia that it would have to halt distribution.
In a letter to local businesses, Moet Hennesy, part of the French luxury goods group LVMH, said stocks of its champagnes would therefore be at an “extremely low level”, exacerbated by a wider drop in imports over 2021.
Later, the company told Bloomberg that it would add a “sparkling wine” mention on the back label of their bottles, and resume deliveries once these changes were made.
Olga Sokolova, a sales director at Vinicom, which imports and distributes foreign wine in Russia, denounced the situation as absurd as she shared the letter from Moët Hennessy on social media.
“This seems like it’s fake, but it’s true,” she said. “From today, black is now white, and white is black.”
Others online were equally damning of the change in the law, with the exiled oligarch and Kremlin opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky saying he thought “the whole champagne thing was a joke”.
Vineyards in the Champagne region of eastern France. Photo / AP
Sergei Mironov, a restaurant owner, quipped that Moscow’s next step would be to ban Scots from using the word “whisky”.
Other experts questioned whether Russia had the legal jurisdiction to force foreign products to rebrand.
Vadim Drobiz, director of the Centre for the Study of Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, told the business newspaper RBK that about half of the 330 million litres of still and sparkling wine imported to Russia every year could be affected.
The new law came as Putin signed a decree stating that the “Westernisation” of Russian culture was one of the primary security threats to the country.
Moscow banned the import of Western cheeses, meats and other food products in 2014, as a response to European and US sanctions over the annexation of Crimea.
The ban motivated local producers to develop their own versions of European goods, such as “Russian parmesan”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree stating that the “Westernisation” of Russian culture is one of the primary security threats to the country. Photo / AP
In the 1920s the USSR created a cheaply produced “Soviet Champagne” as a way of bringing luxury goods to the masses.
In recent years, a growing number of wine-makers have launched in southern Russia.
French media has dubbed the import spat the “champagne war” or the “bubble war”.
Champagne producers have long been extremely protective over their brands. Last week, French wine producers won a legal battle to prevent an ice cream from being called “champagne-flavoured”, according to a German court, after a long battle against the supermarket giant Aldi.
The evening was a splendid celebration of mid-winter for the Club and also of Bastille Day for the venue and their French staff. The atmosphere and service were excellent and enjoyed by all.
We had a selection of three entrees’ each with the soup being served in a demitasse cup, with a small serving of quiche and a separate salad.
For the mains, people had a selection from Beef Bourguignon, Chicken Champenoise, or Whaherou Cerole – all were served with veggies and were very tasty.
For the dessert we each had a trio of petite fours’: lemon pie with meringue on top, a macaron and a lemon Brulee served in a spoon.
Your committee has sent a special note of thanks on behalf of everyone present to Chef Vero and her staff for staging a very enjoyable dinner indeed.
Western Australian Wines – Sandalford, Xanadu and Moss Wood Vineyards
Keith will let us know that Western Australian wine is more than just the Margaret River wine we are aware of. He is featuring three vineyards in the wider area on the night.
Sandalford – establishing estate at Caversham, Swan Valley had its genesis in 1840 and coincided with both European settlement in the burgeoning colony of Perth and the birth of Western Australia’s world-famous wine industry. In one of Australia’s most sustainable wineries at Caversham, Swan Valley, Sandalford creates today’s collection of Prendiville, Estate Reserve, Margaret River Range and Element award-winning wines from its two fertile vineyards.
Xanadu – Just 4km from Margaret River’s town centre and an equal distance from the magnificent coastline, Xanadu is one of the first vineyards to have been established in the region with a long history of crafting outstanding wines that embody all the region has to offer. Established by Dr John Lagan, an Irishman who arrived in Margaret River in 1968 with his wife Eithne and was inspired by the pioneering spirit of the region.
Moss Wood – situated in Wilyabrup in the Margaret River wine region, has the highest concentration of premium wine producers in the region. Planted in 1969 Moss Wood is an important, founding estate of the Margaret River wine region. Clare & Keith Mugford winemakers, viticulturalists and proprietors have been making wine and tending the vineyard since 1984 and 1979, respectively.
This will be an evening to taste Australian wines from entry-level through to upmarket expressions, so come along and taste the variations for yourself!
Novelty stemware glass set includes four cute glasses that each feature one popular yellow smiling emoji.
As the UK summer approaches, the pink blush of rosé will become an increasingly prevalent sight in pubs, pavement cafes and on picnic blankets.
Rosé may have become hugely popular in recent years but in Italy, winemakers say that when it comes to social media, the eminently quaffable drop is woefully under-represented.
Winemakers say that when it comes to social media, rosé is woefully under-represented.
They are lobbying for a new emoji to put to an end the shameful “marginalisation” of rosé, pointing out that currently the symbols available on smartphones to denote wine are limited to a glass of red, two clinking Champagne flutes and a bottle of fizz; not a drop of the pink stuff in sight.
The Consortium for the Protection of Chiaretto di Bardolino, a popular rosé, has presented its case to the Unicode Consortium, the US-based non-profit organisation that oversees the process of choosing and creating emojis.
The Italians argue that the absence of a symbol representing a glass of rosé is discriminatory to their fragrant plonk.
“If you write to a friend about having a glass of wine on Whatsapp, Instagram or Facebook, you get representations of a glass of red, two flutes of Champagne or a bottle of spumante, but a rosé wine symbol is totally missing,” said Franco Cristoforetti, the president of the consortium.
“This is a legacy of the marginalisation that the world of rosé has suffered for decades and which it continues to have to deal with, notwithstanding the phenomenal global growth in sales of recent years.”
In the United States in particular there has been “astronomical” growth, he said, with 10 million bottles sold annually.
Rosé producers have teamed up with a graphic design agency in the northern city of Verona to come up with what they called the “pink wine” emoji – two glasses of rosé being chinked together in a toast.
They also plan to launch a petition in June, gathering signatures in support of the appeal.
Based in California’s Silicon Valley, the Unicode Consortium is the body that decides which new emojis should be adopted.
Individuals and companies can suggest new emojis to the organisation, where a panel of experts considers them.
“Anyone can propose an emoji character, but they have to make a solid case for it,” Mark Davis, the president and co-founder of the Unicode Consortium, told the Los Angeles Times.
“It’s more than just saying, ‘Well, I think there should be a drunken chipmunk emoji.’
“You have to give us some good reasons that would establish why it would be a successful and valuable addition.”
The consortium considers whether a proposal might “flesh out” an existing set of emojis, meaning that the addition of the rosé symbol to the canon of booze-related pictograms may be in with a chance.
While up in the Hawkes Bay for FAWC during Queens Birthday weekend, as well as attending the Fun Do evening [read Fondue!], we visited the Abbey Winery and Brewery – an excellent choice too!
Abbey Winery and Brewery lies in the Bridge Pa Triangle of Hawkes Bay on the old Ngaruroro riverbed. From these red meal alluvial soils, Abbey Cellars produces world-class wines from a wide range of varietals. As a single estate winery, they use only what they grow themselves to create their wines.
Reserve a group table at the Abbey kitchen for tasting & dining
When you go there, you can enjoy a flight of four wines [75ml each] for $15. Our choice was:
2018 Reisling – diesel on the nose; lime on the palate; dry on the back of the mouth; better at room temperature than chilled as it opens up on your taste buds.
2020 Rose’ – Malbec and Franc mixture – jubes on the nose; smooth red berries on the tongue; dry after taste but not unpleasant; pleasant pink colour
2019 Envy Carmenere [originally planted in the Medoc region of Bordeaux, a member of the Cabernet family of grapes] – named for its crimson colour [really dark red], 12 months in French Oak; dry on the nose, slightly smokey too; dry to taste with leather coming through; black pepper at the back of the throat – food makes this wine really smooth to drink
2019 Temptation Malbec – 12 months in French oak, smooth, dry on the nose and at the back of the throat, cloves on the tongue; dark red colour – add food, and you get black pepper at the back of the throat, and the nose intensifies
This place was well worth the stop, both for the wine tasting, wine purchase and the food.
I would recommend putting it on people’s itinerary when up in the Bay.
Brian was a consummate presenter of his wines and his varied vineyards in the Marlborough region. His whiteboard diagrams and explanations of how, why and what consummated good wines, grounds, countries differences and weather were educational for us all, helped along by his sense of humour.
He reinforced to us that this year’s vintage was very good, very early and very small. And that this may be good for smaller vineyards as the quality is very good. He also thought we could all benefit from some fine wines being drunk.
It was the 21st vintage for Mahi, and because of COVID all of their vintage staff were from NZ!
Brian also had his son Max back from a winery in New York to do his first full crush here at his winery, which was very special for them both.
Because of COVID and the increase of wine consumption at home worldwide (in the developed world), Marlborough went into vintage with hardly any available wine and after a vintage that was down by possibly 30% there will be a supply problem, perhaps for a couple of years, depending on the weather this year.
Our tasting on the evening involved vertical tastings, which was something different for us and most interesting. Wines tasted during the evening were:
2020 Mahi Marlborough Rose’ – welcome tipple
2019 Mahi Marlborough Sauv Blanc
2019 Mahi Boundary Farm Sauv Blanc
2019 Mahi Marlborough Chardonnay
2017 Mahi ‘Twin Valleys’ Chardonnay
2016 Mahi ‘The Trine’ Chardonnay
2019 Mahi Marlborough Pinot Noir
2019 Mahi ‘win Valleys’ Pinot Noir – pre-release, not for sale at the moment.
A dearth of grapes this vintage has forced a family-owned winery in Marlborough to turn down a new customer in Europe. But it’s not just the smaller operations struggling. One of the biggest players in the global drinks industry, Pernod Ricard, is also reporting it is unable to meet the global demand for Marlborough wine this year, in particular sauvignon blanc, due to the region’s low yield.
One estimate puts the take of sauvignon blanc grapes down 30 per cent against long-term averages, due to early frosts and cool weather during the flowering season.
A Pernod Ricard Winemakers spokesperson said the company was in talks with its partners to determine how it should prioritise supply for customers “in the context of the strong ongoing global demand for the sauvignon blanc category”.
The volume shortage meant the family-owned Marisco Vineyards had to walk away from a deal in Germany to make sure it could supply its long-time customer base.
Marisco Vineyards general manager sales and marketing Siobhan Wilson said the winery, which employs about 80 people, didn’t want to sacrifice one market for another.
“The key focus for us this year is to look after the partnerships we’ve developed over the years … We have a long-term contract with annual supply conversations starting around January-February, which is tricky as vintage happens [March-April].
“So I have to take what our customers would like versus what we have got coming in.”
Marisco started blending this week, so it would have a full picture of what was available, and when, in the next couple of weeks, Wilson said.
New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said Aotearoa hit a record-breaking $2 billion in New Zealand wine exports at the end of last year. “Exports to our key international markets have increased beyond expectations over the past 18 months, and we saw an increase of 19 per cent for the first four months of the new export year (July to October 2020), at the same time in 2019.
“We are already seeing supply and demand tension as a result, and we expect that many wineries will face tough decisions on who they can supply in their key markets over the next year,” Gregan said.
And while increased demand and reduced supply might push up prices, Wilson said they had to be careful.
“We are not just going to put the price up because it is in short supply, because next year what happens if we have a bumper vintage, and we’ve got plenty of wine, do you then discount it?
“What is important when you are selling wine, and when you are building a brand, is a consistency of quality and price.
“So, we all have a responsibility to ensure that we sell at a good price and the right price,” Wilson said.
Ongoing labour shortages, due to the closure of New Zealand’s borders and the restricted number of RSE workers, had also piled pressure onto wine companies.
Wilson said they had challenges coming at them every day and a short vintage was just one of them.
“We have got massive challenges in Marlborough getting wine shipped offshore because of the shortages of boats coming in, the restriction of space … and it is all the result of the pandemic.
“At Marisco Vineyards we are really resilient, my team have been working for me for a long time, and they have experienced many challenges over the year, so we just deal with it.
“The key thing is the communication with our customers and being really honest with them about the situation,” she said.
Wednesday 14th of July is Bastille Day and in keeping with this day, a French-inspired menu has been arranged with Chef Veronique at Le Marche Francais on Thorndon Quay.
This July is the 10th Anniversary of the opening of Le Marche Francais in Thorndon, so this is a triple celebration! A ta Sante! Je leve mon verre a la liberte (Cheers! I raise my glass to freedom.).
The menu etc will be available shortly. However, here is some additional information:
Le Marche Francais is situated on the first floor of the Woolstore Building on Thorndon Quay. Nearby is the motorway overpass and just south of that is bus stop 5492 which is used by bus routes 1, 19e, 24, 25, 26, 52, 56, 57, 58, 60e and 83.
When it comes to going home, you can use bus stop 5024 just north of the motorway overpass. So again, just a short distance away.
Chef Veronique is French, and her café provides authentic French food during the day. However, she has agreed to make her café available for our club dinner and she and her restaurant will certainly be celebrating France’s National Day with style.
This could be the perfect opportunity to bring out a French wine or two from your cellar that you’ve been saving for just such an occasion. And in keeping with the French theme, feel free to dress with a little je ne sais quoi red, white and blue anyone – or perhaps just some French flair!
So, watch your Inbox and be prepared to act quickly.
