There is some angle parking on the side street going down towards Animates,
this is in Westminister Street, there is two La Cloche parks in Animates carpark.
You are asked to arrive on or before 6:30 pm.
Please come in either door, both of which have a few stairs, 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.
As a reminder of the menu for this evening:
Amuse Bouche
Smoked Chicken Gougère
Mushroom and Blue Cheese Vol au Vent
Entrée
La Terrine de Saumon fumé
Smoked salmon terrine with lemon dill cream served with pickled cucumber and crispy capers
Main Course
Le Confit de Canard sur son lit de Lentilles du Puy
Duck leg confit with warm Le Puy lentil salad and cherry jus
OR
Le poisson du marché en croute persillée
Pan-fried market fish with parsley crust and piperade served with crunchy fennel salad
Dessert
Le chocolat et les fruits rouges.
This promises to be a very enjoyable way to finish our year with 31 people attending.
Wayne will shortly send out a table seating plan so we can make sure that your Duck or Fish main ends up at the right place on your table.
This was a fun, festive evening, hosted by Tammy, Mission’s Rep, who
along with Wayne, chose the wines for our evening.
We were fortunate to have two of their premier Jewelstone range, to
savour, along with a Rose’ from Stables to compare with a Jewelstone
Rose, plus Mission’s Brut Cuvee bubbles, made in the champagne way.
Tammy updated us with the news that the CEO for the last 30 years was departing for other pastures. So they now have at Mission a new CE, new-ish vintner and new web page with new motto – ‘History in the Making’! Exciting times!
This evening has left everyone with some thoughtfully selected wines to source for Christmas celebrations. As a reminder of what to put on your shopping list, the wines we tasted were:
Mission Fete Brut Cuvee – Pinot Gris from Mission’s Home Block at Taradale, zesty with delicate pear and apple and fine mousse.
2025 Stables Rose – made from a mix of grapes, to be used as an aperitif, cheap and cheerful
Jewelstone Rose [noting that 2024 has recently been released and is now called Blanc De Noir], This will cellar well for another five years if you want to. Handpicked whole bunch pressed organic Merlot grapes from Mere Rd in the Gimblett Gravels.
2022 Jewelstone Chardonnay – these grapes were from their Green Meadows site in Taradale, made up of two clones, hand harvested and gently pressed, the firstly placed in French oak before spending time in neutral barrels.
Mission Reserve Syrah – Gimblett Gravels grapes, a nice light-ish wine, from a single vineyard. Can be kept for up to five years.
Mission Reserve Malbec – light, dry and on oak for 12 months, this can be cellared for five more years if you wish.
Mission Estate Late Harvest Riesling – this was a nice light-ish desert wine, and as well as going well with our Xmas fare provided by Wayne, it would pair nicely with lemon meringue pie.
Reminder: Currently, there is no function planned for this January, but your committee is currently considering a specific idea for 2027. That said, if you have an idea that we also might consider, please talk to a committee member.
February – Askerne Wines
March – Penfolds Tasting: wines from your Club Cellar, plus new wines
Acknowledgments
Your committee would like to acknowledge how the Club works for and on behalf of everyone in the wine industry. We are a sought-after Club for the wineries, especially the ones that have presented in the past, and want to present to us again. This is down to everyone who attends and orders at our monthly events. Lets continue this into 2026.
Survey update
Thank you to everyone who answered the Survey that we recently sent out. We received 41 responses in total. To give a summary of responses:
On the question of which influences your decision to remain a member, there were large numbers besides ‘an opportunity to try new and different wines’; ‘to meet winemakers and hear them talk about their wine’ and also ‘socialising with other members – this seems to sum up the reason for our Club!
There was an overwhelming response to the question. If you could only choose between these two … To try new and different wines won over To purchase wine at discounted price.
If you decide to purchase wine, what is your main consideration – more people leaned towards the combination answer of quality and price of the wine.
What price would influence your decision not to purchase wine had an interesting tally of responses. We had pretty even responses to $20, $40, $60, with slightly more ticking ‘Price is unlikely to prevent me purchasing a wine that I really like.
What style of BYO restaurant dining would you prefer we organise, had slightly more people opting for ‘Cafe/Bistro Dining, over Fine Dining and Ethnic restaurants. This reply gives us a steer to focus on, thanks.
What price (incl. corkage) would you consider too great at a restaurant, had a tie between $100 and ‘My decision would not be based on cost’.
Is easy access to public transport a consideration in your decision to attend a restaurant event, again had an interesting response percentage: 60% said ‘no’, and 40% said ‘yes’.
Do you enjoy the events presented by the Club that don’t involve purchase options had an overwhelmingly positive response!
In relation to events presented by the Club, would you like to see – we had an overwhelmingly positive response under ‘About the same number’.
It is positive for your committee that members feel that things are going in the right direction. Please feel free to talk to a committee member if you have any concerns or ideas to pass on, thanks.
Askerne Hawkes Bay
267 Te Mata Mangateretere Rd, Havelock North
Presenter – John Loughlin, Co-Founder and Director
Wednesday 11th February 8 pm start
Door Price: to be advised later
Askerne Estate winery commenced in April 1993 when wine lovers John and Kathryn Loughlin purchased the original 11.6 hectares site in Te Mata Mangateretere Road. John and Kathryn had studied winemaking and viticulture in the previous years with Kathryn, as the more diligent student, achieving the higher grades.
They called the property Askerne, being the olde English name of Kathryn’s birthplace, Askern in Yorkshire, England.
Sauvignon Blanc vines were planted in late 1993, Semillon and Riesling in 1994, Chardonnay in 1995 and Gewürztraminer in 1996. The first wines were made at the Waimarama Estate Winery (then owned by Dr John Loughlin, John’s father) in 1996.
In February 1997, the Askerne cellar door was opened to the public, and it also sold Waimarama Estate’s red wines, including the then famous Waimarama Dessert Cabernet.
The 1997 vintage produced very fine wines from Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay which confirmed the potential of the site. Askerne commenced exporting with wines from the 1997 vintage. It was a complete surprise to us when our Sauvignon Blanc won an award in The Netherlands as the best match with a cigar. It was not something we thought of in making the wine, nor have subsequently aspired to.
In 1998 Dr John Loughlin sold Waimarama Estate Winery and from the 1999 vintage, Askerne’s wines were made on site. The cellar door building was expanded to accommodate winemaking activities. The first red wine grapes were planted. Also, in 1999 the first Botrytis Semillon wine was made, and the first componentry was created for the Noble Noir wine which was first released in 2013.
In the significantly frost-affected 2001 the first red grapes were harvested, and a Cabernet Merlot Franc blend and Dessert Cabernet were made. Both these red wine styles were encouraging examples of the desired styles. A Chardonnay from the 2001 vintage won Askerne’s first gold medal.
In 2004 a new purpose-built winery was completed, only hours before it was used for vintage. The 2005 vintage saw the first multi-awarded wine with our Gewürztraminer winning double golds. The 2006 vintage saw the first trophy which was taken by our Noble Semillon. The 2007 vintage saw Askerne produce a Gewürztraminer that won 5 gold medals and a trophy.
Large vintages in 2008, 2009 and 2010 coincided with the global financial crisis and a downturn in business as customers changed and downsized and the market moved to cheaper price points. Export channels also dried up for Askerne. They launched their first white and gold label Rouge and Blanc blends as lower tier responses and sold them directly to consumers. Most of the fruit from the 2011 and 2012 vintages were sold as we sought to rebalance inventories with demand.
In 2014 Askerne commenced an exporting relationship in China with Beijing Touch World International Trading Company.
The 2018 vintage proved to be a great one and saw the launch of two of the planned new wine styles being a Sauvignon Blanc / Sauvignon Gris / Semillon blend and the first of the Icon series of wines in “The Archer” Chardonnay.
Cairn Coghill
2018 also saw the 25th anniversary of the Askerne venture and was a time to think about the past and present The 2019 vintage was another excellent one which saw a second Icon wine produced in a Syrah called “Tere” which speaks of our site on Te Mata Mangateretere Road, adjoining the Tuki Tuki River.
The 2020 vintage was spectacular in terms of climate and quality. It was also unusual in terms of vintage operations which coincided with the covid-19 global pandemic, but Askerne was able to operate as an essential business.
From the 2020 vintage we added a new product to our range, being the first Sérieux rosé which was made from a blend of Carménère and Mourvèdre.
In January 2021 Cairn Coghill joined the Askerne team as winemaker.
134 Hutt Road, Kaiwharawhara, Wellington 6035
