The Wine Guy

TORA TORA TORA - OR TORREMOLINOS

2012-01-22T14:51:00.001+13:00

If you didn't get through the sketch here is a transcript.

“What’s the point of going abroad if you’re just another tourist carted around in buses surrounded by sweaty mindless oafs from Kettering and Coventry in their cloth caps and their cardigans and their transistor radios and their Sunday Mirrors, complaining about the tea — “Oh they don’t make it properly here, do they, not like at home” — and stopping at Majorcan bodegas selling fish and chips and Watney’s Red Barrel and calamares and two-veg and sitting in their cotton frocks squirting Timothy White’s suncream all over their puffy raw swollen purulent flesh ‘cos they “overdid it on the first day.” And being herded into endless Hotel Miramars and Bellvueses and Continentals with their modern international luxury roomettes and draught Red Barrel and swimming pools full of fat German businessmen pretending they’re acrobats forming pyramids and frightening the children and barging into queues and if you’re not at your table spot on seven you miss the bowl of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, the first item on the menu of International Cuisine, and every Thursday night the hotel has a bloody cabaret in the bar, featuring a tiny emaciated dago with nine-inch hips and some bloated fat tart with her hair brylcreemed down and a big arse presenting “Flamenco for Foreigners.” And adenoidal typists from Birmingham with flabby white legs and diarrhea trying to pick up hairy bandy-legged wop waiters called Manuel and once a week there’s an excursion to the local Roman remains to buy cherryade and melted ice cream and bleeding Watney’s Red Barrel and one evening you visit the so called typical restaurant with local color and atmosphere and you sit next to a party from Rhyl who keep singing “Torremolinos, torremolinos” and complaining about the food — “It’s so greasy isn’t it?” — and you get cornered by some drunken greengrocer from Luton with an Instamatic camera and Dr. Scholl sandals and last Tuesday’s Daily Express and he drones on and on about how Mr. Smith should be running this country and how many languages Enoch Powell can speak and then he throws up over the Cuba Libres. And sending tinted postcards, of places they don’t realize they haven’t even visited, to: “All at number 22, weather wonderful, our room is marked with an ‘X’. Food very greasy but we’ve found a charming little local place hidden away in the back streets where they serve Watney’s Red Barrel and cheese and onion crisps and the accordionist plays ‘Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner’.” And spending four days on the tarmac at Luton airport on a five-day package tour with nothing to eat but dried BEA-type sandwiches and you can’t even get a drink of Watney’s Red Barrel because you’re still in England and the bloody bar closes every time you’re thirsty and there’s nowhere to sleep and the kids are crying and vomiting and breaking the plastic ash-trays and they keep telling you it’ll only be another hour although your plane is still in Iceland and has to take some Swedes to Yugoslavia before it can load you up at 3 a.m. in the bloody morning and you sit on the tarmac till six because of “unforeseen difficulties”, i.e. the permanent strike of Air Traffic Control in Paris — and nobody can go to the lavatory until you take off at 8, and when you get to Malaga airport everybody’s swallowing “enterovioform” and queuing for the toilets and queuing for the armed customs officers, and queuing for the bloody bus that isn’t there to take you to the hotel that hasn’t yet been finished. And when you finally get to the half-built Algerian ruin called the Hotel del Sol by paying half your holiday money to a licensed bandit in a taxi you find there’s no water in the pool, there’s no water in the taps, there’s no water in the bog and there’s only a bleeding lizard in the bidet. And half the rooms are double booked and you can’t sleep anyway because of the permanent twenty-four-hour drilling of the foundations of the hotel next door — and you’re plagued by appalling apprentice chemists from Ealing pretending to be hippies, and middle-class stockbrokers’ wives busily buying identical holiday villas in suburban development plots just like Esher, in case the Labour government gets in again, and fat American matrons with sloppy-buttocks and Hawaiian-patterned ski pants looking for any mulatto male who can keep it up long enough when they finally let it all flop out. And the Spanish Tourist Board promises you that the raging cholera epidemic is merely a case of mild Spanish tummy, like the previous outbreak of Spanish tummy in 1660 which killed half London and decimated Europe — and meanwhile the bloody Guardia are busy arresting sixteen-year-olds for kissing in the streets and shooting anyone under nineteen who doesn’t like Franco. And then on the last day in the airport lounge everyone’s comparing sunburns, drinking Nasty Spumante, buying cartons of duty free “cigarillos” and using up their last pesetas on horrid dolls in Spanish National costume and awful straw donkeys and bullfight posters with your name on “Ordoney, El Cordobes and Brian Pules of Norwich” and 3-D pictures of the Pope and Kennedy and Franco, and everybody’s talking about coming again next year and you swear you never will although there you are tumbling bleary-eyed out of a tourist-tight antique Iberian airplane…”

So, the point is? The Japanese, on 7th December 1941 attacked the American base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii early on a Sunday morning knowing that most of the base would be either at Church or in bed or suffering from a bit of bevvy the previous night.

On Friday night, as I was sipping a long-looked-forward-to glass of Chardonnay, I was thinking that all around New Zealand, if not the Christian world (at the appropriate GMT time) anyone who drinks alcohol would be enjoying after-work drinks and probably continuing on to more during the evening. There is a very high liklihood that there are more pissed people on a Friday night than any other day of the week.
If I was a planner for Muslim terrorism I'd take a leaf out of Tojo's book and attack the Westerners on a Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Check this report from The Daily Mirror:

- German soldiers too fat to fight the Taliban."

-       A report by Germany's Parliament found forces in Afghanistan got through more than 1.7 million pints of beer and 92,000 bottles of wine last year. They are already on track to top those figures this year, with 901,000 pints of beer and 56,000 bottles of wine being shipped in the first six months. US forces are not allowed to drink, while British soldiers are allowed only small quantities while off-duty. Earlier this year, another report found that 40 per cent Germany's 3,600 soldiers in Afghanistan were overweight.
-       This has prompted Reinhold Robbe, Parliamentary Commissioner for the armed forces, to observe: "Plainly put, the soldiers are too fat, exercise too little and take little care of their diet." There was also a stinging assessment given by the head of Germany's crack commando squad, the KSK. In a frank outburst, General Hans-Christoph Ammon, whose soldiers are fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban, said the scheme to train Afghan police – for which Germany is responsible – had been "a miserable failure".
-       He said the German Government had put just 12 million towards training the Afghan Army and police. "At that rate, it would take 82 years to have a properly trained police force," he told Deutsche Press Agency.

So there!

LA VIE EN LAROSE

2012-01-08T12:20:00.002+13:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IJzYAda1wA

Tonight we had dinner with our holiday neighbours Murray and Christine. They have a holiday house near us in McLeod Bay. As Lynn and I are working in Auckland each week our house, whilst not intended to be so, is by default our holiday house where we try and spend each weekend.
Now you would think that early January would mean that dinner would be a BBQ , eating on the deck after a swim in the water across the road but not this Summer. It has rained all day with strong cold winds. This is the same weather (but colder) that we have experienced through Christmas and New Year.
Dinner then is an in-doors, sit-down affair at the dining table and will be oven baked fare - venison, roast beetroot, Dauhinoise potatoes etc. followed by a fruit and custard tart. So. What to drink with this. Fortunately Murray, last weekend, gave us two bottles to 'stand' ready for the Saturady night dinner. He is one of the lucky few who each year manage to get their hands on Stonyridge Larose. It was Murray who provided the 2009 and 2008 vintages we drank ast year see: A Special Treat

2007 and 2009 Larose rady for imbibing

This year we had the 2007 and the 2009 vintages to compare. The 2009 was not much changed from what it was like last year. Big, bold, tannic with dense and still subdued fruit. This is a keeper and will take a while to hit its straps. The 2007 was more approachable and elegant. It too has dense fruit but some lighter edges and a bit of greenness. It will also keep for a while but perhaps not as long as the 2009. We were a bit geekish and got our guests to fill out tasting sheets (Lynn's idea - honest) which was a good exercise in evaluating the wines properly. This was done before dinner and before the Pool challenge so sensory evaluation was possible and fairly accurate. During and after dinner though we consumed a bottle of 1998 Penfolds Bin 389, a bottle of Moet and a bottle of Johanneshof Gewurtztraminer. Oh, did I mention the Seresin Chardonnay? Well, we only consumed half a bottle of that before the red wine tasting.

The Pool challenge was a draw this year - 1 game each - the wine kind of overpowered the stamina and ability to play.

It is a slow morning here, but, as it is still overcast with a bit of rain, a good morning to watCh television. I just saw "How to look at a landscape" - a brilliant essay on New Zealand painting.
I couldn't find an image of Robin White's stunning 'New Garden' but here is a classic Colin McCahon one.

GO FIGURE

2011-12-31T11:40:00.000+13:00

We have had a problem with a back label on a wine product sent to China recently.
The Chinese Customs have held up the shipment because the wording on the back label does not exactly match the wording on the invoice.

The wording difference?

On the invoice, in addition to the varietal, vintage and other mandatories is the wording:

(Brand company)'s New Zealand Dry Red Wine

On the back label, along with all the important mandatories including varietal, vintage etc. is the wording:

New Zealand (Brand company)'s Dry Red Wine.

Now the writing on this back label is in Chinese.
The print company for some reason substituted the agreed label artwork for a previous one so that the wording is not in the same order as the invoice.
The line of words in question has exactly the same number and type of characters on each of the label variants so was virtually impossible to distinguish if one was compared to the other. All of the other Chinese characters on this back label (about 15 lines of it, describe the wine, where it was made, who it was made by, who it is being shipped to, what date it was bottled etc. All of this information is the same on each label and has the same number, type (and order) of characters.

Knowing this we can now simply change the invoice to read exactly as the label but the importer has lost a couple of weeks in the process.

This from a country that regularly poisons people in their own country and around the world with dodgy foodstuffs, illegal and dangerous additives and totally non-compliant labelling.

Go figure!

COUNTING THE DRINKS TWO THREE FOUR FIVE....

2011-12-26T11:09:00.001+13:00

This song gob-smacked me in 1981. I thought it one of the cleverest and catchy pop tunes ever and it still hits the spot.
If I substituted the word 'beat' for 'drinks' it would also be appropriate for Christmas and New Year drinking.

"Look at the sunrise
I look at it burn
I look into your eyes
Don't know where to turn
I'm gonna drift into that void
I'm flying through space, I'm an asteroid
Time doesn't take place when you're paranoid
I'm thinking about you, and nothing else
Thinking about you, you're thinking about me
Thinking about you, I'm counting the beat
Thinking about you
Thinking about me
Thinking about just you and me, la da de de, there ain't no place I'd rather be
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
I'm bleeding to death
On a cloudless day
A three, a four heartbeat
A waltzin' away...
Oooh ooh, oo oo
Oooh ooh, oo oo
Oooh ooh, oo oo
Oooh ooh, oo oo
I'm counting the beat 2 3 4 5, I'm feeling the heat to be alive
I'm counting the beat 6 7 8 9, I'm wishing that you,
That you were mine
Thinking about you, you're thinking about me
Thinking about you and counting the beat
Thinking about you
Thinking about me
Thinking about you...
Thinking about me...
Thinking about you.....
Thinking about,
Just you and me, la da de de, there ain't no place I'd rather be
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da
La da de da, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da"

I'm moving a bit slow this morning, not crawling exactly but I haven't gone running, kayaking or golfing so far.

Normally I count the drinks I consume or at least have a fair idea of the quantity as I invariably only drink wine.

One glass fine - usually when cooking.
Two glasses OK
Three glasses better
Four glasses - oops, gone over half the bottle
Five glasses - that's a bottle gone, glad its a Friday night
Six glasses - now why on earth did I open that second bottle?
Seven glasses - where was the count, better start from the beginning
Eight glasses - ..................................................................................

Now one swallow doesn't make a summer and eight swallows doesn't make an alcoholic but really, I'd rather not go beyond the five.

The trouble is, at festive occasions it is easily to lose track of the drinks. Yesterday, after a good and healthy walk we went next door to the neighbours for Christmas drinks. This was very pleasant and I had three (smallish) glasses of bubbles. This was Deutz Methode which is always a good buy around Christmas time. I did detect a bit of simplicity though and worry that too much specialling has made them engineer the wine downwards (less time on lees perhaps).

Anyway, after these three glasses (Her Indoors had two) we we went home to prepare our Christmas dinner that this year we were having on our own. I opened a bottle of Veuve Cliquot NV. This is a good Marque and not as sweet as its cousin Moet & Chandon. I bought it from Countdown supermarket at a ridiculous mark-down so had a bit of a saving there.

A word of caution. Never buy Champagne off a shelf whether in a supermarket or a bottle store. The wine exposed to sunlight and fluorescent light will be dull, not flat exactly, but will have lost some of its pzazz. when you are paying $50 plus its that pzazz that you want. I always ask for a bottle to be taken out of a carton.

We both had two glasses of Champagne before dinner which was roast lamb (Her Indoors had left the very large chicken in the fridge back in Auckland) and vegetables followed by her sublime trifle (the sponge liberally dosed with La Grande Passion (Grand Marnier's passion-fruit liqueur that we have had for many years).

With the meal we had two glasses each of Marie Zelie 2003 Pinot Noir. This is the Martinborough Vineyards wine that is still going powerfully.

By this time I was feeling a bit tired and went to bed before 11. This morning as I said was a slow start.

How many drinks had I had?

I counted - La da de dee, la da de da, la da de da, la da de da - Seven!

Now that may not seem that much but the first three were on an empty stomach so I guess my body would have been happier with at least one less.

Oh well. Another walk will be on the cards today sometime.

WHERE EVERYONE GETS A BARGAIN

2011-12-17T13:34:00.002+13:00

I bought a couple of cases of pretty good Pinot Noir this week off a wine-selling website I use. I am always on the hunt for good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on this site where winemakers with surplus wines sell them off cheap.

I bought Muddy Water Pinot Noir for $21 a bottle not long ago and have seen it in Glengarry recently for $87.00 a bottle. The wine was superb - the price even better.

The wine I bought this week was also from Waipara (in my mind the source of New Zealand's best Pinot Noir and Riesling). The recommended retail price is $39.99. The special price is $14.99. This is a whopping $25 off per bottle. The wine is bloody good and I am happy.

The winery gives 10% commission to the website owner. Are they happy? They obviously would like to sell it for a higher price. If it was retailed at $39.99 then after a retailer mark-up of 45% say then they could theoretically wholesale it for $24.50 (GST included). They are then giving away at least $10 per bottle by selling it through this clearance site. Why? Because it is a 2009 vintage wine. They obviously have 2010 vintage in bottle. 2011 vintage in barrel and tank. There is the 2012 vintage looming. Pressure on stocks vs low sales volume in depressed markets. Entry into New Zealand retail outlets is becoming increasingly difficult as supermarkets gain market share and want cheaper sell-in prices so that they can discount heavily. All these reasons add up to a winery having to let wine go at a crazily low price.

Are they losing money though? They are certainly not making the money that they most likely forecast some years ago. If that forecast was to a lending bank and not to themselves and supporting friends and family then they are in trouble as we have seen with some wine companies that have gone to the wall recently. These though, to be fair, have bought in high at the top of the market with expectations that the industry was going to continue to boom. It is not unlike the property market or pyramid schemes.

Here is a rough (very rough) production costing for a bottle of wine. This is a very broad average but is fair when considering an expensive quality bottle of wine. Big companies, mass producing big brands have much lower costs but this will suffice for this exercise.

	$
Wine	3.00
Winery overheads	0.10
Bottle	0.80
Labels	0.70
Carton (share)	0.20
Bottling cost	0.15
Excise and ALAC	2.10

Total, say	$7.05 per bottle.

With a RRP of $39.99 even with retailer mark-up of 45% and a decent wholesale margin there is still a whopping great brand/marketing/image component. This is called the Hype. Now there's nothing wrong with the hype - Champagne producers have got away with this for years. Their per bottle costs given the volumes they make is probably not too different and yet they command RRP's of $60 to $160 per bottle.
I would always caution buyers though when buying the fairly standard wines that want $40 plus off you. Is that Chardonnay really worth $60? Does that Waiheke or Hawkes Bay Bordeaux blend or Syrah deserve a price tag of $80? Probably not but hey! If you want it then buy it, but always check out the discount websites first.

By the way. I'm not immune to hype myself. For Christmas I am getting a bottle of Martinborough Vineyards Marie Zelie Pinot Noir 2003 out of the cellar. I paid $170 a bottle for this a few years back. Apart from the outrageously expensive packaging the bottle of wine couldn't have cost more than $10 or $12 to make. Hype? yes. Good drinking? It has been for the other bottles I've had and I'm looking forward to this next one.

HERE WE GO AGAIN #3

2011-12-10T14:15:00.001+13:00

The New Zealand wine industry is doing it again.
Previously I identified how some wine producers were getting off the track here:

HERE WE GO AGAIN #2

and

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Now, not satisfied with trying to convert Sauvignon Blanc into a sparking variant (have you tried it? Bloody awful) some wide-boys have added red wine to it to make (puke) Sauvignon Blanc Rose. Yuk! I guess this came about because some desperate bastard, in a hurry for a drink, poured Sauvignon Blanc into a glass that had the remnants of the horrible Marlborough Merlot that he or she couldn't finish. The pinky mess that resulted created a kind of Eureka moment in this inebriates fuddled brain. Now, thanks to: wineries overloaded with a new vintage looming; marketing wannabes needing to prove themselves; sales people running out of promotional ideas other than discounting; and, a fickle buying public that has no frigging taste or idea and what do we get ? .................

This

and,

This

and,

This

In a previous post I mentioned one of the NZ Industry's favourite marketing tactic

Why can't the industry, or at least some of the major players who have enough wine supply to make a difference, just get on with the job of improving the quality, packaging, marketing and distribution of Sauvignon Blanc (the normal one) that has put New Zealand on the map. Stick to the knitting you fools.
Its time that the real Sauvignon Blanc fought back.

festival [ˈfɛstɪvəl]

2011-12-03T14:26:00.001+13:00

festival [ˈfɛstɪv^əl]n1. a day or period set aside for celebration or feasting, esp one of religious significance
2. any occasion for celebration, esp one which commemorates an anniversary or other significant event
3. an organized series of special events and performances, usually in one place4. Archaic a time of revelry; merrymaking

5. (modifier) relating to or characteristic of a festival
[from Church Latin fēstivālis of a feast, from Latin festīvus festive]

Well that's what the on-line dictionary says.
When it comes to wine festivals this might be a better description:

or·gy (ôrj)n. pl. or·gies1. A revel involving unrestrained indulgence, especially sexual activity.
2. Uncontrolled or immoderate indulgence in an activity: . See Synonyms at binge.
3. A secret rite in the cults of ancient Greek or Roman deities, typically involving frenzied singing, dancing, drinking, and sexual activity.

Which better describes what the once-elegant and entertaining events in New Zealand are becoming like.

I have attended and been involved in: the Marlborough Wine Festival from the very early days; the inaugural Taste Martinborough and 15 following events; Canterbury Wine Festival; Auckland food and wine festivals; Devonport Wine Festivals and many others in New Zealand and overseas. Over the years these events have steadily increased in size and popularity but at a corresponding decrease in good behaviour, sobriety and common sense.
This is not to say that earlier festivals were without drunkenness and licentious behaviour. For many years one of the add-on attractions of the helicopter flights at the Marlborough Festival was the people bonking amongst the vines.
I remember once at Toast Martinborough when we took a short cut back to Palliser to get our bus there was a couple going at it by the track. Her Indoors observed that the guy was particularly well-endowed. I ushered her away saying that the poor chap was deformed.
Drunken and half-naked young women have become de rigeur at any events where alcohol is consumed whether it be a folk festival, a music festival or a food and wine festival.

Hey, I'm not complaining but the organisers of these events need to stop hiding behind the facade of 'culture' and face up to the fact that wine (or beer) + sun + time + music + festivity = recipe for disaster in some cases.

The 2011 Toast Martinborough is a case in point. Now admittedly there are two sides to every story and the wowsers have been doing a 'beat up' on this but there is no smoke without fire. See:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6014983/Toast-antics-may-put-stopper-on-bottle-sales

I remember serving wine at a festival at the viaduct a few years ago and seeing a woman, drunk, fall over backwards still holding her glass. She cracked her skull and had to be carted away by ambulance.

I'm not a misery-guts and I myself enjoy attending these events and, leaving the car at home, having a few (too many) glasses of wine. They have to be properly policed though because unfortunately there are a lot of people who just want to get pissed and whether it is beer, RTD's or Central Otago Pinot Noir to help them in this sometimes just doesn't matter.

WESTWARD HO?

2011-11-26T16:51:00.003+13:00

The Chinese wine market has massively increased over the last 10 years with imported wines showing the greatest growth. Imports are still small compared to the domestic wine market being at either 85% or 90% depending on whose sets of figures you look at but certainly there is a lot more Chinese wine being drunk than imports. French wine still dominates the imports at about 50% but in-roads are being made with Australian, South African and American wines both North and South. In volume terms we are talking of a market of over 125 million cases with about 12 million cases being imports. That's a lot of wine and even if the French are getting the biggest part of it there is plenty of opportunity for everyone else - and it is growing at about 20% per year. While per capita consumption of wine in China is very low at about a bottle per head this still accounts for about 1.35 billion bottles!
Where does this put New Zealand wine? Well, fortunately for us the majority of the French wine imported (and dare I say it the American and South African wine) is basically crap. New Zealand wine, once tried, will stand head and shoulders above the other offerings and will most likely be on a par or just above the Australian offerings although Australia has an advantage over us in value reds.
The problem is though that the growth has stimulated 'cowboy' operators who all want a piece of the action. It is frontier land out there with the old Westward Ho! mentality being replaced by Eastward Ho!

I work for a wine company that exports to China. Almost everyday we get requests from potential agents and distributors who "have a relative in Beijing, Ningbho, Shanghai etc. who owns a chain of restaurants and wants New Zealand wine". Most of them are chancers and tyre kickers with no understanding of the market and the complexities of exporting. There is a threat if too many of these Chinese Cowboys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoeP38n9cZ8

get their hands on too many brands. China, whilst a big country with a huge population and many large cities, still needs an orderly and disciplined approach to imports in order to properly manage the growth.
Most of the importers/distributors whether legitimate or dodgy are aware of the super cheap prices of the red wines from Australia, South Africa, France and South America and ask for New Zealand reds at about $5 a bottle. Fortunately, due to our small production we (New Zealand wine producers) are able to refuse to supply at crazy prices and promote on the basis of quality. Lets hope that the emerging big players (ARA, Yealands) and existing big guys (Constellation, Pernod Ricard, Villa Maria and Fosters) don't get a rush of blood to the head and meet Chinese demands for low prices as they have repeatedly done in UK, Australia and USA. We don't have enough feet!

NUOVA LAZIO WINE CLUB?

2011-10-27T22:56:00.002+13:00

What would the Nuova Lazio Wine Club be like? I guess it would be fronted by someone like this guy.

http://wineatlunch.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/funny-wine-video/

THEY SAY YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK

2011-10-15T09:55:00.001+13:00

Annat by Loch Torridon is the place that my Scottish ancestors came from before they sailed to Novia Scotia and on to Australia and New Zealand. Here AA Gill (acerbic English food writer) describes a dining experience at the Torridon Inn at Annat

Table talk

Our intrepid restaurant critic goes north of the border to Scotland, where he visits a 'camp Caledonian cliché, all stag heads and tartan'

AA Gill Published: 9 October 2011

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The more minimalist interior of the restaurant complete with open fireThe world’s largest sperm bank. Now there’s a thought. I imagine it to be a bit like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, but without the midgets, or the chocolate, and not quite Wonka. Cryos — slogan “Come again” or “One in a million”.

It’s not, actually. It’s “We know a man who can”. It’s in Denmark, so it’s probably something like “Versperm durch Technik”.

They’ve just made an announcement: they’re not accepting any more redhead sperm.

They’re up to here with it. Their nitrogen urn runneth over. They’ve two litres of the stuff, and demand is flatlining. Women tick the boxes for clever, athletic, artistic, puts down the seat, cries at films but pretends he doesn’t, always goes to see what the noise in the middle of the night is, naked, carrying a cricket bat, and then they turn the page and tick no golf, no comb-overs and no redheads.

The Torridon Inn

CuisineBritish

AddressAnnat, by Achnasheen, Wester Ross, IV22 2EY

CRITIC'S RATING

They say that redheads are going to die out. In three or four generations, ginger may only be available in a bottle, or some weird, embarrassing throwback. Maybe this is our Neanderthal moment. We lived with the Neanderthals for millenniums, and occasionally got together. You know, Cro-Magnon with benefits, or just drunk after the solstice. Then we went off them, and the neander-knuckle-scuffers, as we homos used to call them, died out, and we’ve missed them. Well, I expect someone’s missed them. So Cryos are offering special deals to Irish and Scots women, because red hair is part of their culture and, frankly, they’re not that choosy.

I wonder if sperm banks are offering incentives? Two for one? Bring a friend? All redhead shots half-price before eight o’clock? A sperm bank putting up a sign saying no dogs, no nutters and no redheads says something that I’ve suspected for some time. The amount of prejudice in the world is constant. It just gets moved on, like delinquents at bus stops, or gypsies in Kent, and it’s open season on gingers. The human rights hasn’t got round to them yet. Well, you’ll be sorry when they’re gone, and I speak as someone with a Neanderthal forehead. It’s either that or Klingon.

I’m writing this in Scotland. I come up here to the west coast every year for a week’s stalking. The country is having a late Indian summer, God’s consolation for messing up July and August. Up here, I’m told, the rain has barely drawn breath since last December. The TV weather map is all smiley sun, except for one wee cloud in the top-left-hand corner, and that’s the one I’m sitting under. I stepped out at 9 this morning and walked till 4.30, and got wetter than I’ve ever been. I’ve been in bars that were drier than the hill today. The rain hissed like smoke across the peat hags and streamed in horizontal waterfalls off the granite rocks, and I couldn’t have been happier. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.

There were a couple of hours that were sunny yesterday afternoon, so I drove to the glen next door. In 12 years I’ve never gone the 12 miles to Loch Torridon — jings, but it’s beautiful. The loch is huge, and the village of little white cottages hunkers along the strand. Behind them, the mountains rise like tall storeys. It’s quiet and charming, but also elemental and brutal. Trying to write about the Highlands landscape is like trying to copy a Landseer with an Etch A Sketch. You shoot your wad of exclamatory adjectives almost immediately, and the hills and the heather, the pines and the racing byrnes look back at you as if to say: “Is that the best you’ve got, pal? Can you nae muster a better army of similes, metaphors and allusions than that? Because, frankly, we did nae get up this morning and put on all this finery simply for you to stammer, ‘Wow, awesome’, and go slack-jawed. We’ve been described by the best. Some of the most limpid, lyrical observations have been frotted all over us. So unless you’ve got something pretty damn good to say, you’re better off saving your breath for your porridge. Is that an exclamation point in your pocket?”

The Torridon Hotel was built for Lord Lovelace. There’s a name for the sperm bank. It glowers from the stand of pines that lesser scribes might refer to as “aromatically majestic”. It is built in the odd Scotia vernacular, that is a northern variation of gothic revival, except that it doesn’t revive anything that ever was. It is the turreted and crenellated evocation of Walter Scott novels. The southern equivalent might be all English country houses being designed to illustrate Harry Potter.

I came here for lunch. It recommends itself. Inside, it’s Victorian camp Caledonian cliché, all stag heads and tartan. There was nobody about, so I rang an oversized bell on the desk. It made a noise like summoning the Kraken. After slightly too long, an efficient no-nonsense lady appeared instead, and asked me what I wanted. Lunch, I ventured, with a question mark. “We do sandwiches in there.” She pointed to a Monarch of the Glen memorial drawing room. I was hoping for something rather more sustaining. “Oh, well, there’s the bistro inn behind the car park for that sort of thing,” she said, with the inflection of my people that firmly implies, “Do you think I’m here simply for your convenience?”

The inn was behind the car park. Indeed, the car park was the featured view. It’s a wooden Portakabin containing a sticky, dark bar, with a silent TV showing Scottish football, a blinking fruit machine, no customers and a couple of Australian waitress-barmaids.

We were shown to a table where I could admire a couple of Vauxhalls. I’m not going to dwell on lunch, because they didn’t. I took Emma, the antiques dealer. She began with pan-seared scallops, crushed peas and a rocket salad. At best it was unpleasant. The scallops were wan goitres. The peas shrunken and frozen. The rocket salad some child’s pressed flower collection.

The only identifiable fish in the fish pie was salmon, which is the one fish that you should never, ever be put in a fish pieI had a wheel of Stornoway black pudding with apple and a cider reduction. The cider reduction was reduced to a skid mark. The black pudding was anaemic and greasy. The apple was brown and wizened. We could have had the home-made soup with the crusty bread. Why is the bread that accompanies soup always notably crusty? It’s like a Viking chieftain, Brod the Crusty. Why is the soup invariably cauliflower and stilton? Has anyone ever eaten this for pleasure?

For main course, Emma had scampi in a basket. The only agreeable thing about this was the basket. It came with chips, peas and home-made taramasalata. The scampi had done a runner from the batter, leaving mostly empty shells, like dried moth cocoons.

As for the homemade tartare sauce, it was as welcome as homemade toothpaste. I had fish pie, a large butter dish with a mildly piscine sludge, covered with a thick sputum-coloured scab of melted, nameless cheese. There were more of the ancient, cryogenicised peas, and dead chips.

The only identifiable fish was salmon, which is the one fish that should never be put in a fish pie. There ought to be Celtic punishments for people who put salmon in fish pie. We could have had a burger, or a gammon steak with the excitement of an egg and pineapple.

Pudding was a hideous sticky toffee, of course. This menu is a catalogue of derisively defunct dishes, an Oxfam shop of food you hated first time round. This stuff is as bad as you can eat anywhere in Europe, but is what we all expect from Scotland, outside the Central Belt — wilfully, stubbornly, f***-you-Jimmy awful. Here, just to recap, is the sort of hotel visitors love, with one of the great views in the world, sitting in a country that produces the best raw ingredients in the universe.

So they put the dining room in a hut over the car park and serve ham with pineapple, burgers and cauliflower soup.

It doesn’t just beggar belief, it rather concerns belief. It beggars common sense, hospitality, tourism and joy. You have to work very hard to come up with something this dire, day in, day out. What does it cost? Who cares. It’s a hopeless waste, and you’re never going to go. The Australian service was charming.

HERE WE GO AGAIN (2)

2011-10-13T19:32:00.000+13:00

Stupid New Zealand winemakers, tired of making Sauvignon Blanc or, more likely, tired of the competition they get from other New Zealand winemakers making Sauvignon Blanc are now trying to do a beat-up on Gruner Veltliner.

"Gruner Veltliner could be next NZ Sauvignon, say winemakers"

Screams the headline on a wine news website. It turns out that Forrest Estate a small Marlborough (and Hawkes Bay) producer has had some success with the varietal, shipped a tiny amount to the UK which got a couple of listings and sold out quickly. Then some prat of a wine writer/expert raved about it. Well, let me tell you something, winewriter/experts would rave about their cats piss if it provided something different for them to talk about to differentiate themselves from the thousands of other wineriter/experts who are all competing against each other.
Why am I so vitriolic? I wrote this post a while ago on the same subject:

http://nzwineguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/here-we-goagain.html

and was annoyed to see more 'excited' reports on the varietal.

Sheesh!

OLD FAT AND WITH GOUT

2011-10-10T14:41:00.000+13:00

Old, fat and suffering from gout is the traditional image of a Port drinker. At least I don't have gout.

We have a few old vintage ports in the cellar but never drink them. If I am to have port it is a very small glass so the option of opening a bottle rarely comes up. Vintage port, unlike ruby or tawny port, not to mention the robust variants from australia, need to be consumed fairly soon after opening kind of like the way a table wine needs to be (within one or two days of being uncorked).

Last night we had a progressive dinner with two of the neighbouring households who were up for the weekend. This happily coincided with the rugby where we watched the South Africa vs Australia game at one house along with pre-dinner drinks and appetisers and the New Zealand vs Argentina game at our house with the main course and the third neighbours dessert. As I knew that there were going to be enough of us (6 adults) I decanted a bottle of 1970 Offley Boa Vista.

The cork was in good condition although compressed which is expected for a 41 year old wine (39 years in bottle) and the wine was in outstanding condition, good for another decade or two. There was a fairly substantial crust which had dropped out to the bottom of the bottle as I had let the wine stand for a fortnight before opening and my trusty silver funnel see:

http://nzwineguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/ive-you-got-silver.html

allowed me to decant the wine cleanly off it.
This crusty sludge actually tasted great and I used to know someone who would spread it on toast like a jam. He's dead now!
The wine was lovely and clear, shiny almost. With age it had become quite pale being an orangy/pink colour. The nose was still fresh and raisiny but with a bit of 'rancio' (maderised) character. The flavour was rich and fruity with a medium weight to it. This is a good example of an aged vintage, not as big and heavy as the 1970 Warres and Taylors that I have in the cellar but was a good indicator of the development of these which should be good for quite a lot longer.
I bought this wine in about 1974 for about $8. To buy it now (it is available on auction sites and in vintage bottle stores in UK, expect to pay about a hundred quid.

I RESERVE MY JUDGEMENT

2011-09-30T18:21:00.002+13:00

.... on Selaks Heritage Reserve 2010 Chardonnay as I am awaiting some information that I requested on this wine but I will start proceedings.

..... historically have been the wines put aside year to year in case the following year's vintage fails and, in time, came to represent the best that a winemaker was producing. The word on the label 'Reserve' meant something to the purchaser and consumer and prompted purchasing and drinking decisions.
Wikipedia is helpful with its description here:

"Reserve wine is a term given to a specific wine to imply that is of a higher quality than usual, or a wine that has been aged before being sold, or both. Traditionally winemakers would "reserve" some of their best wine rather than sell it immediately, coining the term.
In some countries the use of the term reserve/reserva/riserva is regulated, but in many places it is not. Sometimes, reserve wine originates from the best vineyards, or the best barrels, making it more special. Additionally, reserve wines might be made in a style suited to longer aging periods. However, in regions where the use is not regulated the mere presence of the term "reserve" on a wine label may be nothing but a marketing strategy. Indeed, in the case of one of the largest-selling premium wines, Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, every single bottle produced is "Vintner's Reserve." To indicate a genuine reserve wine, Kendall-Jackson had to resort to "Grand Reserve," which has caused some confusion among consumers."

Now I am a wine marketer and have been 'adventurous' in my descriptions of commercial wines when writing copy for back labels and wine notes. This is called hype and I guess is expected else why would anyone buy any commercial product from toilet paper to cheap cars based solely on advertising. When it comes to the more serious offerings where serious money is outlaid however I am a bit of a stickler and refuse to 'be adventurous'.

With regard to the accused - Selaks Heritage Reserve Chardonnay 2010, this is one in a new range released by Selaks brand (brand owners Constellation New Zealand). I bought it in a supermarket 'on special' at $13.99 and it has a recommended retail price of $19.99. Unfortunately nowadays these prices whether 'reccommended' or 'on-special' are all over the place and there is no longer a reliable guide to be followed by looking at the price of a wine and by that determining its quality. You either have to have some inside knowledge or be prepared to experiment by buying and trying (unless of course the wine is being 'tasted' in-store which I thoroughly support). The back label tells me that the wine is fair bursting with fruit flavours and to underline that mentions stonefruit, citrus, white peach and nectarine with a passing mention of Chardonnay. It also has an even more fleeting mention of the wood that a quality Chardonnay should experience by either barrel fermentation or maturation or both. It tells me, before the "crisp and lingering finish" that the wine has "a touch of oak". Great. Did the winemaker accidently bump into the tank when he was wheeling around his new oak barriques or is this spin doctor speak for the fact that some oak chips, oak planks or oak beans were added to the stainless steel tanks-full of Chardonnay somewhere during the process? The wine is fresh and does show good Chardonnay fruit characters that I expect from Hawke's Bay. It does not show good (and particularly not $19.99 RRP worth of) wood usage. As for the 'Reserve' part I can only think of the TV show Extras and the 'Are you 'aving a laugh' by-line.
As I said I am reserving judgement at the moment but all I have to go on is endorsement from the marketers.

"This is our best 'Reserve' wine and, by the way, our priests have never fiddled with little children"

SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER?

2011-09-23T18:28:00.004+12:00

I was listening to Yvonne Lorkin, one of the wine commentators (critics) on Jim Mora's afternoon show on National Radio. She is a capable woman, not blessed with huge wine knowledge but enthusiastic and confident. Lorkin has managed in a few short years to get herself syndicated to a few publications where she selects wines for consumers. Now to give her credit she selects wines that are at least available and affordable, not like some ratbags who have tried to be so esoteric that to find the wines they have recommended you have to have the (unlisted) phone number of the importer.

While listening I came to the conclusion that the day of the wine writer, wine critic and wine recommender may well be over. Years ago when good wine was scarcer and when the whole bloody wine business was a minefield for the uneducated (I knew someone in the industry who used to say: "there are only two types of wine buyers - the insecure and the very insecure"), wine writers were helpful in guiding consumers to the source. Nowadays, with radically changed distribution channels that have led to the dominance of supermarket selling of wine, there is not so much consumer choice for if your local supermarket doesn't stock the wine you want or have had recommended you are stuffed. No matter how well it is written up by a wannabe writer if you can't find it easily you are hardly likely to contact the producer to find out where to get it from. Nowadays that is. Years ago when I first entered the wine industry, when a new shipment of top notch European or Australian wines were on the way (let alone landed) you had to be in the know to pre-order them from the wholesaler/importer who was in those days also the retailer. What was left over hit the shelves and was usually not worth bothering about. Wine scribes were useful in giving the nod. The same went for the early examples of good New Zealand wine. We have all heard about the early offerings of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from McWilliams and later Montana and Nobilo but if you didn't cosy up to your wholesaler you missed out.
Nowadays there are so many good examples of New Zealand and Australian wine that, because of standardisation, bulk production, wine-swapping amongst companies and professional winemakers and viticulturists changing companies and moving about, are often, at the commercial price points, virtually the same. A wine writer talking about XYZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc could just as well be recommending ZYX Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Often it doesn't matter.

Blah, blah, blah

Unfortunately if a wine writer today was to talk about a particularly good French, Italian, Spanish or American wine the chances are that you will never find it to buy. The supermarket chains won't be stocking it. The Wholesale/retail chains of yesteryear are not interested and, if you live in Northland, Southland or most major regions outside of Auckland or Wellington you won't be handy to the 'specialist' importer/retailer who has it.
OK. Back to the premise. To be legitimate as a wine writer, wine commentator or wine critic today it is no longer adequate to just mention wine names and companies and rate them by stars, points or grades, there is something else needed. This is information but with some excitement added. There is only so much room for the academic approach and this is very ably covered by the likes of Michael cooper and Bob Campbell (and, for the good aspect of esoteric - Geoff Kelly). Stories, experiences and fun is what we want, not endless lists of 'what I tried with dinner; who I was talking to; who wants or has paid to have their bloody name/brand/company in my publication type of stuff. Give me more of Sue Courtney's ramblings or even Keith Stewart's acerbic exposes. What I am really looking for is an A.A. Gill type writer to be based in New Zealand and stir us all up.

CARDS ON THE TABLE

2011-09-13T18:28:00.001+12:00

I have had a love affair with wine for nearly 40 years and am still learning about the subject.

Years ago my wines of choice were French wines and in particular those from Bordeaux. These represented all that was great, noble, traditional and aspirational in the world of wine. Admittedly, at the time (70's into the 80's) this was largely the case as the great wines of Italy and Spain were not available and USA, Australia, New Zealand and other contenders hadn't properly hit their straps. I would buy First, Second and Third Growth Bordeaux at ridiculously cheap prices to taste, put away and sell later and freely drink Fourth and Fifth Growth Bordeaux as everyday wines. These lesser (classified) wines such as Talbot, Beychevelle, Batailley, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Branaire-Ducru, Lafon-Rochet etc. were cheap as chips then but now cost an arm and a leg to buy. As prices started to go ballistic after the bloody Americans started to discover good wine (the new price growth now being stimulated by the Chinese), Bordeaux invented the 'Petit Chateaux' marketing idea whereby the previous negotiants and shippers 'Clarets' assumed grandiose names of past and fictitious Chateaux and even down to the "La Plume de Ma Tante" degree.
The top wines became more expensive as did the lesser wines and the newly introduced 'Chateaux' wines instead of filling a gap actually turned a lot of potential new Bordeaux entrant drinkers off and they went to other geographical regions for their Cabernets and Merlots.

I was guilty of the "It must be good as it is a classified French wine" thinking for many years and have fond, imprinted memories of the lovely First, Second and Third Growth Bordeaux wines that I've drunk. I have actively supported the development of the New Zealand wine industry both as a consumer and as a driver and have experienced some great 'Bordeaux-type' varietals from Hawkes Bay and Waiheke. In the past these were relatively scarce and very vintage dependant. I am very happy now that the wines are plentiful and, with better clonal selection, site selection, viticultural and winemaking advances we can see consistently good examples coming through. They are becoming so plentiful that those bastard supermarkets can now get their hands on them and discount the fuck out of them. Shame? Yes if it leads to the downward engineering that we have seen with our Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs but no if it encourages Kiwis to experiment and discover what is on offer.

Today I opened an Esk Valley Gimblett Gravels Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2009. This wine's normal price is between $20 and $30 but I bought it at a supermarket a couple of months ago at way less than $20. It is great. Lovely colour and fresh plum and cherry nose. The taste is full and rich and lingering and well supported by good wood. Bloody good! Trying it while preparing dinner I thought back to the Bordeaux wines I was drinking 'everyday' in the 70's and 80's and felt that quality-wise it is above the Fourth and Fifth Growth wines (that are now in the $80 plus area) and more akin to wines like Kirwan, Giscours and Lagrange that are Third Growth Bordeaux and command prices in the hundreds now.
Fashion, snobbishness, scarcity and uniqueness all lead to higher pricing but in reality, if a glass of Esk Valley Gimblett Gravels Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2009 was put beside a glass of Chateau Kirwan 2008 or 2009 I don't think that it would be embarrassed.

BACK TO BASICS

2011-08-29T18:50:00.001+12:00

I haven't had the chance to experiment with my Chardonnay doctoring over the last week (see: here) as,

1. I have drunk some top notch Chardonnay,
2. Her Indoors opened a really good Pinot Noir and,
3. She opened a nice Riesling for me yesterday as I was languishing in a hot bath after a major stint of gardening followed by 11 holes of golf.

I am finishing the Riesling tonight and wondering why the hell I have neglected Riesling over the last year. A few years ago I decided that Riesling was to be my Summer wine of choice. This was because,

1. I had grown tired of drinking Chardonnay all the time
2. Cheap Chardonnays weren't cutting it
3. Riesling is more refreshing in the warmer seasons and
4. New Zealand makes the consistently best Rieslings in the world (see: here).

The Riesling I am drinking is Brancott Estate Reserve Waipara Riesling 2010.
There are a few good things going on for a start with this description (sorry about the lists).

1. Brancott (the artist formerly known as Montana is a long established wine company in New Zealand with great expertise in Riesling amongst other leading varietals.
2. Reserve suggests a notch up from the commercial offering
3. Waipara is arguably the best region in New Zealand for Riesling (and Pinot Noir)
4. Riesling is one of the best grape varietals in the world and New Zealand excels in its production
5. 2010 guarantees that the wine is fresh and not a 'failed export order' that has been sitting around for a while (although of all the varietals New Zealand produces Riesling is probably the most long lived) and,
6. (not on the label) I bought the wine on special at about $11 when the 'normal' price is well over $20.

The wine is a teat. The usual citrus character of South Island Riesling is enhanced by a fleshy nectarine and luscious mouth-feel. All the good mineral edges are there and the nose is elegant and definitely floral. It is amazingly fresh and no doubt will hold this for a couple of years because of the lime/acid undertone. I think I'll buy some more to see how it develops over say 4 or 5 years.

SCOTSMAN'S CHARDONNAY

2011-08-24T12:11:00.000+12:00

I love wine. I drink it as my alcoholic beverage of choice, collect good bottles and have made a career of it. I have visited many of the world's famous wine regions and producers and tasted a good cross section of what the world offers in wine. I understand how it is made and the different teqhniques leading to the quality differences. I am not precious about it though and refuse to be reverential about it. I have drunk for example Le Montrachet, Chateau Petrus and Krug Le Mesnil and many other wines that cost over a thousand dollars a bottle in today's currency but know that most of the cost is bound up in hype, scarcity and fashion as well as a fair bit of usury. I often blend wines together at home, freeze and thaw it and do things with it like aerating a new bottle by pouring into a jug and back into the bottle, that 'aficionados' may well scoff at. No matter. I've been in enough wineries to know that at bottom, wine is a mass produced commodity that gets pumped and poured from barrel to tank and back again through big black hoses. The consumer who pays hundreds of dollars a bottle never sees this and most likely believes all the advertising and PR hype that shows chatting peasant women hand filling bottles and carefully applying labels.

A new initiative that I have taken to is to try and replicate oak fermentation and oak maturing of Chardonnay. I like good barrel fermented Chardonnay particularly from Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. A good one that has also been aged in new oak will cost in the high twenties and thirties which, for everyday drinking is beyond me. There is some great Chardonnay fruit being grown in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay but the cost of perfecting it through barrel fermentation and ageing is usually disastrous to cash flow with no guarantee of sale at the end.

The result is a lot of unwooded styles and 'lightly oaked' styles coming out. Unwooded Chardonnay has been promoted over the last 20 years as a fresh and stimulating expression of the fruit. What crap. Chardonnay needs some wood structure to temper out the acidity. The 'lightly oaked' style generally means that the wine was put in some old barrels that no longer have any vanillan character left or some oak chips, beans or planks were dropped into the tanks at some stage. The cheap Chardonnays that result generally have good fruit expression but are lacking in silkiness, spice, creaminess and vanillin character. Vanilla is the result of phenols from the wood reacting with the wine with a flavour perception similar to the vanilla bean (that is used in ice-cream and various cuisine).The lignins in the wood contribute also to tannin influence and the various 'toastings' of barrels impart other flavours like chocolate and coffee but for this exercise I am concentrating on Vanilla.
Last night I opened a nice simple Chardonnay that I had bought via Blackmarket (the excellent internet site that deals in surplus wines direct from wineries). The wine is Overstone from Sileni in Hawkes Bay. At about $9 a bottle it represents good value but is quite simple. The Hawkes Bay Chardonnay fruit is good but needs a little bit of lift. I poured two glasses and in one I dropped a tiny (about 6 mm) length of vanilla bean.

The vanilla bean had the immediate effect of softening the wine and imparting a little bit of flavour not unlike barrel influence and adding a bit of sweetness. The difference between the two glasses was striking with the vanilla doctored one tasting much superior to the plain one. I will continue to experiment along these lines. Meanwhile this gives me something else to look weird with at parties and restaurants. I sometimes drop a copper coin into a glass of wine that has excess sulphur. I blend together two glasses of wine if neither are satisfactory and I pour a newly opened screw-cap wine into a jug before pouring it back into the bottle - this freshens up the wine when needed. All of this gets some odd looks from wine waiters and neighbouring tables. Now I can add my vanilla bean to the mix.

ARSEHOLES

2011-08-23T10:55:00.004+12:00

I love wine and the wine industry. I have been fortunate to meet many nice industry people over the years, many whom I count as friends. Like any industry though or any society there are bound to be some arseholes. These sphincters seem to have become more numerous with the more recent developments in the industry - the massive growth of production, drive to market wines through supermarkets, the Americans going international....

In another blog Valley Girl reminisced about South African wines and how her parents used to enjoy them. At one time South African wines competed pretty well with wines from other countries and, in New Zealand before the rebirth of our industry, they were actually better. The (then) big robust reds and refreshing sparkling wines were more than a match for our skinny reds and cloying bubblies. After sanctions against South African imports were lifted there was a flood of South African wines, many of them under the old familiar labelling that were picked up quickly by consumers. It did not take long though for consumers to realise that while New Zealand and the rest of the world had moved on in terms of technology and quality improvement the South African wines had not. Initially there was clearance of older vintage wines that had been sitting in tanks and barrels awaiting an export chance and then there were the newer wines that clearly showed viticultural and winemaking faults. Average prices gradually slipped down to the point where now South African offerings in supermarkets are generally in the sub $8 segment. Is this fair? Yes, as the wines are bland, over-produced and generally ordinary. There are some very well made wines in from South Africa but like our best are expensive and rarely seen.

So what about the arseholes?

When sanctions were lifted and the familiar brands came back into New Zealand I was lucky enough to be marketing the leading brand. I say lucky because there was great enthusiasm around the exercise from the brand owners who generously invested; from the trade who were very supportive and got behind some very big promotions; and from consumers who bought up in style. The wines were ordinary apart from some very rare and special ones that we imported but the people that I dealt with were great. I saw the good side of South African people and almost to a man or woman these were the English South Africans. A few years later the South African company was taken over by a larger South African company and things rapidly changed. The people that we used to deal with were all 'disappeared' and new management showed itself. This was the Boer or Afrikaans type of South African with the worst being members of the Broederbond. The Broederbond was a religious cult type movement that had the objective of creating a common Christian nationalistic identity for all white Afrikaans speaking South Africans. Sound familiar? Yes, they were (and are) like the proponents of the 'Volk movement' or National Socialism in Germany in the 30's and 40's.

The Broederbonds introduced the idea of Volkskaptalisme or 'People's Capitalism' (so long as the 'people' weren't Black, British or Jewish. While the movement did not grow as large as they had hoped they still managed to create some of South Africa's biggest corporate giants and have a strong role today in government and commerce.

The first time I learned about the Broederbond was when I met the new management group of the merged South African wine company. This was in New Zealand. We tended to be reasonably informal in our meetings which had up until this one been relaxed and pleasant occasions. This Broederbond bunch were dressed like The Men in Black - all severe black suits, starched white collars, slick black briefcases and demeanour to match. They were stiff, rude and unfriendly.

The meetings did not go well and while we marketed their brands for a few more years the fun had gone out of it. We were relieved when they finally took them away from us. By this time the volumes had dwindled and the quality had definitely slipped so it was no big deal. I did miss the camaraderie we had with the previous management though.

OLD TREASURES

2011-08-17T16:49:00.000+12:00

It was bitterly cold yesterday so I had the fire blazing away nicely and thought that a wee dram wouldn't go amiss. I pulled out some old bottles from the back of the cupboard and came across one that I had forgotten about. It is Glen Mist Whiskey Liqueur made by Savermo in Ireland. This was bottled in the 1940's I think. The brand later became Irish Mist which is still going. It is an Irish equivalent of Drambuie or Glayva. I have had the bottle for a long time, acquiring it with some other old bottles of whisky and liqueurs about 25 years ago. The liqueur inside is still drinking well, a rich mix of whiskey, honey and herbs. It is 70 proof. The back label says that it is made from the finest reserve whiskeys and I assume that these are Irish Malt Whiskies. There is certainly a pronounced woody character which supports this as simple grain whiskey would not have had the barrel ageing that good malts have. I checked on the internet and discovered that rare bottles of this sell for 250 pounds sterling and upwards. Unfortunately mine is open and there is only half a bottle left.

POOR MAN'S GRANGE

2011-08-15T20:37:00.000+12:00

.... or also known as Baby Grange is Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz.
I was lucky enough to have been brand manager in New Zealand for Penfolds wines in the mid 1980's. I had been retailing the brand for quite a few years previous to this and knew and respected it well. I remember drinking a lot of Grange Hermitage (Penfolds top label) in the late 70's and early 80's when it was about $10 to $15 a bottle. Today a new vintage costs over $600 and older vintages can cost more. I stopped buying and drinking Grange in quantity in the late 80's and early 90's because it had become too expensive ($80 to $100) apart from the odd top vintage and looked more to St Henri and Bin 389 which were way cheaper and had many of the same characteristics. Bin 389 which used to be about $10 to $20 has now crept up in price a lot and can be seen to be selling in the high '60's but, as the brand is now owned by Fosters is subject to crazy discounts and can be judiciously bought for much less.
On the weekend when I was fossicking in the cellar I dragged out a couple of bottles of 1998 Bin 389.
I opened one tonight to see how it was developing and was pleasantly surprised. It has heaps of life in it yet. It is rich and plummy with a lovely silky, edgy taste, a complex fruit and spice (with some menthol) nose and still has a deep dark colour. Not bad for a 13 y.o. wine that cost about $18 when I bought it.

Her Indoors is in Auckland this week so I cooked for one. I had some red cod fillets in the freezer so thought that a teriyaki fish and rice dish would do. I dusted the bite-size fish pieces in flour, lemon pepper and lemon grass and quickly pan-fried them. Once cooked (they cook quickly) I added teriyaki sauce, ginger and garlic to the pan and gave it a stir around. This was put on top of fluffy rice with a bit of mayonnaise. Delicious. I know that some purists may be shocked - red wine with fish, red wine with a spicy asian dish etc. but believe me the aged, plummy, spicy and fruity flavours of the wine went perfectly with the teriyaki fish dish.

Don't worry, be happy.

LENTIL SOUP AND COONAWARRA CABERNET

2011-08-13T19:09:00.002+12:00

"Lentil soup for dinner tonight my love" called Her Indoors. I mumbled something inaudible thinking that of all the things we might have on a Saturday night, lentils was not on the list. Whenever I hear of lentils I think of Neil from The Young Ones

As it turned out the lentil soup was delicious. It was so delicious that I asked Her Indoors to give it another name so that next time she makes it I might be a bit more enthusiastic. Her lentil soup consists of a base of lentils obviously, soaked overnight with canned tomato, home-made chicken stock, fresh ginger, garlic and red chillies. It was served with crusty oven baked bread rolls and lashings of butter (well, Logicol).

We opened a wine from the cellar. Looking for a good red I found a bottle of Rosemount Show Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 that I thought had been long gone. I was not expecting a lot from the wine given that it was 17 years old and Coonawarra wines are not renowned for long ageing but I was pleasantly surprised. On opening the nose was all chocolate and coffee but with a bit of breathing the fruit developed into a nice cassis nose and the initial greenness while not totally disappearing ( a Coonawarra trait) the palate rounded out to reveal rich sweet fruit. This wine was good when I first bought it but I never expected it to last so long. What a treat.

MONKEYING AROUND

2011-08-10T17:54:00.002+12:00

Constellation has changed the label of Monkey Bay.
The original label took the market by storm with its clean background with a striking green image and the curve-cut with strong black background. This was all done to dramatically stand out on shelf and table and proved to be a phenomenal success. Ok, I am close to it and it is a favourite but ... it worked.

The brand team at Constellation changed the label because (I quote from an e-mail I received):

" Essentially because we were getting lots of comments that the old label made the wine look a bit cheap and gimmicky"

I wonder what aspect of 'critter-branding', 'commercial propositions' and 'cheap and cheerful' they don't understand.
They changed the label to this:

Now I understand branding and the need to refresh labels, logos and images but they should all be positive and forward steps not regressive. The new label while clean and tidy has lost the strong image and replaced it with a weak sketch. The loss of curve in the label and dumping of the strong black background has weakened impact.

But I could be wrong.

A WARM GLOW

2011-07-31T13:52:00.000+12:00

Winter in the North is not at all like the Christchurch and Wellington winters that I have known but can occasionally get cold. We have had a cold snap (down to 13 degree days and 5 degree nights) which while not exactly requiring snow shoes and wooly jackets has driven us to putting the fire on.
Yesterday, after doing some gardening chores I chopped some wood and prepared the fire for later. Later, towards dinner-time I lit the fire and we discussed what wine we would drink. Chardonnay just wasn't going to cut it so Pinot Noir was on the agenda. Then, looking at the fire with the cosy glow I changed my mind, went down to the cellar and brought back a bottle of E&E Black Pepper Shiraz 2000.

This is one of Australia's greats, a fine Barossa Valley shiraz sourced from very old vines, carefully selected and given the full 'bells and whistles' winemaking treatment. The winemakers recommendation for drinking is 'up to 10 years'. At 11 years this wine has just started to hit its straps. The rich sweet fruit is beautifully balanced by the big vanillan oak and the 'black pepper' character is evident but not too pronounced. The wine has softened without losing its power and has not yet become sappy. This was a beautiful accompaniment to a rich soup and hot bread rolls before the fire.

IN TRAINING

2011-07-10T17:06:00.001+12:00

We've all heard of the French paradox - the fact that despite a seemingly unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle the French manage to have lower cardio-vascular events than the norm and that this has been put down to the high red wine consumption. Well now medical science has identified a compound that is described as "exercise in a bottle". The June 2011 study, published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal claims that resveratol found in wine, could slow the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle like insulin resistance and loss of bone mineral density. It also hinders the storage of fat and clogged coronary arteries. The study discovered this when looking at the effects on the body of astronauts in sedentary situations. They experimented with rats and mice and those given doses of resveratol did not demonstrate the negative aspects of lying around and doing nothing all day. One glass of red wine contains 1 mg of resveratol, which while less than dietary supplements is considered to be beneficial.

In other studies, red wine has been seen to assist the body in weight loss by:

The regulation of ingested fats and ensuring that the fats in the body are polyunsaturated and have lesser effect of accumulation of lipids and ensuring that lipids are of low density;
Red wine helps the body's cardio-vascular system by placing the body in a condition of higher metabolism where the muscles and organs demand more energy;
Red wine also provides the body with nutrients like manganese, potassium and calcium which are useful in the functioning and forming of body tissues, cells and bones.

In short, moderate consumption of red wine apes physical exercise which does the above.

I'll have a large glass please.

BIG OF THEM

2011-07-04T17:10:00.001+12:00

The manufacturers and importers of that crap cannabis substitute under its many guises have agreed to 'voluntarily' test their product before putting it on sale to the public.
What a crock of shit. Responsible food producers and importers in New Zealand have had to comply with the Food Act for years and, before putting anything on sale including wine have had to comply with the regulations set out by NZFSA. If these were not followed then your product would not be stocked by licensed retailers. This posturing by Matt Bowden, the spokesperson for the 'Synthetic Cannabis Industry"! just shows to me how bloody weak this country is in enforcing laws and regulations that already exist. Hard-working winemakers have complied and, in face of severe government censure and lack of support (have you seen how much the excise tax has been raised by?) have duly done the right thing. Meanwhile these fly-by-night bastards merrily peddle their crap to our kids and the intellectually challenged and when they do get pulled up say "Oh, sorry, we will govern ourselves OK?" Well its not OK. OK?

WORLD FAMOUS IN NEW ZEALAND

2011-06-26T15:47:00.002+12:00

Now don't think from the previous post that I do not like the other wine styles that New Zealand produces. I am holding to the belief that the health and success of the industry at this critical time is dependant on continuing the momentum of exports with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and to not get bored with this. France took centuries to establish reputation and awareness of their particular wine styles as did Italy and Spain. Australia and USA took many decades to do the same. Splitting this effort can be dangerous unless the experimental and new varietals are limited to a 'cottage industry' size and used to make cellar door experiences interesting.
New Zealand makes really good Chardonnay, Merlots and Cabernets, Syrah, Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers. I love drinking these and prefer to drink these wine styles from New Zealand than any other country but.... they will not make much of a dent in the export market and it will cost a fortune to do so at the same time as confusing the market and interrupting the growth of the aforementioned Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

That said, last night we opened and drank a superb wine. It was Mills Reef Elspeth One 2005, a Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot blend from Gimblett Gravels Hawkes Bay. It was of a deep red colour and fair bursting with flavours of blackcurrant and rich fruit cake. The Syrah gave it a nice spicy white pepper character and the Bordeaux varietals balanced it out with cigar box and minty tones. The finish was all class with a rich fruit and soft tannins. Wow! This was beautiful. Its not a cheap wine, it cost me $79 a couple of years back but I'm going to look for more in wine-shops. If there was a world market for wines like this from New Zealand this would be in the lead.

HERE WE GO....AGAIN.

2011-06-23T17:34:00.000+12:00

Some New Zealand wine producers are getting excited over Gruner Veltliner and are seriously considering marketing the rubbish. Why? Because some dickhead Americans have discovered it and are drinking it. Gruner Veltliner is an Austrian grape varietal that makes insipid, boring wine. It has a thick skin (like the Austrians) and is rather acid (like the Austrians) see:

http://nzwineguy.blogspot.com/2010/12/sieg.html

What is wrong with these jokers? They always want the next best thing. Is this a New Zealand characteristic? Do we always have to have everything new? We have hardly started up our industry (compared to other countries) and are still perfecting Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay and the Bordeaux varietals. Of these Sauvignon Blanc is the major opportunity followed by Pinot Noir and maybe Syrah. Why piss about with anything else, particularly third rate winestyles. You'd think that they would have learned from the experimentation with Viognier, Arneis and Pinot Gris. Now admittedly Pinot Gris has taken off in New Zealand but it has hardly dented the international market and really is just a fancier form of Muller Thurgau which dominated the New Zealand industry in the 70's and 80's. Splitting the effort into a whole lot of useless varieties will return us to the fruit salad mentality that producers had years ago where they tried to grow everything including hybrids (Baco 1A, Baco 22A etc) and some very ordinary and tasteless Chasselas, Palomino and others. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noitr is the way to go. Support that for the local market with Syrah, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurtzrtraminer and Bordeaux varietals and work to improve them. Sheesh!

BAD IDEAS DON'T GO AWAY ....

2011-06-18T18:17:00.001+12:00

........ But naive Americans often 'discover' them.

This from Daily Wine News.

Some U.S. wine producers are shipping wine in kegs, instead of bottles to restaurants and bars. They say, for consumers it should mean better wines at cheaper prices.

"I got the idea from my trip to Italy," said Chris Hall, general manager and co-owner of the Long Meadow Ranch winery in Napa California. He uses 19-liter, stainless steel kegs to serve his organic wines at his tasting room and to ship them to restaurants.

"In Italy, it is not uncommon to have good wine on draft in a casual restaurant. It's how they pour it into a carafe. And the real surprise to me was how good the wine was. There wasn't really any pretence about it. It was good, honest wine," Hall said.

To push the wine from the keg they use a blend of nitrogen and CO2. Hoping to not make the glassful too gassy.

Good luck.

This was done in New Zealand in the 1980s and 1990’s by Penfolds (part of Montana). The wine served was gassy, watered down crap.

Montana, who had taken over Penfolds (NZ) used the Penfolds name for bulk wines, not wanting to taint the Montana 'reputation'

Back to USA.

“Jean-Charles Boisset, whose family owns vineyards in both France and California, is using a traditional container, French oak wine barrels, to ship wine directly to consumers as well as restaurants from both his DeLoach and Raymond Vineyards. The barrels contain a plastic bladder, much like box wines, that can hold up to 10-liters or nearly 70 glasses of either Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon.”

Sounds like a big bag in the box idea to me. Chain restaurants, pubs and clubs used to do this in new Zealand with 10 and 20 litre boxes. The wine was crap. Consumers eventually voted with their feet. Today wine in a box offerings are only found in RSA’s and Cosmopolitan clubs in outlying towns like Nuova Lazio.

“Whether keg or barrel, the larger formats eliminate the risk of a corked bottle, protect against oxidation and reduce both packaging and the carbon footprint, according to the wine producers.”

This is a bullshit way of saying “We know we should have converted to screwcap wines years ago like New Zealand did but were too arrogant and now are suffering the consequences but our arrogance (and the conversion costs now) preclude us from doing it.

BEWARE GREEKS BEARING GIFTS

2011-06-05T17:35:00.000+12:00

Not that we were Greek of course although Tony had a Greek friend who had a moustache. She was his girlfriend. The 'Greeks' in question were Tony, Richard, Robert, Noel, Mike and I and the 'gifts' were crates of out of condition beer. At the wholesalers where Richard, Tony, Robert and I worked, there would be from time to time, old beer that had to be thrown away. Beer generally has a shelf life of 6 to 9 months depending on brewing methods, colour of the glass bottle, storage methods etc. In this case the beer was about two years old and had been stored in a warm part of the warehouse so was actually stuffed. It was quite cloudy and a glassful looked like one of those snowstorm globes when shaken. Management told us to tip the beer down the drain and recycle the bottles. We decided that there was a much better use for it. Parties. Or, more accurately, entry into parties. Arriving at the door of strangers didn't always guarantee ease of entry to the party. Arriving at the door of strangers with several dozen bottles of beer in your arms was like having a royal invitation.

The beer in question was Bass which was brewed in New Zealand under special licence by Waikato Breweries. It tasted pretty dreadful under normal conditions but in its cloudy state was liable to give the drinker the runs (and I'm not talking athletics here).

The other beer was also made by Waikato Breweries and it was named Brew 22. I wasn't long on the market and probably led to the demise of many a drinker whether it was fresh or not.

Of the two we would have chosen Bass to drink if we had been silly enough to drink either.
The beer was a means of gaining entry to the parties. We would bring it in to shouts and cheers of approval and dump it in a corner of the kitchen or wash-house at the party venue (usually a student flat). We would then go about drinking any other beverages (wines, beers, spirits, liqueurs, Baby Cham) we weren't fussy until it was time to leave. Generally, after a couple of hours, it was impossible and inadvisable to use the toilet in the house as it was invariably being used and with a queue outside of diarrhetic party-goers. I guess they always blamed the party food and not the 'Typhoid Mary's' who had brought the refreshments.

Happy days!

ONE BOTTLE PARTY

2011-03-26T17:53:00.000+13:00

Years ago, about 1984 I had a flat in Onehunga. It was a neat little two bedroom villa (one bedroom for me, the other bedroom for the wine cellar). As a kind of housewarming I aked some friends to come around and not to bring anything as I had a bottle of wine to open. Some were sceptical and brought along a bottle of wine or some beer anyway but they needn't have. The bottle of wine I had was an Imperial - 6 litres (8 bottles) of Claret (Bordeaux). It was a good BBQ/party with enough red wine to get everyone happy. The wine as I remember was pretty good. It wasn't a top Bordeaux, it was a shippers label but still had richness and depth. Wine in large containers keeps and ages better than in smaller bottles.

I wish it had been this Imperial of 1947 Cheval Blanc

I'VE HAD ENOUGH...

2011-03-15T20:53:00.001+13:00

.... of drinking cheap wine.
Over the last year I have taken to seeking out cheaper variants of my favourite tipple - wine. I have pounced on supermarket 'wine sale' offers, scoured the internet for best deals and dropped my expectations as to what my wine of choice delivers. All OK to a point and I have sometimes enjoyed the discoveries. I have even written enthusiastically in previous post about some of them. Overall though it has been somewhat disappointing. A couple of months ago I made the decision to drink less and drink better. I have cut down my wine consumption by a half and increased the cost of the individual bottles I drink by roughly twice. I have a good selection of cognacs, malt whiskies and various other interesting liqueurs at home but hardly ever touch them and rarely drink beer other than the refreshing one after a round of golf or a period in the garden so my alcohol intake has been reduced by half as well. It is pretty much as what I have always believed and known - that well made wine from careful vineyard selection, low cropping and with the use of the correct techniques and materials delivers an intensity of flavour and character that cannot be replicated by mass production. I guess I have been spoiled over the last 30 odd years by my access to some of the world's greatest wines but hey, life is short we should enjoy what we like. I think I'll give cutting down to a third consumption and increasing the average cost by a factor of three a go. This of course might put a dent in the cognac and whisky stocks and might necessitate buying a bottle of Tia Maria or Kahlua and a bottle of vodka to make 'The Dude's' White Russians but its worth a go.

'The Dude' Lebowski

NORTHLAND CULTURE

2011-03-13T19:22:00.000+13:00

Northland gets a bad rap. Admittedly a lot of it is deserved with tourists getting their vans stolen or broken into, newspaper reports of violence and recidivist drink driving and of course the electric puha.

But Northland has a hell of a lot of other things to offer. For one it is beautiful. The Bay of Islands, Whangarei Heads, beaches, coves, forests, towns and even Whangarei itself with its parks, gardens and waterfront are well worth a visit and a stay.

Yesterday we went to the 15th Opera in the Garden, a wonderful event held on an avocado orchard at Glenbervie just outside of Whangarei.

This event, put on by Opera North raises money for charities, in this case Hospice and showcases local talent with a couple of guest artists. This years guest artist was the incomparable Helen Medlyn. What a star! We have seen her perform before in NBR NZ Opera performances but seeing her on stage here was great. She performed some excellent operatic pieces (Flower Duet from Lakme, Habanera from Carmen, Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffman etc) and, in the second half showed another side with a selection of Noel Coward numbers. The woman has talent that's for sure and engages the audience superbly. It was a great day out with a wonderful setting in the gardens of the Kennaways on their avocado orchard with hot and sunny weather. We didn't take any wine as drinking during the day under the sun is not advisable , taking sparkling water (soda stream at home is a great investment) and eating Central Otago peaches.

THE BOYS WILL BE BOYS WILL BE BOY-OY-OYZ

2011-03-08T13:39:00.001+13:00

I went to Auckland on the weekend to meet up with Geoff and to go and see Roxy Music perform at Villa Maria winery. It was well worth it.

I liked Roxy Music in the early '70's. They had the combination of sophistication with a bit of an edge. The band and style of music preceded the New Romantic period by about 10 years and was a refreshing alternative to the (very good) R&B and rock music that was prevalent in 1972 and thereabouts. I had seen Brian Ferry perform a couple of years ago and, while still pretty good was overshadowed by Joan Armitrading who shared the bill. Geoff convinced me to go to the Roxy Music show because the original band members (drummer, guitarist and saxophonist) were going to be there. I'm glad that I did. The show was pretty good. The performances were just as I remember from the early albums and time and experience have only improved the musicianship of Andy Mackay (saxophone) and Phil Manzanera (guitar). New additions to the band (saxophonist and percussionist, keyboards and guitar) underscored the original artists and helped not hindered. The only downside was a pre-recorded film sequence that overrode the big screen images of the band. I would rather have seen the band members rather than the film sequences (especially the nubile dancers at the back of the stage. Sue (of RBB) would call me a creep for saying that but hey - I'm male OK?).
The early acts were Nathan Hayes and his band including his brother on guitar and then Don McGlashan. Both were superb and demonstrate what talent we have in New Zealand. On one of McGlasan's extended numbers Haines joined in on saxophone and it was magic. The setting was Villa Maria's Mangere winery and vineyards. There is a natural bowl formed by a volcanic crater where they set up a big sound stage.

We sat on the grass bank under some trees (it had been raining heavily on Saturday and early Sunday so bad weather was threatening). Fortunately the rain held off even though it got a bit cold. I was dressed in my Northland gear - shorts and Hawaiian shirt - but being a bloke wouldn't admit I was a bit cold and getting inquisitive stares from wimpy Aucklanders who were kitted out in jackets and hats.
Roxy started out a bit limp but three songs in played a stunning rendition of If There Is Something from their first album which was a great vehicle for McKay and Manzanera to do their magic. For the next couple of hours we were treated to some Roxy Music classics and good Brian Ferry cover versions (Jealous Guy, Like a Hurricane) that were better than the recorded versions. Later they played some of the dance hits from later albums which got the women up dancing.

This didn't bother me for a change as, being on a sloping bank the inconsiderate tarts didn't obscure my view. The audience age spread was fifties, forties and thirties. There didn't seem to be many young ones. Roxy Music relaesed their early stuff in the very early 70's, disbanded, rejoined and progressively released stuff in the late '70's and '80's all up over a 15 year period. This was shown in the audience demographic.

Being a concert at a winery the wine offering was good. They sold White label, Cellar Selection and Reserve wines. We opted for a bottle of Reserve Marlborough Pinot Noir 2009 and a bottle of Reserve Marlborough Chardonnay 2007 (we came by bus) and these were as you would expect, very good. The Chardonnay was still very much alive with a great balance of fruit, wood and nice leesy character. The Pinot Noir was a fruit bomb that needs time but was just the thing to drink as it was darkening and becoming colder. It was a great night out catching up with an old friend.

HAVING A SENIOR MOMENT.

2011-02-05T19:03:00.000+13:00

Today I bought half a dozen bottles of Hardy's Chardonnay from Pak 'n' Save at $6.89 a bottle. This is a very good price for an OK Chardonnay. The wine is luscious and peachy and although it lacks any woody structure and backbone is at least clean which can't be said for some of the $10 NZ offerings I've drunk recently. This used to be Richard (of RBB) and Shelley's wine of choice. I think that they have moved on from it now but, if they return they won't be disappointed. No, buying this wine was not the senior moment even though I have a long history with this wine. I identified the gap in the market for Hardy's fifteen years ago for a 'consumer chardonnay', selected the label and launched the product which grew into a 2 million bottle brand, half of which was Chardonnay. It has declined in volume a bit now but I'm pleased to see that the wine is good and honest and over-delivers at this price that's for sure. No, the senior moment was paying for the wine at Pak 'n' Save, carefully packing it into a small carton (at Pak 'n' save as the name suggests you have to pack your own groceries) and then walking out with the 7 corn cobs (for $5) that I had also bought leaving the wine behind. I was almost to the car before an alert shop assistant chased me out with the wine. I made excuses and said that it had been a long day etc., accepted the wine and shamefacedly left.

WINETERRA

2011-01-23T18:28:00.000+13:00

Hands up who's heard of problems in the New Zealand wine industry?

After a sensational entrance on to the world market 30 years ago we are now seeing some cracks. Most of these are due to poor planning and a 'rush of blood to the head' of new entrants. New Zealand still, even with phenomenal growth, only represents less than 1% of the world wine market. This in the main is represented by one varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, and from one area - Marlborough. I know, I know that we also produce some good Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux blends, Syrah and others but in terms of viable export markets Sauvignon Blanc is the king. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has attained the reputation as the best country of origin to consistently produce the best example of the varietal. So. What's the problem? The problem is that there are nearly 700 wine companies in New Zealand a good proportion of them wanting a share of the export market growth. Across the hundreds chasing the same markets and channels there is a great range of quality, consistency and value. Most of the new entrants will not make it having already over-stretched themselves financially to buy land, plant grapes, build buildings and then invest in bottling the final product - they have nothing left to market that product. Marketing the product in the long run is the highest cost. A lot of the 'rush of blood to the head' producers have been hell bent on manufacturing a cute product without properly planning the outcome. Put simply they make and bottle the wine and then look around for a market, an importer, a distributor, a wholesaler and customers. They are out in their planning by at least 2 years and at most 4 years. It takes that long to set up relationships, talk up demand of a brand, set in place support programmes etc. and all this has to be done way in advance of the product being ready to ship.

There is a surplus of wine, particularly Sauvignon Blanc in the sense of there being a lot of unsold wine in wine companies warehouses and in tanks. There is in reality though a shortage of sauvignon Blanc for the world market for the right brands, the right channels and at the right price points. Why is this? Basically too many producers have tried to cash in on the opportunity and most are too small to have efficiencies of scale, continuity of supply, proper quality controls and consistency of product, access to markets and distributors and the breadth and scale to properly market a brand in distant markets. It is not sufficient to make a single trip to set up distribution nor is one trip a year enough. To properly work a market, any market, requires either someone representing the company and brand to be in market or visit several times a year. Small companies cannot afford to do this. What is the answer? Perhaps looking at New Zealand's biggest export earner might give an insight. Fonterra is a massive coop company formed by a merger of two of the largest dairy co-operatives and the NZ Dairy Board. Since the late 1800's the New Zealand dairy industry was made up of co-operatives.

Small farmers could produce milk but could not afford the machinery and the marketing costs to take it much beyond the farm gate. Co-operatives allowed then to grow at minimal risk and at lower costs due to amortisation of processing and marketing and distribution costs. Over time the many co-operatives were swallowed up by bigger ones to the ultimate result of there being mainly one large (and successful) one. The wine industry needs to do something similar. A few strong brands, created and controlled by a Wine Industry marketing board with ownership into it by all wine producers is a common sense solution. It doesn't mean that the individual wine producers cannot still run their own brands and boutique offerings in addition at higher price points but the co-operative should be the one to drive the New Zealand proposition in all markets at the commercial price points necessary to gain volume ($9.99 US, 5 pounds UK, $12 NZ and $12 Australian.

I predict that this model will develop in say 10 to 20 years time but there will still be a lot of pain to go through before then.

UNCOMMON

2011-01-22T10:21:00.001+13:00

We went to The King's Speech last night. Man what a good film this is and it is good to see that the film industry can still make stuff like this as a counterpoint to all the Bruce Willis, Angeline Jolie and Tom Cruise trash that Hollywood churns out. Colin Firth's acting is so good you don't see him as Firth the actor. It is totally riveting. At one point in the film his character the Duke of York (later to be George VI) says, when Logue the speech therapist challenges him to a shilling bet "I don't carry money actually".
This reminded me of years ago when I went to a week-long conference (in Bali of all places) with Remy Cointreau Group the French drinks company. At one stage I was shopping with Dominique Heriard Dubreuil the daughter of the company's leader who was later to become CEO and is now Chairman of the group and rated apparently the 42nd most influential woman in the world. She is a nice and very smart woman but I was struck at the time at how unworldly she was. She was looking at some gold jewellery and asked me if the price they were asking for a necklace in a boutique was correct or not. Me! I said that I don't usually buy gold, what would she normally spend. She said that she never carries money, the bills for what she buys are always sent on! How the other half live eh?

CATCH A FALLING STAR....

2011-01-06T18:38:00.000+13:00

A giant who was used to having his own way had, over most of his adult years, consumed as much as he could get his hands on to become big and strong. The bigger and stronger he became allowed him to walk over people who, out of either awe or fear would bow to him saying, “you are strong and masterful giant. We love you” The giant, feeling well pleased by his engorgement and inflated by the adulation set off further afield to plunder and consume. With more eating his appetite increased so that he wanted to consume bigger things. All the things he wanted to consume were not easily for the taking and the giant had to trade his possessions and valuables for them. He didn’t mind this as he believed that as he got bigger he would acquire more possessions and valuables from the little people who adored him. One day, far from home he bought one of the biggest and juiciest meals he had ever seen. It cost him most of his valuables but he was happy. When he sat down to eat it however he found that it was too large to ingest at one sitting . He chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed but, after consuming large chunks he found that his body, either unused to such large amounts or tired of being stretched so much would rebel and purge out the extra and unwanted sustenance. The more he ate the more he purged. The more he purged the smaller and weaker he became. As he became smaller and weaker the little people learned not to fear him as much and, as he was becoming saggy, to not be in awe of him so much.

OK, this is a fairy story I created but there are companies today that could be the greedy giant. I'm sure that everyone who is interested in the phenomenal growth of wine companies (and their falls) over the last couple of decades will recognise something of the above. The woes of Fosters springs to mind with their overambitious purchase of Wolf Blass and Penfolds (Adelaide Steamship Company/ Rosemount etc. conglomeration of companies) and subsequent hundreds of millions of dollars write-downs, loss of brand equity, closure of wineries and subsequent job losses. Closer to home in New Zealand we witnessed the rush of blood to the heads of Lion Nathan leaders who purchased Wither Hills and other wine companies at outrageous prices before writing millions off the balance sheets (to balance their books they just might have scored the deal of the century in picking up Lindauer and other brands from Pernod Ricard at a bargain price). The most recent fiasco and the one most fitting the greedy giant is Constellation, the enormous American wine company, second only to Gallo in USA and, previously touting themselves as number one wine company around the world due to their acquisitions who have just this Christmas dumped most of their Australian acquisitions, all of their South African acquisitions and half of their UK acquisitions at a fraction of the price that they paid for them progressively over the last few years. We are talking of hundreds of millions of dollars here. More importantly we are talking about the loss of brand image and integrity of some brands that are many decades old and trusted by wine drinkers. Much more importantly is the loss of jobs. Greedy giants may well have been popular heroes in the 1920's, the 1980's and inexplicably the early 2000's but I think that with experience (bad) their time is up. Come in number one (or is that two?).

SIEG!

2010-12-29T13:46:00.000+13:00

Austria is best known for producing Adolf Hitler and, whilst they vehemently denied it after WW2, a good deal of Nazi ideology. Austria also produces wine which can be superb. As they did in WW2 where they virtually ruined both their country and their reputation, in 1985 Austrian winemakers ruined their wine industry through greed and arrogance. Greedy grapegrowers (and complicit winemakers) bolstered the must weight of their grape juice by adding Di-ethylene glycol. DEG is better known as anti-freeze or, if you are in Russia, cheap vodka. This added to alcohol levels and sweetness and was a way of demanding higher prices for wine from a poor vintage. It can also send people blind and could, in large quantities, kill someone. I was marketing a leading Austrian brand in 1985 and had some very interesting midnight telephone calls with the producers who at first denied involvement in the scandal. When I faxed through the DSIR lab test results they changed their tune and blamed their suppliers. I got full credit for the stock (about 25,000 bottles) which we had destroyed and no longer imported that brand. Arrogance is an Austrian trait. One of our current guests works for a college where foreign students come for a term or two. She looks after their welfare and recently on the arrival of a young Austrian lad suggested to him that he might like to join some of the other students on a ski trip to the South Island. Adolph junior said "Why should I want to do something like that? We have the best ski country in the world in Austria". I bet his grandfather still wears brown shirts.

Anyway, why Austria? Amongst the eclectic selection of wines that we have enjoyed over the last week was an Austrian red wine. It was 2001 Umathum St Laurent. St Laurent is an Austrian red grape that has French provenance and is most likely related to Pinot Noir. Apparently it is notoriously difficult to grow and ripen as is Pinot Noir. 2001 was a 'difficult' vintage in Austria. When an Austrian says that a vintage is 'difficult' it is probably like them saying that Hitler was 'naughty'. The wine was light - a bit more like a Cabernet Franc than Pinot Noir - but still had a nice fruitiness to it. The alcohol was 12.5% which in today's terms was light reflecting the poor vintage (and the fact that they no longer add DEG). I'd file this wine away in the "interesting' file.

CHRISTMAS WINES

2010-12-25T11:11:00.000+13:00

We do drink at Christmas. Who doesn't? The trick is to drink elegantly and well. It is easy to quaff down buckets of the stuff given that normal eating patterns are all over the place and, given the quantity of food consumed it probably doesn't matter much but I feel, come boxing day when you are feeling a bit jaded it is better to have fond memories of something nice. Last night when we were having a BBQ I didn't feel like a wine thinking instead of traditional Christmas Eve drinks. The trouble with 'traditional' in our NZ culture is too much connection with UK and European traditional drinks which are all winter seasonal. The classic eggnog might be nice but is more suited to a bitterly cold winter's evening than a mild summer's one.

I opted for a White Russian. I watched The Big Lebowski recently, that classic Cohen Brothers film. The Dude (Lebowski) only ever drank White Russians. This is a mix of vodka, milk and kahlua or Tia Maria with lots of ice. I was keen to try this so mixed up a good one. It fitted the Christmas Eve setting perfectly.
Today I will lay out a selection of sparkling (Deutz Methode and Champagne (Roederer)), white (Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris) and red (Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Merlot). If all goes well and everyone is not too full I will open a 1977 port (Taylors, Warres or Grahams) to go with the plum pudding.
It will be a big day.

And one for TSB.....

Captain Beefheart - Mirror Man

2010-12-19T13:28:00.001+13:00

I read The Curmudgeon's latest post on the loss of Captain Beefheart. Here

He talked about a party in Wellington when the neighbours complained about the loud music. The music playing (very loudly) was Mirror Man. I don't expect you to listen to the entire clip here but fast forward it to get a feel of the jammy repetitiveness of the song which has an almost hypnotic effect particularly after a few wines or other substances. I remember this particular party (I was there) as previously we had consumed the best bottle of wine that I have ever drunk. It was a magnum of Chateau Pichon Longueville Comptesse Lalande 1953.

This was in 1976 so the wine was 23 years old but, being in a magnum size had aged gracefully. There are few times in my life that I have tried a wine at its optimum stage. This was one. It was still rich and flavoursome but the texture was as smooth as milk. Having Beefheart playing (Safe as Milk being another of my favourites) was appropriate.

GETTING CHEAPER

2010-12-16T17:57:00.000+13:00

I said that wine prices would come down due to oversupply, slow sales and supermarket competition and discounting but didn't expect the depths that some brands would be prepared to go to. I picked up some Deutz at $19.99 a bottle (down from $30 plus last week. This wasn't really a surprise at it has happened before and may go lower but just in case it doesn't bottom out at $17.95 I bought a case.
Today I stripped the Countdown shelves of Sacred Hill Reserve range (the ugly orange label). 'Normal 'price at Countdown is $22 something. On deep-cut special it usually comes down to $13.95. This week it is $9.99 a bottle. I bought Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Syrah and Cabernet Merlot. Also in the range is Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. This is a seriously good buy (direct from the winery it is $18 a bottle and then you have to pay freight) and the wine is still showing character. As I've said before though, too much of this discounting will mean that the wine will be engineered downwards to be a paler, cheaper imitation. Never mind. Buy and drink up now and enjoy. Robert. Get out that fiddle!

CHARDONNAY IS STILL OK - OK?

2010-12-14T17:30:00.000+13:00

No doubt you have heard that stupid expression - 'ABC' meaning 'Anything But Chardonnay'. This was coined (probably by bloody Pinot Gris growers) around the time that Australia and USA was flooding the world with cheap, flabby and uninteresting wines labelled as Chardonnay. I have some friends who will not touch Chardonnay finding it too woody, too flabby, too sweet, too dry, too acidic, too 'grapefruity' - too something or other. This is very telling. To me it says that Chardonnay producers have lost the plot. Once you could purchase Chardonnay and pretty much know what you were going to get (vintage variations dependant) based on price, pedigree, country of origin and region. Today it is a minefield. There has been too much production for brands that have to meet critical price points. Shortcuts have to be taken giving us lighter, paler imitations of the real thing which culminates in that marketing 'Edsel' the unwooded Chardonnay. What a bloody travesty that is. Good Chardonnay needs judicious use of wood depending on the structure of the chosen fruit for barrel fermentation and or barrel ageing. In my financially strained circumstances I have had to purchase cheaper offerings of late. I try to buy the top quality product that has been reduced in price but sometimes get gypped. I have written before about the inevitability of producers 'engineering' product downwards if there is too much discounting. Some of my favourite brands are showing just that with 2009 and 2010 offerings being lesser than their 2008 and 2007 ancestors.

What a pleasant surprise it was being able to buy some Clearview Beachhead 2009 Chardonnay at half price due to a 'clearance' sale. This is seriously good Hawkes Bay Chardonnay from one of the best Hawkes Bay producers. Sure, it is not as stunning as his top 'Reserve' range but it most likely has a hell of a lot of the 'Reserve' wine in it given the difficulty of selling $40 wines nowadays. This Chardonnay is not an unwooded style. It is barrel fermented but, not being the top Reserve wine, is fruit-driven in style with lovely tropical Chardonnay flavours. The wood fermenting and ageing gives it a buttered toast character that is very pleasant. Chardonnay without good use of oak tends to be coarse and flabby. This is not. It is mealy and interestingly chewy. I think I'll buy some more.

YO HO HO...

2010-11-25T13:37:00.000+13:00

I made cookies today (I prefer to use the word biscuits though as I'm pissed off with the proliferation of Americanisms in our language). I started with a vanilla base and added raisins and rum. Real rum. Lots of it. I wasn't following a recipe and just kept adding raisins and pouring in the rum until it kind of looked right.

They cooked without any problem and were only a little more moist than the usual. The flavour is stunning. The alcohol is still evident as the sticky mixture maybe trapped it inside and they were only in the oven for 10 minutes so there may not have been time for it to totally evaporate. Anyway, they have a kick.

I used Appleton's 12 y.o. This is a very good rum that has a nice vanilla taste (from the wood ageing as this is real 12 y.o that I have had for a long time). Smooth and sexy it is great for summer evenings and just made for these biscuits. I'll just have to be careful who I feed them to - I don't want to get casual callers drunk.

FOSSICKING

2010-11-21T19:42:00.001+13:00

I've had enough of old wines... or so I thought. I have had a long history in the wine business and as a private collector and drinker of wines. Over the years I have tried many old, properly cellared wines of good pedigree. Some have been sublime. Others of academic interest. Some years ago I decided that I would rather drink the wines young and imagine what they would be like with some age on them. When it came to Pinot Noir, especially New Zealand Pinot Noir, I would drink them up really early and try not to keep them too long in the cellar. Around about the same time that I came to this decision (a few years ago) I decided that I really didn't like Marlborough Pinot Noir as much as (in order of preference) Waipara, Martinborough and Central Otago Pinot Noir. Tonight I made a mince pie. Actually, I had a nice mince mixture (lamb mince, chillies, carrots and peas with flavourings of soy sauce, Worcester sauce, rosemary, oregano, ginger and garlic - try it its nice) in the freezer and the Old Girl had frozen some left over pastry she makes when she made a leek and potato pie last week. Result - a nice looking single serve mince pie which I will have with mashed potatoes and broccoli from the garden. Anyway. I decided that a nice light red wine would go well with this, perhaps an Italian style red. In the cellar I fossicked about and found a couple of old Chiantis and a Negroamaro - not enticing enough to bother bring up to the kitchen. Moving a couple of boxes I came across a cache of older NZ wines and selected a 2001 and a 2004 Drylands Pinot Noir. I'm pretty familiar with the wine style and know the provenance of the grapes but to be honest I didn't expect much from them. I grabbed a 2007 Rioja just in case I had to do some blending. Surprise, surprise - the wines are drinking well. I opened the 2001 first thinking it would be way past its use-by date. It does have an aged character on the nose and in colour is showing some browning - but, holding it to the light - albeit fading a bit at 7PM, it still retains some cherry-pink hues. The flavour is a complete surprise. There is an explosion of cherry-fruit with something heavier (plums?). Now a 2001 light Pinot Noir from Marlborough shouldn't be doing this. It finishes a bit 'burnt' - my descriptor for aged wines - but generally is holding up bloody well. I should have left it there and enjoyed the wine with my dinner but was intrigued as to what the 2004 vintage is doing so I opened that as well. Well! The colour seems to be a bit deeper but not that much. Is the 2001 a better variation methinks. The 2004 presents better on the nose - fresher with a marzipan characteristic. Nice. The flavour is not as intense but soft and rounded like Brigitte Bardot (Where did that come from? Perhaps a concession to TSB? - ed)

with a long finish. The wine has substance, structure and will hold up for a couple of years. Will I change my mind about the longevity of NZ wines? Yes. Re Marlborough vs other regions? Yes. A good experiment. Now I have two bottles of 13.5% alc. wines open. I'll do my best but will probably try out the cryogenic experiment again with the remainder.
Oh! By the way. Best musical choice while writing this has been Led Zeppelin Albums 1 and 2 (on random). Excellent.

CRYOGENICS

2010-11-10T23:06:00.000+13:00

I've mentioned before that a good way to keep leftover wine that you know you won't use over the next few days is to freeze it. When thawed out there might be a bit of haze but the wine will be almost as good as when you put it in the freezer (there will be some slow oxidation going on so generally it has an aged characteristic). A couple of months ago someone gave me a bottle of 2006 NZ Barrique Chardonnay. This is a good brand and the wine had won a trophy in a wine competition. I tried it and recognised its good qualities but, being 4 years old it was showing its age. We only drank half the bottle and I put the rest in the freezer thinking to bring it out later and blend with a younger wine. Well I did bring it out of the freezer tonight, nuked it a bit in the microwave oven to melt some of the ice and tried it. Once the haze had settled (leaving a decent teaspoon full of sludge in the bottom of the glass) the wine was clean and shiny and, wonder of wonders was rejuvenated. The aged characteristics it showed on first being opened ( a couple of months ago) had disappeared. The wine was fresh and I'm sure, in a wine tasting might have passed as a 2008 version. I'm keen to repeat the experiment with some older wines. Perhaps it has something to do with the 'drop-out' of the haze( dead yeasts, tannins etc.). Interesting.

JUST PEACHY.

2010-10-29T19:13:00.000+13:00

I'm enjoying a good NZ Chardonnay in the early evening sunshine (yes sunshine, its 7PM and there is still sun on the deck. The bay is beautiful. Life is good. So is the Chardonnay. It is Selaks Winemakers Reserve 2009. 100% Hawkes Bay (Bayview and Haumoana) fruit. This is made seriously. Free flow juice, malolactic fermentation, barrique ageing - the works. It is a great peachy, spicy, long-flavoured wine that shows what NZ Chardonnay, particularly Hawkes Bay Chardonnay can deliver. It is not quite as good as the stunning 2008 version but it is delicious. How much is it worth? Between $20 and $30. How much did I pay for it? $13.99 at New World. Ridiculous I know but that is what is happening out there. I only hope that too much discounting doesn't compromise the quality and integrity of this wine given that the powers that be at Constellation NZ have seemingly discontinued its bigger brothers - Selaks Founders, Rose Tree Cottage and Nobilo Dixon.

A SPECIAL TREAT

2010-10-25T14:47:00.000+13:00

Some neighbours came around for dinner on Saturday night and brought with them two bottles of Stonyridge Larose (not one, two!). They were the new release 2009 and the previous release 2008. For those who are unfamiliar with Stonyridge Larose, this is a sought after wine, made in minute quantities and one of the, if not most, expensive New Zealand wines. Most people hoard them and bring them out after years of cellaring. This is fine as the wines will last for a long time but it is great trying wines like this in their infancy and guessing what they might develop into.

We tried the 2008 first. This is a Cabernet sauvignon predominant blend with Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc (no percentages given). The wine was superb. It had great blackberry-like fruit from the Cabernet but also a rich and smooth texture from the Merlot. It had a big structure supported by good oak (mostly new oak by the taste of it) and was very spicy. The spiciness gave a savoury dimension to the taste which mixed with the very good fruit made for a very complex wine. This is one that will last for some time and it was a treat to taste. Definitely Gold Medal standard.

We followed with the 2009. Man, what a difference. This was also a stunningly good wine but for different reasons. It is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 15% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. There were more fruity and less savoury notes with this wine, possibly because of the lower proportion of Merlot. It was amazingly soft and smooth. The structure didn't seem as big as that of the 2008 but this was not a detraction, just a reflection of different vintage and different blend proportions. It was like drinking a very young vintage port without the high alcohol - rich and sweet. Whilst I preferred the 2008 vintage this was still a great wine of Gold Medal standard.

As we had finished the Stonyridge and were about to play Pool we opened a 2002 E&E Black Pepper Shraz. This wasn't done as a comparison, more because great wine should be followed by wine of comparable greatness. E&E is one of Australia's top Shiraz wines from Barossa Valley. It was rich and smooth with the 8 years age showing development but the wine was no where near its peak and will continue to improve for a few more years yet.

Lynn and I got thrashed 3-0 in the Pool challenge but never mind. The wines more than made up for it.
Sunday morning started a bit slow after 3 bottles of big red wine between 4 of us (plus the Chardonnay starter) but fresh sea air out on the boat blew any cobwebs away.

PERSPECTIVE

2010-10-19T14:02:00.000+13:00

Pernod Ricard NZ is selling its sparkling wine brands including Lindauer and some of its cheaper and non-core brands for 88 million dollars.

This sounds like a massive amount of money but to put things in perspective, Independent Liquor sold in 2006 for 1.26 billion dollars. Independent’s main brands were those godawful alcopops and RTD’s that young people drink.

Now I know that young people also drink the cheap sparkling wine brands and that Bernadino, Chardon and Aquila are responsible for young women’s (and some older male schoolteacher’s) excessive drinking, but in the final count cheap spirits in kiddy packaging are the main contributors to irresponsible alcohol consumption. The fact that this crap sold for over 14 times the value of the wine brands (the largest selling sparkling wine brands in New Zealand) shows where Independent Liquor’s new owners thought the growth was.

At least, on recent reports, Independent Liquor, majority owned by Australia’s Pacific Equity Partners and Hong Kong-based Unitas Capital only managed a revenue rise of 6 million dollars (just 1.4% increase) but posted an annual loss of 44 million dollars, up on the 34 million dollars they lost last year.

You can burn your fingers when playing with the devil.

EVIL CROWS AND GROCERS

2010-10-03T16:09:00.000+13:00

Evil Grocer

There was once an evil Grocer in a kingdom that had only two grocers to supply the hungry peasants. This grocer was greedy and a bully and frequently stole from his suppliers while jacking up his prices to the peasants. He laughingly would tell them “ go to my competitor if you think you can get a better deal” knowing full well that the competitor was doing the same thing. The peasants felt squeezed but as the competitor was actually born in the kingdom they often favoured him more than the evil grocer who was from a distant kingdom. This made the evil grocer mad so he hired equally evil crows as servants to put more pressure on his suppliers. One day an honest supplier who had been selling the evil grocer amphorae of wine thought that it would be a good idea to reward the peasants with extra quantities of wine at the same price as the normal sized amphora.

Honest Supplier

He said to the evil crow servant “As you buy a lot of my wines I wish to offer you this deal first. I will sell you amphorae that are half as big again as the normal size but at the same price as the normal sized ones. You can make your profit and the peasants will get a good deal as a reward for their loyalty to you and to my brand” The evil crow servant said “Nah. I don’t care about rewarding the peasants and I think that it is a stupid idea. Take it to my competitor if you like but don’t bother me again. And by the way, I’ve just put up the compulsory ‘marketing’ levy to you” Feeling dejected the honest supplier went to the competitor and offered him the same deal. The competitor was excited and said “Thank you honest supplier. This will reward my customers greatly and I can see an opportunity for selling even more than normal of your wonderful product. I will take all the larger amphorae that you have”. The honest trader was happy but said that as the larger amphora was more difficult and costly to make he could not get any more made in time for the harvest celebrations but as what he had and that the competitor was taking was 10 times the normal sales volume anyway he didn’t see that there would be any problem. In due time the larger amphorae arrived and the sales were as predicted ten times the normal. The competitor was elated. The honest supplier pleased and the peasants excited. It did not take long for the evil grocer to notice and so he had his evil crow servant summon the honest supplier and said “ Why have you sold that good deal to my competitor? I want the same deal immediately” The honest supplier presented proof of the evil crow servant’s refusal of the offer and was reminded that he had been given the offer first but it fell on deaf ears. In exasperation he explained that no more of the larger amphorae could be produced in time for the harvest celebrations.

Evil Crow Servant

The evil crow servant then threatened that unless the honest supplier paid him the amount of profit that he would have made if he had sold all of the amphorae to the evil grocer then the evil grocer would send back all of the other produce that the honest supplier had supplied into his store and would never trade with him again. This was devastating news for the honest supplier as this would mean that he would lose half of his business and would not be able to provide employment for his own trusty servants. The honest supplier sought an interview with the evil grocer and explained to him what his evil crow servant was doing. The evil grocer said “ My crow servant is following my wishes and I cannot counter that. Begone and think yourself lucky that we will still consider your product. Pay us the money and do not make complaints to the highest tribunals in the land. If you do so even if they find judgement in your favour we will no longer purchase your products. Away with you” The honest supplier had no alternative than to bow down to these outlandish demands and give away hard earned profits to keep the evil grocer happy.

The moral of the story? In a duopoly honest suppliers get screwed, consumers rarely benefit and fat bastards get fatter.

SLAINTE!

2010-09-20T16:45:00.001+12:00

One of my favourite Malt Whiskies and one that brings back pleasant memories is The Macallan.
I marketed this brand in New Zealand in the mid 1980's through to the early 90's. Whilst never being a big seller (in New Zealand) it certainly was head and shoulders above most of its competitors in majesty. This is definitely the king of Malts. It has power and consistency but the richness of the whisky is perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the sherry oak casks. I have always had at least one bottle of The Macallan in my collection at any one time and sometimes a couple of different styles. The 12 y.o. though is definitely a perennial. When sorting out my whiskies recently I 'rediscovered' the The Macallan 'Twenties'.

This is a recreation of the style of The Macallan in the 1920's. Macallan's Master Distiller sampled bottles of The Macallan from that decade and matched their aroma and flavour with more recent distillations taken from the casks maturing in the warehouses. There definitely is an evolving style with whiskies and over the years public tastes vary and blenders put their personal stamps on production. The twenties style of bottled whisky was drier as after most of the production was sold to whisky blenders as a 'top dressing' single malt for their blended whiskies, the few remaining casks continued to mature their contents for longer, resulting in a whisky that was slightly drier than modern day Macallan. On sampling it again today I have really enjoyed its richness of flavour with a lovely peachy and citrus nose. There definitely is a pronounced sherry character (used sherry casks are used to age some good Malts in). The finish is spicy and gingery leaving you wanting more (dangerous!).
I was lucky enough to visit The Macallan distillery in 1989. I remember after having a great tour of the facilities having a comparative tasting in Easter Elchies House the beautiful old residence that defines the brand.

Easter Elchies House

WHISKY GALORE!

2010-09-18T15:30:00.000+12:00

Today has been a day of jobs around the house (Her Indoors is back). One of them was making concrete bricks with ceramics embedded for a garden. I had to fossick in the basement for a mould and for some quick drying cement which involved moving a few boxes and crates. A few of these contained some of my whiskies. Now I knew I had them but had kind of misplaced them in or move North. I recently wrote a post on tasting some of the Malt whiskies I have. These are additional to those.
When I was travelling in my job I used to buy a Malt whisky or Cognac at duty free on return. Some I gave away as gifts, others I just put in the wine cellar. Years ago I attended a whisky auction when United Distillers got rid of a lot of their old stock. There were some amazing bargains to be had and I still have some bottles left. Many years ago, I uncovered an old cache of spirits at a now long defunct liquor importers. I have a few old bottles from this.
In random order the bottles I dragged out of the basement today are:

Scapa 12 y.o. Malt from Orkney

Hugh O'Donnell Glen Mist whiskey liqueur from Ireland. (circa 1940's).
Highland Park 12 y.o. Malt from Orkney (old bottle shape).
Highland Park 12 y.o. Malt from Orkney (new bottle shape).
Cutty Sark blend (circa 1950's).
Tullamore Dew 12 y.o. Malt from Ireland.
Long John MacDonald Royal Choice 21 y.o. blend in wade decanters (3 bottles).
Antique 'extra special' blend (Mcleay Duff circa 1950's)
Macallan 12.y.o Malt.
The Royal Household blend (James Buchanan circa 1940's).
Haigs Dimple 12.y.o. blend (circa 1950's)
The Mill Burn 12.y.o. Malt (McLeay Duff circa 1950's)
Lord Calvert blended whiskey (Kentucky circa 1950's)
The Glendronach 15.y.o. Malt
Usher's 'extra' blended whisky ( circa 1950's)
The Macallan 'twenties' Malt (recreation of the 1920's style).
The Glenlivit 15.y.o Malt
Munro's King of Kings deluxe blend (in stone jug)
Chivas Regal 12.y.o. blend.

I should have dug these out earlier in winter but we will enjoy a tipple with discerning friends. I'm sure that TSB would appreciate the taste of some of these.

A QUESTION OF TASTE

2010-09-10T22:21:00.003+12:00

I have just completed an exhaustive comparative evaluation of the blogs that emanate from Richard (of RBB)’s bus station. There are a couple of sleek new models, a few solid performers but the rest are clapped out and dangerous to passengers who would be better off avoiding them. This exercise was not unlike a major comparative wine tasting. With a wine tasting, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, the judge is left with sore teeth and gums from the acid in the wine. This blog ‘tasting’ has similarly left me with uncomfortable feelings – nausea, distaste, pains in the nether regions amongst them.

I got The Curmudgeon to assist me in the exercise as the sheer scale of it was daunting and I knew that he was used to wading through piles of shit after the plumbing problems he had in a previous abode. He put on his ‘shit suit’ for the job. I didn’t tell him that he looked like a dick (Richard (of RBB) had earlier likened him to a sperm which I guess is related.

The results are as follows, points out of 20: A Bronze medal is between 15.5 and 17; a Silver medal between 17 and 18.5 and Gold medal between 18.5 and 20.

Akish the Philistine

Made in the traditional style and showing age. Tired and not looking as if it will last. Any good aspects have turned to vinegar which is only being held up by a heavily wooded structure. 10-

Anselm’s Extremely Slow Blog

Rather dull and boring. Flat and Germanic with no zest. Flabby like a Liebfraumilch. Reminded me of Blue Nun. 12.

Aurel’s Blog

Another Kraut style but with slightly more edge to it. Started off fresh but soon deteriorated. Old apples? Made in the newer style but the traditional values cannot be shaken off. 13.

Bennett’s Incredibly Fast Blog

A much newer style, refreshing in its boisterousness verging on brashness but lacking in depth. Some maturing will help bring out the hidden richness and knock off some of the rough edges. 13.

Bin Hire

An extremely bad odour is the first impression. No distinctive faults that can be identified but something disturbing lurking beneath. Made in a ‘me too’ style that lacks distinctiveness. Rotten fruitiness and a dusty, dirty finish. Best avoided. 10-

Christian Living

Made in the traditional style, rather unenlightening but ambiguous. There is a hint of something else lurking beneath. Sour grapes? There is an old woody structure but it is balanced by some luscious juicy tones. 14

Comeinyourpants.

The Curmudgeon became apoplectic when he saw how Richard (of RBB) referred to his blog (The Curmudgeon) on the list I had prepared. As all blogs were evaluated without the headings and therefore essentially ‘blind’, he did not know which blogs he was evaluating but obviously recognised his own. For fairness his points have been excluded so as not to distort the judging.

The inherent depth and richness is marred by an ascerbic edge which whilst not quite vitriolic is definitely acidic. Suffers from inconsistency but there is an underlying and constant resistance to the Roman style. 18 (Silver Medal).

Different Time Zone Bill

Erratic and insubstantial. Has aspirations to having an extra dimension but this just highlights the one-dimensionality of this product. Not to be trusted, there is no guarantee of provenance. 12.

Kiwi Doug.

One to look out for in the future. A relative newcomer but one with proven experience in other climes. Source material is imported but, with proper long-term grounding in NZ ‘terroir’ may yet prove itself. Recent showings are a bit tired perhaps showing low turnover. Fresh material and an extra sales and marketing push may change this. 16 (Bronze Medal).

Man of Errors

Definitely a designer brand but a beautifully constructed one at that. Boutique in nature due to its limited production and its eagerly sought after offerings. Man of Errors is in the top echelon. Criticism is that it might be a little cold and intellectual but there are shades and nuances that suggest a passionate beating heart just below the surface threatening to ravish and overwhelm. This heat and alcohol if kept in balance with structure and finesse may prove to be a classic. 18.6 Gold Medal.

My Spurt.

A show pony. One of these designer offerings that are all show and no substance. Aptly named as it seems that this one has shot its bolt before getting established. Designer in exterior there is unfortunately not much inside. A few tissues are recommended to wipe this one up. 12-

Nicola’s Supermarket Bag.

With a cheeky name poking fun at the hub this one started off really well. Using risky material that was bound to be controversial (cat murdering) consumers were trapped (but not to such a bad end as aforementioned cats). Overseas influence withdrew this from the market however so the initial promise failed to be delivered. 14.

Nicola’s Travel Bag.

All imported material this. With an understanding of local tastes this is not so bad but the source material is from some pretty dubious places. Continuity of supply has been a problem with fits and starts. Not a reliable proposition but there have been some quality offerings. One to support from the heart rather than the head I feel. A return to grass roots and an injection of local quality material is recommended and wished for. Keep on the horizon. 15.

Riccardo Testore

To be avoided. This is one of those imports quickly brought in to fill a gap in the market at a particular time. No class, no substance and it seems no continuity. Let it go the bargain bin. 10.

Richard’s Bass Bag

Whilst lacking in finesse and becoming a bit tired this original is still the market leader. Volume overpowers quality for sure but consistency and reliability have to count for something. At times flabby and at other times insipid there is still an element of unpredictability in the content. Source material shows some rot in the root system but overall though this one is like the old favourite uncle or the big cuddly teddy bear (the one with one ear). 18.5 (Gold Medal).

Richard’s Bass Bag 2.

Severe, hard, straight up and down. This is a cut down version of the previous and unfortunately lacks the warmth and familiarity of the original kind of like Crawford Farm versus Kim Crawford SP. OK for those dinner parties with poseurs but not to share with friends. 14.

Richard’s Bass Bag 3

Obviously being aware of the resistance to the austerity of RBB2, the new RBB3 tried to inject some warmth to this otherwise pale and pathetic offering. I feel that it only serves to split the market. Second Fiddle (see later) does this better. 13.

Satan Son of the Dawn

The deregulation of the market has brought in some exciting and crazy offerings . This one is dangerous and edgy. The overpowering stench of sulphur detracts on the nose however and the taste is a little too hot. That said the spiciness promised well but there have been no new releases and the current vintages are becoming stale. What could have been? 15.

Second Fiddle

A budget brand that has been around for a while. Unpretentious and unassuming this is a case of you get what you pay for. Occasionally it goes off market, whether from shortage of material, production difficulties or a marketing strategy of undersupply I don’t know. If RBB is like a cuddly old uncle this one is like that familiar old auntie who smells of mothballs, is a bit self-opinionated but you know that her heart is in the right place. It would help if you knew that she was loaded and was going to leave you the farm, but there you go. 16 (Bronze Medal)

Shaw Thing!

Flash and brassy this one ripped into the market full of promise and consistently under delivered. Content is shallow, tone is pushy and arrogant with a whiff that gets up your nose. It hasn’t been available for a while which is probably just as well. 11.

The Basket Guy

A nice brand that was well constructed with fine delicate material, a nice nose and refreshing finish. Some behind-the-scenes production difficulties seemed to erode the stability and production halted. A fond memory. 14.5.

The Confusion Chronicles

A precocious newcomer which started out tentatively but, once becoming established showed itself to be daring and controversial. Entering the New World arena with the baggage of traditional Old World on its back this one has showed promise. Edgy and flighty it doesn’t linger so the small offerings have to be taken and savoured as they arise. Some paranoia evident vis a vis the security of the underwear drawer and an unwillingness to enlist professional help.17 (Bronze Medal)

The Painted Face.

With start-up capital provided from the hub this one started out very slow and just sat for a while. Just when retailers were about to dump it from the shelves it rejuvenated itself and now shows promise of joining the ‘A’ team. A young style it has some quirkiness and individuality that is welcomed. Fresh, fruity and sweet with a nice underlying edge this is one that shows those flabby Krauts what a good Germanic style should be like. 16 (Bronze Medal)

The Pink Paddler

With atrocious labelling this one was about to be written off as yet another insipid Rose until the content was explored. It is adventurous, clever and muscular showing great sustainability and power whilst retaining a sweet femininity. Unpredictable in a positive sense this one shows promise. 16.6 (Bronze Medal).

The The Guy

Had to take Alka Selzer after this one. It repeats on you. Not recommended. 10-

The Wine Guy

I couldn’t rate myself but asked The Curmudgeon to do so and not to tell me the results until after they were published.

Has he gone? What a tosser! I only did this because he promised me a drink and then the mean bastard gave me a left-over bottle of Crawford Farm Pinot Noir. It was quite nice but I won’t tell him that. His blog is boring and he seems obsessed with talking about wine. I put up with it in case he shares some with me but the greedy bugger just drinks the lot (sorry he says 'evaluates'). I’d give him 0 out of 20 for his site but I know that he has a couple of magnums in the cellar so won’t be able to drink those in a sitting so I’ll give him a 17.5 (Silver Medal). The Curmudgeon.

Twisted Scottish Bastard

An irreverent brand, this however is not like the critter ones and actually has some substance behind the boorish façade. Thick-skinned and definitely woody this is rough and rustic on the surface but surprisingly has some delicacy underneath. Like a Malt whisky aged in sherry casks this one combines power with sophistication. Maturing though will knock off the remaining rough edges 18.5 (Gold Medal)

As a warm-up we looked at some other fringe blogs:

Jeshua

Bland and boring text book stuff. Some offerings so sweet and cloying as to make one gag 8-

Jesus Christ

Strong and controversial but too volatile to safely consume. 12.

Jessica

Sweet and savoury at the same time this one is instantly recognizable but has an exotic character. Suffers from over exposure though and is best kept as a secret. 14.

Simon E. Crafter

Blowsy over-worked American. All puff, no quality. 10

John Locke

A pretend brand. Teases the consumer but has no real follow through. Only makes noises when it suits but will not support the Hub. 10.

Bas’s Bag.

Withered character with distinct goaty, gamey aroma. Strong whiff of ammonia on top of thin centre makes this particularly unpalatable. No recent offerings so may have died away. 10-

ARROGANCE OR INDIFFERENCE?

2010-09-09T18:15:00.000+12:00

Sometimes releases from wine companies, particularly big wine companies are bad. This can be attributed to pressure to move wine in tanks (small and medium companies also have this problem), pressure to fill the bottles to meet the demands of a strong brand (medium size companies also have this problem), or shovelling out anything as long as the packaging and website looks OK (generally the domain only of the big companies). It is when the responsibility of the brand is handed over to Marketing without enough input from the winemakers that there is a problem. This is fine if the marketers know something about wine but if they don't it is a case of consumer beware. I bought a bottle of Crawford Farm Pinot Noir 2008 today. It was heavily discounted ($11.99 down from over $20). Cheap yes but there have been so many very good wine specials on recently that I thought this was another. I was particularly looking for a Pinot Noir and avoiding the other cheap offerings as I know how much it costs to make good Pinot Noir. I chose the Crawford Farm on price yes (discounted price) but also becuse I trusted the brand. Generally, Crawford Farm is made from selected fruit parcels almost as good as its bigger brother Kim Crawford SP. Foolishly I didn't check the back label. If I had done I would not have bought the wine.
Opening it this evening I was immediately struck by its pale colour and apparent lack of substance. This may be OK for a light Burgundy or a much older wine but this is a NZ 2008 Pinot Noir. The taste showed a great deal of winemaker 'working' to extarct some flavours and to try and put a bit of body in. Confused I checked the back label and discovered that the fruit source is from Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. Now I usually drink Marlborough Pinot Noir as my fourth choice after Waipara, Martinborough and Central Otago and find it OK but rarely exciting. But..Hawkes Bay and...Gisborne! Man, no wonder the wine is overworked.
I looked up the Crawford Farm website (subset of Kim Crawford/subset of Constellation NZ website) and was informed:

"The grapes for this wine were selected from cool climate vineyards in New

Zealand's premier Viticultural regions of Marlborough, Central Otago and

Nelson."

Interesting.

The wine notes blurb on the Crawford Farm Pinot Noir 2008 on the website went on to tell me:

"The fruit was judiciously handled and cold soaked for four days to optimise

flavour and colour extraction and then fermented using selected yeast

strains to ensure maximum complexity (and a small portion of the ferment

was left to 'go wild' for added flavour and interest!). 100% Malolactic

fermentation together with partial French Oak maturation has resulted in a

full flavoured and well structured wine with instant appeal and a delightful,

lingering finish. "

I think that the marketers and the winemakers should get together over a glass of this concoction and get their story straight before releasing it to us the great unwashed.

MIRACLE MARKETING

2010-09-08T17:03:00.000+12:00

The Swiss have created an 8% alcohol 'wine' in powdered form that is aimed at the hiking/tramping/camping market. I'm sure that it tastes awful. After a long arduous hike a cool drink from a fresh mountain stream would be more enjoyable. If its more leisurely hiking/tramping that you do then why not carry a bottle or two of the real stuff. Second Fiddle is a strong believer in the Virgin Mary's mysteries and Jesus' miricles and recently spoke of the wedding at Cana where the big J supposedly turned water into wine at Mary's request. Maybe J had a packet or two of 'Trek 'n' Eat Rouge secreted on his person.

BURNT OFFERINGS

2010-08-15T09:26:00.000+12:00

Mrs Tilly’s, is a family run business who pride themselves in the production of good quality confectionery, using traditional methods and only the finest of ingredients. Most importantly they are exploring ways of exploiting their unique selling point of having no artificial additives or preservatives in any of their products.

They believe that it is this, coupled with the wonderful taste of their products, that appeals to buyers and customers alike. Unlike many of the more established manufacturers in the business, they set out to favour flavour over longevity. They refused to compromise on the taste of their products by adding preservatives even though this meant reducing the shelf life.

Mrs Tilley says “Our macaroon bars are traditionally produced with an enticing, sweet soft centre. This is then dipped in delicious real chocolate and then coated in a crunchy toasted mixture of dark and light coconut which gives the lovely special burnt taste. This works especially well when drunken scottish bastards get tipped out of the pubs at 11pm craving the taste of a battered and deep fried confectionery. It is much safer for them to eat one of our macaroon bars than to risk immolating themselves at home over the gas cooker.”

SOMETIMES THEY LIE.....

2010-08-13T15:21:00.001+12:00

....but sometimes they are just covering their arses. Do you read the blurb on the back of wine bottles? The marketers can and do make up all sorts of rubbish (I know I've done so myself). Generally the cheaper the blend the more creative the writing. Often, with better quality wines, in addition to the expansive descriptions of flavours and colour there is a bit of detail about the grapes used and the area(s) they came from. There is usually an indication of when the wine is best drunk or how long to cellar it. The trick is to pick a number that suggests the wine is big and will improve with cellaring without putting the buyer off by him thinking that only his grandchildren will benefit from the wine. I opened a bottle of 2002 Stonehaven Hidden Sea Cabernet Sauvignon. This Wrattonbully/Coonawarra blend was made at the now closed Stonehaven winery in Padthaway and I suspect that the Hidden Sea label is another casualty of the disastrous Constellation Australia brand reorganisation. The back label tells us that "the wine is rich and complex, revealing aromatic ripe blueberry, redcurrant and cassis flavours that are enhanced by subtle oak characters. The wine has been made to enjoy now or cellar for up to 7 years" Well they are wrong! The wine is truly alive and will benefit from further cellaring (not now for me as I've nearly finished my only bottle). It is rich and complex I agree. It has a dense dark colour with vibrant hues. There is a nice balance of fruit and gentle oak that age has combined. It has a round, soft and still fresh flavour with a nice finish and will be good for a few more years. Constellation Australia (formerly BRL Hardy LTD) has been selling off vineyards and wineries (haven't found a buyer for the magnificent Stonehaven winery yet) and I assume dumping out all of the old stocks. If you see any of this wine or more recent vintages or indeed any Stonehaven red wines being specialled out then I recommend that you buy them. Seriously good and good keepers.

Stonehaven Cellar Door and Winery

PLEASANT SURPRISES

2010-08-11T20:39:00.000+12:00

Tonight I couldn't be bothered cooking anything new so fossicked in the freezer for one of the pasta sauces that we freeze. I found a very small container of what looked like a Bolognaise sauce and emptied that into a larger container to thaw. As it didn't look like enough I found another small container of what I thought was a tomato based vegetable pasta sauce. I emptied this into the larger container also and as it started to thaw out realised that it was one of Her Indoor's soup mixtures ( beans, broccoli, tomato, carrot, zucchini etc). Thinking 'what the hell' I heated it to have with spaghetti and Parmesan. The result was fantastic. The Bolognaise meat sauce was spicy (I always make it with chilli, garlic and ginger) and the soup was thick and flavoursome. It was a great experience.

Earlier I had chosen a simple red from the cellar thinking that as I only wanted a glass to have with dinner I wouldn't open anything too good. Recently we had been drinking some pretty ordinary Pinot Noir (Montana 'Corbett's Legacy' Waipara Pinot Noir 2008, bought cheap from Blackmarket but supposedly being a fairly expensive wine). Thinking that the Kim Crawford 2007 Spot Label series Marlborough Pinot Noir would be a bit faded and similarly ordinary I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the wine is rich, luscious, fruity and very alive. The one glass I promised myself soon became two and a half. I'll save the rest for tomorrow. To be honest this shouldn't have been too much of a surprise as Kim Crawford wines, especially the ones up the ladder in the range, have fantastic fruit, are very well made and can benefit well from cellaring. I'll look out for more of this 2007 Pinot Noir in case anyone is specialing it out.

KIND OF LINGERS

2010-08-08T14:10:00.005+12:00

Give Me A Little Old Fashioned Love The kind that lingers through the years The kind
that's made by God up above Give Me A Little Old Fashioned Love

(Ernest Tubb, also recorded by: Smokey Greene)

A friend of mine who shall remain nameless told me the other day of one of his experiences in the wine
trade in Russia. A contact of his, a fellow wine marketer with a reputation as a 'bon vivant' has a habit of
slipping in some unsavoury expressions when talking to trade contacts and customers. This is as a joke
which some of them get and others go on blithely innocent. At an official and highly publicised event, this chap's friends challenged him to slip in something outrageous in the thank you speech he had to present
He chose to talk about the sweet dessert wine and in summing it up he said that he appreciated that it
kind of lingers on the tongue.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT...

2010-08-01T08:13:00.002+12:00

In the previous post's comments, TSB asked what 'town,' name should be given to NZ's equivalent to a Bordeaux-style wine. This made me think about the New Zealand geographical areas and their meaningfulness on the world stage. Outside of the 'appellation' area of Marlborough, the wine drinking world knows virtually nothing about New Zealand's regions and the non wine drinking populace wouldn't even know Marlborough. Asuming that a few people in the world know where New Zealand is, they might have seen it on a map and noticed that it is in two pieces - a North Island and a South Island. If we want to be taken seriously on the world's wine drinking stage (and by serious I mean actually sell some of the stuff and not witter on about how good everything is) we need to simplify our proposition so that stockists and consumers have some minimal understanding of what they are buying. New Zealand, as far as the rest of the world goes makes decent Sauvignon Blanc. The average drinker looking for a fresh, crisp light styled wine probably doesn't think in terms of varietals but may think in terms of country. The best NZ Sauvignon Blanc comes from Marlborough and Nelson with some Waipara stuff making the grade. These regions are in The South Island. The next largest varietal planting is Pinot Noir. The best on average comes from Waipara, Central Otago and Marlborough - again from the South Island. Next largest planted varietal is Chardonnay. The best comes from Hawkes Bay and Gisborne from the North Island. The next largest planted group of varietals that are often blended are the 'Bordeaux' varietals - Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc etc. The best examples come from Hawkes Bay and Waiheke Island - the North Island.

So. How do we easily market these around the world? I suggest a New Zealand South Island white wine in a 'bordeaux' shaped bottle. This is Sauvignon Blanc.

A New Zealand South Island red wine in a 'Burgundy' shaped bottle. This is Pinot Noir.

A New Zealand red wine in a 'Bordeaux' shaped bottle. This is the Merlot. Cabernet Sauvignon etc. blend.

Lastly a New Zealand North Island white wine in a 'Burgundy' shaped bottle. This is Chardonnay. Now I know that New Zealand makes good Riesling, Syrah, Pinot Gris and a few other varietals but - does the world know or care? Keep it simple. Don't confuse the punters and lets all make some serious money out of this potentially great export product.

....AND DAMN THE TORPEDOES!

2010-07-31T21:28:00.000+12:00

WINE OF THE WEEK.... definitely the best wine I've had all week and, for its style, the best 'Bordeaux' -like wine I've had for a while. The wine in question is (well actually now was as I'm finishing the last glass) Man O' War Ironclad 2007. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec blend from Waiheke Island. This particular vintage received almost the highest ranking ever for a NZ red wine from the Wine Advocate a USA wine publication. I know, I know ... you are saying who gives a FF (flying fuck) what the Americans think, but remember that they have a more established wine industry than we have and, they, with their bigger currency, a lot more wine connoisseurs and a hell of a lot more wealthy people, manage to consume a great deal of the world's best wines. When it comes to the world's best 'Bordeaux' style wines, surprise, surprise these actually come from Bordeaux (south of France to the geographically challenged).

The best are fabulous but well beyond the purchasing capability of yours truly. What I seek out now are very good replicas of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Growth wines that I remember. I used to experiment with Californian wines finding that their intensity and richness matched some of the characters of a Pauillac but over time was disappointed in their single dimensionality (not to mention their price which is almost 1st Growth). I moved to trying and buying the best Australian Cabernet Sauvignon blends, being initially bowled over by the powerful fruit, big oak and strong tannins but, after finding that the cost of toothpaste and Listerine to offset the damage was prohibitive and that the wines even after many years do not really age and develop properly I was left high and dry. I should have remembered the stunning Hawkes Bay Cabernet Sauvignons that McWilliams produced in the 1970's which were definitely a taste of what was to come. Believe it or not we are now spoiled for choice for very great New Zealand 'Bordeaux' blends (any combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and a couple of other varietals). The best come from Hawkes Bay and Waiheke Island. Because of the fact that to get the best 'taste' necessitates blending of several varietals, naming of the blend is a problem. Whilst the origin of the varietals is Bordeaux (France) and the best benchmarking for comparative tasting is Bordeaux it is a shame that we (New Zealand) cannot come up with a descriptive term that describes the wine style as made in New Zealand irrespective of whether it comes from Hawkes Bay, Waiheke or wherever.

But I digress. Back to the wine. It has a stunning deep and clear red colour with crimson edges. It looks alive and suggrsts that it will last a long time. The aroma is deep and redolent of blackberries and currants with a bit of complex earthiness. This is not a wine for the faint-hearted. The taste is long, elegant and whilst rich has that astringency and cleansing palate character that is more akin to Bordeaux than Australia.
It finishes clean with rich tannins that don't dry out the mouth but still leave you wanting more. Overall a good wine that deserves the accolades it has won. Is there a negative element? Yes. For me. I wish I'd bought more of it when I had the chance.

CONGRATULATIONS!

2010-07-29T09:08:00.000+12:00

Nuova Lazio now has the distinction of having a liquor store for every 1,000 inhabitants. Congratulations people, the new licensing decision now means that you can compete with the big suburbs like Manurewa and East Tamaki. The licensing tribunal correctly recognise that communities like Nuova Lazio need extra liquor stores because of the younger population. The kids need something to do, especially when they are playing outside of school.
Archaic school regulations won't allow schools to supply alcohol at the tuck shops but hopefully this will change when the humble meat pie is reinstated. I'm sure that the new owner of the new license will be an honest and responsible trader in tune with the needs of his/her clientele.

To this end liquor companies will assist with new lines of sweet and colourful alcoholic drinks and rogue suppliers will have a never-ending range of party pills, ready-rolled marijuana substitutes to whet the kids (oops - young adults appetites). Tobacco companies will assist with fit out and have a good supply of under-the-counter offerings (don't forget the single cigarette sales!). Whilst new and ever prettier drinks are good, one must not forget the good old staples like Woodstock bourbon and coke for the guys and Bacardi Breezers for the young ladies. These can be purchased in bulk at amazingly discounted trade prices enabling the new licensee to special them out cheaper than a bottle of water.

To balance things out, in Nuova Lazio there are some old geezers who keep up the national average of consumption. I am reliably informed that there is a demand for Chardon from one 'connoisseur'. This big spender thinks nothing of splurging out on treats to entertain his friends with and is often seen at the supermarket bakery counter selecting just the right product to match with his favourite tipple.

At the other end of the spectrum is the caledonian imbiber. These hardened and experienced drinkers scoff at the thoughts of elegant Chardon-like beverages and prefer the manly taste and kick of whisky. Of course being caledonian they also prefer to purchase said beverage at extremely low prices. Don't despair, there are good 'scotch' substitutes to be had from the sub-continent.

BORING

2010-07-28T21:57:00.002+12:00

Richard (of RBB) has a low threshold for boredom. This is very surprising from someone whose chosen musical instrument is the double bass. One would think that someone who is looking continually for excitement would have chosen a gazoo or at least a triangle - something that has the potential to wake the audience up. But we must remember that Richard (of RBB) is a bit of an unusual creature, one who is frightened of birds, cows, large women, fast cars, fast car-drivers, fish, fishermen, old women, lawyers, band leaders, guitar players, second-fiddle players, Malaysians, golf balls, men in greatcoats, salami, espresso coffee, cats, loud noises and children who wear hats.
If we were to choose a wine to suit Richard (of RBB) who 'doesn't like boring things' we should avoid the usual suspects and present him with Chardonnay. Not just any Chardonnay but one with a bit of class. Richard (of RBB) to give him credit, is proficient in both Italian and German languages. He has learnt this via his arcane interest in the afore mentioned double bass. I have inside knowledge however that his knowledge of the French language is non-existant. At secondary school Richard was relegated to the lower classes where the classical languages were not offered (bookkeeping and finger painting were the alternatives) so Latin, Greek and French are not in his repertoire. This gap in his education of course provides a hunger so to 'jazz' up his liking of Chardonnay, even though it is a French grape, we will remind him of his previous fondness for Chardon. Not only does this wine-style allude to Chardonnay (even though a Chardonnay grape never came within a thousand kilometers of this 'wine'), it has a posh, french-style 'on' at the end. This should keep the old ponce happy for a while.

Borat- Wine tasting

2010-07-25T21:26:00.000+12:00

OK, I know you have seen this before but it reminds me of the times when I have tried to show Richard (of RBB) the proper way to taste wine. He has at different times drunk from the bottle, laid down and drunk from his gumboot and, one notorious time, joined a vertical tasting of Chateau Margaux a First Growth Bordeaux and mixed it with lemonade. Despairing of this I introduced him to cheap Australian Chardonnay which, with its sweetness and alcohol tastes like a lemonade drink. I think that this has worked as he doesn't bother me with questions much anymore except for the odd time when he has a flashback from his earlier Chardon drinking.

Drunk and Stupid! Viral Video Film School

2010-07-20T17:50:00.001+12:00

The Wine Critic world is overpopulated by many wankers and wannabees. I really like this guys send up of them

Wine Date

2010-07-19T17:02:00.001+12:00

My partner says I don't listen to her. This video made us both laugh

WINE SNOB?

2010-07-18T22:16:00.000+12:00

Am I a wine snob?
A dictionary interpretation is:

Snob
- noun
1. A person who imitates, cultivates or slavishly admires social superiors and is condescending or overbearing to others.
2. A person who believes himself or herself to be an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field: a musical snob

(I reproduced this faithfully - the musical snob reference was in the dictionary explanation).

The above seems reasonable apart from the fact that it says "admires social superiors", which I don't understand, having never met one.
I have a lot of knowledge of wine and like to think that I can pass on some of my vast knowledge to others without being "condescending" or "disdainful".
I do however feel sorry for people who waste their money on crap wines because they don't know any better. A friend who came to stay recently left behind a bottle of Saints South East Australian 2008 Shiraz.
I opened it tonight as I was cooking a Bolognaise sauce dish and needed a drop of red wine. On tasting it I immediately noticed that it was crap. I think my palate was OK and discerning as I hadn't had any wine ( or any alcohol) for a week. (I believe in only drinking when you feel like it and for the last week didn't feel the need). You should only cook with a wine that is worth drinking so I opened another Shiraz that was readily to hand. This was a 1993 Eileen Hardy Shiraz. This wine was superb. It is nicely developed, still rich but with the age having softened it out to make an even, smooth and almost silky wine. Great. A decent dollop of this to the sauce made for a great pasta dish.
Is this snobbish? I don't think so. I had the better wine to hand. The first one was crap and not worth putting in the sauce let alone drinking so why not? This got me to thinking though that there are many wine drinkers out there that drink crap because they don't know better. They haven't yet experienced the great or even better wines of the world. This doesn't make them dullards. It doesn't necessarily make them cheapskates as I know that for the money my friend paid for the Saints wine I could have found a different wine at the same price that is much better. It is all about experience and inside knowledge. I know that I pay money for music, computers, household goods, cars etc. that an expert would scoff at. Are they snobs? No. They just have a better knowledge of their field.

ELEPHANT BEER

2010-07-03T23:15:00.000+12:00

Its been years since I drank it and I probably won't in the future but Carlsberg Elephant beer is a part of my personal history. I haven't been a wine guy exclusively. I have marketed beers, spirits and liqueurs as well as wine. I was lucky to have been the brand manager for Carlsberg in the mid 80's and very much enjoyed that fine product especially when it was selling well (mid 80's) when we had freshly imported product direct from the brewery(s) in Denmark. When the significant importers collapsed (Allied Liquor and NZW&S) due to a combination of factors (deregulation of import licensing, change to the Sale of Liquor Act and and rise of small importers and distributors) the offerings began to be dodgy. Small operators couldn't afford to import full containers (at least 2400 cases of beer) and consolidated shipments with other products. These consolidations were often made in 'hub' ports that were far away from the source of the products. They also sourced product from second-tier distributors (not the original producers) so that the beer brought in was often close to its use-by date on landing. Today, Carlsberg is brewed in New Zealand (since 2007) and whilst selling in much greater quantities than before is not really the same as the original.
Carlsberg is a famous Danish beer company founded in the mid 1800's and is today the 4th largest brewery group in the world. It is one of those companies with lucky brands that whilst being huge have a 'boutique' image. Carlsberg's Elephant beer at 7.2% alc. is a pretty strong brew, not the strongest beer made by any means but still significantly over the normal Pilsners. Its actually quite a well made beer and should have had a good following by aficionados but, like anything that has macho connotations has been adopted by yobbos and lager louts.

These morons would drink drain cleaner if someone told them it was tough to do so. Anyway, Elephant beer wasn't named because elephants are big and strong
but because the original Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen has elephant statues at the entrance.

ICE WINE?

2010-07-03T17:42:00.000+12:00

I've mentioned before that if you have some left over wine and don't plan to drink it over the next few days, then the best storage option is to freeze it. This works best for long storage as sealing and refrigerating can make the wine last a long time if there is not much airspace in the bottle. I find that refrigerating is good for those bottles left after a party where they have been opened but bugger all is drunk from them, or if you have a half bottle to pour the wine into leaving minimal airspace. The wine of course will have already been exposed to extra oxygen on opening which will accelerate its ageing but it should be OK for a week or so. For longer keeping though, freezing is best. I wouldn't bother freezing wine unless there was at least 3/4 of a bottle (note, when freezing allow for expansion so don't freeze a bottle that is full or it will break or force the cork out).

When you want to use the wine you will obviously have to allow time for it to thaw, unless you are an Eskimo and want the wine at room temperature.

Gentle microwaving is acceptable, just be careful not to cook the wine. When the wine is frozen, potassium bitartrate deposits will precipitate. These are harmless but unsightly. Given time they will dissolve and 'disappear'. If you decant the wine away from these the taste will only be slightly different from the original. The wine should have most if not all of the characteristics of when it was first opened except for the fact that it will have been exposed to more oxygen. It won't be oxidised or taste like vinegar but the extra exposure will accelerate the ageing.
Some people I know will scoff at this saying things like "no wine ever gets left over at my place" Ho Ho! What about when you have had a dinner party or worse, a party where some moron opens up too many bottles and they are left unused. Do you scoff the lot and go into an alcoholic coma or tip it out?
Give the freezing option a chance sometime.

A LITTLE GERMAN STORY

2010-06-30T15:15:00.001+12:00

A couple of years ago when we were in Verona we went to a nice restaurant that had been recommended by friends. This had all the good elements of an Italian dining experience - entering through a bar/delicatessen and being seated in a roomy yet still intimate two level dining area. We had a nice table in the elevated corner of the room which gave us a nice view across the restaurant. Unfortunately a table load of Germans (or Austrians) were seated close by. This consisted of a large hausfrau, a diminutive husband and two rather rotund children. They were eating what looked like pig's feet in pasta but I may be wrong. The kids whined and the parents didn't communicate with each other so conversation mostly consisted of various 'don't do that's" and "no's" ( in German of course).

They had been seated some time before we were and had some sort of house wine on the table with two small and ordinary looking glasses from which they occasionally and unenthusiastically took sips. When we choose restaurants we normally look at the wine list first before looking at the food list so as to decide if it is worth staying or not. We did this and were very pleased to see a good list made up of great wines from the various wine regions and chose a very good Barolo from Piedmont (we gave the wines from Lazio a miss not being fans of Orvieto). The waiter seemed very pleased at our choice (it was expensive) and whisked away the small glasses that had been on the table and returned with some magnificent large ones that could easily have held half a bottle each. Our Teutonic friend at the next table glanced up (they were sitting on the lower level) and bristled his whiskers at the sight of our glassware. I nudged Lynn to watch him as the wine was brought to the table uncorked, checked and served with a flourish. After we had ordered or meal and the waiter had gone we tried our wine and agreed that it was extremely good and sat back to enjoy it. The ehemann was alternately looking at us and then looking at his glass. This happened several times before he discussed something about his glass with his wife. We knew what this was and sure enough he summoned over the waiter to complain. He was pointing to our glasses and then to their glasses and complaining in a loud voice (in German). The waiter, answering in Italian, appeared to not understand him. This was unlikely as it was Northern Italy after all and the Austrian border is not far away. What is more likely however is that the waiter didn't like Austrians and Germans as that area had been occupied by Austria for a long time in the 19th century and obviously by the Germans in WWII. Ill feeling takes a long time to disappear. Eventually the waiter brought along someone else (the manager?) to translate and a sale of a single glass of (I assume) expensive wine was negotiated. This was brought in a similarly large glass as ours. The hausfrau did not look at all pleased, firstly as the wine may have been over their holiday budget and secondly hubby had just ordered one for himself. She still had her small glass of house wine. Ehemann sat back in his chair, swirling his wine and preening. If anyone remembers Mr Bean in a restaurant or other social setting it was just like that. Bean turning simple things like ordering food into a competition with someone next to him. Priceless.

GODZONE WINE

2010-06-27T17:08:00.000+12:00

An uninformed friend of mine said that New Zealand wine is famous for its Germanic characteristics.

Well, it is true that this country makes the best Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers outside of Germany and France (Alsace which is arguably more German than French) and used to make outstanding Muller Thurgau's (better than the crappy German examples of this grape varietal). New Zealand wine however is best known for the French varietals that we have adopted and adapted to suit our very advantageous climate. Sauvignon Blanc is the leading grape, followed by Chardonnay, then Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. French all.

Although the majority of New Zealand's plantings are of French origin, continual improvement, investment and of course a generally better grape growing climate has produced a New Zealand style that is quite different to the French. Our wines are fruitier and show less minerality. The winemaking practices are better, producing cleaner wines that have less sulphur, rot, fungal spoilage and other winemaking problems.

A CAUTIONARY (T)ALE

2010-06-15T15:43:00.000+12:00

A hard working commercial cleaner who we will call Eric to protect his privacy enjoyed D.I.Y. in many forms. Arriving home after a long day Robert..... dang! Sorry. Arriving home he would brew up his Coopers home brew in the discarded school toilet bowls he acquired from the rubbish skips at his work. Stout and dark ales seemed to work the best with the darker colours disguising most imperfections. Eric enjoyed his home brew and was proud of his handiwork. He usually couldn't wait for the brew to be complete before he indulged in a bottle or two. He was proud of the fact that the bottles could be recapped when half full as the still fermenting yeasts would keep the brew 'fresh'. He should have been more observant of the instructions.
Eric liked other forms of D.I.Y. - building sheds, fences, bathrooms, kayaks and blogs. After a couple of bevvies his workmanship tended to become a bit skewiff. Beams would sag, paint blotch and joins not match up as well as they should. This was true of all of his hobbies except for blogging. For some reason the alcohol improved his spelling, grammar, creativity and humour - for a while before he would fall asleep in mid-sentence.
The home brew that R...Eric made needs ten days for the secondary fermentation to complete before the ale is left to 'age'. Eric however liked the fizzy taste and yeastiness and would drink his before the fermentation cycle was complete. This meant that the process continued inside Eric after he had imbibed. Now this might not have been too bad a thing if Eric had limited himself to small amounts. Working yeast in fact can be beneficial to digestion and is a good scourer for the bowel. Eric though, being of the working classes, enjoyed his ales in quantity - indeed it was because a can of Coopers ready-mix could produce 30 litres of the stuff that attracted him in the first place. Volume and frequency caused an unnatural build-up of fermenting brew inside Eric and unfortunately one evening he simply exploded.

RAINBOW'S REVENGE

2010-06-14T18:41:00.000+12:00

A big bold Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominant wine. The ripe fruit has rich blackberry and blackcurrant flavours. The structure is all fine-grained tannins underpinned with very good oak. The finish is long and elegant. Swirling this wine in your mouth opens up spicy and earthy notes. Don’t spill it on your white shirt or tablecloth as you’ll never get out the purplish stains.

A Second or even First-Growth Bordeaux? Sure tasted like one. No. This is a good old kiwi wine (not a cheap one at $65). It is Sacred Hill Helmsman 2007 Cabernet Merlot from Hawkes Bay (appropriately named).

'Bordeaux' varietals, particularly from Hawkes Bay and Waiheke island are showing great promise and people are sitting up to take notice. The film Bottle Shock is doing a circuit on SKY TV at present. This is the one that shows Californian wines challenging (and winning against) some high flying French wines including top Bordeaux wines. Last year a comparative tasting of First Growth Bordeaux wines and Hawkes Bay wines showed the Hawkes Bay wines showing up extremely well against their aristocratic cousins and at least a tenth of the price. Four of the top six wines were NZ including the number one wine. An older version of this wine, the 2005 Helmsman came in at number three.

So what am I saying? I'll say it now as the wine is after all 14% alc/vol and might not make much sense after I've finished the bottle (Her Indoors is away) - Don't underestimate the best red wines from New Zealand (also don't overestimate a lot of the others including a lot of ordinary Pinot Noir). The good news is that the best New Zealand red wines even if they are going to set you back between $40 and $100 are one fifth, one tenth and even one twentieth of what you might pay for an American or French equivalent.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS

2010-06-07T18:06:00.000+12:00

When commenting on TwistedScottishBastard's blog I mentioned a whisky bottle kept behind glass for emergencies. I looked up images on the internet and sure enough found this one. Not whisky but alcohol nevertheless.

I also found this swine-flu one.

C'MON EILEEN

2010-06-05T19:31:00.000+12:00

In my previous post I talked about new wines needing some time to develop which can be accelerated by opening them a day in advance. Tonight we are drinking an older wine that, whilst it will still be good in a day's time given its power, is ideal drinking right now only a few minutes after opening.
Its a miserable old day up here today with driving rain and high winds bringing a drop in temperature that is positively wintry. Yesterday it was fabulous. No wind, plenty of sunshine and the bay like glass. I walked, golfed, gardened and swam - enjoying the day as I knew it wouldn't last having consulted the augers who predicted a stormy weekend. Murphy could have also told me that as it is a holiday weekend after all. In light of the aforementioned miserable conditions I lit both fires at either end of the house and we planned a roast dinner. Roast loin of lamb with roast potatoes and a cheese-topped broccoli/cauliflower/zuccini dish. While it is cooking Lynn opened a Roederer NV Champagne which was delicious. A long favourite of ours, Roederer is always a treat. In our changed circumstances we don't drink Champagne as frequently as we used to but always enjoy it. Looking for something more substantial to go with our meal I chose an Eileen Hardy 1998 Shiraz. This has never disappointed and always needs long cellar age for it to reach its potential. At 12 years old the 1998 is still a 'baby' but because we are looking for something big and rich to go with the meal I chose this. This is a stunning wine - rich and velvety from a combination of very, very good fruit and long cool cellaring with complex spice, fruit and oak aromas. The finish is surprisingly soft given its obvious power with the tannins complementing the wine rather than overpowering it. I decanted it on opening (using my trusty silver funnel) and there was a bit of residue left in the bottle that made the exercise worthwhile but the advantage of decanting once again was to freshen up the wine, giving it a bit of oxygenation and eliminating any off bottle odours. I'm sipping this wine now and looking forward to having a big glass or two with the roast dinner within the hour.

AS TIME GOES BY

2010-06-03T23:05:00.000+12:00

I'm sure that I've mentioned it before but most wines improve with having been open a while (called breathing). The exceptions are very old wines that will deteriorate quickly on exposure to more oxygen and crappy wines that just won't get any better (Richard please take note - that stuff you drink, even if you left it for days in the compost heap it just will not improve - better to leave it in the compost heap). Modern wines are increasingly being made anaerobically (minimal exposure to oxygen) and as a result are much fresher, have a tighter structure and need decanting or opening a while before drinking. A quick way to improve the aroma, taste and general 'mouth-feel' of these wines is to pour into a jug and then back into the bottle. This oxygenates the wine and drives off some of the off-odours trapped between wine and cork or cap. It can also unfortunately 'bottle-shock' the wine which dumbs down the flavours. The best approach is to open the bottle a day ahead, pour some out and leave the remainder in the fridge until you drink it. My most recent positive experience of this is the Montana Reserve 2008 Pinot Noir that I opened last night and decided that it was simple, overtly cherry-flavoured and lacking in depth. Trying it tonight 24 hours later it had opened up and was showing warmth, fullness and better fruit complexity. The oxygenation definitely improved this wine.

SLAINTHE!

2010-06-02T18:28:00.000+12:00

My previous post got me thinking about whisky and, as the weather is becoming a bit wintry I thought that it is time to check out some of the Malts that we have in the cellar. We don't drink a lot of whisky but have always kept a nice little selection of them for special occasions and for enthusiastic visitors. As I hadn't imbibed for a while a refresher was necessary. Instead of drinking wine last night I had a little whisky tasting. The portions were all small, poured into small whisky, sherry and port glasses livened up with a splash of soda water.

The whiskies I tried were:

Bowmore 12 year old. Islay. Strong and iodine-flavoured. Some sweet heather notes off-set the seaweed. Finishes hot and short.

Glendronach 12 year old. Highlands - Speyside. Rich sherry nose. Quite a sweet and rich flavour which carries through to the finish.

Glenmorangie 12 year old. Highlands - Northern. A spicy, oaky medium style that finishes long.

Highland Park 12 year old. Highlands - Orkney. Smoky aroma with touch of sherry. Rich and smooth taste with one of the best finishes - long and luscious.

Aberlour 10 year old. Highlands- Speyside. This is a rich and smooth malt with a distinctive spicy aroma. It has a nice clean and lingering finish.

Laphroaig 15 year old. Islay. Seaweedy (iodine) nose with a slick almost oily texture. Very rich with a hot finish.

Glenlivit 12 year old.Highlands - Speyside. Beautiful floral nose. A light and elegant body with nice fruity flavour finishing long.

The Macallan 12 year old. Highlands - Speyside. Beautiful honey and sherry aroma. Fruity and powerful flavour. Long and hot finish.

Tamdhu 15 year old. Highlands - Speyside. Elegant sherry and smoky nose. Medium bodied and equally elegant flavour that finishes soft and mellow.

Cragganmore 12 year old. Highlands - Speyside.. Beautiful heathery aroma with sweet herb characters. Elegant palate and a very long lingering finish.

Tomatin 12 year old. Highlands - Speyside. Fresh, bright nose with a smooth palate. Nice balance of wood, alcohol and fruity flavours.

I didn't try any of the nice aged blended whiskies we have and the older malts as eleven was enough. Even with a splash of soda in the mix the alcohol tends to dull the palate (and the brain).

It needs to be said that I didn't drink all of the pours. I tipped out what was left in the glasses after evaluating them. It was still enough to give a buzz though, not unlike drinking a bottle of wine. I went to bed happy. Also, probably obviously, Lynn was away so I was able to conduct this 'tasting' without feeling that I was a total dipsomaniac.

My favourite whisky is Tamdhu and I have a really great appreciation of The Macallan and Highland Park. The best whisky of the night though was Cragganmore.

A great restauranteur and great 'Mine Host' in the South Island, Frank Pipe, is also a rabid rugby follower. After any game, whether international or provincial and whatever the result Frank would loudly exclaim "Rugby's the winner". Well, last night Malt Whisky was the winner.

IODINE - I'LL HAVE A DOUBLE

2010-05-26T18:03:00.003+12:00

Iodine is a chemical and its compounds are used in photography, medicine and in manufacturing. It is very rare but is also very soluble. This is why we hear of it being prevalent in seawater and concentrated in seaweed. A good Islay or other West Coast Island Malt Whisky wouldn't be the same without a whiff of seaweed (read Iodide).
When it comes to wine things become a bit diffuse. One man's iodine is another's cloves, or elastaplast, or sweaty socks (don't ask - wine appreciation requires passion not dispassionate chemical analysis). Iodine is often referred to in respect to Rhone Valley red wines - specifically Syrah-based wines. Why? Who knows?. How close is Rhone Valley to the sea? (look it up). When it comes to the influence in Island Malts it is easy. The barley is smoked and the source of the smoke is peat fires. In the Western Islands (of Scotland obviously) the peat is heavily saturated with seaweed. In the Highlands ( Scotland again, not Papua New Guinea or USA) the peat is impregnated with heather so has a rich honey character. In New Zealand, Syrah is said to have more French characteristics than Australian. Why? Who knows. (Richard says who cares). Last night I went to a wine-tasting of Waiheke Island wines. There was a mixed-bag of wines with Viognier, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and blends making their mark. There were some big names here too (and some correspondingly big prices). The standout wine (to me and others) was Man 'O' War Dreadnought Syrah 2008 ($38). This is a sweet, rich, young and nicely wooded wine. It has some vibrant, youthful edges that will be knocked off with time ( a year?) and will come out as a masterpiece. Iodine? Yes. There is a hard, medicinal edge to the wine that may well put some people off. I put it down to youth. Tonight I opened a 2007 version of the same wine as I wanted to see if there were any similar characteristics. There are. Terroir rules! The 2007 is rich, very alive with a long flavour. The extra year has given it a silky texture. Lurking underneath though is - iodine. Why? Is this a Rhone characteristic? I don't know - I'll leave it to the viticulturists. What I do know though is that the vineyard where Man 'O' War Dreadnought Syrah is sourced from is at the Westernmost extremity of New Zealand being on one of the country's steepest vineyards sloping right down to the Pacific Ocean at the extreme edge of Waiheke Island. I appreciate the connection to France and the Rhone Valley with this Syrah but I prefer to think of the wonderful iodine character which gives it individuality as being more akin to those fabulous malt whiskies of Western Scotland.

GO FOR THE BARGAINS ...

2010-05-20T02:04:00.001+12:00

... but know what is a bargain.
Supermarkets, on-line wine suppliers, chain liquor stores and wine shops will always have specials. These could be lines they are hoping to quit, old wines that are past their use-by date, suppliers end-of-line deals, ''failed export offers' or legitimate specials that the competitive nature of the wine industry has necessitated.
It pays to select carefully. Most 'specials' highlight a former price (one that the current price is discounted down to). The various consumer protection laws specify that the former price has to be proved, for a mandatory period of time, to have been on offer. This is fine if the product is an established, long-term brand that the consumer is familiar with. The problem arises when it is a new and unfamiliar product. Now there are many new and legitimate products coming onto the wine market all the time, but, at the same time there are many new labels being created to meet the 'special' demand. These products have never properly been on the market but to meet the legal requirements have been listed or offered for sale at a fairly high price. If you are not familiar with the brand or new label it pays to do a bit of research. I've been in the wine industry for many years but I am still surprised at some of the offerings and have to do some checking before buying a 'special'.
Even the established brands in legitimate channels like supermarkets can be set up to mislead you. When a supermarket says something like ..."now 10.99, was 18.99 - save 8.00'.. it pays to have a bit of inside knowledge. Sometimes that '18.99' is a very optimistic calculation of a price that has never really seen the light of day (even though on paper it can be proved). If you know (by experience or by advice) what the 'normal' price of a particular wine is then you can work out what is a bargain or what isn't.

Which leads me to ... bargains.

I've mentioned these before but when you see Sacred Hill Hawkes Bay Chardonnay (the one with the ugly orange label) at $12 - reduced from say $18 - go for it. Even better if you see Selaks Winemakers Favourite Chardonnay at $15 - down fro about $21 - buy as much as you can get your hands on.