It's possible to support a good cause while enjoying a glass or two of wine. Photo / Getty Images
It's possible to support a good cause while enjoying a glass or two of wine. Photo / Getty Images
Looking for a way to support worthwhile causes, while enjoying a glass or two of wine? Recent releases from the Whitehaven, Valli and Taylors wineries are helping to protect fish, kiwi and people.
The Koparepare range, made by Whitehaven and sold through fishing clubs and wine retailers, raises funds forLegaSea and its commitment to restore inshore fisheries to abundance. Taylors Promised Land Chardonnay and Rosé support Project Seahorse on its mission to “save threatened seahorses and protect marine habitats around the world”.
If you buy the higher-priced Valli chardonnay or pinot noir, 10% of gross proceeds go to organisations training dogs to protect kiwi from predators on Stewart Island, and other dogs to detect early signs of cancer.
Koparepare Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023
★★★½
This is a freshly aromatic, tangy, medium- to full-bodied wine. Strongly varietal, it has good depth of passionfruit, lime and green capsicum flavours. It is dry and crisp. (13% alc/vol) $18-$20
Taylors Promised Land South Australia Chardonnay 2023
Drinking well in its youth, this buoyantly fruity wine was handled in stainless steel tanks, rather than oak barrels. Full-bodied, it has good depth of peachy, gently spicy flavours. Fresh, dry and well-rounded. (13.5% alc/vol) $17
Taylors Promised Land South Australia Rosé 2022
★★★
Ready to roll, this pink/slight orange wine is medium-bodied, with lively peach, strawberry and spice flavours. Dry and smooth. (12.5% alc/vol) $13-$17
Valli Mawson Pisa Vineyard Central Otago Chardonnay 2023
★★★★½
Well worth cellaring, this vigorous wine was grown in the elevated Highgrange Vineyard, at Pisa in the Cromwell Basin, and matured for nine months in seasoned oak casks. Still very youthful, it is an elegant, full-bodied wine, with strong, vibrant, peachy, citrusy flavours, biscuity, leesy notes adding complexity, fresh acidity and a dry, tightly structured finish. Best drinking 2026 onwards. (13% alc/vol) $85
Valli Levi Pisa Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
This highly refined, bright ruby red flows from the same site as the chardonnay and was barrel-aged for nearly a year. Mouthfilling, sweet-fruited and supple, it has generous cherry, plum and spice flavours, is complex, savoury, harmonious and lingering. Finely crafted and already delicious, it should be at its best 2026+. (14% alc/vol) $85
Wine of the week
Koparepare Marlborough Pinot Gris 2023
As an all-purpose wine, this works well. Medium- to-full-bodied, it has lively, ripe, citrusy, gently spicy flavours, revealing very good delicacy and depth, hints of pears and peaches, fresh acidity, and a smooth, dry, lingering finish. (13% alc/vol) $18-$20
