Drinks Dispatches: What’s Hot In Wine Right Now?

Wine editor Dr Jo Burzynska rounds up the latest and greatest wine news, from three great wine bars to a useful gadget, to a new generation of wāhine winemakers.

The rise of matching sherry and umami flavours

Not the sickly stuff in gran’s drinks cabinet, or poor local imitations, but the savoury, largely dry, rich and pungent wines from Spain’s Jerez region that are great with dishes rich in savoury umami flavours.

Think Fino and almonds; Amontillado and mushrooms; Oloroso with meats and mature cheese. I’m partial to Oloroso and spiced duck or wild boar stew.

Give game a go with the Bodegas Hidalgo Faraon Oloroso Sherry, in which notes of toasted pecan, dried fig, baking spice, tobacco and a salted caramel edge meld with its rich savoury character (500ml $48 from Wine Direct, Regional Wines, Fine Wine Delivery Company, Glengarry, Centre City Wines & Spirits).

Or head to Cazador restaurant in Auckland for some exceptional game-sherry pairings.

The Wairarapa has become a go-to wine destination

One of the pleasures of being a wine writer is the travel, and a region I always relish visiting is the Wairarapa.

At Moy Hall, an alfresco lunch overlooking its vineyard is now a Martinborough must-do. In 2018, Phil and Carolyn McArthur built a long barn to house a relaxed restaurant and cellar door in their established vineyard.

From this site, and a number of other local single vineyards, they make their easy-drinking range of wines that you can taste or savour over lunch.

Food is equally important: a seasonal menu of beautifully executed small plates using local produce that changes weekly.

On Giants' Shoulders is a great example of the new guard, producing wines from Martinborough's historic McCreanor vineyard established in 1988.

Braden and Gabrielle Crosby purchased the small historic vineyard in 2015, from which winemaker Braden has been making expressive pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot gris.

These can be tried by appointment at the tasting room on their vineyard, possibly along with one of “The Collaborator” wines for comparison, made by another winemaker from the vineyard.

Tasted for the first time this trip were the vivacious Lime Hill wines from the B.wine label launched by Swiss-born Raphael and Christine Burki in 2020.

The wines hail from the “Lime Hill” vineyard, a steep, north-west-facing slope east of Masterton, rare in the region as its vines grow on prized pure limestone.

The result is the elegant white-fruited, taut and minerally Lime Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2020 and the wonderfully perfumed and silky Lime Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019, with its notes of violet florals, herb, white pepper, and exotic spice infusing raspberry and cherry fruit (both $58 and available from Bwine.co.nz, Caro's Martinborough Wine Merchants).

Three wonderful wine bars

Blend a well-chosen wine selection with friendly, knowledgeable service, a pleasant ambience and fabulous food and I can while away many hours in a good wine bar.

Three of my favourites from around the country are: Bar Celeste (Auckland), a bar and "neobistro" with a natural focus, tasty small plates and friendly staff; Noble Rot (Wellington) boasts a mighty wine list with over 500 wines, including more than 80 by the glass; Cellar Door (Christchurch) has wines served by the glass, bottle or as an exciting tasting flight in a historic building.

Greystone Pinot was fermented in the vineyard

It is often said that great wine is made in the vineyard, but the Greystone Vineyard Ferment North Canterbury Pinot Noir was literally fermented among the vines from which its grapes were harvested.

Greystone winemaker Dom Maxwell started experimenting with fermenting wine outside a decade ago, as an attempt to ensure that only the wild yeasts from that vineyard itself fermented the wines.

Vineyards have been found to have different local yeast populations, which contribute to a wine’s complexity and distinctive character. These vary between the vineyard, vintage and winery, in which the latter can harbour yeasts from other places and years.

And the result? From the great 2020 vintage, the latest release is a distinctive wine of great depth and lightness. Silken textured and threaded with fragrant notes of herb, roselike florals, spice and earth, its delicate red cherry fruit is lifted by a freshness and chalky minerality, underpinned by a concentrated and elegant savoury character ($90 from Vino Fino, Regional Wines, Fine Wine Delivery Co, Greystonewines.co.nz).

Three Fates are a new generation of wāhine winemakers

Winemaking used to be a male-dominated occupation, but in recent years it’s been encouraging to see more sisters excelling in the winery and vineyard.

One new all-female project to watch is Three Fates, the Hawke's Bay label started by Holly Girven Russell, Hester Nesbitt and Casey Motley.

It was fate that brought the trio together. The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 saw both Holly and her friend Hester forced to return home from their winemaking jobs in Australia.

Almost as soon as she’d touched down, Holly secured the lease of a small vineyard in Maraekākaho, attracted by its slope and interesting mix of grape varieties.

Too much to handle alone, she contacted Hester, who came on board. They then recruited Casey for her vineyard skills, and the triumvirate was complete.

All three bring considerable wine experience spanning the globe, which includes work at prestigious wineries such as Burgundy’s Domaine de Montille, François Villard in the Northern Rhone and the Yarra Valley’s Mac Forbes.

Nevertheless, as Holly notes, finding opportunities to progress to full-time positions in the smaller wineries they wanted to work in remains a struggle for women. It’s still rare to find an all-women wine enterprise like Three Fates, which she describes as a “lifesaver for all three of us”.

Currently available is Three Fates' deliciously drinkable Hawke's Bay Cabernet Franc 2021 with its soft, ripe and juicy blackberry and blackcurrant fruit ($30-$35 from Threefateswine.com, Bythebottle.co.nz, Cahn's Wines & Spirits, Cellar Ahuriri, Frances Nation Grocer). Watch out for a still and pét-nat rosé, Arneis and Albarino as well when they're released later this year.

Holly is excited about the potential of alternative varieties like these in Hawke’s Bay, and grateful for the support of the “huge crew of women working in wineries” in the region. Some in particular have been incredible, says Holly.

“And they all seem to make killer Franc. I wonder if there’s something in that!”

Coravin offers an innovative way to keep wine

While I don't use many wine gadgets, one exception is my trusty Coravin, which allows you to sample a wine without pulling the cork.

This handy device uses a surgical needle to draw out as much wine as desired, which is replaced with argon gas to preserve what remains.

And it works, as wines I’ve sneaked a sample out of years ago are still fresh on opening. It’s great if you just want a single glass of wine or to enjoy a bottle over a prolonged period, and it allows you to check the progress and condition of cellared bottles.

Coravin’s latest innovation is devices that now come with a screwcap fitting, a custom cap used on opening that allows multiple extractions of wine.

I can’t yet vouch for the long-term ageing of wines using this method, but they certainly keep wines fresh for far longer than other opened bottles in my fridge.

A notable new natural wine label

As I’m convinced the future of wine is organic, I’m overjoyed to see a growing number of wineries following a more natural path.

One of the newest ventures of note is O Naturel from Central Otago. That's just been launched by Lucie and Brook Lawrence, formerly behind the Aurum label.

They started O Naturel with a new vineyard as a project focused on certified organic production, regenerative viticulture, natural wines, plus “family time and joy!”

“We have leaned for many years towards ‘natural winemaking’, which is a difficult or controversial concept for many,” explains Lucie.

“But for us it just means that if the grapes make their way to the winery in the best possible shape, we shouldn’t need to use extras.”

O Naturel’s first two releases are evidence of the Lawrences’ attention to sensitively growing and handling great grapes.

O Naturel Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021 ($34) is supple, with pure and vibrant black cherry fruit and a touch of wild thyme; while the O Naturel Organic Dry Central Otago Riesling 2021 ($26) combines notes of crisp green apple and hints of fennel with a gently savoury, nutty undercurrent. More joyful styles to come!

A multisensory experience blends sound and wine

It’s fascinating how our senses beyond that of taste can shape our perception of a wine’s flavour, something I studied in depth through my PhD.

Drinking wine is inherently multisensory, with what we see, hear, smell and even touch when we’re tasting creating the final impression.

Ensuring that the sensory experience outside the glass resonates with what’s in it can consequently heighten positive sensory and emotional responses to a wine.

Recently I had a great time applying my research to Church Road Wines’ Feast of Five dinners across the country, where I highlighted how colour, sound, shape and texture could make wines taste noticeably different.

And to help people make the most harmonious wine and music matches, I’ve launched the Oenosthesia: Blending Wine and Music Substack, which shares the latest research in the area and suggests combinations you can try at home.