Best NZ Winery Restaurant

Pegasus Bay has been awarded the Cuisine Magazine New Zealand Winery Restaurant of the Year...for the past 5 years in a row. No small feat, especially coming from the less known region of Waipara Valley, meaning 'muddy water' in Maori, and just 30 minutes north of Christchurch. Not the most appealing name for a wine region in my opinion but Waipara's proximity to the ocean allows for warm days and cool nights resulting in a prolonged ripening period. This, combined with its terroir, promotes great flavor development while retaining natural acidity making wines from the region a true pleasure to drink and Pegasus Bay is a prime example!

Since I've been in New Zealand, I've learned about The Family of Twelve, which are 12 family owned wineries throughout New Zealand that strive to produce great New Zealand wine with the help and support from each other. Pegasus Bay is one of the 12. All are well respected and have great reputations for making consistently great wines. From the few I've tasted, I'd have to agree. I would love to taste at all 12 some day...9 down, 3 to go!

Not only does Pegasus Bay take special care of their wines, but they also take great pride in their restaurant cuisine. One of the beautiful things about the Pegasus Bay Restaurant is the menu is created for the wines they actually produce and each dish is matched with a recommended wine. They also use locally grown ingredients and change their menu regularly to utilize seasonal ingredients allowing for variety. Their highest rated dish by Cuisine Magazine is the whole Muscovy duck braised and crisp fried with fig jus. It's meant to be shared and served with roasted beetroot, Jerusalem artichokes, arugula, butter crunch, mint, orange, ricotta, fennel, pistachios, raspberry vincotto. It's a complete meal for two at only $98.00. It's suggested pairing is with the Pegasus Bay PRIMA DONNA Pinot Noir or the MAESTRO Merlot/Cabernet blend. Sounds amazing! However, we did not order the duck because we wanted to taste a wider range from their menu and we were not disappointed.

The Lineup: We had an amazing tasting at Pegasus Bay and were able to taste their entire range. Absolutely beautiful wines! You can really tell they take great pride in their craft. All wines had great balance, elegance and minerality.

One of the stand outs: BEL CANTO Dry Riesling 2011. The nose was rich with hints of botrytis, ripe stone fruits and slightest hint of green tea, which added an interesting component to this already complex wine. It was developed and reminiscent to German Riesling from the Pfalz. It's one of the highest compliments I can give because the Pfalz produces some of my favorite Rieslings.  

Our appetizer: The Golden Bay cockles, chorizo, fennel, garlic and parsley paired beautifully with the 2011 BEL CANTO Dry Riesling.

Sent out compliments of the chef...thanks! Smoked venison carpaccio, pinot cherries, horseradish cream and parmigiano reggiano. Yummy! Matched with VIRTUOSO Chardonnay or PRIMA DONNA Pinot Noir. 

Main dish: Char grilled Angus/Hereford 350g, 30 day aged rib eye with roast shallots, watercress, red wine butter, jus and served with a selection of mustards. Recommended pairing with PRIMA DONNA Pinot Noir or MAESTRO Merlot/Cabernet. This was my favorite out of everything! It was so tender, juicy and packed with flavor...it melted in your mouth! Went beautifully with the MAESTRO.

Main dish: Marinated Canterbury lamb cutlets with cavolo nero, chorizo, borlotti beans, ricotta, lemon and olive dust. Recommended pairing with PRIMA DONNA Pinot Noir or MAESTRO Merlot/Cabernet. I preferred it with the MAESTRO.

And our dessert was the pear tarte tatin, cardamom ice cream, pistachio praline. I asked the server to surprise us with dessert. The tarte tatin was secretly what I wanted and I was so excited when it came out that I forgot to take a picture...oops! We enjoyed it with the FINALE Semillon. Superb!

And our very happy faces enjoying one of the best meals of my life!

Later, I got to taste the 2010 vintage at Wine Tastes, a wine shop in Queenstown. Dare I say, better than the 2011?...yes I do! :)

Merano Wine Festival 2012

The Merano Wine Festival is an annual tasting event of the finest Italian and international wines. It a tasting event like no other and the best I have ever attended! Over 400 wineries from Italy and more than 120 international producers from across the world were selected to participate. In addition, there is a Beer Passion section where you can taste handcrafted Italian beers as well as a Culinary Area showcasing some the best local ingredients.

The Festival is an amazing opportunity 'to take a trip around the world with your wine glass'. You have the chance to speak to winemakers, taste historic Italian vintages and acquaint yourself with up-and-coming winemakers. There is even an option to attend private tastings for an extra fee. A three day pass will set you back 160 Euros but I think you will agree it's money well spent!

The Kursaal Hall

J. Hofstatter, one of the many famous producers available to taste

An amazing Falanghina from Donna Laura with great complexity

After a long day of wine tasting it was time for a beer so I headed to the Beer Passion area and this chef handed one right to me as I walked in and insisted on a photo...haha oh, the Italians! J

Cittavecchia, where have you been all my life?! My favorite Italian beer!!! It didn't hurt that the brewer was extremely nice and spoke perfect English as well as German and Italian...a man of many talents!

Pavillon Des Fleurs was an entire room dedicated to Bordeaux and Chateau Leoville Barton was one of many being poured

And what's a room of Bordeaux without a little Sauternes?!

Feudi di San Gregorio is known for their elegant and traditional Italian wines. Serpico is 100% Aglianico and is a deep, powerful, concentrated wine with impeccable balance and great aging potential. And the photo below the bottle is not a tree but actually one of their ancient vines.

Vietti is one of the top Piemonte producers

Nebbiolo is the red grape varietal used in Pio Cesare's world class Barolo and Barbaresco

Fattoria Poggio Gagliardo was one of the few producers who were kind enough to serve from a decanter, which is much needed with these young and powerful Italian wines. After a couple of hours to breathe, these were some of the finest we tasted with elegance and precision.

Please don't judge our wine teeth to harshly. We had a long yet impressive day of Barolo tasting J

And what's an Italian wine tasting without a little Italian pick me up?

There were many international wineries present. Simcic was one of the many and are know for their traditional Rebula

Bodren is a Croatian winery who specializes in ice wine

Monday, the last day of the festival, was vintage tasting day! Many of the producers opened vintage selections according to a predetermined schedule for everyone who was still there to enjoy. This wine lived to see the next century!!!

You want some cheese with that wine? The culinary section was filled with all types of food you could sample from cheese to homemade olives to truffles. Needless to say, I spent a good amount of time there J

And if all this wasn't enough to convince you how absolutely amazing this festival is, check out the beautiful town of Merano. Now I gotcha!

A Koehler-Ruprecht Movie

Here's a little video from the Weingut Koehler-Ruprecht with yours truly narrating. Basically, I'm like Morgan Freeman in the March of the Penguins J Enjoy!

Rheinhessen Recap

The Rheinhessen is the region just North of the Pfalz and just a 30-minute drive to the base. Since it has similar soil and climate to the Pfalz, the wines are similar in style. Generally, the Pfalz has a bigger, broader palate and fermented dry. The Rheinhessen is typically not as broad and with a leaner style of elegance. I am not well acquainted with the nuances of Rheinhessen so I asked my cellar master at Koehler-Ruprecht, Johannes, for recommendations. He recommended Weingut Keller for its consistency and popularity, Weingut Wittmann for its distinguished mineral intensity, Weingut Gutzler for its Spätburgunder, Thörle for its Silvaner and Weingut Wagner-Stempel for its rich, opulent style.

Map of the 13 different wine regions of Germany

Weingut Keller

Rheinhessen is typically synonymous with Keller. So Weingut Keller was an obvious recommendation but, unfortunately, they were all sold out of wine and couldn’t take any tasting appointments until next spring. Bummer! Apparently, they typically sell out of their Grosses Gewächs wines within 2 weeks. Keller is known for wines that are enormously rich and complex but not high in alcohol. According to Keller, it is more important to have precision of the aroma and flavour than sugar levels.  Sounds like a great philosophy for great German Riesling. I can’t wait to try their wines next year!

Weingut Wittmann

Weingut Wittmann is another well-known winery in Rheinhessen. They produce pure, deep wines with freshness and elegance and are regarded as one of the finest Riesling producers in Germany. The winemaker, Philipp Wittmann, was nominated for the 2013 Winemaker of the Year by Gault Millau, the German wine guide. Pretty high accolades and deserving of a visit I’d say. Unlike Keller, they did have wines to taste but, similarly, a majority were sold out. The only Riesling for tasting was their 2011 Riesling trocken Gutswein. The nose had intense peach aromas with creamy undertones, and a clean and crisp palate with a fresh lemon finish. We also tasted their 2011 Weissburgunder trocken ‘S’ and 2011 Chardonnay trocken ‘S’, and if the rest of their wines taste as complex and balanced as the entry level Riesling then I can only imagine and can’t wait to taste the rest of the range next year. 

Weingut Gutzler

Weingut Gutzler was recommended for its Spätburgunder and I have to agree. Until recently, I’ve been having some trouble finding a Spätburgunder that is well balanced and food friendly. Most have been too light, or too sour, or even too bitter but Gutzler’s Spätburgunders were terrific!  We tasted with the son and current winemaker, Michael Gutzler. He let us taste their entire range of wines and informed us that yields are kept down to 25 hectoliters/hectare in order to maintain the highest quality. The care of the vines and soil really pays off, as you can taste the typicity of their soils and grape variety. 

78-year-old vine Silvaner with hints of melon on the nose and pronounced minerality and salinity on the palate

100% new oak with no malolactic fermentation gave this wine developed banana aromas with leesy notes and an appetizing acidity and freshness

This nose was dense and complex, with beautiful aromas of white peach. Slightly salty and extremely mineral on the palate with incredible length

This wine had finesse, complexity and length with hints of smoke, developed black cheery flavours and fine tannins that build on the finish

Thörle

It was the Silvaner that was highly recommended, but it was the Spätburgunder that blew me away! Such a great tasting, not only did I get more exposure to Silvaner but I tasted a Spätburgunder that I really enjoy! 

 A very distinctive nose of fresh herbs and notes of obvious fruit ripeness. It was spicy and well concentrated on the palate, with light herbs returning on the long finish. It lacked acidity because of malolactic fermentation, but the wine is complex, vibrant and still young.

A brilliant nose with ripe and succulent fruit aromas, very vibrant and mineral on the palate with a warm finish

The Riesling had a deep, cool mineral nose with ripe fruit flavours. It was smoother on the palate, lacking its cool, delicate raciness implicated by the nose. The Silvaner had concentrated minerality with subtle fruit aromas and a fine acidity. Sufficiently soft on the palate makes it a perfect pairing with the delicate flavours of seafood and white meat 

Made from the best grapes of Hölle vineyard. Hölle means ‘hell‘ in German and was given this name because it’s the hottest vineyard in the region. The wine had a nose of ripe black cherry with the freshness of ripe strawberries on the palate, great medium body with balanced acid and a long finish

Weingut Wagner-Stempel

Since Weingut Wagner-Stempel is located in the most southern part of the Rheinhessen and closest to the Pfalz, I am not surprised to hear of its rich, opulent style, which sounds reminiscent to the Pfalz. Unfortunately, I was unable to taste the wines because on the day I visited Rheinhessen the winery was closed for his son's birthday. But I'll keep you posted as I plan to taste their wines next week.

Happy Birthday to Me!

No fireworks this year but I finally got to drink a wine from my birth year on my birthday! It was only appropriate to drink Australian wine for my first Australian birthday. 28 years old and still good...at least I like to think so :) What a great birthday gift...thank you Jason ;)

I'm a Survivor!

I survived my first week of night shift at the winery! Working 12-hour shifts from 7pm-7am isn't so bad. It's changing your sleep cycle and trying to sleep during the day that's the difficult part but I'm adjusting. The only other downside...it's cold at night!!! Other than that, it's actually a nice shift to work because I get see the sunset and sunrise and view the winery in a whole new light...and by light I mean those run by electricity :)

The tank farm at night

Tonight I emptied my first potter! Generally, you just have to open the bottom door and it all falls out but, as luck would have it, my potter was being stubborn and I had to rake it out.

Digging out the potter...difficult and awkward, not the best combination

I thought giving the potter a dirty look would make it cooperate...it didn't work :)

My badge of honor...I earned it!

I also met with the winemaker, Stephanie Dutton, and tasted some wines after pressing. This is where they decide what the end wine will potentially be and then decide where second fermentation should take place. For instance, we tasted a wine that had a strong tannin structure, intense fruit flavors and a rich mouth feel. They believe it will be Bin 389, which will be placed in new American oak for second fermentation. Another wine was lighter in style with pleasant floral and fruity aromas. It smelled 'pretty'. They think it will make St. Henri and will be mature in 50-year-old large, oak vats. Mind you, everything we tasted was an unfinished wine so it tastes very different from the final bottled product. It was all very interesting to see their decision process. It's tough to explain because even I don't understand all the intricacies but I'm learning. 

My reward!

P.S.

I got an inside tip from one of the winemakers that 2012 McLaren Vale fruit is looking exceptional! Not sure what the end product will be but I'll keep you posted!