Tag: Central Otago

Grape embrace.  The comforting qualities of pinot noir

To the average wine consumer, selecting a red wine from a bottle shop shelf or a restaurant wine list can be a daunting experience. After all, it can be an expensive treat, but get it wrong and you’ll feel as though you’ve just put a lighter to a $50 or even $100 note! Some reds…
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Wild Earth Pinot Noir 2017

Wild Earth Pinot

As the days lengthen and Spring takes grip, red wine drinkers often find themselves shelving the heavy cabernet and shiraz that added warmth over winter in favour of lighter styles like gamay, chianti and pinot noir. At my place, any red with a degree of translucence takes priority as the mercury climbs and the humidity…
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2017 Chard Farm Pinot Gris Review

The Trip to Chard Farm

The Central Otago district in New Zealand’s south island is quickly developing a reputation as a world-class producer of Pinot Noir and aromatic whites, despite being the world’s most southern wine producing region. Once seen as a foolhardy foray in to cool climate viticulture, the area has been ranked by some well regarded wine writers…
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Travis Schultz and Adam Peren

Homecoming for one of Two Sisters

“I like to try everything” Niamh (“Neve”) Peren tells me. And these are not the words of an experimental millennial, but rather the open-minded views of the globe-trotting daughter of Adam and Kristin Peren, the folks behind the “Two Sisters” brand from Central Otago. Niamh has recently returned home to the family property at Gibbston…
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Two Sisters, Pinot Noir 2011 - Review

Two Sisters, Pinot Noir 2011

I’d normally expect to pick a Pinot Noir wine simply from its (lighter) rufescent colour in the glass, but even by Central Otago standards, the Two Sisters Pinot Noir 2011 is more than just a little beguiling. From a distance, there’s a definite dark ruby depth in the glass and only the slightest garnet tinges…
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Chard Farm, River Run Pinot Noir 2013 Review

Chard Farm, River Run Pinot Noir 2013

Whilst wines stored in your cellar need constant, if not coolish temperatures, it’s an entirely different rule for winemakers applying their viticultural skills to the developing fruit in the vineyard.  Around the world, growing regions with the greatest variation in daily and seasonal temperatures tend to produce the best fruit for winemaking purposes and there’s…
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Mount Michael, Pinot Gris 2015 Review

Mount Michael, Pinot Gris 2015

Chardonnay may still be the world’s biggest selling white wine varietal, but at least in the United States, the star of Pinot Gris is well and truly on the rise – so much so that it’s now comfortably the second biggest selling white wine in that country. Amongst Australian wine consumers the style lags well…
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Mt Rosa - Riesling 2011 Review

Mt Rosa, Riesling 2011

The Central Otago region in New Zealand’s South Island may be world-renowned for its sensational Pinot Noir, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice to overlook their Pinot Gris and Rieslings next time you are scouring the shelves for a suitable white. With only about 86 hectares of Riesling vines in the Central Otago region,…
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Nanny Goat Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2012 Review

Nanny Goat Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2012

I’ve often said that good Pinot isn’t cheap and that cheap Pinot isn’t good, but having recently tried the Nanny Goat Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012, I might have to modify my mantra! At only $25 a bottle, I wasn’t expecting anything above average, but the Nanny Goat certainly delivers well above its very reasonable price…
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Rabbit Ranch, Central Otago Pinot Noir 2011 Review

Rabbit Ranch, Central Otago Pinot Noir 2011

Pinot Noir is undoubtedly one of the world’s most versatile food wines and outside of Burgundy in France, the Central Otago region in New Zealand’s South Island is probably the world’s premier Pinot producing region. The hallmarks of a good Central Otago Pinot include a savoury nose, sweet cherried fruit and a smooth smoky finish…
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