Joelle Thomson

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Friday drinks with Justin Taylor, Adam Eggins, a hammock, a book and a wine...

'A hammock and a good book sort of wine' is the best tasting note I've heard all year, not least because it's nearing that time when hefty work loads and overwhelm take their toll, so a hammock, a good book and a great wine hold a lot appeal. The description comes from Justin Taylor, who was talking about the 2021 Taylors Merlot, made by winemaker Adam Eggins and which we three were tasting on a Zoom meeting last week. Taylors Wines is a family owned company based in the Clare Valley, Australi...

New era for Dry River Wines

One of Martinborough's oldest wineries has a new lease of life now that Dry River Wines has been purchased by Charlie Zheng, a Wellington businessman who also owns Luna Estate and Parehua Resort. Zheng has appointed a new winemaker to Dry River Wines with Ben McNab taking up the role.  McNab's most recent role was at Palliser Estate where he was named the 2021 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year. He will work alongside Dry River and Luna Estate's he...

Is Central Otago Chardonnay the Chablis of the Southern Hemisphere?

Central Otago Chardonnay has doubled in volume in the last five years but how’s it tracking in style and quality? The biggest Central Otago Chardonnay tasting ever held was last week at Felton Road Winery in Bannockburn. I attended, along with four other wine writers to put the wines to the road test. We tasted 38 wines at Felton Road winery in Bannockburn, Central Otago. All wines’ identities were concealed. I rated the wines out of 20 with 18.5 being a gold medal winne...

Felton Road's long history with Calvert Vineyard

Climate change is alive and well in Bannockburn, Central Otago, where vintages are warmer and harvest can be earlier and faster, all of which is resulting in wines that are, says winemaker Blair Walter, "undoubtedly better". The Felton Road winemaker has a longer history than anyone with the Calvert Vineyard, except for land owner Owen Calvert, of course, but Blair Walter remains the winemaker who has had the longest history of making wines from this exceptional vineyard site, producing his f...

Roam Central festival tickets now available

A new festival in Central Otago has launched and tickets are now availableLakes, brunches and wine tastings are all on the itinerary of a new festival in the Gibbston Valley, 30 to 40 minutes' drive from Queenstown in January next year. The four day festival is called Roam Central. It includes four separate events, kicking off at Cargo Cellar Door in Gibbston Valley on Saturday 28 January 2023. Three smaller events include a programme of master classes, cellar door tastings and brunch ...

Homage to Syrah... wine of the week

Good vintages come in pairs in Hawke's Bay, as the latest duo of 2019 and 2020 Homage Syrah show. This wine of the week is from the 2019 vintage and while I have had the privilege of tasting (as a critic and wine writer) the 2020, it will not be released for another year... bring it on. Both wines are exceptional expressions of Hawke's Bay Syrah. It's exactly what Homage is intended to be, says winemaker Damian Fischer.  Homage is Trinity Hill's top red made each year and is the result...

New tasting room in Martinborough...

Growing visitor numbers to Martinborough now have a new tasting room to visit before they even enter the village with the official opening of Nga Waka's new cellar door tasting room this week.The small winery is has more than doubled its vineyard holdings in the past seven years with the new owners of Jay Short and Peggy Dupey, who purchased the winery in 2015 from its founder, Roger Parkinson, who remains on as winemaker. The new cellar door is the first for Nga Waka and is sited prominent...

The under dog rises

It may not be the most flattering description but under dog definitely does describe the flagging fortunes of Riesling in New Zealand, which has shrunk from 713 hectares planted nationwide in 2013 to 619 hectares today. It's a continuation of a decline that has slowly trickled downwards as Sauvignon Blanc continues to rise, along with Pinot Gris, but Riesling is still hitting high notes with wine drinkers and in wine competitions. This week's top spot goes to a hugely successful wine, which...

New Dry River winemaker announced

One of New Zealand's most iconic wineries has announced a new head winemaker with Joel Watson adding Dry River to his business card, along with his existing role as winemaker at Luna Estate. The two Martinborough wineries are now owned by Charlie Zheng, who purchased Dry River Wines this month from the late United States billionaire, Julian Robertson, who passed away earlier this year. “ I’m very conscious of the vineyard’s legacy and was thrilled to be chosen to ...

Aussie winemakers head to Winetopia

A South Australian contingent of winemakers heads to Winetopia for the first time next weekend in Auckland. For the past seven years, Winetopia has focused solely on showcasing New Zealand wine and food producers but this year Auckland attendees will also be able to enjoy a taste of South Australia thanks to Thorn Clarke Wines, Rymill, Unico Zelo, Metala, Dandelion Vineyards, Sisters Run, Yalumba, Geoff Hardy, Portia Valley,Organic Hill...

Newly disgorged MiruMiru wine of the week

It's been a long time between drinks, if you'll excuse the cliché. Tastings have usurped writing time this month so now it's catch up time and the first wine to make it here is the biggest seller for Hunter's Wines in Marlborough - MiruMiru. The word MiruMiru is Maori for bubbles and this one is made from 66% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 4% Pinot Meunier. It'a non vintage wine - or would it better be described as multi vintage since because it is a blend of grapes from many yea...

Dry River's new owner announced

The US based Robertson family behind acclaimed New Zealand properties Kauri Cliffs, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers & Matakauri Lodge have agreed to sell their New Zealand winery investment, Dry River Wines, to Wellington-based businessman Charlie Zheng, owner of Luna Estate as well as the luxury retreat Parehua Resort.Since the Robertson family purchased Dry River Wines in late 2002, they have substantially built on the legacy of the winery founders Dr. Neil and Dawn McCallum, who founded ...

Best yet? You be the judge of 2020 Le Sol Syrah - wine of the week

How much would you pay to taste New Zealand's best Syrah?  Questions of best and worst are fraught propositions at the best of times, if you'll excuse the pun and this month's release of the 2020 Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection reds definitely raises the bar on locally grown Syrah and blended reds based on Bordeaux varieties. This is the 13th Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection and it follows in the footsteps of the previous 12, which includes a dozen wines chosen each year ...

New Huntress Pinot Noir best yet - wine of the week

What's the most important decision in winemaking? It's a bit of cliché these days but it is true to say the most important winemaking decision is when to the pick the grapes. And the when is becoming earlier each year, says Wairarapa winemaker Jannine Rickards, who has just released the third vintage of Pinot Noir made under her brand, Huntress. Jannine says harvest is now typically the first week in March rather than the third week, which is a big change in the small Wairarapa region...

Week in the life of Bannockburn

The creation of a new organic vineyard in Otago, by a prominent French wine producer, is set to boost New Zealand’s exports and international profile. Bordeaux based Edmond de Rothschild Heritage Wines has been granted consent to acquire a 52 hectares estate with 34.5ha of vines in Central Otago’s Bannockburn, along with the Akarua Estate vineyard, which was founded in 1996 by former Dunedin mayor Sir Clifford Skeggs. Edmond de Rothschild Heritage is a unique, family-owned lifestyle brand, c...

Dry grown new wine of the week

New Chardonnay from old dry grown vines 18.5/20 2021 Tony Bish Skeetfield Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay RRP $67.99 A stunning new wine with bold flavours, a big body and a nuance of creamy appeal made from dry grown Mendoza Chardonnay grapes from the Skeetfield Vineyard. This was 100% barrel fermented and matured for 12 months in Taransaud French oak, which provides a subtle spicy note and structure without intruding on the powerful citrus zing and rounded white peach flavours. The finish is lon...

Friday drinks with Jules Taylor and her love of home

Jules Taylor says she immediately returned home to Marlborough to beg for her first job after she finished her winemaking studies at Lincoln University in Canterbury.  "I always imagined working in viticulture but after doing a vintage, I kind of got majorly sidetracked into winemaking. It was 1994 and the industry here was still small and we all know each other," she says. After working many vintages in Marlborough, Italy and Australia, Marlborough once again became home and in 2001, her f...

It's all about skin contact...

The day is looking distinctly pink or should that be pale pink through to deep salmon? There's a line up of pink wines in front of the computer and the colours seem to span every hue of the pink rainbow, if there was such a thing. It's a far more varied range of colour than it would be, if this was a line up of red or white wines.  Where does colour in pink wine come from? Why does it vary so widely and what does it suggest about the taste of the wine?  Firstly, it's a myth to bel...

Friday drinks with Church Road and Syrah

A century and a quarter is a long time for New Zealand’s young wine industry and that’s what the winemakers, media and many others in the wine industry, including yours truly, are celebrating tonight at Church Road winery in Hawke’s Bay. The winery makes one of this country’s most popular Chardonnays and smaller volumes of big bold fuller bodied wines, such as the iconic Tom. This range began with a Merlot dominant, Bordeaux inspired blend and now also includes a Syrah and a Chardon...

Behind every great rosé

Behind every great pink wine, there's a big market ready to lap it up and in the case of Poppies Rosé, this truth holds, despite a relatively high price tag - proving that there's no stopping the rise of rosé. This wine is made by Poppy Hammond for Poppies of Martinborough, a great lunch venue that is co owned and run by Poppy and Shane Hammond. Both the venue and the wines have proven to be so popular that it is essential to book to secure a table. Demand for the rosé has soared so productio...

Bull Paddock wine of the week, 31 August 2022

It was originally home to bulls and now Bull Paddock Vineyard is full of Sauvignon Blanc grapes at Dillons Point in the lower Wairau Valley, Marlborough. Here's my top pick of a bunch of great whites tasted over the past seven days. Wine of the week19/20 2022 Rapaura Springs Bull Paddock Sauvignon Blanc RRP $27.90 Bull Paddock Vineyard is at Dillons Point in the lower Wairau Valley in Marlborough and is home to what many winemakers believe are the highest quality Sauvignon grapes in the reg...

Where does the best Kiwi Pinot come from?

Which region makes the best Pinot Noir in New Zealand?  A winemaker with two decades of experience in Pinot Noir production suggests that no region is superior to any other and, to prove his point, Ben Dugdale has produced a triptych of Pinot Noirs from three extremely diverse climates. His new wines are called Pinot Brothers Circle B Pinot Noirs and they come from Bendigo in Central Otago, Waitaki Valley in North Otago and Martinborough in the Wairarapa."Each region produces supe...

Friday drinks with an unreliable, moody, thin skinned (but strangely likeable) red grape...

Haunting, subtle, thrilling and brilliant. Pinot Noir production is on the rise globally with a 24 per cent increase since 2021 according to Wine-Searcher. Pinot Noir has always been a problem child. Unstable, thin skinned and constantly changing so that it is unreliable at the best of times. It has a tendency to mutate a little too easily in the vineyard where it may have begun life as a red grape but may mutate into one with a white skin on one side and morph into Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, or P...

A new Dawn sparkling wine

Saint Clair Dawn NV RRP $37.99 Wines such as this one can tear at the heartstrings, given its history - it's a tribute to its eponymous namesake, Dawn Ibbotson, who lived to be 105 and inspired her family to make this wine in her name. Saint Clair Family Estates continues to make Dawn bubbly and this is the first multi vintage blend of the wine; 63% Chardonnay and 37% Pinot Noir with 30 months on tirage (less ageing). Beautiful flavours of fresh crisp green apples and a bold citrusy ar...

Friday drinks with Ben Dugdale, Martinborough winemaker

Ben Dugdale has made wine in Martinborough for the past two decades and believes that no region in New Zealand is better than any other when it comes to Pinot Noir - the flagship wine style of this small wine area. "Each region produces superlative Pinot Noir in a global context," says the Carterton resident. He has made wine at Dry River and for many others, including a long standing collaboration with Porters Pinot in Martinborough, which he describes as a true garagiste-style vineyard an...