Joelle Thomson

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Winetopia Wellington - join me for great wines

Winetopia starts in Wellington today Friday 7 June and runs through from tomorrow afternoon into the evening, Saturday 8 June, at the TSB Arena in Wellington. Join me and other wine lovers at Winetopia for wine, food and music and a great time. The focus is on having fun in a stimulating, interesting, informative - and completely unpretentious - environment. It 's a privilege to host sessions at Winetopia each year. I select the wines for all of my sessions and prepare fresh informatio...

Cyclone's heartbreak highlights wine community's warmth

May you live in interesting times is one of those phrases that is often attributed to ancient Chinese wisdom but which apparently originally came from an American politician called Frederic Coudert, in 1939. If he was alive today, he would've made a fortune on merchandise, social media and possibly even in mainstream media too. We are certainly living in interesting times. For many, the interesting bit is a euphemism for not great and that is the story of the 2023 vintage in Hawke's Bay whe...

Minimum alcohol levels for 100% Marlborough wine

Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) has introduced a minimum sugar ripeness level for all wines bearing its trademark of authenticity. “Now more than ever, consumers can be assured that every one of our AMW certified wines is an authentic, quality expression of our region. It’s a measure of our members' commitment that this has been passed unanimously," says AMW Chairperson John Buchanan.The organisation was founded in 2018 to guarantee that all member wineries would use g...

Short, sweet and smaller than usual

Dr John Forrest is soaking up in the last chilly rays of sun on a late autumn afternoon when we talk about vintage 2024 in Marlborough. He describes the 2024 vintage as one of the best and one of the smallest in the past decade."It was definitely a year for using stalks in the Pinot ferments and I'm usually sitting on the fence about stalky ferments so it is an exciting year for quality," says Forrest, when describing vintage 2024 in Marlborough.It was far from smooth sailing, however, despite t...

Judgement of London closes the gap in wine thinking

The win of New Zealand's best dry Riesling at The Judgement of London competition last week on Tuesday 20 May closes the gap between the terms Old World and New World, showing that great wines can and do come from all corners of the world. The overall winning wine is Pegasus Bay Riesling Bel Canto Riesling 2011, which won the top spot and two other categories, including best white wine and best textured white wine.“My family has always made wines that we feel truly reflect our location and eac...

Oscar Wilde on the weather and my wine of the week

Posted Friday 10 May 2024 PS   Five of the best Pinot Noirs blog will follow this weekend, giving readers a sneak preview of some of the smallest volume, highest quality red wines in New Zealand today.Oscar Wilde is famous for many reasons, including his quick wit, which translated to an enormous range of thoughtful comments when he was alive. One of my favourites is about the weather. Unless there is a reason to discuss the weather, I have always felt a sense of suspicion when it is m...

Early days point to outstanding vintage in Aotearoa

It has famously been said that there is nothing permanent except change, which seems like a brilliant way to get to grips with a friend's change of plan, a rainy day or any of life's interesting curve balls and when it comes to wine, it couldn't be more apt. Innovation and experimentation are alive and well but if there's one thing every winemaker has to hold onto their seats for each year it's vintage variation; that constant variable that keeps winemakers on their toes. The past two vinta...

What's in my glass this week - White Rioja and Pinot Gris

If you love wine, want to know a little more about it but don't have the bandwidth to do a night course, a day course or sign up to serious, qualification based study, what do you do?One of the best places to have fun while you learn about wine is Winetopia. Organiser and owner of the event, Rob Elliott, devised Winetopia with a fun approach to wine knowledge in mind and I am pleased to announce today that I will be part of the team again for the fourth (or is it the fifth?) year running. The ev...

To hell and back in vintages

It was one hell of a ride, the 2023 vintage, with colder temperatures and more rainfall than usual. The words are Adam Eggins', who was chatting with me on the eve of vintage 2024 earlier this year. It's a stark contrast to 2023 in South Australia (and in New Zealand, incidentally) and is much appreciated as a result.This year has been a walk in the proverbial park by contrast to 2023, which says a lot about the interesting times we live in. Anyone who doesn't seem to believe in the concept of c...

Libraries and wine

Wine of the week2014 Folding Hill Cellar Release Pinot Noir Libraries are always fascinating places, even more so when they contain wines that have been aging in bottle (or barrel) for a decade or more. The 2014 Folding Hill Pinot Noir is a small volume edition from one of the driest, warmest and windiest corners of Central Otago; Bendigo. This wine expresses the arid climate and summer heat of Bendigo in a wine with density, full body and a solid tannin structure, all of which suggest the ...

Marlborough wine drives authenticity forward

Appellation Marlborough Wine has appointed its first chief executive this year to drive forward the organisation's stamp of authenticity - all wines bearing the official AMW letters must be made from 100% Marlborough grown grapes.The new role is now filled by Michael Wentworth, who will oversee, promote and protect the AMW mark of authenticity. The AMW organisation was formed in 2018 and now has 50 member wineries. The organisation's key goal is authenticity and the guarantee that wines be...

Chardonnay comeback highlighted in Bay

Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers has announced its fourth annual top 12 Chardonnays, all selected by wine consultant Cameron Douglas, MS, from the 2022 vintage.The wines are the current releases from most of the wineries and were chosen from a wider tasting of 42 submissions, all from Hawke's Bay. Douglas says he reaffirms his belief that Hawke's Bay's best Chardonnays can rival top Chardonnays from other countries and wine regions, including Burgundy, France.Chardonnay is one of the most significant v...

Craggy Range makes top 50 list - again

One of New Zealand's highest profile wineries has made ranked in the world's top 50 Most Admired Wine Brands for the fifth year running.The independent top 50 list is compiled by Drinks International magazine, whose editor commissions a global group of sommeliers, wine buyers, wholesalers, Masters of Wine and writers to pin point their best wine brands. Competition gets tougher each year, says Drinks International editor Shay Waterworth."What's particularly important to me is that...

Pinot dedicated winemaker brings great change

It's never comfortable having to tighten our belts, literally or metaphorically, and with the rising price of, well, everything, these days, it has become extremely difficult for many wine retailers to keep their prices in check. Examples I could give from first hand experience in wine retail are numerous and range from low priced French rosé which is RRP $21.99 one month and $25.99 the next to top value Spanish wines which were RRP $23.99 on the shelf on one and are now $37.99. The wines remai...

Methodé in Marlborough's mad growth

Forgive the use of the word 'mad' in the heading above, which is used purely to describe the frenzied rise in volume, both of vineyards planted and wines produced, in New Zealand's biggest wine region. There is precious little madness (other than fast and furious growth) to be found in Marlborough and the last Friday in March every year is reason to taste, learn and enjoy the region's sparkling wines, whose producers are slowly but steadily growing the awareness of a formal wine body they have c...

All about ageing - new ten year old wines show rewards of cellaring

PS: If ageing wine seems too tricky, the current releases of the two wines on this post are also stellar examples of the best of New Zealand wine and they put North Canterbury's finest vinous foot forward. Apologies for the long headline. It is always with a sense of dread that cellaring wine enters the discussion because most wine drinkers prefer to purchase their wine now to drink it now rather than invest now and wait a decade in the hope of... not being quite sure what to expect. It was exac...

In praise of Riesling - an oldie but yes it's amazing

It was International Riesling Day last week and I nearly marked it by stamping my last Riesling tattoo (a transfer, in case it's not obvious) on my forearm, only the tattoo was so dried out that the plan failed. It was the last one of about 100 Riesling transfer/tattoos I bought about a decade ago when the global Riesling movement was having its day. Those of us who dived down the Riesling rabbit hole may never have achieved a global following for this great white grape and the incredibly comple...

What's in my glass this Monday

What's in your glass this Monday? If it's an AFD, it could still be an interesting question and while the idea had crossed my mind, this wine (along with a bunch of others) crossed my desk so here is the wine of today, made by Jules Taylor in Marlborough, New Zealand. It's a region devoted strongly (to the tune of about 80%) to Sauvignon Blanc, but without diminishing the importance of the region's great white, Chardonnay is capable of at least equal success and wines such as this one put forwar...

What I'm drinking this week - Abel Chardonnay

New Chardonnay from two generations and a small region.Wine of the week, 2 March 20242021 Abel Tasman Chardonnay RRP $28.99This new release is the fourth vintage of Abel Chardonnay, which is made by founder-owners Mark and Sophie McGill in collaboration with her parents, James and Wendy Healy (co-founders of Dog Point Vineyards). This outstanding wine has all the creamy nuances that Chardonnay lovers enjoy but it is the fab balance of brightness and acidity that add its strongest appeal, for me....

To hell and back in vintage variations

It was one hell of a ride, the 2023 vintage, with colder temperatures and more rainfall than usual. The words are Adam Eggins', who was chatting with me on the eve of vintage 2024 earlier this year. It's a stark contrast to 2023 in South Australia (and in New Zealand, incidentally) and is much appreciated as a result.This year has been a walk in the proverbial park by contrast to 2023, which says a lot about the interesting times we live in. Anyone who doesn't seem to believe in the concept of c...

Humility and hot vintages in Martinborough and What's in my glass this week

Martinborough is no stranger to baking hot days and cool nights but is this year unseasonally dry or does it just seem that way after two rainy harvests in 2022 and 2023?As I wrote the opening to this week's What in my glass column, the sun was shining and the wind blowing, both drying out the earth, on a day that was originally forecast for wind and rain. Fast forward to today and the earth remains as dry as a bone while the grass more closely resembles burnt stumps of hay. Pity the poor sheep ...

A visit from Antinori... and what I'm drinking this week

Italy holds strong fascination for wine lovers, especially those who enjoy a long history with their glass of Chianti, which is exactly what made last week's highlight tasting so compelling. The tasting was of Antinori wines and Prunotto (one of the many other wineries the Antinori family now owns). Members of this family owned company can trace their winemaking descendents back to 1385. It was a representative from Antinori (rather than a family member) who treated a small group of wine trade ...

The chillable red wine trend and What I'm Drinking this Friday

It's easy to get sucked into fads and many winemakers are diving head first into the latest one. It's called chillable reds.This week another wave of light bodied wines with their deep pink or pale ruby colour (depending on your point of view) arrived for tasting. They prove that the chillable red wine trend is gaining momentum. Add to that a completely emptied out shelf labelled Chillable Reds in Wellington city's biggest wine retail store (Regional Wines & Spirits) and it's safe to say tha...

Southern whites... What I'm Drinking this Week(end)

It's bitterly cold in winter, searingly hot in summer and deeply devoted to one red grape, which makes Central Otago seem like a one trick pony when it comes to wine, but this week a bunch of new white wines was a reminder that it is far from it.This week's tasting table featured a trio of interesting whites from a small winery in Bannockburn, one of the youngest wine regions in New Zealand and now as famous for its liquid gold (Pinot Noir) as it was in the late 1800s for its gold mining. T...

The chillable red trend and what I'm Drinking this Friday

It's easy to get sucked into fads and many winemakers are diving head first into the latest one. It's called chillable reds.This week another wave of these light bodied, deep pink or pale ruby (depending on your point of view) coloured reds labelled chillable landed on the tasting table, proving that this trend is gaining momentum. Add to that a completely emptied out shelf labelled Chillable Reds in Wellington city's biggest wine retail store (Regional Wines & Spirits) and it's safe to say ...