Whoever was responsible for the smear campaign that made Riesling uncool needs to be taught a lesson. Along with the Anything But Chardonnay terrorists, the anti-Riesling brigade have dragged an unsuspecting New Zealand wine public along on their poisoned crusade to discredit one of the world’s finest and most important white wine varietals.

It’s time to refocus. And it’s time to rediscover the beauty of Riesling.

One of the great things about Riesling is that it comes in so many styles. It can be bone dry and austere. It can be off dry and tangy. It can be proudly medium and fruity. And it can be sweet, concentrated, and syrupy.

At Advintage we love every one of those styles. And there’s the rub. Almost everyone does. Riesling is a complete crowd pleaser. If you give your friends a glass of good medium-dry New Zealand Riesling without saying what it is, chances are they’ll love it. But offer a crowd a choice of Riesling or, say, Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling is going to be a distant second in the popularity stakes.

This is another disconcerting example of fashion overriding quality. The general standard of New Zealand Riesling is consistently high and in a different league from the overpriced mediocrity bottled by many of our Pinot Gris producers.

By international standards New Zealand Riesling is a bargain with some of our finest examples offering remarkable value. Rieslings from Palliser Estate, Pegasus Bay, Millton Vineyards and Forrest Estate are worth searching out if you want to see some magic but there are countless others that over deliver in the value stakes.

And it ages well. Drier examples have considerable cellar potential but most of the commercial medium dry styles are best within 3 years of vintage. Aged Riesling often gets an aromatic petroleum or lanoline character that sounds awful but tastes delicious. Secondary flavours of lemon honey can also emerge over time and few wine geeks would argue that Riesling is one of the most exciting and responsive white wines to cellar.

Here are a couple of absolute classics that deserve your attention.

 

Millton Opou Riesling 2013

• Off dry and plush this is a Gisborne classic that delivers a spicy mouthful of tangy honey limes.


• Divine wine from a top flight producer.

Waimea Classic Riesling 2014

• Super consistent Nelson wine from a producer that has a real affinity for Riesling.


• Zesty wine in the modern off-dry style with fresh acidity rounding out the upfront fruit sweetness.


• Wonderful as an aperitif on a hot summer’s evening.

The fashion aspect of wine knows no bounds and the industry is seemingly in a constant state of reinvention as producers try new varieties, new wine styles and new wine-making techniques to woo customers and give the wine writing community something fresh to write about.

Despite being a centuries old process, Orange wine is the latest cab off the rank. This ancient wine-making style is, in very broad terms, all about treating white wine like red wine – with fermentation and maturation of the wine done on the crushed grape skins. (Typically white wine production involves crushing the grapes and running off the juice as soon as possible for separate fermentation).

By leaving the skins to macerate with the white wine juice the wine takes on tannin and extra colour. The colour is often orange tinged hence the name ‘Orange wine’.

Tasting white wines with high tannin content can be a bit confronting to the uninitiated. They often taste like black tea blended with dry wine so the trick for the New World winemakers is to balance that situation so the fruit competent shines through loud and clear.

Here’s a cracker.

Rod McDonald One Off ‘Rhymes with Orange’ Pinot Gris 2015

Te Mata Estate Coleraine 2014

Te Mata Estate do not need to worry. They have another tiger by the tail. Coleraine 2014 is a glorious example of Hawkes Bay winemaking. It’s a ripe and seamless wine that seems more forward and generous than the 2013 – and it is certainly drinking better in its youth. Interestingly, I found it more immediately attractive than Awatea 2014 – perhaps because the Coleraine had only a touch of that tangy tobacco character that is deliberately more prominent in its sibling.

Whoever kicked off the PR campaign for Pinot Gris in New Zealand was a genius. Seemingly overnight this lightly flavoured, feminine wine leapt from total obscurity to mainstream success. Given that much of the Pinot Gris produced in New Zealand when the boom started was insipid and uninteresting this was a remarkable piece of marketing. But suddenly Pinot Gris was omnipresent. It was on every wine commentator’s lips and in every wine drinker’s glass.

Almost a decade later the growth of Pinot Gris seemingly knows no bounds. Sales for us at Advintage are rapidly closing in on our Sauvignon Blanc category, but in our view Pinot Gris remains a value for money minefield. Too many releases simply lack varietal character. They are missing that delicate, delectable, tangy pear flavour that defines the best examples and we are too often disappointed with Pinot Gris samples sent to us for evaluation. Indeed, many examples don’t really taste like anything other than, well… generic white wine, and that’s not good enough at any price point.

The good news is that you can trust us to kiss the frogs on your behalf. Here are a couple of proven winners that burst with varietal charm.

Waimea Pinot Gris 2015

Saint Clair Premium Pinot Gris 2014

Earlier this year Japanese owned Lion New Zealand purchased the Morton Estate brand from John Coney – the owner of The Wine Portfolio.

Though the sale included The Stone Creek Vineyard in Marlborough, Lion’s purchase was primarily to acquire the  Morton Estate brand name so they could expand it’s domestic and international distribution. The vast majority of The Wine Portfolio’s assets and vineyards remain with Coney who is still making a significant amount of wine  and forging new paths with new brands.

One of the star performers of the Wine Portfolio has historically been Morton Estate Brut -  one of New Zealand’s most reliable and trusted bubbles. That brand is now with Lion New Zealand but Coney has continued to make sparkling wine from the same Hawkes Bay vineyards and with the same production facilities that once produced Morton Estate Brut. That brand is called Leveret Estate and we think he still has an out and out winner on his hands.

We love this new Leveret Estate branding and the quality of the wine remains a triumph.  We expect it be become the default choice for  discerning choice for Kiwis looking  for New Zealand Methode Traditionelle at a competitive price point. It’s that good.

It’s worth pointing out that New Zealand Methodes in the Under $20 bracket are few and far between  - a pity when New Zealanders are one of the world’s largest per capita  consumers of sparkling wine.  Production costs with sparkling wine are high and we applaud Coney for keeping his retail prices down so Kiwis can enjoy a quality glass of bubbles at a reasonable price.

There are two Leveret options available at this point. Both come  highly recommended.

Leveret Estate IQ Brut Methode Traditionelle NV

http://www.advintage.co.nz/leveret-estate-iq-brut-nv

Quality Methode with lovely toasty brioche characters on the nose and loads of bright citrus, cashew and stonefruits on the palate. An out and out winner.

Leveret Estate Mimi Methode Traditionelle NV

Softly weighted, Pinot Noir dominant Methode that has a very slightly sweeter profile than the IQ Brut but is still a sure fire crowd pleaser. Perfect wine for girls night out and branded accordingly.

Last summer the sparkling wine category changed for the better when a new player hit town.

Moët Ice Impérial became a worldwide sensation as the first Champagne that was specifically produced to be enjoyed over ice.

This category changing wine enjoyed immediate success as the summer of 2014 moved around the globe. Vinted in a demi-sec (sweeter) style, Moët Ice has slightly more tropical flavours than the standard Moët offering and can be served with sliced fruits to further blur the line between Champagne and cocktail. A large glass filled with Ice is the secret. This chilling process counters the wine’s normal temperature sweetness and delivers an off-dry, tangy Champagne that still retains the depth of flavour Champagne is known for - it’s delicious.

The imitators were never going to be far behind and we have our own Ice sparkling causing a stir with the Advintage Faithful.

Kriter ICE NV

One of the things we take great pride in at Advintage is our own brand and exclusive labels. They’re a huge part of our business. We always have a few of these offerings on the go and we take these wines very seriously. There are a number of ranges on offer:

 

Six Fingers

Six Fingers - Sauvignon Blanc 2015

Six Fingers Gimblett Road Merlot Cabernet Malbec

Big Villa and Big Villa Reserve

Big Villa Chardonnay 2014

Big Villa Merlot 2014

Big Villa Reserve Merlot Malbec Cabernet Franc 2013

Exclusive Imports and domestic labels

Beach House Old School Chardonnay 2014

Perrin Cotes du Ventoux 2014

Trapiche Melodias Malbec 2015

Champagne H. Garnier & Co.

Champagne H Garnier & Co Brut NV

Champagne H Garnier & Co Brut NV Magnum

There seems no end to the rise of Prosecco. The famous sparkling wine of Italy has taken the world by storm and our sales are soaring as more and more of our clients discover the gentle charms of this delicate bubbly.

Prosecco is primarily produced from the Glera grape but often has other varieties making up a small component of the blend. Unlike Champagne, which is produced using the Méthode Champenoise process, Prosecco is typically made with the Charmat method. This involves the wines second fermentation taking place in stainless steel tanks. This simple process is very cost effective making Prosecco less expensive than Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines.
Most of the Prosecco DOC sold in new Zealand is either Spumante (fully sparkling) or, Frizzante (semi-sparkling). At Advintage we are fans of the Frizzante style. In our view, the lightly sparkling nature of these wines makes a charming departure from traditional bubblies and makes the experience more Prosecco-like.

Either way our sales are racing. Pour a glass of chilled Prosecco on a summers day and watch your friends enjoy the delicate flavours – especially as an aperitif served with a deli-platter or simple hors d’oeuvres - or try it blended with peach syrup for a classic Bellini. Bellissimo !
Here are a couple of our best sellers for you to consider the next time bubbles are on your mind:

 

Riondo Spago Prosecco Frizzante DOC

Canti Prosecco NV

The Festive season is synonymous with sparkling wine and Champagne and it’s always a thrill for us to see Champagne flying out the door at this time of year.

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