Region by Region- New Zealand: Waipara

Alright so first off the important stuff! We have decided that for New Zealand day we will be giving 20% of all New Zealand wines for Friday the 5th and Saturday the 6th of February! So you can load up on all the Marlborough Sauvignon, or Waipara Pinot Noirs you want- in fact it would be a good idea to do this! But back to the Business at hand today- Waipara! Waipara is located south of Marlborough but still has the cool coastal climate like Marlborough. However, unlike Marlborough their main focus is on the Pinot Noir Grape- which is actually my favourite Grape! As a region they're very young- just 20 years old... Which is brilliant when you see the style of wines they are producing. The wines from this region posses a deceptive lightness when you view them in the glass- almost like a rose! But on the palate they come to life with some of the richest red fruit flavours. They are absolutely incredible wines- and well worth a try for any Pinot Lover!
So what else has Waipara got to offer- for the people who don't like Pinot Noir all that much. Well Marlbrough may be the benchmark when it comes to Sauvignon Blanc but that doesn't stop Waipara from trying their hand at it... One vineyard that is doing well is Muddy Water (actually the literal translation of the maori Waipara not to be confused with the america blues artist muddy waters...). The first grapes from this vineyard were planted in 1993 and first bottle came out in 1997, so in 4 short years they accomplished what generations have tried to. Whats their secret? Well simply they're producing wines of quality not simply for profit... they are so dedicated to achieving the highest possible standard that the year before last the chief wine maker Belinda Gould didn't feel like the grapes were up to scratch so rather than have a bad vintage which would tarnish the name of their vineyard the opted to scrap the lot! Costing them a lot of money, but to produce a great wine you have to be able to stand behind every vintage! We carry a lot of wines from Muddy Water and i could talk about them all endlessly but with 20% off them this weekend I'm sure it would be much more fun to try them yourself!