Sparkling Rose!

Christmas is well and truly over, the ice has melted and now spring is so close to being upon us- but we've got one last thing to celebrate.... Valentines Day! So if your Christmas gift to that special someone wasn't quite up to par this year then this is your chance to redeem yourself! Now nothing says Romance quite like a Sparkling wine, and Nothing says Valentines day like the colour pink....

Sparkling Wine+Colour Pink= Sparkling Rose

BINGO! Problem solved just crack a bottle of Sparkling Rose and your sure to impress... provided you don't hit them with cork when it opens.... or else a Valentines in casualty would not be easily forgiven... So here's how to open the perfect bottle of Sparkling Wine- remove the wire mesh around the top (carefully though its not unusual for the cork to fly off once the wire is gone...). Tilt the Bottle away from everyone holding it with one hand around the fat part of the bottle, and the other on the cork. Now while holding the cork twist the bottle with the hand around the fat part- resist the urge to yank the cork out!!! Now if you successfully do this then You will be well on your way to having a great Valentines- as opposed to shaking the bottle like a formula 1 driver, and letting the cork fly off to hit your loved one right between the eyes... Unless you want to get dumped this Valentines- then go right ahead!

Climate and Wine

So having finished a couple of Blogs on some of the major regions in Australia and New Zealand one thing is obvious.... Climate is one of the most important factors when it comes to Grape Growing. But what are the factors that dictate what grapes do well and where? Well if you google climate and wine most of the results relate to climate change and how it will affect grape growing... claims of Germany becoming the major region for nice reds, Burgundy will start growing syrah, and the best Sparkling wines come from surrey in South England not Champagne... may someday become true, but as long as wine is being produced somewhere then we'll be OK! By the looks of it scientists actually think Wine regions will be pushed more to the Polls, so we could see appelation Norway controlle someday.So with all these wine producers being forced to look further afield what are the key elements they will be looking for in their new wine regions? Well temperature is the most important climatic element- obviously- so our wine producers will be looking for a nice sunny destination! Grapes need roughly 1,400 hours of sunlight throughout the year to ripen properly, and fill them with natural sugars. Now the longer the grapes take to ripen the better because then they are full of flavour. So they've got the sunshine, and the grapes are growing well but they need to be slowed down... What else do our wine growers need to ensure high quality wine? Fog! Fog will moderate the temperatures in the Vineyard- it will cool the warm days, and warm up those cold nights and mornings. And that's why places located close to the ocean or on high altitudes are so good for our much loved grapes. One more major thing to consider is Rainfall- too much of this and it will dilute the sugars in the grapes, and kill of the flavour... but because soil types are also very important (maybe soil types will be my next blog....) they can help out if a region is getting too much or too little rain- like Nelson in New Zealand, doesn't get a whole of rain, but they clay soil retains water so it kinda balances things out! But essentially Vines need no less than 22 annual inches of rain for them to survive. So lets have a look- 1,400 hours of sunlight, some fog, and rain (but not too much...) Well that really rules Ireland out of ever being a major wine producing region... Even if this Climate change thing takes off!

Region by Region- New Zealand: Hawkes Bay

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokai
whenuakitanatahu.... In Maori it means "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one." And why is this important? well (this is one for the pub quizes....) it is the longest place name in the english language! And it is located in Hawkes Bay- the north island just got a lot cooler! But more importantly back to the wine- Hawkes Bay is not like the other regions we have focussed on- basically Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir. Hawkes Bay accounts for more than 80% of New Zealands plantings of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah grapes. Hawkes Bay's succes in these big red wines is in part to its diversity of soil types and climates.
Hawkes bay not only enjoys being able to boast the longest place name in the english language, it also boasts long sunshine hours, low precipitation, and a long ripening season. Now for a fickle grape like Pinot Noir this would be horrible.... but for late ripening grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon or Riesling this is perfect. In fact its 100% different to the other regions I've talked about so far. But all this serves to highlight is that during our 20% off sale on New Zealand wines today and tomorrow- You're going to find something you like!

Region by Region- New Zealand: Nelson

I know I know another south island wine region but trust me, just like the others this one doesn't disappoint. It lies just to the west of Marlborough... and therefore has a pretty similar climate... except because the mountains lie to the east of the region they have a bit more shelter from the rain than marlborough does Which is great if you live there, but all this means is that the soil used for planting grapes- in particular Pinot Noir- need to be mostly Clay type. Basically the advantage to clay- especially in a climate that doesn't get much rain- is it retains water much better than other types of soil. And this is perfect for grapes like pinot noir which need to remain ripe and moist otherwise they shrivel up, which gives them a real jammy taste. Which just goes to show how temperamental a grape pinot noir is- but when you get a good one its 100% worth it!

Now, in store anyways, one of our favourite producers from Nelson is Greenhouogh. The great thing about Greenhough wineries is their dedication to producing the best possible wines- now not as extreme as muddy water in waipara, but still pretty dedicated! Just like the other regions I could talk endlessly about the Sauvignon that comes from here- but to be honest it only differs slightly from Marlborough. But what nelson is also great for (especially Greenhough) is richly textured and buttery Chardonnay, and also dense and quite spicy Pinot Noir's.

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!

Region by Region- New Zealand: Marlborough

So after months of hard work- finally my Blog gets its first comment! I got to say I'm pretty happy about that... Whether you agree with me or not I welcome all comments- otherwise what would be the point of the Blog? But enough about that- in preparation for New Zealand day we'll be covering the major wine regions in New Zealand! Today- Marlborough! It has the reputation for the best Sauvignon Blanc in the World and yet all you get is people looking for the one type of wine from there... Cloudy Bay... Now I'm not saying its a bad wine- but come on! Its the best region in the world for Sauvignon Blanc.... there's much better value wines to get from there! Anyways Whats the Secret to their success? Well nothing really- they started plantings there in 1970's which is incredible when you think about it. In just 40 years they've built up that kind of reputation. But as i was saying- the key to their success is the Climate- it suits the Sauvignon Grapes so perfectly. Protected to the west by mountains, Marlborough is one of the Sunniest, driest places in New Zealand, but still has a cool climate which leads to a long intense ripening period, which leaves the Grapes Bursting with Flavour. That's all that really needs to be said about this region- there's no secret to why Marlborough produces such great wines! It just does! But, there are a few different sub regions within Marlborough- So don't just stick with one particular brand... cough cough cloudy bay cough... experiment! Ye Won't regret it!

Corked Wine

We've all been there- at a restaurant ordering a bottle of wine acting like we know what we're on about, and then the waiter comes out with the bottle, pours you a bit, and you have to act like you know exactly what you're doing... How are you supposed to know if the wine is corked or not? I asked someone this when I was 18- the response was simply "oh you'll know!" Clearly not supplying me with enough information to answer any part of my question- but enough of a statement for me to never really think about it again... not until i did get a bottle that was corked... The tell tale sign is it smells like mould, or wet dog- basically it smells exactly like something you don't want to be drinking!

So this inevitably leads us to the age old (well maybe not all that age old... actually its a pretty recent debate...) debate.... Corks Vs Screw caps! Alright lets start by listing the advantages of Corks

• they look cooler than screw caps
• they make a better sound when you open them
• opening a bottle of wine with a cork give it a sense of ceremony

So there you have it the advantages of Corks... of course no matter how sound the Advantages sound- they don't really excuse the disadvantages do they? well there is only one real disadvantage- corked wine.

Now I'm not saying Screw Caps are great- apparently at a experiment carried out in Chateau Haut-Brion in 1970 they found that the corks worked perfectly for the first 10 years- but after that the threads wore a little thin and a tiny amount of Oxygen got in. So they are far from ideal yet. But whats most important is they're not far off. So what you loose some of that ceremony when opening a bottle. The Wine is there to be enjoyed- not to be celebrated.