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The Wines We Tasted
NgaWaka Chardonnay Martinborough, 1999
Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc, 2000
Konrad & Conrad Riesling, 2000
Brancott Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay, 2000
Te Mata Woodthorpe Chardonnay, 2002
Alana Estate Chardonnay, 2001
Omaka Springs Reserve Pinot Noir, 2000
Shingle Peak Pinot Noir, 2002
Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir, 2001
Isabel Pinot Noir, 2001
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Our Setting:
Listel Vancouver Hotel,
Impressionist Gallery
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Over the past few years the New Zealand Consulate in Vancouver
hasoffered to present some of their fine wines at one of our tastings.
This month we sampled some of the excellent white and red wines
from New Zealand. Two special guests at this event was the Consul
General, Ms. Anne Chappaz, and the New Zealand Trade Development
Manager, Ms. Colleen Wilkinson.
Ms.
Chappaz spoke to us briefly about the geography of New Zealand
and it's wines, and also about some of New Zealand's other exports,
such as the baggage handling system that is used at the Vancouver
International Airport.
 Our
speaker for the evening was Mr. Paul Watkin. Paul offered to speak
at the last moment as our slated speaker, Mr. Chris van Nus, came
down with a bad cold and could not attend. Paul is well known
industry professional. He has nearly 2 decades of experience in
the wine/hospitality trade. He has acted as Beverage Program Manager
and Wine List Consultant, as an Assistant Manager for West vancouver's
Dundarave Wine Cellar, and Dining Room Manager and Service Instructor
at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. He currently runs a
business, "A Good Drop Wine Experience & Education".
This picture shows Paul Watkin and Consul General Anne Chappaz.
One
interesting observation was that all the New Zealand wines at
our tasting has traditional corks, while New Zealand has been
the originator of the Stelvin closure (screw top cap). There was
some discussion during the tasting about Stelvin closures as one
bottle of Chardonnay has been exposed to the air via the cork,
oxidizing the wine.
Our reception wine was the Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc.
This wine has a pale straw colour. The bouquet showed gooseberry,
passionfruit,
and stone fruit aromas. On the palate was tropical fruit flavours
and good acidity.
 Paul
began the tasting by telling us a bit about the Marlborough areaa,
which is the largest wine region in New Zealand, and is most famous
for it's Sauvignon Blanc wines. Throughout the tasting Paul also
provided us with information on the Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Martinborough
regions in New Zealand.
The first part of our tasting covered white wines, with one reisling
and the remainder being Chardonnay. The riesling was by Konrad
& Conrad. It had a golden appear, with peaches, petrol,
apple and pineapple aromas. There was some acid and a good finish.
Paul pointed out that the 'petrol' aroma is quite common for good
German riesling wines, and to have it appear in this young New
Zealand rielsing was a suprise. The petrol quality in riesling
wines is primarily due to a minerally soil and the clone of the
riesling grape.
 The
Chardonnay wines ranged in age from 1999 to a 2002 vintage. One
could see the deeper golden colour in the older wines. All wines
were also aged in oak (either French, American, or both), and
were partially or completely malolactically fermented. The chardonnay's
all had some oakiness and earthiness on the bouquet. The malolactic
fermentation provided a smooth, buttery taste. The french oak
imparted a nutty taste to the Alana Estate and the NgaWaka
Chardonnays. The Brancott Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay
had aromas of peache, pineapple, lime and melon. It was from the
2000 vintage, which is New Zealand was an exceptionally good year
for wines. The Te Mata Woodthorpe Chardonnay was whole
cluster pressed to extract more flavour from the grapes. This
wine had flavours of nectarine and lime. There was spiciness and
acidity on the palate.
 The
red wines were all Pinot Noir. In New Zealand most pinot noirs
are fermented in stainless steel, followed with oak aging. The
Omaka Springs was light red with some brown on the edges.
Although only from the 2000 vintage, we were told by Paul that
the brown edge was normal for the New Zealand pinot noirs. The
bouquet had oak, herbaceousness and fruit. The taste was smooth,
with cherries and some spice. The Stoneleigh was also light
red in colour. The bouquet was quite unusual with a plastic, herbs
and strawberry aromas. The taste had "candied" strawberries
and sour cherry. The Shingle Peak was described as a finesse
pinot noir. Medicinal, cherry and raspberry aromas were present
in the wine. The taste had lighe acidity, but was still smooth,
and had some oak. The last wine of the night was the Isabel
Pinot Noir. This wine was much deeper in colour than the other
Pinot Noirs, and had candy cherry and ripe berry fruit aromas.
Ripe cherries, some spice and acidity were tasted. There was also
some tannins present which were not evident in the other pinot
noirs.
The Isabel Pinot Noir is available in the BC Liquor stores for
$43/bottle. The Shingle Peak Pinot Noir is available for $22/bottle,
and the Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc is available for $16/bottle.
 Tasting
Selection
Our favourite white wines are:
1. Brancott Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay, 2000
2. Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc, 2002
Our favourite red wines are:
1. Isabel Pinot Noir, 2001
2. Omaka Springs Reserve Pinot Noir, 2000
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