Wellington from Mt. Victoria

If I stick to wine this will be a short post. Through a mixture of bad planning and the need to do holiday activities which are not wine related there were no wine trips on North Island. The wines of Martinborough and Hawke’s Bay (with or without its apostrophe) were not untasted of course but we headed from Wellington to Rotorua and then the north coast missing out those two venerable wine regions. Another time maybe?

As I said I have tasted wines from both areas whilst here.

From Hawke’s Bay:

• Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay which were both good, plenty of classic aromas and flavours with more concentration than most
• Church Road Pinot Gris, pleasant though not world beating
• Pask Syrah and Declaration Syrah both of which had good fruit and full flavours, the latter being more concentrated. A sign of how the area of Gimblett Gravels does add more depth
• Te Mata Syrah was ok, typical of the grape though lacking the style and finesse of its elder brother Bullnose. Te Mata Coleraine was the first wine from New Zealand which convinced me that great wines could be made here when I tasted it a good 20 years ago.

The wine which stood out for me though, and I had 2015 and 2011 versions, was Stonecroft‘s Serine Syrah. This was my favourite red of the North Island by far and yet it is far from the most expensive. Good red fruits, complexity from some oak age and very persistent combined to make this a very good glassful and good value. Apparently it comes from the oldest Syrah vines in NZ and was once thought to be from Serine, a Syrah clone though this is not the case. Gimblett Gravels again and the 2011 had plenty of life even though this is not intended as a wine to age too long. I would like to find more of their wines.

From Martinborough

• Schubert Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc which were fine, good examples of each
• Palliser Riesling which was nice and tangy, good and dry
• Escarpment Pinot Noir had good fruit and less sign of age than many other examples I have had in NZ

However, North Island has been about the magnificent natural scenery and landscapes as well as the most friendly and attractive capital city in Wellington. The harbour, botanical gardens, cable car, Mt. Victoria and its views all make Wellington a perfect city to visit, its range of architecture and friendly greetings all add to its charm. Add in a magnificent national museum Te Papa with free entry including the outstanding Gallipoli exhibition, one of the best I have ever seen.

From there to the volcanic region of Rotorua, also showing many Maori villages and culture. Geysers, mud pools, hot water springs, steaming hillsides all have a mystery which captures the imagination and awes me.

The north coast of the Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Bay of Islands are all superb, I have never seen a beach so enticing and beautiful as Cooks Beach whilst small towns and villages such as Whitianga as well as Russell (NZ’s first capital city) and Paihia on the Bay of Islands show colonial style architecture as well as charm, as long as the cruise ships have not landed! There were even some vineyards to look at too.

Finally I must mention Cult Wines in Wellington. I finally found some natural wines and this little shop has a good selection from New Zealand, Australia and Europe. We had a very good, juicy PetNat from Black Estate (Waipara) called Netherwood and a round no SO2 Pinot Noir from Escarpment (see above). It is interesting to see more domaines experimenting with making natural wines. These two were certainly successes. NZ’s fledgling natural wineries such as Hermit Ram and Cambridge Road were represented but travelling isn’t wine buying friendly.

I did buy two wines from Kindeli which is the work of Alex Craighead. He has his own vineyards and sources more grapes, all from Nelson. Verano was a delicious, juicy, fresh field blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. A deep rosé in colour it was very good. Otono is a blend of Gewurztraminer and Riesling, it is distinctly natural in style but the Gewurz violets come through and there’s a nice saline, dry lick to the finish.

I would love to have visited Hawke’s Bay but if you get the chance then New Zealand, both islands, are must visits. Wherever we have been has been spectacular in its own way.

E noho rā.