2 January 2013
Hot weather, casual eating and living - perfect for rose wine. Here's the Alpha Domus Pilot, deliciously fruity and lots of body. It's from Hawke's Bay so has been perfect with our Holly Bacon ham, which is also from that bountiful region. Maybe the best rose we have drunk to date.
We've also loved the Wooing Tree (don't you love that name?) from Central Otago and made from pinot noir grapes. Seriously fruity with hints of plum.
We also found an old bottle of Fromm rose from Marlborough in our cellar. Six years old it was seriously good. Deliciously ripe, and the ageing had made it subtle yet still fruity.
Time New Zealand wine makers took rose more seriously, IMHO!
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3 November 2012
Sometimes you get the unexpected! Dinner in a private home while travelling is always a complete privilege. We were invited to a very special dinner while in Osaka, Japan. Chef Tsumara had a very popular restaurant in the city and has now retired (at a very young age I might add.)
He'd visited us at Omaha Beach a few years ago and so we were thrilled to see him again. We went with our friends Bill and Noriyo Vincent from Auckland (The Village Wine Shop in Mt Eden) and Tsumura-san cooked a fabulous homestyle feast for us. Everything was totally delicious and very special.
The guests were wine connoisseurs so we enjoyed fabulous wines throughout the meal including a magnum of Bandol's Domaine Tempier, and those really interesting Champagnes pictured above. We loved it as most of our meals in Japan were accompanied by beer or sake!
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2 November 2012
This is the fine collection of French wines that the effervescent John Hawkesby brought to dinner this week. The occasion was a joint effort between myself (the cook and hostess) and John (sommelier and raconteur.)
We'd donated a dinner at the TEN Hospice fundraising brunch in June and the four couples who had paid generously, joined us (with Joyce Hawkesby and Murry Jacobs) to enjoy their feast.
Hawkesby's cellar is only surpassed by his relentless enthusisam for all things gourmet, so we had a superb evening, sipping, tasting and most importantly chatting.
To read about the dinner menu click on Lauraine's Blog on the right hand side of this page.
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17 October 2012
This is probably our favourite family wine. And here it is in the amazing Isetan department store. The food halls of all the dept stores are incredibly beautiful with so much variety. Isetan leads the charge and if I were a winemaker in New Zeaalnd this is where I would want to see my wine.
Beautiful. Go the Ibbotsons and Saint Clair!
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17 October 2012
Always love it when I spot great quality wines around the world. the gorgeous Misha's from Central Otago in Isetan in Tokyo.
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19 July 2012
Last night I attended the chardonnay session of the Soul Bar Wine O'Clock. For $35 we had Prosecco to start (Contarini Prosecco Treviso DOC) which was delicously dry and a great way to warm up in the bar before moving to a sensationally good tutored tasting of four chardonnays from around the world by an awesome assemblage of blokes in the know. Not only was it fun, but it was astonishingly good value.
Paul Tudor MW who consults to Soul ran the evening in conjunction with bar manager, Mark Holland. The effervescent Jean Christophe Poirat from Maison Vauron spoke too, as did Misha Taylor of Procure Liquor.
We tasted four chardonnays:
Leeuwin Estate Prelude Margaret River 2010 (Western Australia)
Louis Michel Chablis 2010 Chablis, France
Elephant Hill Chardonnay 2010, (Te Awanga Hawkes Bay)
Bouchard Finlayson Heaven and Earth Valley 2009 (Walker Bay, South Africa)
Accompanied by loads of chatter and some very fine finger food from Soul's Kitchen, this was a superb way to spend a couple of hours. All the wines were lovely in their own way.
The Leeuwin was quite elegant, the French chablis fresh, clean and crisp (I'm going to go and get the Grand Cru from the same producer for the husband's birthday but don't tell him), the Hawkes Bay wine appealed to all those who have a 'kiwi' palate and the South African number was big; full of buterscotch and strong buttery flavours.
How different they all were and what a great idea to do a line-up like that so we could compare the styles. As Judith Tabron said,"Sure beats a wine dinner that no-one wants to sit through." If this becomes a trend you heard it here and at Soul first. Go to the Soul Bar website to see future events there.
Pic: Judith Tabron on the deck of Soul. Pic by Aaron McLean
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23 February 2012
This was the star wine in a line up of seven amazing Alsatian white wines we enjoyed last night at a special Alsace dinner at the excelent French restaurant Ile de France in Newmarket. (See my blog for more)
A few years ago we were lucky enough to spend a week in this lovely region of France and scored an invitation to the cellars of Marcel Deiss in Bergheim. Many regard this house as the most eccentric of the region, known for wines that don't conform to the general style of Alsace. Rather than make wine that can be clearly labelled riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot gris, pinot blanc etc, Deiss produce what they call "field blends." In other words they take their top grapes, mix them up in tank and produce something quite out of the ordinary.
A simply splendid idea when it's as stunning as the Marcel Deiss 1er Cru Engelgarten 2007. It was smooth as silk, fruity, clean and clear and if you want any you'll have to twist the arms of Jean-Christophe and Scott at Maison Vauron in Newmarket. Good luck!
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29 January 2012
This has been the hit of my summer. It's a new product from Moet & Chandon,
not released yet in New Zealand but brought in as a Christmas gift from Miss
Moet.
I loved the effervescent effect of bubbles poured over ice, and the wine (a
true Champagne) is lower than most in both alcohol and acidity so it's
perfect for summer drinking on a sunny day.
Let's hope we can get to purchase this wonderfully innovative and refreshing
wine soon here in Auckland. It really is summer in a bottle.
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19 October 2011
A stunning day for a stunning lunch this weekend, when HSH Prince Albert of Monaco visited Matakana. A quick tour of the Sculpture Trail at Brick Bay Winery and he was whisked to the private residence of owners Christine and Richard Didsbury for a barbecue feast.
So what to serve to drink? Local beer from the Leigh Sawmill boutique brewery and of course, a choice of three stunning wines from Brick Bay winery. The Rose went down a treat with the Prince, everyone loved the pre-release 2011 pinot gris, and Prince Albert's bob-sledding mates Mark One and Mark Two were fans of the very European style Brick Bay Pharos 2005. "Lots of Malbec," declared Mark One.
Brick Bay winery is perfect for a stroll through the sculpture trail, lunch and a wine tasting. Only 50 minutes from Auckland. Arabella Lane, Matakana (near Snells Beach.) Open every day until 4pm.
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6 October 2011
I am a huge fan of Saint Clair wines. We've always got a case of two of their chardonnay which seems to disappear faster than the bread crusts I throw to the birds on my lawn everyday. And it seems I can find them around the planet.
So I was thrilled to spot Saint Clair had two wines on the list at the brand new China House restaurant, bar, gallery and cafe complex in Penang, Malaysia. Pictured here is the Vicars Choice riesling, ice cold and frosty.
The other wine I didn't shoot was the Pinot Noir; it was equally ice cold and frosty. Apparently all red wines here in Penang are stored under refrigeration as they tend to "cook" in all that heat.
Go Saint Clair!
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