Announcing Wine Blog Wednesday #17 "Red Kiwis" January 4, 2006.
Hosted by www.corkdork.typepad.com.
When you think of New Zealand wines, are you including it's noble reds as well as the ubiquitous sauvignon blancs of Marlborough? New Zealand has indeed changed the way we think of sauvingon blancs but it's red wines are emerging as a new world force on their own. For this month's tasting, I want you, gentle reader, to spend a little time learning about the Pinot Noirs of Central Otago in the South Island and Marlborough or the rich Bordeaux-style blends of Hawkes Bay.
Grapes have been planted in NZ since the 1870s, and while it suffers from the same over-irrigated big volume temptations as Australia, there are some great smaller producers to seek out.
With those Holiday parties and meals coming up, I urge you to try some nice NZ pinot with that bird, or cabernet-merlot blend with your beast.
There are lots of great resources for learning about New Zealand wines, and I'll be uploading a set of links to help guide you in the coming few days.
Taste your pick, upload your comments to your site and email me to be included.
Look for a round-up after Wednesday, January 4th, 2006.
Thanks of course, to our founder, Lenn at Lendevours for letting me host.
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Posted by: boy med exam | July 13, 2007 at 10:42 PM
better late than never. I've put up my WBW 17 post here: http://winetaster.blogspot.com/2006/01/on-mission-wbw-17-1998-nz-mission.html
Posted by: chas | January 07, 2006 at 07:31 PM
having worked with a few NZ wineries... i am looking forward to my first WBW. Simple question... is there anything i need to do other than review and post on my wine blog and alert you?
Posted by: christopher | December 25, 2005 at 03:01 PM
Feel a road trip coming on. When Central is a little over 3 hours away and Waipara is about 5.. See you in January!
Buon Natale
Posted by: Mary | December 23, 2005 at 12:00 AM
You do mean 2006, not 2007 in your title? Hope to join you there.
Posted by: sandy | December 21, 2005 at 07:05 PM
If anyone's looking for suggestions, may I humbly recommend anything you can find from Felton Road. I was just down there visiting a month ago, and their pinot is simply astounding. Peregrine and Waitiri Creek are also quite good.
Posted by: Don | December 21, 2005 at 03:14 PM
An excellent topic! I just tried my second NZ pinot noir last week and will look forward to having this excuse to try more.
See you on January 4!
Posted by: Bill Wilson | December 21, 2005 at 09:27 AM
Problem, living here in Spain doesn't give me wide access to wines outside of Spain Portugal and France. Any thoughts on what a Spanish land locked individual can do? Maybe a Pinot Noir from here as they tend to be up and coming in the Penedes region. Or maybe a SB/Pn combo in tribute to NewZealand? I love the wines of NZ and I miss having the selection that I had back in the states. On the other hand I can't complain, Spain is a pretty fun place to drink wine!
Posted by: Ryan Opaz | December 20, 2005 at 03:23 AM
As a Kiwi and a rabid All Blacks supporter...this is right down my alley....might do something from Waipara which is the area I'm from
Cheers
Dave
Posted by: Dave | December 19, 2005 at 02:20 PM
Having recently discovered the Pinots from Central Otago, I will venture over to Hawkes Bay to taste some Bordeaux blends. Wish me luck as I might not come back.
jens at cincinnati wine adventures
Posted by: jens at cincinnati wine warehouse | December 19, 2005 at 07:35 AM