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Win a 2 night stay at the Te Awanga Coastal Apartment with Rod McDonald Wines and Regional Wines. Enjoy stunning views of the Pacific and Cape Kidnappers whilst being nestled in the peaceful tranquillity of the Te Awanga vineyard. Perched above the cellar door this is the perfect escape for couples or small families and offers close proximity to local cafes, restaurants and shops too. Start the stay with a complimentary cellar door tasting of some of Rod’s stellar Te Awanga wines (if booked whilst the cellar door is open) and then soak up the sumptuous scenery that the Hawke’s Bay does so well. To be in with a chance to win - pop in store for further details! Click here to find out more about the apartment on Bookabach. Dates for the stay will be by arrangement. Travel is not included in the prize. The winner will be announced at the end of February. Here's a list of Rod's wines - currently on special. 2016 Te Awanga Chardonnay 2017 One Off Chiaretto Rosé (Sangiovese) 2017 One Off Organic Pinot Gris 2016 Te Awanga Strawberry Blonde Rose 2014/15 Te Awanga Syrah 2016 Quarter Acre Chardonnay  2016 Quarter Acre Syrah

Tonight's Wine Wednesday should be a cracker with the gorgeous 2014 Astrolabe Wairau Valley Riesling, made by Marlborough's master of all things aromatic - Simon Waghorn . This is crisp, elegant Riesling brimming with citrus, green apple and all the bright acidity you'd expect from this marvelous varietal!

Chardonnay may play second fiddle to Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough but the brand spanking new 2016 Fromm La Strada Chardonnay proves this region has more than one string to its wine bow. Come and join us in store tonight for a free tasting of a great white made from Chardonnay, which also happens to be a brand new release... The 2016 Fromm La Strada Chardonnay is usually $35.99 and is on special tonight for $32.99. Join us for our free mid week tasting... The time is 5.30pm to 7pm, the place is Regional Wines & Spirits and the theme is Wine Wednesday, which is back tonight with this big, bold Chardonnay from Marlborough. Bookings are not necessary, just turn up any time between 5.30pm and 7pm to taste this great southern white.

It’s often referred to as the greatest white wine on Earth, so why does Riesling get a bad rap?

Here are our opening hours over the holiday period - Happy Hols and happy responsible drinking!

An absolute cracker at an amazing price! We'll be cracking a bottle of... Champagne Charles de Cazanove NV - $34.99 ... so come in and try it with the team at Regional Wines on Wednesday 29th November at our Wine Wednesday informal in store tasting. Pick up a spectacular sparkler for Xmas at a bargain price.

If you’re a sucker for a big buttery Chardonnay, Gisborne was the place to be this Labour Weekend. And not only in Gisborne but on board the W165 – a refurbished train that was built in 1897 and was wheeled out for the weekend to be The Chardonnay Express - over 100 people paid to enjoy eight Big Buttery Chardonnays (let’s call them BBCs) with eight matching morsels of food on a half day ride from downtown in Gisborne out to Muriwai on the coast, crossing the airport runway on the journey (because trains have existed longer than planes, but that’s another story). The ride was the highlight of a Chardonnay weekend that was a collaboration between winemakers, tourism operators and Air New Zealand – which came on board, if you’ll excuse the pun, to subsidise flight packages to lure as many people as possible to Gisborne for the event. Gisborne winemaker Steve Voysey hopes this wine tourism package will prove successful enough to take place again, hopefully several times a year. It’s part about attracting more people to Gisborne; part about upping the profile of the region’s wines. Production of which has declined significantly over the past decade, as statistics highlight – there were 2,142 hectares of grapes planted in the region in 2008 compared to 1,371 hectares today. That’s a pretty big drop, by anyone’s measure but it’s about balancing quantity with quality and matching production with market demand, says Voysey, who makes wine for his own relatively small volume wine brand, Spade Oak and also consults to Indevin and LeaderBrand; two large volume wine production companies based in Gisborne. Like most of New Zealand, Gisborne has a maritime climate, but its northern location means that sunshine hours are not only long, but the climate is generally warmer, which, in turn, means grapes tend to have lower acidity than they do further south. This means Gisborne Chardonnay can taste very ripe in flavour, full bodied and soft. And, when treated to a little malolactic fermentation (the conversion of malic acid in grapes into softer lactic acid), it can taste very rich and creamy. These styles of Chardonnays remain extremely popular in New Zealand today, despite a strong swing, by some winemakers, towards crisper, lighter bodied, less creamy dry whites made from the Chardonnay grape. And while that can be potentially confusing for lovers of BBCs, variety is the spice of many of life’s best things, including wine, so, in my view, Chardonnay has never been better. Modern Chardonnay offers wines at both stylistic extremes, with many welcome shades of grey in between. The Gisborne Chardonnay GroupOak Barrel Fermented Chardonnay production is a must for those who belong to this group because they highlight the strongest wine style for this region – “We are focussing on what Gisborne does best at a premium but affordable level.” Oak adds a significant cost to wine production but also adds a tangible taste to the wines.2015 Spade Oak Vigneron Chardonnay 18.5/20This “vigneron” label is the top range of Spade Oak wines and in this case it was made from hand harvested grapes, wild yeast fermented and went through 100% malolactic fermentation. It’s full bodied, has a beautiful balance of big smooth creamy roundness, tempered by vibrant acidity which adds a sense of freshness and length to the wine. 2014 TW Reserve Chardonnay 17.5/20Big, buttery and noticeably oak-influenced, thanks to an equal combo of French, American and Hungarian oak barrels, in which the wine was aged. This is a great style for those who like bigger-is-better Chardonnays… Bravo, Gisborne Chardonnay producers… bring them on.

Velvet reds… the making of a great SyrahBy Joelle Thomson, wine programme director, author and writerBest ever is a big claim but when the product in question has evolved as radically as the new 2015 Trinity Hill Homage Syrah has, well, it’s a claim worth investigating. The newest Homage was launched in Hawke’s Bay last month at a tasting of every vintage ever made of this high priced Syrah. I was invited to the tasting. The newest wine from 2015 is the best yet, and next month you can taste it, alongside two others – from 2013 and 2014 – at a Trinity Hill tasting at Regional Wines & Spirits on Thursday 16 November from 6pm to 8pm. Well, that is, you can taste, if you have booked a spot because this tasting sold out almost as soon as we opened it up. If you’re keen to come along, you can get on our waiting list - email John Shearlock at online@regionalwines.co.nzAnd if you’re as interested in reading as you are in tasting, read on...Homage is Trinity Hill’s flagship wine and was first made in 2002 to highlight the potential of the Syrah grape and Hawke’s Bay. Back in 2002, Syrah and Hawke’s Bay were like a newly wed couple. Untested, unproven and, in most wine drinkers’ minds, a partnership that had yet to be properly consummated. So, a flash wine with a $105 (give or take) price tag could have been seen as a risky proposition, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was so impressively made from day one. The wine has since gone on to gather a following of Syrah devotees, not only in New Zealand, but around the world. Which is no mean feat for a wine that is made in relatively small quantities - about 600 bottles are produced in years when Homage is made, so there’s not a lot to go around. About a third of the production is sold directly into bars and restaurants before it has even left the winery. Last month I was lucky enough to try every vintage of Trinity Hill Homage ever made, and the best vintages, were, in my view, – 2015, 2014, 2013. The very best of the bunch is the newest from 2015. Like all vintages of Homage, the 2015 is a statement wine. Big, bold and powerful but it is also more approachable than many Syrahs are when they’re first launched onto the market. This is because the wine has evolved significantly since it was first made.To begin with, the use of oak has changed. Initially,100% new French oak was used during the wine’s maturation process and Homage has always been bottled in a weighty bottle to suggest a big wine. The bottle remains, but today the wine has taken a turn in an elegant new direction – and it’s all the better for it. Whole bunches were introduced to the fermentation in 2013, which was when the amount of new oak began to decline too, thankfully. And – perhaps not so thankfully but understandably, given the extra care in the winemaking - the price has risen – to about $135 a bottle, give or take a dollar or two at different retailers. The burning question is: Is Homage a better wine as a result of these changes? As Meg Ryan said in When Harry met Sally, yes, yes, yes. The 2015 Trinity Hill Homage is fresh off the bottling line and is undoubtedly the best vintage of Homage ever, in my view. New Zealand wine writers were invited to Hawke’s Bay last month (September 2017) to taste every vintage of Homage: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The style of the wine has changed noticeably and while age comes into the stylistic diversity of a vertical tasting like this, the better wines are from 2013, 2014 and 2015 – a string of exceptionally good vintages in Hawke’s Bay. Each of these years had temperatures which were drier, sunnier and warmer than usual. Winemakers Warren Gibson and Damian Fischer considered the amount and type of oak they used and decided to reduce it because they wanted to change the texture of the tannins and how dense they feel in the mouth. The wine will no doubt continue to evolve and I’m looking forward to tracking its journey in the future. In the meantime, next month we are tasting an impressive line up from Trinity Hill Winery, including the three most recent vintages of Homage. If you can’t join us in the flesh, join us in spirit and head down to Regional Wines to pick up a bottle of the outstanding 2014 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels The Gimblett or push the boat out and buy the latest Homage. As many famous people have supposedly said – and it is true – we only regret the things we don’t do. 2014 Gimblett Gravels 'The Gimblett' -  $29.99 (RRP - $33.05)The Trinity Hill tastingTaste Trinity Hill at Regional Wines on Thursday 16 November, 6pm to 8pm, $45 per person. This tasting is now booked out but you can join our waiting list. Email John Shearlock, tastings coordinator at: online@regional.co.nzThe wines2016 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Marsanne Viognier2016 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay2016 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Tempranillo2015 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Syrah2014 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels The Gimblett2015 Trinity Hill Homage2014 Trinity Hill Homage2013 Trinity Hill Homage

2014 Gimblett Gravels 'The Gimblett' The Gimblett” is traditionally made from a blend of grape varieties. The Cabernet family gives structure and fresh aromatics. Merlot gives richness and mid-palate weight with Malbec helping with complexity, density and colour. Gimblett Gravels Tempranillo The wine shows attractive brambly, blackberry-like ripe fruits along with spicy and exotic complexity. The palate is rich and textural with salivating soft tannins. Licorice, chocolate and sarsaparilla flavours linger on the finish. This wine will age extremely well for at least five years but equally can be drunk in its youth. Gimblett Gravels Syrah The 2016 Syrah has a deep and youthful vibrant crimson colour. Wild raspberry, blueberry, cracked pepper and hints of vanilla bean show on the nose. Powerful and balanced ripe tannins give the wine great savoury structure. Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay The structure has a tight shape with the finesse and concentration that are hallmarks of Trinity Hill Chardonnay. It displays delicacy but richness and the beautifully linear acidity makes it a fantastic match with food.An excellent partner with white meats and seafood dishes.  

Wednesday 18 OCT  |  5.30 pm to 7 pm. We’ve got a bit of a thing for a pink drink here at Regional Wines this week andwe’re going to crack open three of them tomorrow night at our new weekly casualtasting, Wine Wednesday, at Regional Wines from 5.30 pm to 7 pm. Our resident wine whizzes will guide you through a trio of pink drinks and explain thedifferences in style and why colour is not an indication of dryness – or otherwise. Speaking of which, rosé – or pink wine – can be made from any red grape and caneven be made by blending red and white wine together, which is standard practice inFrance’s Champagne region for the production of the world’s highest priced pinksparkling wine. Unusual as that sounds (and it’s another story, which we can revisitover the upcoming festive silly season), most New Zealand rosé is made from PinotNoir – for obvious reasons. Pinot is the most widely planted red grape and most widely produced red wine in thiscountry. This means that rosé tends to be produced in two main ways in NewZealand. Firstly, it can be made as an intentional wine where red grapes are pressed andgiven anything from a few hours to a few days of skin contact so that the colour addsa light tinge to the wine. Secondly – and this is more common – rosé is made using a method called saigneé- French for ‘bleeding’. This refers to making pink wine from red wine (in this case, Pinot Noir) while the wineis still fermenting in tank – by bleeding off a little of the fermenting juice, The winethat remains in the tank (most of it) can gain a more intense colour and flavour whilea fresh, light pink wine can be made at the same time. Hey presto – rosé. Come along and check out this trio tomorrow at 5.30pm at Regional Wines inWellington – there’s no need to book… come and check out these pink drinks withus for $5 at the door.   We hope to see you there.   Pink drinks at Wine Wednesday… 2016 Whitehaven Rosé $17.99 2016 Eradus Rosé $18.99 2017 Haha Rosé $14.99  

If you're wandering around Wellington tonight between 5pm and 7pm, pop into Regional Wines for a free taste of an exceptional range of bubbles from Champagne Lallier...     Champagne Lallier...     Talk about modest. I'm talking about the price, not the big, beautiful taste of Champagne Lallier, which over deliver for the $50.99 you'll spend on this wine. And the trio of Lallier bubbles will be open for a free tasting tonight at Regional Wines at the Basin Reserve in Wellington from 5pm to 7pm.     Our team here at Regional had the tasty pleasure of checking out Lallier Champagnes this afternoon and, while we've all got our faves, we agreed the rosé was the pick of this beautiful bunch, which range from $23 for a half bottle up to $50.99. That's no mean feat, given the hefty resources of time, reserve wines and grand cru vineyards (the highest quality land) that go into making Lallier Champagne.     When, where and what...     Champagne Lallier is based in... the village of Ay (one of the 17 Grand Cru villages) in the Champagne region.     It was founded in 1906 by... Rene Lallier and the business was sold in 2004 to Francis Tribaut who is the current owner and also the winemaker. This makes Lallier the only champagne brand where the owner is also the winemaker.     The bubbles are made in two locations... in Maison D’Ay and  in the new Cellier D’Oger, 10 kms outside of Ay on the Cotes des Blanc; a modern facility built in 2012.     Lallier Champagnes only contain the two most respected grapes... namely, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.     The wines go through malolactic fermentation, which varies... depending on the vintage and the acidity in the grapes as a result of the vintage.     Dosage varies from zero up to... 18 grams per litre.           The champagnes     Champagne Lallier Ay Brut R012 $46.45     Very fresh, very flavoursome and very affordable; this is made from a blend of 62% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 81% of the wine comes from grapes grown in 2012 (hence the R012 - 'recolte' means year) and 19% reserve wines. It's also drier than many champagnes with a dosage of 8 grams per litre and the wine is made from 85% Grand Cru vineyards.     Champagne Lallier Blanc de Blancs Ay $53.80     This is 100% Chardonnay and all from vineyards that are classified as Grand Cru; 60% from Ay and 40% from Cote des Blancs. The wine spent 36 to 88% wine of the year, 12% reserve wines, aging on lees 36 to 48 months, dosage 9 grams.     Buttered croissant aromas, very strong yeasty flavours, high acidity, great concentration with strong citrus flavours, a full body and a long finish.     Champagne Lallier Rose Grand Cru $50.99     Wine of the year 92%, reserve wines 8%, grand cr vineyards only; 65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay. Pale salmon colour, savoury aromas, yeasty flavours, high acidity, very long finish. Very pronounced mushroom aromas with an explosion of beautiful red fruit flavours in the mouth…    

We have Nigel Elder and Margaret Hansen from The Elder Winery in Martinborough instore tomorrow tasting their Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and rosé between 1pm and 5pm. Swing by and chat with the winemaker, taste some excellent wines and walk away with a bottle that will be discounted on the day.  When: Saturday 07 Oct 2017 Time: 1pm - 5pm    

What: A tasting What for: Join us to taste the fascinating flavours, history and mystery of Martinborough’s top Pinot Noir producer, Ata Rangi When: Thursday 19 October 2017, 6pm to 8pm How: Book your spot now – this will book out swiftly. Bookings: The cost is $50 per person and bookings are essential. Book by calling Regional Wines, phone 04 385 6952 or hook onto the website here to book at Regional Wines…     I've always had a soft spot for Ata Rangi winery in Martinborough because it was one of the first and was pioneered by one of a man who knows how to follow his heart. Clive Paton. He's at least as dedicated to environmental work these days as he is to wine because he has something of a penchant for replanting native trees all over the country in his role as advisor, fount of wisdom and passionate lover of nature for Project Crimson, but that's another story. Back when he founded Ata Rangi Wines, Clive was a single dad and a shear farmer with a love of red wine in a country awash with Lion Brown. Not that there’s anything wrong with a good beer, if you’re that way inclined, but Clive wasn’t. He lived in the Southern Wairarapa and had heard of a few fledgling wineries in Martinborough, so, one Saturday, he decided to go and take a look for himself, his young daughter Ness was along for the ride. He looked at a piece of land and instantly decided to buy it and grow vines to make wine. If you know Clive – or met him for the first time – you probably wouldn’t call him rash. He is quietly spoken and seems to be extremely considered, but that instant decision to follow his heart into wine was one that was not only spur of the moment, but changed his life for the better. His young daughter is now married with children of her own, which she shares with her husband who is another great winemaker – John Kavanagh of Te Kairanga Wines. And Clive also has a long term partner in life and in wine in the fellow winemaker Phyll Pattie (who rarely talks of her days in winemaking since she manages marketing and pretty everything else at Ata Rangi). The winemaker today is Helen Masters, who will present a stellar line up of the Ata Rangi wines at a tasting at Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington on Thursday 19 October from 6pm to 8pm.   The cost is $50 per person and bookings are essential. The line-up on the night 2017 Ata Rangi Lismore Pinot Gris 2011 Ata Rangi Lismore Pinot Gris 2016 Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2012 Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2016 Ata Rangi Crimson Ata Rangi Crimson (vintage TBC) 2014 Ata Rangi McCrone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013 Ata Rangi McCrone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2010 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2008 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2014 Ata Rangi Célèbre   Blog by Joelle Thomson, writer and wine programme director at Regional Wines & Spirits

I first met Gordon Russell 23 years ago in the upstairs room at Regional Wines in Wellington. He has changed a little since then. The room has not changed one iota. The reason for the meeting back then was the same as the reason for meeting him again last night – a wine tasting of one of New Zealand’s highest priced wines; Esk Valley’s The Terraces, which now retails for approximately $145 (NZ dollars). Is it worth it? How does anyone ever accurately place a dollar value on rarity and high quality. The diminishing law of returns kicks in with wine around this price zone, but there are wines that cost more and can be such wow-me experiences that I find it tricky to talk about value over the $100 mark. It’s a bit like beauty. It’s all in the eye of the beholder. Last night, the beholders were 21 people who had paid to come and meet Gordon, taste his wines and buy themselves a piece of the specialness that he makes from the tiny terraced vines he has overseen and made wine from since 1991. That’s no mean feat in a country the size of New Zealand where wine drinking is in its infancy, let alone winemaking, and the industry is still learning to stand on its own two feet. Companies such as the Villa Maria Group (owner of Esk Valley) are pivotal in the creation of a sustainable wine industry here in New Zealand, and make it possible for the consistent creation of top quality wines such as The Terraces.   Quirky in a good way… a very good way We tasted a wide range of wines last night but my highlight was a white – and a quirky one at that. It’s Verdelho, which is made in minuscule amounts in this country and all by the Villa Maria Group; from both an Auckland vineyard inside a volcano in Mangere and the other is the Esk Valley Verdelho from Hawke’s Bay. I love this wine for its freshness (high acidity), its ripeness (intense mandarin and grapefruit flavours) and its quirkiness; it’s different in a good way. A very good way. 2017 Esk Valley Verdelho Verdelho has thick skins, small berries and comes from a tropical island of Madeira (1000 kilometres south west of Portugal). “When the opportunity came to import a grape that didn’t exist in New Zealand, Verdelho seemed like a logical choice way back many years ago, and now I don’t think we would do this but it is well suited to our rainy maritime climate in New Zealand,” says winemaker Gordon Russell, who says the first grapes were planted in 1998 in Hawke’s Bay. It’s a very hit and miss variety in terms of vine yield and it was first made in 2001; in miniature quantities – just one keg of wine was made. On the up side, its unusual elliptical shaped berries are small, thick skinned (helps to avoid fungal disease risk) and the concentration of flavour is high, due to the berry size. Potential alcohol can be very high, due to high sugars which are balanced by its high acidity. This wine is from a vintage that looked promising and then suffered massively from rain at the end of the harvest season. Fermented in a combo of stainless steel and 600 litre barrels with wild yeast and then blended together. Flavours are dialled up citrus with high acidity balancing a touch of residual sugar (between 4-8 grams per litre), which is not noticeable in the slightest – this wine finishes on a bone dry note. $145 per bottle… The Terraces is a field blend red made from dry farmed, organically grown grapes, which are fermented in 80 year old concrete fermentation tanks, sunk into the ground. The first vintage of Esk Valley The Terraces was made in 1991 and it was initially a Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wine but the blend of grapes has changed over the years and the original Cabernet vines have been replaced by Malbec on that particular part of the vineyard. You can read more details about The Terraces here www.eskvalley.co.nz All The Terraces wines are made from grapes fermented in 80 year old concrete fermentation vats without temperature control. However, because the concrete fermenters are sunk into the ground, the temperature remains constant. Here are my notes on three vintages of The Terraces… 2015 Esk Valley The Terraces Big and bold and ripe with its deep ruby hue, dark fruit flavours massive firm tannins; it’s still very youthful at the moment with firm, smooth but grippy tannins, which suggest it will age well for a decade – and then some. 2014 Esk Valley The Terraces Approachable, open and ripe with hints of complexity such as mocha, dark cocoa and dark black fruit flavours. A lovely drink now but with good potential to age for up to a decade, thanks to its ripe dark fruit flavours and robust tannins. 2013 Esk Valley The Terraces It was named the best vintage ever at the time, until the dry and warm 2014 summer came along, but this wine remains a shining example of a top vintage in New Zealand’s second biggest wine region. Ripe, dark, youthful, big smooth, slightly grippy tannins – a reminder of this wine’s relative youth and definite aging potential.

Chateau Musar tasting at Regional Wines & Spirits Tuesday 5 September 2017 Tuesday this week was a very rainy, very chilly, supposedly spring night in Wellington but the wines we tasted were from a far warmer place – you could even call the Bekaa Valley hot. It’s in the north east of Lebanon, a country better known for war than for wine. The tasting is led by Ralph Hochar; third generation family member from Chateau Musar, which was founded in 1930 by his grandfather, Gaston Hochar, who planted his first vines after returning from training in winemaking in Bordeaux, France. The original name of the winery was Mzar, which was later lengthened for ease of pronunciation and spelling. The winery was inspired by the French, who colonised Lebanon after World War I. Lebanon became independent in 1943. It’s on the eastern part of the Mediterranean sea, so it is less than 200 kilometres from Cyprus. The tasting was outstanding and Regional Wines sells Chateau Musar wines; the next shipment is scheduled to arrive in the next six weeks.   The tasting 2016 Musar Jeune Rose 4 stars ★★★★ Refreshing rose – it’s bone dry, has no oak, a modern label and is made intentionally to be a paler colour to cater for modern tastes (we do drink with our eyes, don’t we – don’t answer that). This wine is now 85% Cinsault and 15% Mourvedre; a classic combo from Provence in the south of France. Two years ago it was 100% Cinsault and a far darker coloured wine as a result. Love the bone dry taste.   2014 Musar Jeune Red 3.5 stars ★★☆ Adaptation and change are the message of this wine, which contains Syrah for the first time (a decision that took two to three years of ‘heavy discussion’ at the winery, says Ralph Hochar). It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Cinsault; made from young vines with no oak use – it’s a drinkme-now style – soft and approachable with flavours of intense fruit, dark spice (cloves) and chocolate notes.   2012 Hochar Pere et Fils 3.5 stars ★★☆ This wine is now a blend of three grapes; Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache (it was formerly a blend of these three with a fourth – Carignan). The vines are older at 30-40 years of age and the yields are lower than in the Musar Jeune wine, so the flavours are noticeably more concentrated with …. each grape spends 4-6 months in French oak, it is then blended and cellared at the winery for another 3-4 years prior to release, so the 2012 is the current release. It will arrive in New Zealand prior to Christmas this year.   2011 Hochar Pere et Fils 4 stars ★★★★ Tastes like a cross between Nebbiolo and Chateauneuf du Pape, to me; high acid, firm tannins, red fruit, juicy long finish… succulent, bone dry, complex. This six year old wine has a complex range of flavours spanning red fruit (classic juicy flavours of a Chateauneuf du Pape), spice (cloves, cardamon) and black fruit (Cabernet Sauvignon). It has a medium body and high but balanced acidity adds freshness and length. Intriguing wine.   The flagship wines The flagship wine was created by Serge Hochar who was 23 years old when he studied wine with Emile Peynaud at the University of Bordeaux.   2008 Chateau Musar 4 stars ★★★★ This wine has been made from certified organic grapes since 1996. The vineyards are certified organic via independent auditing by an Italian company. It’s made from Carignan, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Mourvedre, fermented entirely from wild yeasts and the wine is not filtered or fined, so sediment can be heavy after a couple of decades of aging. Each grape spends one year in French oak and two years in concrete vats. “At the end of the day, sediment is a natural part of the wine but fining would be us doing something to the wine and we would rather the wine aged naturally and had some sediment rather than us doing things to the wine,” says Ralph Hochar. It’s an earthy wine with intense flavours of red and baked fruit and a savoury undertow, high acid, a long finish – it’s a fascinating style of wine.   2006 Chateau Musar 4.5 stars ★★★★☆ A beautiful drink now; savoury spice, sweet spice, red fruit, super fresh in flavour with so many different aromas coming through in every sip. This drinks well right now and has the ability and potential to age for longer in cool dark cellar conditions.   Thanks to Ralph Hochar for coming to Regional Wines & Spirits to share his time and knowledge of Lebanon and its most famous wines from Chateau Musar.

What’s your favorite Chardonnay? Big, buttery and full bodied? Or crisp, citrusy and site expressive? Whichever way you like your Chardonnay, our King of Chardonnays tasting on Thursday 5 October is highly likely to reward you – in more ways than one. Join us and Chardonnay specialist Tony Bish at Regional Wines in Wellington for this special tasting at which we will open 9 wines. This special blind tasting will highlight the incredible versatility of Chardonnay when grown in different countries, different regions and also when it’s made in a variety of styles. We will taste 6 New Zealand Chardonnays and 3 from Burgundy; including one from each sub-region to highlight the classic traditional European styles from Chardonnay’s spiritual homeland. This promises to be an outstanding tasting for Chardonnay lovers and all drinkers of high quality white wine.   The tasting… Thursday 5 October, 6pm to 8pm at Regional Wines & Spirits. Bookings essential, at the following link - click here   The wines Chablis 2014 Louis Michel & Fils Grand Cru Chablis Montee de Tonnerre $37 Cotes d’Or 2014 Henri Boiillot Meursault $56 Macon 2014 Bouchard Pere et Fils Macon Lugny Vin de Bourgogne $25 New Zealand 2014 Sacred Hill Virgin Chardonnay $30 2016 Tony Bish Golden Egg Chardonnay $38 2016 Tony Bish Heartwood Chardonnay $35 2016 Sacred Hill Wine Thief Chardonnay $35 2016 Tony Bish Skeetfield Chardonnay $60 2016 Sacred Hill Riflemans Chardonnay $70

Finish with a Flourish Whisky Tasting - Regional Wines, 31st July and 1st August By John Shearlock It's not often one gets to taste a 2001 Barolo at a whisky tasting, but this was Finish with a Flourish with Daniel McLaren Moon, whose theme was wine cask finishes, and things were about to get serious. So it was that a group of well-seasoned Wellington whisky tasters found themselves confronted with seven whiskies paired with seven samples of still and fortified wine, in the snug confines of Regional's upstairs tasting room; a cocktail of oloroso, port and single malt aromas swirling there within. The theory was sound. By tasting the wines one might be able to decipher the undisclosed order of the whiskies on the night (including one tasted 100% blind and going by the name of The Mystery). After all, why finish a whisky in a cask if that cask doesn't impart flavours of its prior contents on the whisky? But then theories are there to be disproved and from the initial banter in the room, a sense of scepticism had already been released like a genie from a lamp. The wines were tasted in ascending order of sweetness, starting with the subtlety of flavour, tannic structure and high acidity of the dry reds, and finishing with the unctuous sweetness and syrup-of-fig-like qualities of the PX. Adjectives were rattled off and written on the board, including nuts and apricots for the oloroso, raisins and X/mas cake for the tawny. Would these same descriptors materialise in the whiskies and would the wines and whiskies marry up? With the wines tasted, it was time to crack into the whiskies, a sense of relief spreading through the room at moving into more familiar territory. The noses were promising. Balanced, complex aromas in general wafted from our glasses, however, the wine finishes were seemingly hidden in the complex depths of the malts. It was interesting to see people going with their initial gut feeling and sussing the finish, only to lose their way in the sea of adjectives that emanated from the collective opinion in the room. It was time to taste. Despite claims of sour wine notes here, and sweetness befitting a PX, port or madeira there, it soon became apparent that the finishes were just as hard to spot on the palate as they had been on the nose. But was this really surprising? Let's not forget the magnitude of the task at hand. The cask finishes were, in many ways, like needles in a haystack, considering the whiskies were all first matured in sherry or bourbon casks, combined with a multitude of other factors specific to the wine casks themselves; the oak used to make the cask, the actual wine in the cask (after all, oloroso comes in many guises) and the general activity of the cask. Having nosed, tasted and assessed, it was time to score the whiskies and decide, regardless of the night's subplot, whether the whiskies were any good. These tastings have always proved a great leveller of the playing field, offering a fine opportunity to test drive a single malt without stumping up the investment required to purchase a bottle. Mighty whiskies bearing giant prices often fall by the wayside, whilst lesser whiskies stand on their shoulders to raise above the melee. Tonight was no different, but not so typical on this occasion, The Mystery whisky was deemed best in show, and to make things even more interesting, this was the whisky with the most unconventional finish. It was aSwedish Single Malt finished in casks previously containing raspberry, blueberry and cranberry wine - the Mackmyra Moment Vinterträdgård is atypical in every sense. Smooth and fruity, it shows balance, length and composure. Its finish had been one of the harder to spot, but once it was common knowledge, the fruity flavours were there for all to taste. With the Benriach 17yo PX and Redbreast Laustau Edition coming 2nd and 3rd, it was evident too, that the sherry finished whiskies has typically done well. I  couldn't help but wonder if this was due to Sherry inherently working well with malted barley distillate (a pairing equivalent of lamb and mint if you like) or whether the common use of sherry casks for whisky maturation, simply had our palates primed? A chicken and egg scenario if ever there were... So, it was a thoroughly interesting tasting that seemed to prove that wine finished whiskies do not necessarily taste of the wines from those casks, and that the final results are both good, bad and occasionally ugly. One thing's for sure, on a night when we were all concentrating on the finish, it was the Swedes who stole the show. Here's how the whiskies placed. Click the links to purchase them.   1) Mackmyra Moment Vinterträdgård 2) BenRiach 17yo PX finish 3) Redbreast Lustau Edition 4) Glenfiddich Age of Discovery Madeira Finish 5) BenRiach 21yo Tawny Port Finish 6) Benromach Hermitage Finish 7) Hazelburn 9yo Barolo Finish

Whenever anyone asks me what wine people do all day, I find it hard to explain that it’s not all tasting, talking and enjoying lovely liquid. Like most jobs, working with wine is more often about the pragmatics, in our case, lifting boxes, stocking shelves and answering emails so that we can unveil interesting wines at great tastings, like The Wines of Waitaki on Thursday 17 August, 6pm to 8pm, at Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington. The Waitaki Valley is home to so much limestone and so few people that it looks more like a cross between Scotland and somewhere in the north of France than a remote region in New Zealand. But it is remote in the extreme. Waitaki Valley is just up the road and inland from the frosty charms of Oamaru, which a 90 minute drive north of Dunedin. The region is home to 13 wineries today, including Jim and Anne Jerram, who flew me in their neighbour's small plane to visit the valley with a bird’s eye view of its plentiful limestone. We later tasted their wines. That was earlier this year and the trip triggered a comprehensive tasting of wines from Waitaki Valley. And so, we would love to see you at our tasting – which will highlight fresh new wines from Waitaki alongside older vintages from the region. The wines we will taste come from the following wineries but there are more on their way to us, thanks to the enthusiasm of the winemakers in the region:   Ostler Audrey’s Pinot Noir Ostler Caroline’s Pinot Noir Pasquale Riesling Pasquale Gewürztraminer Pasquale Pinot Noir Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir Valli Waitaki Off-dry Riesling Valli Waitaki Late Harvest Riesling Valli Waitaki Riesling Valli Waitaki Late Harvest Riesling Valli Waitaki Vineyard Pinot Noir John Forrest Collection Waitaki Pinot Noirs John Forrest Collection Waitaki Chardonnay Earthkeeper’s Pinot Noir Earthkeeper’s white… Q Pinot Noir Q Pinot Gris Q Chardonnay   You may notice there are no listed vintages on the wines above, which is because it looks like we will be tasting old and new vintages of these wines. Watch this space – and, more importantly, book yours here