Vintage rose champagne is one of our favourite things and this one comes from arguably the most popular producer, Veuve Clicquot, owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey.

Veuve is named after the late, great Widow Clicquot, who was left not only a widow aged 27 but also in charge of running a champagne house. Her legacy is to have left both the brand and the region in better condition than she found them, mostly famously by inventing riddling; the turning of the bottle to remove the yeast sediment into its neck, prior to disgorgement. This resulted in higher quality, cleaner, fresher bubbles in both look and taste. Her quest was quality and she is widely credited with having raised it significantly in the Champagne region and in the bottles it produces.
This rose is typically a blend of base wines with 12% of still red Pinot Noir and aged for three years prior to disgorgement. 

Chateau Roubine is one of the oldest wine estates in France and has been making wine since the 14th Century in Provence in the south east. The property was awarded with the cru classe title in 1953 by the French Ministry of Agriculture. 

The bottle this rose is in today reflects the chateau's long history and is printed with the Templar coat of arms, featuring a dragon and lion protected by the sun's rays. The vineyard is planted in 13 different grape varieties and this is a dry, light bodied, refreshing Mediterranean rose. 

Cantine Riondo is a large cooperative based near Soave with over 2,000 winegrower members. This Extra Dry vintage spumante (Italian for semi sparkling), offers rich and elegant scents of ripe Golden Delicious apple, acacia and wisteria blossom. Fresh and creamy on the palate with a pleasant silky finish.

It was the Chinese who first imagined cooking roses by making preserved rosebuds. Following the Silk Roads, the rose arrived in Iran. Widely used around the Mediterranean, its use spread through Europe during the Middle Ages. Briottet continues this tradition by creating a rose infused liqueur. A perfect pairing with Champagne. 

Late Whitehaven co-founder Greg white was immensely proud of his three daughters, a legacy that Sue White has continued at the helm of Whitehaven Wines. And this new dry pink sparkling wine is made in honour of the daughters, as its name suggests. As is fitting of them, it is a beautiful expression of a sparkling wine made using the same winemaking methods as champagne - the second ferment is in the bottle; the blend is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the wine is incredibly elegant, crisp and bone dry in taste. Flavours of fresh summer berries lead into a gentle creaminess in a sparkling wine with a long, precise, cleansing finish.

Drink it with lightly grilled tuna or smoked salmon.

Italian designers bring their best bling to the design of the new Pizzolato Prosecco, which contains zero alcohol but loads of lovely aromatic flavour. This lightly sparkling wine is certified organic. 

This lovely new rose on our shelves from a well established winery in a remote corner of our nearest wine region, Matahiwi Estate in the northern Wairarapa. Deep pink in colour and deeply fruity in flavour, this lovely medium dry rose is made 100% from Pinot Noir grapes. 

The Oude Groseille ? Maquereau Verte Tilquin ? l'Ancienne is a spontaneous fermentation beer obtained from the fermentation of frozen green gooseberries in young lambics, blended with 1, 2 and 3 years lambic to reach a final concentration of fruits of 260 grams per liter. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

5.5% ABV.

Greystone is one of North Canterbury's wine stars situated on the slopes of limestone rich hills in Omihi. All of the grapes that go into Greystone wines are 100% certified organic with BioGro NZ and all are estate grown. No additional fruit is purchased to supplement production, which is one of many incremental steps that go into Greystone's high quality wines.

This pretty pale pink rose is made from 100% organic Pinot Noir. Aromas are plentiful with red berries, cream, brioche and lingering mineral notes. Summer berries and tropical notes flow through to the palate, finishing with focused acidity.

Certified organic with BioGro NZ.

About Greystone

The Greystone wine story began in 2000 when the Thomas Family bought an old sheep farm on the Omihi hills in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. The rolling limestone hills lured this family in and their goal was a single minded one: to make great wines from the limestone rich soils here. Fast forward 20 years and Greystone is one of the great (and, some might say, yet to be fully discovered) wineries in this outstanding wine region. Not least due to the work of winemaker Dom Maxwell and general manager Nick Gill, who began working together in 2005 and has grown along with the brand and quality. 

Made from 100% Glera and infused with grapefruit and botanicals, Rosa is pleasingly pink and refreshing. Serve over ice with a slice of grapefruit and enjoy!

8% ABV

VINEYARDS: Cactus Merlot/Malbec, Lunatic Syrah, Owhiti Malbec, Ponui Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. 

BLEND: Malbec 35%, Merlot 32%, Syrah 28%, Cabernet Franc 5%

WINEMAKING

The vintage of 2023 was a challenging year climatically, very wet and humid with low sunshine hours and periods of intense rain culminating in flooding in late January and Cyclone Gabrielle in early February.  The weather improved for the harvest months, but low sunshine hours resulted in wines with a light elegant touch, fresh, lively and delicious in their delicacy. Our Pinque Rose is harvested from select coastal sites on Waiheke and Ponui Islands made up of individual vineyards planted in Merlot, Malbec and Syrah which are designed with Rose production in mind. Picking early in the season but still showcasing red berry characters, the f ruit is whole bunch pressed in the champagne style liberating only the cleanest and most pure of juice. Fermented cool in stainless steel tanks and blended in the winter. 

TASTING NOTE

Pinque is a pure expression of Rose. Beginning with a classic pale salmon colour the wine has aromas of crushed rose petal, musk candy (pink smokers) strawberry flesh and a maritime scent. The palate is fresh and delicate with shades of stone and citrus fruits with fresh herbs finishing clean, crisp and delicious. 2023 Pinque is an uplifting and refreshing response to a challenging vintage.