NEW ZEALAND WINE

Homage is Trinity Hill?s top red and was first made in 2002 from 100% Syrah grapes grown on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke?s Bay. It was inspired when its founder, winemaker John Hancock, visited Gerard Jaboulet in Tain l?Hermitage in the northern Rhone Valley, France and met Gerard Jaboulet and his father Louis, who produced the great wine, Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle ? one of the great reds of the first half of the 20th Century. It?s still one of the northern Rhone?s great reds but is not always considered the absolute pinnacle these days, despite its illustrious history and its evocative name ? after a small stone chapel supposedly built as a retreat for a 13th century knight loved the hill of Hermitage above the Rh?ne.

Back in New Zealand, Hancock was so inspired that he returned to the Rhone to work the 1996 harvest at Jaboulet, an experience which cemented his own passion for northern Rhone Syrah styles. This was further cemented when Gerard Jaboulet sent him three clones of Syrah and one of Viognier as a gift from the Hermitage appellation. Gerard passed away in 1997 at the age of 55 but Hancock had those vine cuttings quarantined and propagated so that he was able to plant them in 2002, alongside Trinity Hill Winery?s first Syrah vines, which were planted in 1995 with cuttings from the neighbouring Stonecroft vineyard.

Long story short, the first small production Syrah was produced at Trinity Hill in 1997 and has since grown so that the winery produces three different Syrahs, of which Homage is the king.

Neudorf?s Moutere Pinot Noir is an elegant and age-able single vineyard wine. The nose is very fragrant with aromas of cherry, plum and cracked black pepper. The palate is rich yet balanced, with intense red fruit notes and balanced, bright acidity.

Kelly Washington wines are a collaboration of Simon Kelly and winemaker Tamra Washington, who source grapes from around Marlborough and other wine regions, looking for organic and biodynamically grown grapes. 

A beautifully fragrant Chardonnay that fuses traditional and modern winemaking techniques; whole bunch pressing, barrel fermentation, barrel maturation on gross lees, and malolactic fermentation. The nose offers lemon, white peach, popcorn and fresh pineapple and leads to a palate of lemon curd, cr?me br?l?e, toasted cashew and slight touches of flint and smoke. This is vibrant and juicy with refreshing acidity and plenty of concentration.

Spain's greatest red grape, Tempranillo, is now being grown and pressed into tasty dry reds and rosés in New Zealand, such as this delicious dry, savoury pink wine from Elephant Hill.

Providore is one of the newer kids on the Central Otago block, made by the extremely well seasoned winemaking hands of Pete Bartle, who has made wine extensively for Otago winemakers in his previous production role at VinPro. 

This pale, fruity rose is dry and fresh with a long finish. It highlights another string to the winemaking bow of the southernmost wine region in the world.

Dry, dark and full bodied fleshy black plum flavours with a beautiful silky textured mouthfeel. This single vineyard Pinot Noir is made from  hand picked grapes grown on the Wrekin Vineyard in the Southern Valleys, Marlborough. Most of the grapes were destemmed with a small portion of 15% whole bunches to add structure and weight to the wine, which was fermented warm (up to 31 degrees Celcius) then transferred to French oak, 27% new for 10 months of ageing. This wine has hints of smoky flavour with a rich, dense earthy aroma leading into beautiful dark fruit flavours of plums and black cherries.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery. Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

A smooth, soft Sauvignon Blanc with body and complex savoury flavours, which sit comfortably alongside tropical fruit aromas and all without a high price. This delicious tasty new take on this country's most successful white wine is made from 100% organically certified grapes, a portion of which were hand picked and all fermented with wild yeasts in a combo of oak and egg shaped vessels.

Loveblock owners Erica and Kim Crawford own their Awatere Valley vineyard in Marlborough. The Sauvignon Blanc grapes come from the Woolshed Vineyard area in the Lower Dashwood area, an 11 hectare site planted in 2003. All grapes grown on this site are certified organic with BioGro New Zealand. 

The first year Kevin Judd made his Wild Sauvignon was in 2009 and the winemaking has remained consistent ever since with complexity, creaminess and a full body coming from the 100% barrel fermentation with wild yeasts followed by malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity for two thirds of the wine. It then spends approximately 11 months maturing in barrel and remains in tank for another six months for battonage (the French name for stirring the lees - the decomposing yeast cells left over in the wine).

Gamey, savoury, deliciously refreshing Pinot Noir from Martinborough's next new big thing - Te Muna Valley, a dramatically majestic sub region for grapes that is situated 9 kilometres east of Martinborough village. 

Big Sky Wines is on the high alluvial terraces of Martinborough's Huangarua River at Te Muna, 9 kilometres east of the village. Low yielding deep gravels, hot days and cool nights result in wines that are deep and complex. This is their flagship wine from a low vigour, low cropping vineyard.  Hand picked, crushed into two tonne open fermenters with 10% whole bunch fermentation and minimal crushing and with wild fermentation followed by 12 months in French oak, 12.5% of which was new. And therein lies the beauty of this insanely delicious Pinot Noir with its ripe berry fruit flavours of dark cherries and plums, balanced by mouth filling savouriness, warm spice, and silky tannins. 

The Big Sky story

Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded Big Sky Wines in the Te Muna Valley, Martinborough, in 2005. They have since expanded their small vineyard, which is predominantly planted in Pinot Noir and also has a little Sauvignon Blanc, which they give extra textural complexity to with a little time in old oak on lees. 

Winemaker Rudi Bauer uses winemaking techniques very much in keeping with the practices of the Old World, with an obvious nod to Pinot's spiritual home in Burgundy.

The results are a deep, warm wine with inviting perfumed ripe pinot aromatics, both stylish and emotional. The palate is vibrant and lively with great body and spicy minerality that holds defined tannins of Bendigo intensity.

If you're looking for next level Sauvignon Blanc, here it is.

Framingham is one of Marlborough's oldest, most established wineries and this Sauvignon Blanc is a classic from the region's (and this country's) most popular and widely planted grape variety. Five per cent of this wine was fermented on skins to add texture and weight. This provides delicious balance and texture to Sauvignon Blanc's innate refreshing and zesty acidity. 

You could say this is the ultimate insider's wine. It's a new brand made by highly experienced Marlborough winemaker William Hoare, who was the original winemaker and then GM at Fromm. Novum is his new brand. It is named after the Roman word 'novum', meaning new. The grapes are from Dog Point's Settlement Vineyard, which is certified organic. It's tight, youthful, medium bodied, silky in texture and will age superbly.

Family owned Beach House Winery turns out some of our best sellers in store at Regional, including this creamy, full bodied, super duper good value Chardonnay from Hawke's Bay. It delivers exceptional drinking for the price thanks to winemaker Chris Harrison, who founded and owns the brand with his family. 

Te Kano is a Central Otago based winery making stylish, high quality wines. Their Pinot Noir is a supple, fruity wine with raspberry, plum and cherry flavours. Subtle savoury herbal notes bring complexity and elegance. This wine is unfined and unfiltered to preserve its finesse and purity.