It had been a day of driving. A new experience for me and thrilling, frightening. It was a day that the exciting Hastings New World hove into view. We selected some very 'gourmet' nibles. We also selected some very ordinary wine. I was thinking that anything crisp and acidic would partner a plate of such intense flavours.

We started with an Australian supermarket brand in the form of Wolf Blass Eaglehawk Riesling 2006 (it's dirt cheap and therefore potentially not in the 'critical' catagory). There was citrus and kerosene on the nose and a little tropical fruit on the palate. It was a bit spicy, a bit fresh. But not fresh enough! We were, admitedly, eating purple olives, Mortedella, Telegraph Hill garlic olives, full flavoured 'Sopressa Nonna' and oat & almond biscuits. So basically, I couldn't taste a thing after a few bites. Oh, and a VERY ripe local camembert. But I wanted something high in acid to deal with the rich, buttery flavour of the cheese and the salty, briny olives.....

Then I remembered that on the latest jaunt around the Hawke's Bay wineries I had picked up a sherry style from Ngatarawa. It's rich and dry, made in an aproximation of an Amontillado style. Nutty, mouthcoating with citrus and roasted nuts and a hint of dried apricot.

I'm not pretending this wine comes close to the classic wines of Jerez for finesse and depth but it certainly retained ground against some fabulous, fun flavours on the balcony....