As I was sipping Viognier last night and watching one of those surprising TV movies that turn out to be really great; it struck me that Viognier is, quite possibly, the perfect movie watching wine.
A combination of exotic appeal and low acidity make it a wine to drink slowly but not necessarily with food. Plus it's quixotic enough to hold your interest whilst allowing clever plot turns to take most of your attention.
The Viognier in question was the Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2007 and in the glass it was proving that Yalumba have really nailed this difficult variety in the New World. For a snip of a price it was echoing the varietal's origins in Condrieu and, although presenting a little hot, it had the spice and apricot charms that make Viognier so unique. Still I've yet to taste a Antipodean Viognier that doesn't run to heat and the burn somehow didn't detract from the overall balance of the wine.
So, if you want to cosy up on the couch with something other than a hearty red to accompany the latest rom-com then this is my pick. a 3 glass wine. Also, it's recession and baby budget friendly.
As an aside: the film was Stranger Than Fiction. A bit of a revelation given I don't recollect it showing at the cinema......
Monday, September 7, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Surprising Sauvignon
It cost, Dad tells me, not much more than $10 a bottle (although I believe the regular retail would be closer to $15) but the Vidal East Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2009 was the first Sauvignon Blanc I tried from the new vintage and I was pleasantly surprised.
This mongrel is a blend of Marlborough and Hawke's Bay fruit (and perhaps a little Gisborne too, so my sources say but the official line says otherwise) but for all its mixed up pedigree and rock bottom price it has a classy, dry, mineral palate that had me reaching for another dash (now we're baby-led we drink in dashes and splashes rather than glasses).
The nose is ripe and bright without bursting with overdone passionfruit thiols and the palate shows a similar restraint. A little minerality and a lemon lift. Juicy acidity so much fleshier and more fun in the mouth than anything 2008 could conjure up. This may be indicative of the quality of 2009 in general but for all that the Vidal East Coast Savvy would be a great buy for everyday drinking. A 'never-disappoint' type of drop to stand by in the cellar. a 3 glass/dash wine.
This mongrel is a blend of Marlborough and Hawke's Bay fruit (and perhaps a little Gisborne too, so my sources say but the official line says otherwise) but for all its mixed up pedigree and rock bottom price it has a classy, dry, mineral palate that had me reaching for another dash (now we're baby-led we drink in dashes and splashes rather than glasses).
The nose is ripe and bright without bursting with overdone passionfruit thiols and the palate shows a similar restraint. A little minerality and a lemon lift. Juicy acidity so much fleshier and more fun in the mouth than anything 2008 could conjure up. This may be indicative of the quality of 2009 in general but for all that the Vidal East Coast Savvy would be a great buy for everyday drinking. A 'never-disappoint' type of drop to stand by in the cellar. a 3 glass/dash wine.
Another wine-less night in baby-land
Franklin is in his hammock playing the 'it might be my bed time but I'm not going to sleep until you dance attendance at the bedside for an hour' game. He's a marvellous baby and has his night-time sleeping fairly settled but sometimes he likes to mix things up (like tonight) and change the rules.
So I bounce his hammock and shush, shush and wish there was a cold bottle of white in the fridge.
Although I'm breast feeding exclusively; once I get Frank to bed I can have a wee glass of wine safe in the knowledge that he won't require me until 1am, long after the alcohol has left my bloodstream. Infact I could have 2 glasses in that time frame, such is the current thinking on the matter.
Golly, he's just closed his eyes. My suspected hour of attendance was only 15 minutes.
If the fridge situation was different I could have something tasty to drink at 8:10pm. Not bad going.
Despite us still languishing in the skirts of winter I'm hankering after Sauvignon Blanc. I couldn't even taste it whilst pregnant as I found the acids too prominant but now with the 2009 vintage coming on stream and my palate back to rights (well, sort of) I'm in the mood for minerally, match-stick-y wine.
So I bounce his hammock and shush, shush and wish there was a cold bottle of white in the fridge.
Although I'm breast feeding exclusively; once I get Frank to bed I can have a wee glass of wine safe in the knowledge that he won't require me until 1am, long after the alcohol has left my bloodstream. Infact I could have 2 glasses in that time frame, such is the current thinking on the matter.
Golly, he's just closed his eyes. My suspected hour of attendance was only 15 minutes.
If the fridge situation was different I could have something tasty to drink at 8:10pm. Not bad going.
Despite us still languishing in the skirts of winter I'm hankering after Sauvignon Blanc. I couldn't even taste it whilst pregnant as I found the acids too prominant but now with the 2009 vintage coming on stream and my palate back to rights (well, sort of) I'm in the mood for minerally, match-stick-y wine.
Friday, July 24, 2009
The way back to wine
I had Franklin 6 weeks ago and Christ! What a steep learning curve that was!
I'm loving it now but if you'd asked me in the first 3 weeks I think I honestly thought I'd made a huge mistake. He's beautiful, of course (every mummy thinks so, doesn't she), strong, smiling.
......Breathes like an elephant with a bad cold in the night ...... Why does no-one mention that babies are so loud?
So much to learn and know.
And now that I'm not terrified every minute of doing something wrong I think the way is paved back to wine.
One cannot taste wine when tense. And I've been tense.
Wine by its very nature needs a relaxed recipient in order to unfurl and show its colours.
So, soon.
I'm loving it now but if you'd asked me in the first 3 weeks I think I honestly thought I'd made a huge mistake. He's beautiful, of course (every mummy thinks so, doesn't she), strong, smiling.
......Breathes like an elephant with a bad cold in the night ...... Why does no-one mention that babies are so loud?
So much to learn and know.
And now that I'm not terrified every minute of doing something wrong I think the way is paved back to wine.
One cannot taste wine when tense. And I've been tense.
Wine by its very nature needs a relaxed recipient in order to unfurl and show its colours.
So, soon.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Getting Ambidextrous
Little more than a week on and I'm amazed at myself. Amazed at wee man. Quietly thankful.
It's not going to be as terrifyingly tricky as I thought last week. Tricky, no doubt. But not impossible.
And it is possible to nurse a baby and have a wee sip of wine. Only a wee sip mind.
My thoughtful father ferried a lovely bottle of Alan McCorkindale Waipara Pinot Noir 2007 from Auckland and I had that at dinner over the weekend. Worth seeking out it shows McCorkindale - who is a dab hand at the varietal white - isn't too shabby with Pinot Noir either. And it confirms for me that Waipara is where you want Nu Zillund Pinot to hail from. Just a little more layered, a little more stinky and less fruit forward than most Otago beasties.
Then last night Rich came home with some 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. Past it? Not at all. And I'd rather drink the last of the 2007 Sauvignon than have any truck with the 2008.
This was from the Montana Terroir series which also makes that lovely Riverpoint Gewurztraminer we had the other day. This is the Conders Forest Sauvignon Blanc 2007, hailing from Raupara in Marlborough and made to express the distinct characteristics of that area. Definitely different to other Marlborough Savvy styles this is less passionfruit and more red capsicum with tart guava. A broad palate. Sweaty but not too sweaty.
And as to getting ambidextrous?
It's not going to be as terrifyingly tricky as I thought last week. Tricky, no doubt. But not impossible.
And it is possible to nurse a baby and have a wee sip of wine. Only a wee sip mind.
My thoughtful father ferried a lovely bottle of Alan McCorkindale Waipara Pinot Noir 2007 from Auckland and I had that at dinner over the weekend. Worth seeking out it shows McCorkindale - who is a dab hand at the varietal white - isn't too shabby with Pinot Noir either. And it confirms for me that Waipara is where you want Nu Zillund Pinot to hail from. Just a little more layered, a little more stinky and less fruit forward than most Otago beasties.
Then last night Rich came home with some 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. Past it? Not at all. And I'd rather drink the last of the 2007 Sauvignon than have any truck with the 2008.
This was from the Montana Terroir series which also makes that lovely Riverpoint Gewurztraminer we had the other day. This is the Conders Forest Sauvignon Blanc 2007, hailing from Raupara in Marlborough and made to express the distinct characteristics of that area. Definitely different to other Marlborough Savvy styles this is less passionfruit and more red capsicum with tart guava. A broad palate. Sweaty but not too sweaty.
And as to getting ambidextrous?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
My Little Sommelier
was born in the end on the 9th of June 2009.
After 48 hours of 'not' being in labour; by C section. Being mum sommelier is not what I expected and the Bollinger is still in the box.
Whilst we get the hang of the breast-feeding wine is still off the menu pretty much and, in any case, looking after my wee prince takes up more time and energy than I could have believed possible.
He's 2 weeks old today and cute as a button. I'm very proud.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
6th of June and dreams of an alternative white
Today 'should' be the day we celebrate the arrival of the littlest sommelier but unfortunately they don't supply babies with calanders in utero.
So the Bollinger Grand Annee 1999 stays on ice and I stay enormous...
I haven't gotten much further with my list of first wines and the concept of trying to pick a first Pinot Noir seems daunting especially with most of my grey matter given over to birthing, feeding, changing and bathing.
Rich has promised to cook me the traditional meal of 'late' mothers everywhere tomorrow night...
A curry. Quite hot.
Accordingly perhaps I should turn my attention to the first Gewurztraminer.
It's an easy call, marred only by the fact that I probably couldn't get my hands on a bottle even for silly money. The Pyramid Valley Orton Vineyard Hawke's Bay Gewurztraminer 2007 is a special wine and marked my birthday last year with it's generous, powerful, unusual presence (the picture at the top of the blog is of that very bottle). I'd have that again in a heartbeat but given the small quantities and the fact that it was the one and only vintage that will ever be made I'm unlikely to repeat the pleasure.
I feel so emotionally attached to that wine that it seems churlish to pick another first Gewurztraminer simply because the Orton isn't available. However, there is another Gewurztraminer that has been making regular appearances of late (not in my glass obviously) and has captured my attention. The Montana Terroir Series Riverpoint Gewurztraminer 2007 comes from the block once owned by Matawhero Wines, which was responsible for some memorable Gewurztraminer as far back as the 1970's. A little like the Orton in that respect. In this instance, however, one of our biggest players (Montana) has come in and saved the old vines and through their Terroir Series are making the flavours of these unique sub-regional sites available to enthusiasts. It's an ethos worth applauding and the wine itself is worth applauding also.
Soft straw gold and quite savoury on the nose the wine makes a charmingly viscous mixture of cardamon, rose petals and pineapple. That is to say the palate is oily but without apparent sweetness despite the off-dry residual sugars and the phenolics (so often a bitter pill to swallow in Nu Zillund Gewurztraminer) are low. The usual spiciness of this varietal is quite restrained to taste with the freshness of lemon oil lingering on the finish. Overall there is a singular balance evident in the wine. A fine continuation to the tradition of Gisborne Gewurztraminer. a 5 glass wine (that is to say Rich will happily polish off the bottle seeing as I don't really help these days...)
So the Bollinger Grand Annee 1999 stays on ice and I stay enormous...
I haven't gotten much further with my list of first wines and the concept of trying to pick a first Pinot Noir seems daunting especially with most of my grey matter given over to birthing, feeding, changing and bathing.
Rich has promised to cook me the traditional meal of 'late' mothers everywhere tomorrow night...
A curry. Quite hot.
Accordingly perhaps I should turn my attention to the first Gewurztraminer.
It's an easy call, marred only by the fact that I probably couldn't get my hands on a bottle even for silly money. The Pyramid Valley Orton Vineyard Hawke's Bay Gewurztraminer 2007 is a special wine and marked my birthday last year with it's generous, powerful, unusual presence (the picture at the top of the blog is of that very bottle). I'd have that again in a heartbeat but given the small quantities and the fact that it was the one and only vintage that will ever be made I'm unlikely to repeat the pleasure.
I feel so emotionally attached to that wine that it seems churlish to pick another first Gewurztraminer simply because the Orton isn't available. However, there is another Gewurztraminer that has been making regular appearances of late (not in my glass obviously) and has captured my attention. The Montana Terroir Series Riverpoint Gewurztraminer 2007 comes from the block once owned by Matawhero Wines, which was responsible for some memorable Gewurztraminer as far back as the 1970's. A little like the Orton in that respect. In this instance, however, one of our biggest players (Montana) has come in and saved the old vines and through their Terroir Series are making the flavours of these unique sub-regional sites available to enthusiasts. It's an ethos worth applauding and the wine itself is worth applauding also.
Soft straw gold and quite savoury on the nose the wine makes a charmingly viscous mixture of cardamon, rose petals and pineapple. That is to say the palate is oily but without apparent sweetness despite the off-dry residual sugars and the phenolics (so often a bitter pill to swallow in Nu Zillund Gewurztraminer) are low. The usual spiciness of this varietal is quite restrained to taste with the freshness of lemon oil lingering on the finish. Overall there is a singular balance evident in the wine. A fine continuation to the tradition of Gisborne Gewurztraminer. a 5 glass wine (that is to say Rich will happily polish off the bottle seeing as I don't really help these days...)
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