Wine reviews and news from New Zealand by Sue Courtney http://www.wineoftheweek.com en-us Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:05:00 GMTCopyright 2008 Sue Courtney http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 20 Jul 2008: Yesterday I discovered Lamb Rosettes in the butcher's 'gourmet' cabinet. They had been made from a loin of lamb that had been boned out, layered with spinach and cream cheese then rolled, tied and cut into slices. I decided to give them a whirl and the result was a 'gourmet' meal for very little effort. Shipwreck Bay Merlot Cabernet 2004, produced by Northland's Okahu Estate, was the accompaniment [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080720 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080720 19 Jul 2008: A cute little French guy from Mumm Champagne, whose name I didn't catch, popped into the First Glass tasting on Wednesday night to talk about the two Mumm Champagnes that were being served. When he said he was from Reims, Kingsley asked him to repeat it (several times) because the cute little French guy said it the absolute correct way [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080719 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080719 17 Jul 2008: Rod Malcolm, the Secretary / Treasurer of the Nelson Wine Club got in touch with me the other day with a Leek and Parsnip Soup recipe he had conjured up. It is definitely warm soup weather and I was keen to try it [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080717 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080717 15 Jul 2008: After I married and found I had to occasionally entertain I built up a repertoire of favourite dishes - ones that were easy to make but hopefully impressive on the plate. Thank goodness for the Australian Women's Weekly Dinner Party Cookbooks for all sorts of simple creations. Like the easy Potato and Onion casserole, which probably has a fancy French name [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080715 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080715 14 Jul 2008: It's Bastille Day and I really should have left yesterday's delicious Beaujolais until today. Never mind, Neil found another one that definitely looked like it should have been drunken 12 years ago, on release. It is labelled Compagnie Beaujolaise Rouge 1996 and looks like a generic Beaujolais (AOC) ..... But back to more serious things and this week's Wine of the Week, which is the savoury, structured, creamy, chocolatey and luscious Ti Point One 2005 [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080714 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080714 13 Jul 2008: We found a long forgotten wine rack of treasures - out of sight, out of mind - but the room needed tidying and the wine rack became visible. On the end was a bottle covered in dust. The label said Chateau de Grandmont Beaujolais 1997 so we thought it was time to drink it. After all, we had it drummed into us from wine class days that Beaujolais was a wine made for early drinking. So what did we find? [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080713 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080713 12 Jul 2008: An interesting line-up of wines at last Wednesday's fine wine tasting at First Glass had six New Zealand pinot noirs and six new to store Aussie reds. I like Aussie reds - the good ones at least - and it was the Grant Burge Miamba Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006 that stole the show in the second half of the tasting. The week before it had been big brother Filsell that stole the show and there was indeed some glorious similarity. But it was the pinot noirs that I was most interested in. [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080712 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080712 8 Jul 2008: At the heady rate New Zealand's sauvignon blanc production is increasing, it is now possible to taste a different New Zealand sauvignon blanc every day of the year, yet still not taste all of the brands, and tiers within brands, that are now being produced. Even if you chose only one wine from each brand, forgetting about the tiers within the brands (Saint Clair, for example, had 11 savvies in 2007), you would be struggling to taste them all. [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080708 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080708 7 Jul 2008: Intoxicating . like wine . she keeps getting better . all the time. Land Without Sundays is the second in a trilogy of plays by Donna Banicevich Gera which trace the stories of Dalmatian immigrants in New Zealand [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080707 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080707 5 Jul 2008: When the results of Cuisine Magazine's Australian Shiraz tasting was announced in the latest issue (129) it was no surprise to see the Grant Burge Filsell Barossa Old Vines Shiraz 2005 as Number One. After all, it was the wine that took out the Champion Shiraz at the New Zealand International Wine Show last year ... However the New Zealand Syrah tasting in the same issue, had a few of us raising our eyebrows [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080705 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080705 4 Jul 2008: It's July 4th, American Independence Day, and as a toast to my American friends, I opened the gorgeous Rosenblum Appellation Series 'Heritage Clones' Petite Sirah 2005 from San Francisco Bay in California, USA. I have to thank John Fiola, a Boston wine lover, for the gift of this wine [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080704 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080704 3 Jul 2008: I just posted instalment three of my "Travels with New Zealand wine" to the Travels with Wine website. It's about Samuel Marsden, his planting of grapevines in Kerikeri in 1819 and the Marsden Estate winery [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080703 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080703 1 Jul 2008: Three New Zealand wines took 'Best Of Show' accolades at the recent San Francisco International Wine Competition, judged in June. They were the Starborough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 for Best Sauvignon Blanc, Mazuran's 1949 Vintage Port for Best Port and Forrest Estate Botrytised Riesling 2006 - for Best Dessert Wine. This gorgeous Forest Estate 'sticky' has already won three trophies in open competition in New Zealand. [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080701 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200807.htm#20080701 30 Jun 2008: I'm the blue lady - blue with cold - and the pink rose is wine. Unconventional at this time of the year, which is winter in New Zealand, but very satisfying never the less. The wine is Bald Hills Central Otago Blanc de Noir 2006 and it is this week's Wine of the Week [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080630 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200806.htm#20080630 29 Jun 2008: Just got back from the 2008 First Glass Wine Options. I didn't compete because it was my sister's birthday and family is high priority these days. But I did call in to the event mid afternoon, just after the last white wine had been poured [...] http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/index.htm#20080629 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200806.htm#20080629