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Uncorked or Unscrewed, New Zealand Wines Show Well
© Peter May
25 May 2002
Anyone with an interest in wine was in London this week for the London International Wine & Spirits Fair.
After eleven years in Kensington it moved to Docklands in 2002. Despite claims of accessibility by the organisers, the fact its in fare zone 3 instead of zone 1 of previous years indicates just how far out it is. Docklands is the area along the Thames that was London's port in the old days. Now its being rejuvenated as a business centre. Brownfield sites allowed development of a purpose built exhibition centre. Exhibitors like it for the good road access and ease of making deliveries but they're not so keen on the lack of nearby hotels and evening entertainment.
However for the first time the enormous LIWSF can house the entire event on one level. It's a huge rectangle laid out in a grid pattern with 21 major rows of stalls, crossed with eight main passages. Over 1,100 exhibitors filled the glasses of an estimated 15,000 visitors over three days.
New Zealand took a tightly packed block of stalls identified with plumes of fern leaves sprouting high from pillars. While the NZ presence was much smaller than some countries, what it lacked in size it made up in magnetism. Visitors crowded around, with Cloudy Bay - which is almost impossible to find in the UK - being especially popular.
New Zealand's pre-eminence in Sauvignon Blanc also brought visits from winemakers from all over the world wanting to taste what the public can't get enough of.
But another New Zealand star is on the horizon. This year the buzz was Pinot Noir with Mount Riley Seventeen Valley 2000, Gibbston Valley Reserve 2001, Palliser Estate 2000, and Stoneleigh Rapaura 2000 all turning heads.
The Babich Winemakers Reserve Pinotage, shown for the first time in the UK, gained a lot of attention, not only from visitors wanting new flavours, but also from the nearby large South African stand.
The New Zealand Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative took a couple of stands under the slogan 'the Kiwi Click of Quality' (I'll bet some marketeer wanted it to be Kiwi Klick of Kwality until they realised the initials wouldn't work in the US). A cross-section of member wines was being unscrewed, but the visitors I observed were more interested in the wine inside than the closure. And perhaps that's the point. Having sampled from the stands I left raving to anyone who would listen about Villa Maria's Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2001. This is a stunning wine, quintessential Sauvignon Blanc with extra layers of minerally complexity. Sheer perfection in a glass. Call me a traditionalist, but I just love New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Do what you like with other varieties, but keep making wines like these.© Peter May
25 May 2002
Check out Peter May's website www.pinotage org, the best resource for information about the Pinotage grape variety on the Internet.
For more articles by Peter, click here for Peter May's 'View from Snorbens'.