Christmas is only a month away, in fact one month today, so it is time to start buying gifts for the special people in your life if you haven’t already done so. Because this is a column about wine of course I am going to tell you to buy something wine related but it doesn’t have to be a bottle of wine, there are lots of choices for you. Two of my favourite gift-buying places arePage & Blackmore Booksellers on Trafalgar Street and Casa del Vino on Hardy Street. At page and Blackmore you will find a nice selection of wine books that will please any wine loving person. They stock two great books from the person I consider New Zealand’s leading wine writer, Michael Cooper. His annual Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wine ($39.99) is a bible for every buyer of wine, if you have a cellar or just enjoy good wine then this should sit beside your favourite chair. It without doubt is the most comprehensive book that reviews and rates multiple vintages of New Zealand wines.
For something a little lighter Cooper’s 100 Must-Try New Zealand Wines ($34.99) to use his words “.. is to give you a diverse and stimulating array of New Zealand wines to choose from, regardless of whether you are in the mood for a wine of sublime quality, or looking for something new and exciting, or just thirsting for a bargain.” Well laid out and packed with easy to understand information and recommendations this makes a great gift.
Just around the corner at Casa del Vino you are spoiled for choice; Ann has everything from premium glassware to special bottles of liquid nectar that will satisfy every taste and budget. If the special person you are buying for loves a particular variety of wine, chardonnay for example, then why not buy them a couple of glasses designed specifically for that wine.
Riedel make a range of premium glasses designed to enhance every variety of wine, and the right glass does make a difference. To help you choose Ann has a display of glasses and because they can be quite expensive (RRP$55+ a glass) you can buy them in packs of two and she has 10% off all Riedel glassware before Christmas.
If you don’t want to stretch to $55 in cost then check out the range from Spiegelau, another premium maker but their glassware start at about $20 a glass and goes up from there. One really good idea is a tube of four stemless glasses.
Of course Casa del Vino also sells wine and they have plenty of treats. How about a magnum (1.5ltr) of the 2008 Te Mata Coleraine for $185 in a presentation box? Or maybe a magnum of bubbles from Pol Roger for $220, the special person you are buying it for may even share it with you. If you have a whiskey lover in your house then a single malt from Bruichladdich in a presentation box with a purpose designed whiskey glass for less than $100 will be perfect.
Both of these stores have plenty more delights for you to buy the wine lover in your life or maybe you could just treat yourself this Christmas.
I have been drinking
Dibon Cava Brut Reserve - $18.95 at Casadel Vino
Recommended retail price for this Spanish delight is about $25 but Ann has it at this special price just about all the time. Bright, fresh, powdery minerality and with a twist of citrus this sparkling wine is simply delicious. Perfect for every occasion this summer.
Saint Clair Family Estate 2011 Gruner Veltliner – RRP $21.50
As winemakers are coming to grips with one of the newest varieties to be planted in New Zealand and the vines get a wee bit of age the finished wines are getting better and better. This example from Saint Clair smells like gewurztraminer, has pear and soft apple flavours similar to pinot gris, a texture in the mouth reminiscent of chardonnay and a lovely citrus finish, almost like riesling. This New Zealand produced Gruner Veltliner (grew-na velt-leena) is proof this new variety has exciting potential and is one to watch for.
I think it is pretty safe to assume that we all know drinking from a glass is much more satisfying and a far greater experience than drinking from a recycled jam jar but does using the right glass improve the wine?
Improve the wine, no, but improve the enjoyment of the wine, absolutely. A couple of weeks ago I attended a Riedel (pronounced ‘reedle’ like ‘needle’) tasting at Casa del Vino where the focus wasn’t on the wine but on the glassware the wine was served in. While it sounds a bit poncy saying you must serve each variety of wine in the correct glass, the correct glass does make a difference to the way we taste a wine.
While the science is quite simple Riedel have dedicated decades of research to the development exquisite glassware that makes a difference to how we taste wine. In short here is how it works; different parts of our tongue taste different flavour components and a glass shaped to deliver the wine to the tongue in just the right spot changes how we experience the flavour and texture of a wine.
With sauvignon blanc for example a glass with a narrower opening at the top will deliver wine to the centre of the tongue first so we can taste the sweet fruit of the wine before the crisp acidity kicks in. If you taste the same wine from a glass with a wide opening where the wine is delivered to the whole tongue the acid totally dominates the experience and you miss out on the sweeter fruit burst.
This principle can be applied to each variety of wine, red or white.
Taking an oaky chardonnay as another example, drinking this style from a glass with a wide opening means the wine is delivered to all parts of the tongue at the same time and in this case you experience a full range of flavours at the same time. Using a glass with a narrow opening puts the focus on bitter oak components that are sensed at the back of our tongue and makes the wine taste quite bitter rather than full and rounded.
There are many other little things that make Rieldel glassware both perfect and expensive, like being made with a large component of lead crystal and they have cut and polished rims rather than chunky rolled rims so the wine pours nicely from the glass and they are beautiful to both look at and use – form and function.
Yes they are very pricy at $50+ a glass but if you look after them they will last for many years and will enhance every glass of wine you drink or you can pay a lot of money for one bottle of wine and serve it from average glassware.
My advice is buy a few Riedel glasses to suit the wine you drink most often and then have a set of good quality multi purpose glasses you can use for other wines. Ann and Mark at Casa del Vino can help you choose the right glassware for your use.
I have been drinking
Saint Clair Marlborough Riesling 2009 ($20.95)
Bursting with ripe lime and grapefruit aromas with lashings of minerality and a full citrus palate this is a true delight. That minerality and fresh but ripe acidity in the finish makes this worth putting in your shopping basket.
La Strada Marlborough Pinot Noir 2007 - $34.90 from O’Neill’s Gourmet Butchery and Deli at the Richmond Mall.
Made by those pinot geniuses at Fromm Winery this wine is a beauty. Layers of ripe spiced cherry, subtle mushroom, black liquorice and delicate oak are complimented by just enough juicy acidity to make one glass simply not enough.
