How an American Became a Central Otago Winemaker
Jen Parr was recently nominated by Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine as one of 6 finalists for New Zealand Winemaker of the Year in 2019. How did she end up on that list? A former…
Tag Archives: Pinot Noir
Exploring New Zealand’s Paradise for Wine Lovers
“The Marlborough Sounds is a system of ancient river valleys that have filled up with seawater from the Pacific Ocean,” writes Victoria Moore in an article for The Telegraph. “As…
New Zealand’s New Big Thing Is Pinot Noir
New Zealand “was once known merely for crisp, grassy sauvignon blanc wines. No longer,” Elin McCoy writes in a report for Bloomberg. “Actor Sam Neill just finished a six-part television documentary on the voyages of…
Mahana – Condé Nast Traveller’s Dig of the Week
Mahana in Nelson – “a modern mansion on a working winery with delicious food and a compelling private art collection”, has been featured in Condé Nast Traveller’s weekly series of…
Mulling over Pinot Noir Memories at Te Whare Ra
Memories are made of New Zealand pinot noir, and one recent memory in particular, according to Tim White of the Australian Financial Review, is the 2012 pinot from Marlborough vineyard Te Whare Ra. “When I…
From Gibbston to the World – Brennan Pinot Noir a Champion
Sean Brennan’s painstaking approach and his belief in the Gibbston sub-region has brought Central Otago’s famed Pinot Noir to the world, with Brennan Wines’ B2 Pinot Noir 2011 scooping five awards and being named…
NZ Pinot Beats Burgundy
A wine-tasting of international Pinot Noir – 18 wines from six different regions, including Burgundy – by more than 100 experts has seen New Zealand deemed best by value. Influential business magazine Forbes positively…
Classifying Brilliant Antipodean Pinot Noirs
New Zealand’s pinot noirs seduce The Wall Street Journal’s Will Lyons with “some Antipodean brilliance”. “Unlike other fine wine regions such as France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy, where the best and most expensive wines have…
Pinot Noir Our New Obsession
“They don’t call is the only grape that generates such enthusiasm,” actor and winemaker Sam Neill said at the Pinot Noir…
Sam Neill Extols NZ Pinot Noir
New Zealand actor Sam Neill pioneered pinot noir in his homeland. In 2012, Neill’s pinot noir won gold at the London International Wine and Spirit Competition. ‘In a matter of about 30 years, we’ve come…
Wine Producer Of The Year
Brent Marris’ Marlborough winery Marisco Vineyards, which produced its first vintage just two years ago, has been named New Zealand Wine Producer of the Year by the International Wine & Spirits Competition. Former chief…
Fluent in Pinot Noir
Pinot noir from New Zealand’s Marlborough region is inimitable says the Telegraph’s Victoria Moore. “If I had to choose one New Zealand region whose pinot noir I would drink for the rest of my life, I…
Pinot Vines Abound In Otago
“Like a new immigrant struggling for acceptance, pinot noir faced dirty looks and derisive whispers when the grape arrived on the southern tip of New Zealand in the mid-198s,” The Globe and…
Taste the Santa Rosa plums
The 27 Mountford ‘Liaison’ Pinot Noir is the Los Angeles Times’ ‘Wine of the Week’. “Elegant and smooth, this New World Pinot carries the taste of Santa Rosa plums and sweet Asian…
Pinot pleases
New Zealand pinot noir Craggy Range is surpassing its American equivalents in blind tastings for critics. This autumn, at New York restaurant Eleven Madison, six top pinot noirs from California, Oregon and Burgundy (the…
Two Atkins for NZ Wine
Influential Observer wine columnist Tim Atkin has published his Best Of list for 2007. Atkin named NZ his wine producing country of the year, with the 2006 Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir (Central Otago) and 2007 The…
NZ Wine, Now and Then
Features in two US newspapers discuss the past, present and future of NZ wines. The Palm Beach Daily News outlines the development of the NZ industry, from the first grapes planted by the Rev. Samuel Marsden…
The Fickle Grape
NZ actor Sam Neill talks Pinot Noir in a Time magazine profile. The star of Jurassic Park and The Piano established his Two Paddocks vineyard, which solely produces Pinot Noir, in Central Otago in 1993. “Pinot Noir…
What Makes NZ Sav Blanc so Special?
The NZ government and members of the wine industry are funding a multimillion dollar research project to examine the distinctive qualities of the country’s prized Sauvignon Blanc. The six-year NZ $16.9 million project is being carried out…
Another Red Destined for Greatness
Observer wine critic Tim Atkins calls Hawke’s Bay Syrah “one of the most exciting wine styles I’ve tasted in the past five years.” The red varietal makes up just 3% of the region’s vineyards, which are…
Bumper Crop
Kiwi wine exports hit a record high of half a billion dollars this year, according the New Zealand Winegrowers annual report. Pinot noir sales increased 55% to overtake chardonnay as NZ’s second most exported varietal, after perennial…
Pinot Lovers Unite
Wellington is to host its third Pinot Noir festival from January 31 to February 3 2007. 500 of the world’s leading Pinot Noir experts, producers and enthusiasts have been invited to the prestigious tri-annual event, which was…
Diamond and the Rough
Independent travel writer indulges mind, body and soul in NZ’s up and coming wine and tourism centre, the Wairarapa. After experiencing chocolate therapy at Greytown’s Schoc, sampling the region’s famed Pinot Noir at Tirohana Estate, trout fishing…
Pinot Noir’s Paradox
“No other wine conjures up poetic descriptions like pinot noir; no other wine forges as direct a path to the soul. If a wine could make a person cry, it would have to be a pinot…
Wine Double Feature
A Malaysian Star story on the NZ wine industry takes as its focus the award winning Villa Maria winery. According to the writer, NZ “has developed a unique niche on the world wine stage, with wines characterised…
New World Charm
The international reputation of NZ Pinot Noir continues to grow, with glowing features in both the Bradenton Herald and San Francisco Chronicle. The former article praises the grape’s “dark, earthy Burgundian profile with a little more…
Top Spot
Martinborough Hotel features on the Observer‘s list of top retreats for wine lovers. “If you’re looking for a nice drop of Kiwi class, character and convenience, this is just the job … The bistro serves excellent…
Otago is “Lord of the Reds”
“The Pinot Noir grail is to be found in Central Otago,” writes British wine expert Janice Robinson in the latest World Atlas of Wine. The availability of Pinot Noir and other New Zealand wines in Tokyo…
Mecca Found in Martinborough
“New Zealand, known for its crisp sauvignon blancs, may well become a mecca for pinot noir aficionados.” Boston Herald identifies Martinborough as the prime source for pinot production, in particular the dry river bed called the Martinborough…
Scotsman Sees Red
Scotsman feature ‘Best of the Summer Wine’ adds some body to their list with the 1999 Palliser Pinot Noir. Wine critic Rose Murray Brown: “One of New Zealand’s best attempts at this grape so far. Really stylish…
A Toast to the “New Classics”
British wine writer, John Hunter, educates his readers in the (remarkably brief) history of NZ wine. Urging them to cast aside any lingering associations with Australia – “it’s a darn sight closer to Antarctica” – Hunter recommends…
“Give Me Red Wine, the Kind That Makes Me Feel Fine”
Two NZ Pinot Noirs – Gibbston Valley’s 1999 Nevis Bluff Pinot Noir and Wither Hills’ Pinot Noir (2000) – are included in Guardian Top 5 “seduction wine” list for Valentine’s Day. “Like love itself, the fickleness…
Values Party – BYO
Don’t miss Marlborough’s “tangy, medium-bodied, cranberry-dried” Saint Clair 2000 Doctor’s Creek Pinot Noir. “Perfect with poultry or perhaps salmon, it epitomizes the remarkable values coming out of New Zealand”.
NZ Wine’s Quantum Leap
In the 21st century, on-the-edge New Zealand towers on the global wine map with what is acknowledged as some of the world’s best sauvignon blanc (pinot noir is on the way). Europeans sit stunned by the…
Ata Rangi’s Stunning Achievement
The Martinborough vineyard wins the Pinot Noir international trophy for the third time with a “beautifully balanced, seductive wine.” NZEdge brings you the press release of this impressive feat.
Do the Funky Mushroom
Malborough pinot noir smells like “funky mushroom” – that must be a good thing, because “New Zealand’s Pinot Noirs are as good as anyone’s outside Burgundy”.
Quality Not Quantity for Outstanding New Zealand Vintage
“Outstanding quality and lower quantities characterize the 2000 vintage in New Zealand. The country’s hallmark Sauvignon Blanc and very promising Pinot Noir varieties in particular have benefited from the difficult growing conditions.”
