Mark Henderson

A couple of terms may confuse the novice wine enthusiast: horizontal and vertical wine tastings.

It is an important time in Wellington for New Zealand wine, and for New Zealand pinot noir in particular.

Last week's attempt to shine a little sunshine through the lens of a glass of sauvignon blanc might be deemed a dismal failure, given the weather bomb that made its way up the island on Wednesday.

Sauvignon Blanc is a year-round wine for most wine drinkers but I have to buck the trend. There is something about the vibrant summer sunshine in a glass of sauv that shrieks to me of ... well,...

With a number of Marlborough wines in the tasting today, please spare a thought for the wineries after the destructive earthquakes, for the losses and damage that they have suffered.

Petit Manseng is not a grape that regularly trips off the tongue of New Zealand wine lovers. However, a small band of pioneers already has great hopes for this unsung French white variety.

In this week's Wine Times, Mark Henderson recommends some books about wine and wine makers, and tries out three chardonnays.

The festive season brings many occasions and get-togethers. Mark Henderson has a few suggestions on the liquids side.

Commercial pressures often mean new vintages are quickly on to the market but here we have a crop from vintage 2013, and almost all new releases. What's that saying? ''Thirteen, lucky for some''.

Our first commercial release of syrah in the modern age was just 25 years ago.

Not that terribly long ago, rose was very much a summer tipple and bottles left on retailers' shelves at the end of March sat unloved until late spring, says reviewer Mark Henderson.

In a local twist on a trend that has been gathering momentum overseas (that of urban wineries), earlier this year, Central Otago winemaker Brendan Seal ran a pop-up winery in the old Gresham Hotel...

Mark Henderson samples some pinot noir.

Mark Henderson previews some wine events around the country and samples some gruner and gewurztraminer.

Wine reviewer Mark Henderson is enjoying reacquainting himself with chardonnay.

Wine reviewer Mark Henderson explains what's meant by vintage.