Mark Henderson

Readers sometimes ask how I go about choosing the wines that grace this column.

The mists of time tend to cloud one’s memories, but my first exposure to Forrest wines must have been the late 1990s when I was working for a (now closed) Dunedin wine store.

My editor contacted me in the lead-up to this edition with the grim news that they’d run out of columns.

Chardonnay is a grape where the guiding hand of the winemaker and the techniques they employ are very much part of the final wine.

A return to an old love today as my tasting colleagues Messrs Collins, McLaren and I sampled a superb collection of Central Otago Pinot Noirs.

For a long time I have felt that Chardonnay has been one of Central’s best-kept secrets, but it is finally beginning to garner some well-deserved recognition.

Alexandra's McArthur Ridge Wines has been on a roll.

Cabernet Franc is a red grape variety that more often than not, sits out of the limelight.

Sourcing the wines for today’s tasting gave me the chance to "get down", minus the "and boogie".

Pegasus Bay’s "aged release" programme, now in its seventh year, is a marvellous opportunity, 10 years from vintage, to assess the development of their rieslings and pinot noirs.

I’ve commented before that even though I taste wines blind, I do know the wines I’m tasting; just not in which order.

Regular readers will be aware that I taste and re-taste wines at my morning tastings and frequently go back to re-taste them again in the afternoon.

It's never a chore for me to taste a line up of Riesling as it is one of my favourite varieties.

I recently had the opportunity to whip up to Central for a few days’ grape picking, and I was mindful that around the country the same scene was being played out.

It is nice from time to time to stray off the beaten path, and dabble outside the core grape varieties that dominate our industry.

Friday, March 25 marks the second Methode Marlborough Day, an opportunity to celebrate, while also supporting our local industry.