Summer's failure to make an appearance this year scuppered my plans for today’s trio of mixed pairs, but all is not lost. I put the Brown Brothers Prosecco Spritzes aside until summer arrived but with March in the headlights, it was now or never. Fresh, bright and breezy they epitomise summer in a glass even if the weather gods don’t play ball. Rosé ... They’ll be great to taste as summer kicks in, I told myself. Well, they did fulfil the promise of being great to taste ... Reds. BBQ season I promised myself. I haven’t fired up the barbie in ’26, but these will happily match heavier autumnal cuisines. NV Brown Brothers Yuzu Lemon Prosecco Spritz Price RRP $19.99 Rating Very Good Bright, fresh, engaging, brimming with lemon pulp and a touch of ginger. Effervescent, really refreshes the palate, not wildly complex but that is not the intent here. This is deliciously drinkable and totally moreish with that lemon zest quality lifting the wine. Low alc too at 8.5%. Summer may have deserted us, but this is summer in a glass. www.brownfamilywines.com.au NV Brown Brothers Orange Prosecco Spritz Price RRP $19.99 Rating Very Good Rather more subtle on the nose initially than its Yuzu Lemon stablemate, opening out to reveal orange, hay and peach. The palate tilts its hat to Aperol Spritz with that bitter orange character and should work well over ice too. Low alc at 8.5%. this is not a wine to think about, it is one to enjoy with friends, family and conversation. www.brownfamilywines.com.au 2025 Quartz Reef Bendigo Pinot Rosé Price RRP $36.50 Rating Excellent Subtle at first offering strawberries and cream, watermelon, flower petal fragrance. The palate is where the action is, beautifully dry with a sense of minerality and salinity more reminiscent of Provençal than Kiwi. Hints of currant, red apple and strawberry, great balance and integration. The palate fleshes out beautifully with air building great texture and depth. www.quartzreef.co.nz 2025 Misha’s Vineyard The Soloist Central Otago Pinot Rosé Price RRP $32 Rating Excellent Lovely volume on the nose, fruit pastille dusted with icing sugar, floral, strawberries and spice, a little savoury nuance with air. Great texture on entry, with a refreshingly crunchy quality, again fruit pastille, great depth of flavour, ripe yet dry with a long finish. Really well balanced, juicy, with complexity and palate interest, in the slot to enjoy now and through the year. www.mishasvineyard.com 2024 Taylors Reserve Parcel Merlot Price RRP $25 Rating Very Good Touches of blackcurrant lead, backed by charry oak, spicy, sweet fruits begin to strut their stuff. There’s a tingly, spritz like lift to the front palate, a little chewy grip at first, becoming supple and rounded. Ripe and juicy, the sweet fruit becomes more evident with time in the glass, matched by some fine tannins on the close. Certainly easy drinking. www.taylorswines.com.au 2023 Pegasus Bay Merlot Cabernet Price RRP $39 Rating Very Good to Excellent Hints of burnt toast evolve to perfume, air brings in tilled earth, dark fruits and wisps of crushed leaf. There’s clear depth and structure here, real grip and chew that’s saying "pair me with food". Graphite and blackcurrant frame the palate. Starting to reveal its class and fruit weight, not a simple alfresco sipper, this is one to contemplate. www.pegasusbay.com
