Wine Reviews

A Central Otago winner

The Tonnellerie de Mercurey New Zealand Young Winemaker 2020 final was recently held at EIT in Hawke’s Bay and congratulations to Ben Toombs — assistant winemaker at Peregrine Wines — who in...

Tickle the urge with chilled rose

Warmth, fresh air and the sun caressing the hilltops in a cloudless sky at the end of a busy day begins to tickle the Mark Henderson's urge for a glass of chilled rose.

Cheeky reds belie price points

A RRP (recommended retail price) is reached by adding a percentage mark-up to the "standard price" of a bottle of wine. This can be indicative of the final selling price when a retailer buys a few...

Liqueur Muscats sweet and sticky

The Muscat grape comes in many guises, possibly best known here in a number of fizzy, Asti Spumante-style wines from Italy and similar still and fizzy wines from Australia.

Port is a fortified wine from the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. Its history dates back more than 300 years to the wars between the English and the French, which curtailed the supply of wine from France.

On the trail of tribidrag

Mentioning the Croatian red grape tribidrag will likely result in blank looks. Its claim to fame, however, is that it was the end point of a great deal of research and DNA profiling centred around...

New releases tasting chance to get away

Feeling like a wine-focused weekend away? Then the Alexandra Basin Winegrowers Annual New Releases Tasting might be just the push you need.

Pinot noirs on parade

Often when I’m deciding on what I’m going to taste for this column, I endeavour to maintain a bit of variety.

A show of diversity

After making my way through today’s selection, I was left thinking that things are very positive in the world of New Zealand sauvignon blanc.

Experiments give taste buds a romp

The old adage "variety is the spice of life" is never truer than with today’s selection of New Zealand white wines that include a few lesser-known grape varieties.

Depth and character

Wine lovers of a certain age will remember references to a characteristic called "Kiwi green".

Good things take time

Mark Henderson samples some fine chardonnay.

Ageworthy wines near peak drinkability

I recently caught up with the M&Ms (Murray and Matt) of Marlborough’s Dog Point Vineyard as they traversed the South Island in a rental camper van, doing their version of the 2020 Kiwi road trip.

A nod to Burgundy

The majority of grape varieties that we grow in New Zealand, and certainly our most popular, emanate from France. Over centuries, particular grape varieties became most favoured in each region due...

Class borne out in the glass

Expectations are a funny thing. Naturally, I try to avoid them when I’m tasting, as they could cloud one’s judgement and impartiality.

Delightful drops from hot season

The majority of Central pinot noirs on the shelves at the moment are from the 2018 vintage. This was an exceptionally hot season from December through until the beginning of March, when cooler,...

A wine for everyone

Today's assortment is a trio of terrifically tasty twosomes.

Chardonnay makes a comeback

One of the great pleasures of my job is the diversity of wines that cross my path, writes Mark Henderson. They may be from tiny boutique, or large-scale producers, local and international with price points that span the gamut.