Wine times

As time goes along and vineyards, wine-makers and the industry mature, there is growing understanding and confidence as to what each vineyard will express.

The changing of the seasons marks a changing of the guard for wines too, as reds overtake whites and roses in popularity.

Many years ago, I attended a trade tasting hosted by John Hancock, then chief winemaker for Trinity Hill in Hawke's Bay.

During the recent grape harvest, a small window of opportunity allowed me to scamper up the hill to the Prophet's Rock Vineyard in Bendigo, where I met Paul Pujol and Francois Millet.

The 2016 growing season in Hawke's Bay was cooler early, but a warmer January, February and March saw growing degree days catch up to the long-term average.

As many of you will know, I taste the wines for this column “single blind”.

After acquiring ''the wine bug'' many years ago, it was a natural progression to visit winery cellar doors, Mark Henderson writes.

 Among the rush of last-minute things to do before Christmas, there is also the decision of what wines to serve on the day itself.

If you asked most consumers to name a style of bubbly, there is little doubt that Champagne would top the chart, yet there are a raft of other styles produced around the world, writes Mark Henderson.

The finals of the 2018 Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year competition were held in the Wairarapa at the end of August and the winner was announced at the Bragato dinner in Wellington on August 30.