Wine times

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.

Geographers, and those with an interest in the Arab world, will recognise Muscat as the capital of Oman.

We've had a delightful autumn this year, largely holding the inevitability of winter at bay. Yet with the gathering gloom of the shortest day less than a month away, winter's icy grip is looming.

Today's article is not about friendly vegans, but rather, what makes a wine vegan (or vegan friendly)?

Recommended retail prices (RRPs) are a funny thing and can sometimes seem to have little to recommend them (forgive the play on words), writes wine reviewer Mark Henderson.