New Zealand's Pinot Noir - The Turn of the Screw Top

New Zealand’s Pinot Noir – the turn of the screw top

I have been to New Zealand more times than you have had hot dinners and I always make a point to visit wineries in the area where I am going. Because my husband loves Pinot Noir, over the years I have taken many wine classes so I am jolly knowledgeable.

The Central Otago region of the South Island is increasingly devoted to Pinot Noir production. Few visitors come to this area, located between Dunedin and Queenstown at 45 degrees south. It is the world’s southernmost and highest winemaking region with mountains rising to more than 12,000 feet and it gets snow and heavy frost. A Frenchman recognized the area’s potential for grape growing and planted the first vineyard there in 1864.

The area has four distinctive sub-regions separated by mountains and deep gorges. The Cromwell Basin accounts for 70 percent of the vineyards and includes Bannockburn to the south, Lowburn, Wanaka and Bendigo to the north. A further ten percent of plantings are found around Gibbston, where most wines occupy steep, north facing terraces above the Kawarau Gorge. In the southwest of the region are Clyde and Alexander, which grow seven percent of the grapes. The other vineyards are located around Lake Wanaka, one of the most beautiful areas in the world.

I had trouble sleeping, due to stress over my husband's health. My doctor told me when I said I did not want to take sleeping pills, that I should lie in bed, and mentally picture a place of beauty to relax, and feel at peace. Lake Wanaka was my destination. It worked, I could sleep.

When I visited last time, I was surprised to see rows of vines covered by white netting to protect from the birds. The birds must have good taste.

There are thirty different wineries close by, and I was tickled to do my touring in style. A Kiwi colleague who I was travelling with hired a posh classic Bentley car with a chauffeur and it was a smashing experience to be a VIP for several days. I was able to make notes while we travelled and have her brief me on what was new on the South Island.

All wine in New Zealand is now bottled with a screw top because of the biggest buyer in Great Britain, the Sainsbury’s grocery chain, was getting $4 million dollars worth of wine returned by customers, due to bad wine caused by the cork. Australia now uses only screw tops. Six weeks at sea made the wine undrinkable and I am delighted with the screw tops since that is all I now buy.

We took classes in the aromatics and flavors of each wine and learned to identify the smells, such as herbs and berries, that make each wine different. This was great fun, lifting the little lids off the jars and trying to identify them. Once you have learned the answer, you sniffed again to identify the smells.

We watched a film of the wineries taken from a helicopter. The winemaker from each gave a lecture on what made that winery’s wine special. We then sampled six Pinot Noirs and I could not pick out a favorite. I liked them all.

We had lunch at three smashing winery restaurants. Carrick Winery in Bannockburn, Gibbston Valley Winery near Queenstown, and Amisfield Winery near Arrowtown. They are all award winning restaurants but Gibbston Valley is the one I send clients to for lunch on every itinerary I prepare. They have a wine cave and a cheese factory. The shop is also a smashing place to buy gifts.

Breathtaking scenery, the area has a historic gold rush region, little towns, lovely gardens, and great golf courses. As for the wine, I enjoyed every glass. You will have the purist air in the world.

Maureen Jones

New Zealand Specialist

All Horizons Travel/Frosch

825 Santa Cruz Avenue

Menlo Park. 650-961-2340 direct

Maureen.Jones@Frosch.com

www.froschvacations.com