03/05/2012 » News

All things Spainish…

Hola… On Monday I had the fabulous opportunity to attend a lunch at The Ambeli on Marjoriebank Street in Wellington I joined the Wellington Negociants team and some of their key Wellington trade people. We met in honor of ‘Sergio Rostoll’ who is in charge of the Asia & Pacific regional sales for ‘Gonzalez Byass’. Gonzalez Byass are based in Jerez del la Frontera, Spain – where they have been making Sherry for 175yrs. Their most famous international premium Fino Sherry being ‘Tio Pepe’. Gonzalez Byass, also produce a range of fino to dulce wines such as Vilernau Brut sparkling Cava, Garnacha Blanca, Tempranillo, Crianza & Reserva Riojas, Anada Palo Cortado and Oloroso sherries.

Chef Josh Evans produced a gorgeous menu that complimented a collection of Gonzalez Byass wines we had for tasting and demonstrated Josh’s innovativeness in the kitchen. House-made Milk Curd, Fennel & Prosciutto di Parma paired with Tio Pepe. Lovely subtle salt flavours from the curd and parma immediately opened up the Tio Pepe and showed the gorgeous fruit purity with subtle heat. Dukkah Crumbed Veal Sweetbreads with Black Pudding and Date Jam paired with Vinas del Vero ‘La Miranda de Secastilla’ Garnacha Blanca ’10. The fruit from this wine is sourced from de Secastilla vineyard, Somontano region at the foothills of the Pyrenees this specific vineyard is 100 yrs old. This wine is fermented in Stainless Steel and finished in French Oak for the last 4mths of its journey. Its colour has the lightest hue of green with rich aromas and fresh crisp fruit flavours.

It just isn’t Spain unless you’re having Tempranillo. Tempranillo is considered Spain’s national grape. Braised Lamb Belly, Puy Lentil, Haloumi and an Almond psicha paired with Finca Constanica ‘Parcela 23’ Tempranillo ’09. Great dish worked so well.

We went on to enjoy two Riojas – the Beronia Crianza ‘08 & Beronia Reserva ’07, with Pork Belly and candied Eggplant, grilled artichoke. Then the gorgeous Anada 1982 Palo Cortado sherry – beautiful amber/ gold in colour and glistened in the glass, had wonderful mushroom characters then unfolded into citrus orange peel paired with Macadamia psicha, fresh fig and a maturo vintage cheddar. The finale was the Oloroso VORS ‘Matusalem’ served with a Hazelnut Praline & Blackberry Gliko, just perfect, say no more!

Thank you Clive for the invitation and many thanks to the people of Ambeli, service top notch.

After my lunch with friends on a gorgeous Wellington sunny day… I left Ambeli satisfied and feeling the Spanish love and before I knew it I was in Shozies purchasing a gorgeous pair of brushed leather boots, made in Spain.

Author: Narida

13/09/2011 » Events

Martinborough Unmasked – 10th & 11th October

Discover what really happens behind the cellar door, experience what happens behind the scenes of Martinborough’s top vineyards, olive groves and food producers with Martinborough Unmasked. Palliser Estate is one of the wineries that will offering sneak peeks at a part of their business not normally seen by the general public.

The two day event, to be held on October 10th and 11th – just days after the Wellington-hosted Rugby World Cup 2011 quarter finals – will give visitors an opportunity to meet the people responsible for creating some of New Zealand’s luxury food and wine products.

Each operator will provide a 15 minute ‘sneak peek’ of their business on the hour between 11am – 3pm. This means visitors can create their own itinerary for the day and explore Martinborough at their leisure.

“For example, people may start at Palliser Estate at 11am to do a vertical tasting in their underground cellar”.

Full information can be found on the website www.martinborough-unmasked.com

We look forward to welcoming anyone who wants to discover the magic of Martinborough

Author: Narida

24/06/2011 » News

Hong Kong – 23 June 2011

Catherine Petrie, UK intern 2011 Harvest, as posted on her blog

I find myself with a few hours to spare in Hong Kong Airport, waiting for my delayed flight back to London. I’ve spent the last three days pounding the pavements of this extraordinary city promoting Palliser wines. My days were filled with casual staff training sessions at some of the 18 Watson’s Wine Cellar stores across the city, and walk in customer tastings. Set up in 1998, Watson’s is the biggest wine retailer in Hong Kong, and you can find their smart little outlets in every shopping mall around town (and there are a lot of shopping malls in Hong Kong).

Assistant Buyer Charisse was my guide for the first day, and after making stops all along the Island Line and taking the Star Ferry across to Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, I felt I had got my bearings of this megacity. The cloudy fog of long haul fatigue however meant I was not without a map for the two days I made my own way.

My general experience whilst conducting tastings was that it’s straightforward selling to expats, locals and foreigners alike. The hard sell is to the mainland Chinese, who flood into Hong Kong with their mountains of disposable cash. They are only interested in buying French; and really, only interested in buying Bordeaux.

This is, of course, not news. Almost every wine article published in the press these days is about the Chinese thirst for first growth Bordeaux. But when I was faced with the bare reality of customers coming up to my table, not even engaging in eye contact, pouring themselves a glass of wine, knocking it back, making a sour expression on their face and shaking their heads as they took a closer look at the bottle, turn on their heals and pick up a bottle of Pontet Canet, well… it was rather a smack in the teeth.

But that is not to say there is not a future for Palliser, and New Zealand wine as a whole, in China. Meeting with the CEO of a large restaurant group in Hong Kong revealed that those in the restaurant trade know they are on to a good thing when it comes to New Zealand Pinots. The richer, riper style (in comparison to Burgundian Pinot) of medium to full bodied Kiwi Pinots is a perfect introduction to the Chinese palate. Here there is very little culture or interest around enjoying a glass of wine simply for the sake of the wine. Wine finds its stage alongside food. And there lies New Zealand’s opportunity to build itself up in the Chinese wine psyche. Palliser’s 2008 Pinot Noir is full bodied, spicy, savoury, abundant in ripe fruit flavours that are hung on a very robust scaffolding of tannins and acidity. It is the perfect food wine. It is the stepping stone between heavy, tannic Bordeaux blends into the enigmatic and endlessly fascinating world of Pinot Noir.

I was sure to emphasis the food friendly nature of the wines to tasting customers, and it seemed to do the trick. The Pinot was flying off the shelves, as was the Pencarrow Chardonnay 2010, which in my opinion is an absolute steal.

Wine tastings aside, I had some time to a little of my own tasting, namely that of the city and its food. A few local and ex-local (thanks Jacqueline!) recommendations of eateries in town lead me to tasty beef noodles in Kowloon, and the best dim sum I’ve ever had at the Luk Yu Tea House on Stanley Street, Central. I managed to squeeze in a trip up to The Peak with clear skies, hours before the tail end of a typhoon hit the city.

Ah, there’s so much more to say about this incredible place, but my flight is being called. It was quite a remarkable change of pace from little Martinborough; and what an exciting and exotic destination for my first ever business trip.

Author: Narida

20/04/2011 » News

Allez Allez Allez…..

… a wise owl said to me “you must have had a brain explosion to decide to run the Paris Marathon 2011”, he may have been onto something there but I would never let him know.

6mths ago I decided to do something big, something that required a lot of push. Ahhaaa… a marathon! I have been interested in running for a few years and had completed a few half marathons and so the natural progression is to move onto a full marathon. 6mths later, I can’t train any more or any less. I leave in 3 days.

At the start line, you get quite pumped, the music started and the words “lets start this party” boomed out! Crowd roars and the siren goes off and then we start moving forward, took 20mins to cross over the ‘departure’ line. We charge down the Champs-Elysees around Place de la Concorde and onto the Rue De Rivoli the atmosphere is amazing, brass bands and drum groups are playing all down the Rue. At this point I am totally enjoying this and thinking this was a great decision. 10km into the race and we’re at the Chateau De Vincennes, just beautiful and we all take a moment to enjoy the amazing chateau. Charging on to 20km, day is warming up and I notice again that the water stations are not providing any isotonic drinks; this is not a good sign for me. 21km maker comes up and I’m on target to finish the run under 5hrs, spoke too soon. The drink stations turn into ice skating rinks, oranges, banana skins water bottles everywhere and it’s a blood bath of snatching water bottles. If you need to whiz its best to jump in the bushes, myself and my roomy headed into the bushes for a much needed whiz while an old french lady who was watching the runners turned to us and said “watch out for the poison ivy” “WHAT!” I pass the Cathedrale of Notre-Dame and pull into the 25km water station, gasping and hurting in so many places. Temperature on the day got up to 26°, way too hot for a jog around Paris. So from this point it’s a struggle, but moving on and the end after all is only 17km away.

It’s a beautiful city to run round in people push themselves so hard, some drop like flies, some even jump on to the metro and train to the end line cross over and take the medal, buggers! So many nationalities on the run, people were speaking all around me in German, French and Spanish. Groups of people were chanting “allez allez allez” and “bravo”.

The last little twist is ahead and I’m finished.

It’s done, not the time I was after, but it’s over! Next day, I’m aching in one spot, left quad otherwise all ok. Next day, I’m thinking I need to do that again…. Auckland – bring it!

Author: Narida

19/10/2010 » 2008, Events, News, Pinot Noir, Reviews

Palliser Pinot can you feel the love….?

A devoted charity, a lovingly created label and a premium wine.

‘Shine’ (safer homes in NZ everyday) www.2shine.org.nz is a charity devoted to the care of children and women who are victims of domestic violence. Supporter of the charity, Roger Wall commissioned one of New Zealand’s most famous contemporary artists – Ralph Hotere, to create the label and then donated 20 bottles of Arohanui: “Big Love” to “Shine” charity. Arohanui is a Palliser Estate Pinot Noir 2008.

Wellington Regional Wines – Basin Reserve

Palliser Estate Pinot Noir 2008

Looking exceptional well was the Palliser Estate Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008 (19.0-/20), dark ruby red, full, rich, lush and fleshy, the dark savoury berry characters showing interest and complexity. The acid freshness was a feature. Excellent, soft extract. 4-6+ years easily.

Author: Narida