Wine reviews and news from New Zealand by Sue Courtney http://www.wineoftheweek.com en-us Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:50 GMT Copyright 2009 Sue Courtney http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 5 Jul 2009: Usually by this time of year there's a buzz about the new vintage Sauvignon Blanc - but not this year. There's hardly any 2009 Sauvignon Blanc to be seen and no race between the early release wines to be first to market. So what's the delay? [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/Lz3VoksPgCE/blog200907.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090705 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090705 4 Jul 2009: Edmunds St Johns Shell and Bone Paso Robles Red 2003 This wine was a gift from a visitor from USA and being July 4th, it's the perfect time to open it [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/if5WgLWt3ik/blog200907.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090704a http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090704a 4 Jul 2009: The San Francisco International Wine Competition has been judged for another year and New Zealand figures strongly with twelve wines winning 'double gold' awards including two 'Best of' Awards [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/_QlUZuRFF4k/blog200907.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090704 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090704 3 Jul 2009: Three weeks of Wednesday tastings to catch up on and some rather special wines have been tasted. Most recently it was Bordeaux, Burgundian and Italian varieties - it was stressed not wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. However there was one chardonnay that I momentarily thought could have been from the big White B [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/vUm9zhHrXHw/blog200907.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090703 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090703 1 Jul 2009: Just had to buy this wine in the supermarket the other day. Neil saw the stack and the sign. "Was $38.99, now $11.99" Yes, true. The wine is Maximus Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec 2006 produced by Mahurangi River Winery in Matakana Wine Country north of Auckland. [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/1RWzQoUfMfI/blog200907.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090701 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200907.htm#20090701 30 Jun 2009: You never know what works as a wine and food match until you try it. Like lychee and Pinot Noir - a fresh lychee and the Astrolabe Marlborough Pinot Noir to be exact [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/qyLMrkHpqbw/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090630 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090630 29 Jun 2009: Received an email from Raymond Chan, a New Zealand-born Chinese and wine judge, wine retailer and wine palate extraordinaire. Raymond has been juding wines in New Zealand since 1989 [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/9OR13To8g2Q/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090629 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090629 27 Jun 2009: Well, you just might have to rely on the small producers for your premium Gisborne Chardonnay tipple from the 2010 vintage onwards. Check out these news items [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/WIsRVTGOxg0/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090627 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090627 25 Jun 2009: Followed a newslink today that took me to an article about New Zealand's first Chinese winemaker. According to the article at the Indian Wine Portal, his name is Johnny Leung - and he is alive and kicking and working at Twilight Vineyard in Clevedon. "New Zealand's first Chinese winemaker - that ain't right," I thought. [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/txZ4oZnVevA/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090625 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090625 23 Jun 2009: Up on Centenary Hill .... there's a lone fig tree .... that overlooks a vineyard .... where old Shiraz vines grow [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/TF0lbGYlDsA/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090623 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090623 22 Jun 2009: When some hardy souls were taking a mid winter dip for the Winter Solstice, my memory of summer was in a bottle - bottled summer [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/9YRuvXAhGvA/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090622 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090622 21 Jun 2009: Wine Options has come and gone for another year. It's the wine game where you talk yourself out of the obvious answer and go for something obscure. [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/XAzJnDMxmM8/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090621 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090621 20 Jun 2009: One of the highlights of the Waiheke Winegrowers tasting last week was a vertical of Syrah from the island's most successful Syrah producer, Passage Rock. These are my very brief notes. [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/eooULyTZfHw/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090620 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090620 15 Jun 2009: Why go to Waiheke when Waiheke will come to you? Well, I could give you a hundred or more reasons for going to Waiheke Island but why turn down an invitation to taste the wines from seventeen of the island's wineries in downtown Auckland? [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/Ta4F6Kgqu00/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090615 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090615 12 Jun 2009: I think I'm going to have to give up Wine Options - I just can't seem to pick the wines. Point in case - two Rieslings tasted during the week - the first at a Wine Options Practice, the second at the Wednesday tasting. [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/SRfayNi9DZA/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090612 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090612 10 Jun 2009: Thanks to Peter May for setting me straight on the Bottle Shock phenomenon in the movie of the same name, reviewed below. I surmised that perhaps the bottles turning brown never happened [...] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NzWineOfTheWeekAndSueCourtneysVinousRamblings/~3/O74NPgv6DZI/blog200906.htm http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090610 http://www.wineoftheweek.com/blog/blog200906.htm#20090610