Having been to Cologne and drunk a fair amount of Kölsch and remembering it as more like a lager than an ale, I was a bit bamboozled when I saw today's beer; a California Kölsch with the descriptor “German style pale ale”. But, after reading up on things, I see where the confusion lies. At the end of the day, it’s basically both a lager and an ale!That’s right, this is gender fluidity in beer form (fluid fluidity perhaps?); top fermented with ale yeast and then cold conditioned like a lager.Kölsch straddles other boundaries too, having both a geographical and...

The award winning, world renowned Tripel Karmeliet sounds like a beer that has been around for ever, but actually it launched in 1996. That said, its roots extend much further back through time...It is brewed by the Bosteels Brewery which was started by Jean-Baptiste Bosteels in 1791, a date that precedes the kingdom of Belgium (to put things in context).The brewery has done well to keep going this long, fending off the ebb and flow of Belgian beer popularity, and has done so by adding new brands (such as Kwak in the mid 1980s) and by keeping things in the...

If you're looking for a zero sulfur wine that also happens to be high quality and rich in taste, then Blaufrankisch may be your wine. This new addition to Regional Wines & Spirits comes from Gut Oggau, a respected family owned winery in Austria. The raw material is made from Blaufrankisch, an Austrian red grape that makes surprisingly ripe, full bodied, big flavoursome red wines with velvety plush texture and mouthfeel.  How was Gut Oggau Blaufrankisch made? All grapes were hand harvested and destemmed for this wine, which was fermentated in previously used 500 litre and 1200 litre barrels with about...

There are opportunities and then there are great opportunities. Last month we were offered the chance to take a look through one of the great and quirkiest wine catalogues we are lucky enough to see, that of Oh So Pretty Wines. The importer is scientist-turned-winemaker and now wine importer, Andrew Hedley in Marlborough. Hedley is a great fan of Riesling and he imports the best range of it that's available in this country. Volumes are small, quality is incredibly high and we have secured a small number of the best bottles, including wines from Clemens Busch, Weingut Wittmann, Koehler-Ruprecht and...

Hawke’s Bay's Winegrowers Charitable Trust has set up a Cyclone Gabrielle Relief Fund to assist with the clean up of toxic silt and rebuilding infrastructure for those who have lost their livelihoods and vineyards. Funds raised will see 100 per cent of donations go to those most in need in the Hawke’s Bay Wine community. Give to the Cyclone Gabrielle Relief Fund for Hawke's Bay here What is the future of Hawke's Bay's vineyards? Hawke's Bay is the second largest wine region in New Zealand and contributes an enormous volume of grapes towards this country's wine exports. Its most planted varieties...