War loomed large in the lives of Reine and Rene Le Brun, whose relationship began around the same time as World War II, which made for interesting times in the world's most famous sparkling wine region, Champagne. New wine launched This year, their son, Daniel Le Brun, and his family here in New Zealand, have launched a new sparkling wine to honour Reine. It is called, simply, Reine and it pays homage to the Champagne region, the history of the Le Brun family in the region and to Reine herself. The Le Brun family can trace its winemaking history in...

Tempranillo is hot right now and not only because it is on trend. A study by the Spanish Meteorology Agency predicts the maximum temperature in Rioja will be 4ºC higher in 2050 than it was in 2010, if temperatures continue rising at their current rate. That prediction is based on the average temperature rise in Rioja having gone up between 0.9ºC and 1.2ºC since the 1950s. But back to vino... Tempranillo is hot because it is benefiting so far from the warmer temperatures, although some producers are struggling with some of the challenges heat brings.  How does this impact on Tempranillo? Tempranillo has...

Far be it for us to play the same tune as we did earlier this month but the latest reds (and whites) from the Guigal family are such exceptional wines that we wanted to share the reasons why, as a group of lucky Wellingtonians (including the team here at Regional) tasted mid October. Guigal is one of the world’s top 10 best known wine brands and is run by 20 full time people, including many extremely dedicated family members. There are over 850 growers also working, both directly and indirectly for the company, growing a vast volume of grapes, which go towards making...

CO2 is a pretty hot topic these days and in more ways than one! Of course we all know about the gas and its detrimental effect on the environment through global warming, but if you’ve been following the roller coaster ride of the NZ craft beer scene of late - you will also be aware that the cost of CO2 has recently gone through the roof. This is bad news for brewers who use bottled CO2 in many ways; for pneumatic processing (forcing liquids from A to B), to force carbonate beers and also as a preservative (or rather as...

From France to Marlborough   When the going gets pricey, the thinking gets lateral and that is how a French winemaking family from the Loire Valley ended up with a vineyard in Marlborough. The family is that of Domaine Henri Bourgeois and family members first came to New Zealand in 1999 to make wine, with the main focus being on Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. This reflects the key varietals they make in their Loire home. They had been wanting to expand in France but the cost of land was prohibitive, which led the family to search for great vineyards further afield, retaining their home base at the same...