We think Quartz Reef’s sparkling wines punch incredibly above their weight when it comes to price and quality expectations but the Blanc de Blancs, now on its second vintage ever, is a real surprise. Winemaker Rudi Bauer is more than a dab hand at making bubbles using the traditional method of production; the same way as champagne. And he's had a long history of making it, so it's a real treat to taste his new - and only the second one ever made - vintage of Blanc de Blancs.  Here is our review on the wine.  2015 Quartz Reef Blanc...

If you're stumped for Xmas presents for your nearest and dearest, what about pushing the boat out all the way and buying a big bottle of French red from the  country's most famous southern Rhone wine appellation, Chateauneuf-du-Pape? This outstanding wine is our most high priced of our Top 25 Wines of 2020, as selected by our specialist wine team here at Regional. And it's also from 2016, which will go down in the vinous history books as the best of this century, potentially even the best of the past 100 years.  This big, bold and beautiful blended red can be...

It’s been a year to remember, in more ways than one, so we thought it was time to celebrate the good things about 2020 with our Top 25 Wines of the Year. This tasty bunch spans the gamut of styles from great tasting bubbles and Pinot Noir from the South Island of New Zealand to complex Nebbiolo from the north of Italy, and much more besides. We have had tastings, discussions and chats about which wines rate the highest for our staff this year and have selected this list based on tastings with suppliers, at wineries and with samples to...

If The Abyss sounds more like a scary movie than a great wine, you only need to taste a sip to recalibrate your thoughts. The high priced Marlborough Pinot Noir is made from a hillside vineyard which backs onto a precipitous cliff, hence the name, The Abyss. The vines here were planted in 2000 at a high density of approximately 5000 vines to the hectare, making it pretty unusual for New Zealand where most vines are grown on flat land at significantly lower density, providing in general far less competition for water and nutrients from the soils. And that's part of what makes The...

Pegasus Bay is our new winery of the month and we have tastings of the great whites and impressive reds planned, including Wine Wednesday this week with two wines from Peg' Bay. The tastings from Pegasus Bay will culminate with an event on Saturday 21 November from 1pm to 5pm in store here at Regional. Edward Donaldson will host the wine tastings and we'll be on hand to show you through the wines in store and have a few tasty morsels on hand to go with the wines. We hope you'll join us to taste the range from one of our absolute favourite...