Pierre Emmanuel Taittinger runs this famous champagne house with his son Clovis and daughter, Vitalie, who both work beside him in the day to day running of Champagne Taittinger. It is one of the grand marques champagnes. This means it is one of the top tier, best known and most highly respected producers in the Champagne region and it has built its reputation on Chardonnay dominant bubblies, with the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blanc being the pinnacle of its production.

This non vintage (NV) champagne is also Chardonnay dominant, which is where its bright, clean, fresh and refreshing acidity and creamy notes come from. 

It is a beautiful and classic champagne. One of our favourites.

This good value magnum of Moët Impérial comes from the large Champagne house of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey) and is typically a blend of 30 to 40% Pinot Noir, 30 to 40% Pinot Meunier with 20 to 30% Chardonnay for balancing crispness and freshness. It's made from Moët & Chandon's vineyards in all of the five main grapegrowing areas in the Champagne region.

Veuve Clicquot is one of the world's biggest selling champagnes and is produced by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey in a range of styles and packaging. 

Veuve is named after the late, great Widow Clicquot, who was left not only a widow aged 27 but also in charge of running a champagne house. Her legacy is to have left both the brand and the region in better condition than she found them, mostly famously by inventing riddling; the turning of the bottle to remove the yeast sediment into its neck, prior to disgorgement. This resulted in higher quality, cleaner, fresher bubbles in both look and taste. Her quest was quality and she is widely credited with having raised it significantly in the Champagne region and in the bottles it produces.

This magnum of yellow label non vintage (NV) champagne is typically made up of 55% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier.

The House of Ruinart makes one of the most delicious champagnes we stock here in store; this sensationally full bodied, creamy blanc de blancs. This champagne is made 100% from Chardonnay and is a multi vintage blend with notes of intense white floral and peach aromas intermingled with hints of golden ripe yellow fruit and a complexity of white nutty notes on the finish. Crisp refreshing acidity adds length and tension to every great sip, which finishes with a lingering flavour. 

Most of the grapes in this wine and those in all Ruinart champagnes are grown in the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims terroirs in Champagne.

* The House of Ruinart was first established in the Champagne region in 1729 and was inspired by a monk. 

Pink champagne is one of our favourite things here at Regional Wines and this special bottle comes from Ruinart, one of the oldest champagne houses still in existence today.  This gorgeous expression of pink champagne is made mostly from Pinot Noir, which makes up 55% of the blend, with the balance being 45% Chardonnay. Interestingly, nearly 20% of the Pinot Noir was vinified as red wine and blended into this complex, sensationally savoury style of wine. 

It is a multi vintage blend with between 20 to 25% overall from reserve wines made in the previous two vintages and blended with grapes from the current harvest. Complex flavours develop in these older wines while the retention of freshness is retained both by the high percentage of new wines and also the lees aging in bottle while the champagne is on tirage, following its second fermentation.  It's a complex process, which translates in the flavours of great champagnes, such as this one. 

Most of the grapes in this wine and those in all Ruinart champagnes are grown in the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims terroirs in Champagne.

* The House of Ruinart was first established in the Champagne region in 1729 and was inspired by a monk. 

VINEYARD AND FARMING
Planted in 2002, Doctors Flat is a single 3-hectare vineyard in Bannockburn. The schist subsoil was ground off the Cairnmuir Mountains by glacial ice and deposited here about 480,000 years ago. The glacial action and millennia of weathering have
generated an abundance of clay and fine silt in the vineyard gravel. We know soil texture drives wine texture and this vineyard produces Pinot Noir with density, fine tannin and great texture. We farm organically to help grow and sustain soil biology.
In turn the soil microlife harvest and transport nutrient and minerals to the vine. It’s this connection between vineyard and vine that gives Doctors Flat Pinot Noir its character and sense of place.

WINEMAKING
The winemaking is a simple programme of small open tanks, close attention, minimal inputs and a very light hand in the extraction process with only three punch downs. In 2021 20% of the fruit went directly to tank as whole bunches. Fermentation occurred spontaneously and after 21 to 24 days on skins the wine was drained to French oak barrels (22% new). Malolactic was delayed until spring and SO2 not added until late summer. After a full 12 months in barrel the wine was racked to tank for a second winter, then bottled 20 months after harvest.

Fruit aromas of blackcurrant, dark cherries and plums unfold from the glass, combined with hints of dried herbs. The palate is very complex and enticing with a beautiful, smooth texture and a firm structure. Flavours of very ripe fruit, minerals, subtle leafiness and rosewood. The supporting role of the oak intensifies underlying dark chocolate and toasty characters.

This is a dry yet generous Pinot Gris from the Moutere Valley in Nelson. Fermented with wild yeast and fermented in neutral vessels (70% stainless steel, 30% aged oak). The nose is floral and mineral, with a delicate spiciness. The palate is rich and elegant with ginger and floral notes accentuating the pear fruit flavour. 

The Lovegrass Shiraz is an easy drinking yet full bodied wine. Juicy ripe fruits, earthiness and integrated spicy oak are present on the nose. The palate is rich with blackberry and chocolate notes which are complemented with moderate acidity. This is a great example of a robust Australian Shiraz. 

This lovely smooth Chardonnay is made with grapes grown on the Castello della Sala Estate, which surrounds the medieval castle at Castello della Sala in the region of Umbria, which borders Tuscany. 

The vineyards here are planted in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which both grow well in the clay soils here. 

The 2019 Bramìto Chardonnay is characterized by delicate white flower notes followed by light sensations of citrus fruit. The palate is crisp, fresh and full bodied with lovely mineral notes which provide a long finish with flavours of ripe peach and notes of soft creaminess. 

This wine is sealed with a screwcap; a modern touch used on many wines from Marchese Antinori. 

A truly audacious recipe from master liqueuristes Edmond Briottet, combining cactus, peppers and the sweet juicy fruit of the Mexican prickly pear. This is pretty much guaranteed to be unlike anything you've ever tasted.

Peckham's - Fresh berry against a structured cider background, with no added sugar.  This cider captures the aroma and taste of fresh, whole, Nelson boysenberries.  It's probably the only berry cider you will find made from 100% Juice.

5.4% ABV.

Peckham's - To make Pommeau we ferment apple juice fresh from the press, allow it to mature and then have it distilled into apple brandy.  About 12 litres of cider go to make each litre of brandy.  The brandy is aged in oak casks until blended with fresh cider apple juice the following harvest.  The sweet, brandy-rich Pommeau is then matured in oak for a further six months before bottling.

Our Hippy Berliner was such a success that we ebbed to consumer demand and brewed a special edition with the addition of cooling cucumber. Bursting with sweet cucumber notes, balanced by lemon peel and tropical fruits. 

On the palate this beer is puckering, but very refreshing, full of cucumber, citrus and balanced by light hopping, finishing very clean. 

Cool as a cucumber, dude.

4.5% ABV