Smooth earthy flavours intermingle with dark cherry flavours in this new Pinot Noir which is made with grapes grown on a well established, older vineyard site which has a new lease of life, in the centre of Martinborough. The 3.5 hectare vineyard was established by the Brodies who sold it to Eva and Ross Mackay in 2018. The new name is Dublin Street Wines, the first vintage being from the high quality 2019 vintage followed by the great 2020 one. Both years were beautifully high quality ones for wine with dry settled weather, which produced great quality grapes that translated into very good wines. 

The vineyard is entirely devoted to Pinot Noir and planted with five different clonal variations (114, 115, 667, 777 and 5). 

The aim of the game now is to reduce oak use in the wines, replacing it with whole bunch and wild yeast fermentations; two winemaking tools that can accentuate structure and savoury flavour aspects, without dominating. 

This is one of our best Pinot Noirs under $25 and consistently exceptional drinking at this price, thanks to fruit forward flavours of red cherries which are underpinned by refreshing acidity kept in balance by an under tow of savoury, earthy flavours. 

It's made by Martinborough winemaker John Douglas, who owns a small vineyard on Te Muna Road, 9 kilometres west of Martinborough village. This four hectare plot of organically certified vineyard land is home to the grapes that go into this excellent Pinot Noir, which over delivers on value, flavour and style.

Te Muna Valley has the same stony soils as vineyards the better known  vineyards around Martinborough village. It also has a slightly windier, slightly cooler climate, both factors that combine to make for challenges in the volume of grapes produced but exceptional depth of flavour in the great wines from this valley. 

Daniel le Brun is the first person to make traditional method sparkling wine (that's code for made the same way as champagne) in New Zealand. He has since sold his own brand name and created another sparkling wine company. 

This wine remains one of New Zealand's most loved and well known bubbles from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes grown in Marlborough. It has extended lees aging time to gain its fresh bakery flavours and long finish. A well known wine that delivers on body, dryness, depth of flavour - and all at such a modest price. No wonder it's a fave for so many New Zealanders.

The set up at Talisker produces a highly individual new make which mixes smoke, fruit, sulphur, salt and pepper. The malt is medium-peated, the worts clear and the fermentation long, but distillation is atypical with minimal copper contact, plenty of reflux and the use of worm tubs. The result is a heavier style of malt which lends itself nicely to a coastal influence and a smoky peat that is definitely there, but not too heavy.

Nose: A fresh and fragrant nose. Through pungent smoke comes sweet pear and apple peels, with pinches of maritime salt from kippers, seaweed.

Palate: It's a bonfire of peat crackling with black pepper, with a touch of brine and dry barley. A welcome delivery of orchard fruit provides a delicate and beautiful balance.

Finish: In a long finish, bonfire embers toast malt and crystallise a sugary underlay.

At Dalwhinnie, clear worts and long ferments create a starting point form which one might expect a light floral whisky. However, the stills are run in such a way as to minimise the conversation between malt and copper, and when this is combined with the use of worm tubs to condense, the result is a heavy and somewhat sulphurous malt. After fifteen years in cask though, this is combined into the whisky, and the thick honeyed and almost sticky quality that Dalwhinnie is so famous for, shines through.

Nose: Aromatic, toffee, fruit salad, lush nectarine, custard. Floral, apple blossom, honeysuckle. Apple peels, pear, touch of smoke.

Palate: Malty. Walnuts steeped in manuka honey with vanilla sponge. Gentle smoke weaves its way through the cereal with a touch of spice.

Finish: Long, malty, walnut, almond.

Luscious, deep-fruit aromas of red cherries and raspberries rise from the glass. The palate is crisply layered and mouth filling with fine tannins. Ripe red fruit obtains complexity from hints of spicy characters, tea leaf and earth. The texture has sophistication and elegance, being sumptuous and refreshing at the same time.

This is an excellent value Wairarapa Pinot Noir. The grapes are carefully selected to create a great New Zealand Pinot with a medium body and a fruit forward and complex palate.  

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 great red from a small wine producer just outside the village of Clevedon, in the rolling green hills southeast of Auckland. It's an unlikely destination for a top red as there are few other vineyards in the area, which is warm with a maritime climate - the coast can be seen from the vineyard and is about a 10 minute drive away.  

The wines are made solely from estate grown grapes from the four acres on site, which include Merlot, Carmenère, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. This bunch of classic Bordeaux red grapes inspired founder Judy Fowler to make wines modelled on the great reds of Pomerol and St Emilion in Bordeaux. The first wines were made in 1999 and continue to be produced on site by Judy, her partner Phil Nunweek and winemaker Evert Nijzink.  

This is New Zealand's first nigori-zake, handcrafted in Queenstown.  The distinctive milky colour is caused by residual rice particles left unfiltered in the sake.  Nigori-zake is an easily recognisable drink, and is popular as a great accompaniment to sweet and spicy dishes.

Our brand is Zenkura - while 'zen' means all, 'kuro' means black - a simple but powerful combination born in NZ.  We start with water from the snow-capped Southern Alps and special sake rice that has been milled to remove the outer 40%, leaving only the best part of each grain for the fermentation to begin.

Best enjoyed chilled.

14% ABV.

A juicy IPA without the alcohol. Big tropical and citrus aromas from the locally grown hops.  

0.5% ABV

ZENKURO - This is New Zealand's first ever sake, handcrafted since 2015, in Queenstown.  Our fresh, Premium grade junmai style of sake is pure, nothing added, but give a unique twist with the use of Manuka timber, NZ's own miracle tree.

Our brand is Zenkura - while 'zen' means all, 'kuro' means black - a simple but powerful combination born in NZ.  We start with water from the snow-capped Southern Alps and special sake rice that has been milled to remove the outer 30-40%, leaving only the best part of each grain for the fermentation to begin.

15% ABV.

Untouched – Muroka Nama Genshu – Jyunmai Ginjo 1

Zenkuro UNTOUCHED Muroka nama genshu is a very special style of sake which can only be produced in small amounts from each batch of sake. Only the sake from the very middle part of the pressing process is used, after it has been laboriously drip pressed. This middle take is the cleanest and most delicate portion of sake. Without processing, aging or blending, it immediately offers up sake with naturally well balanced flavours, gentle umami, soft viscosity and delightful aromas. In order to share this with you, the sake has been bottled in this fresh, untouched condition; un-filtered, unpasteurised and un-diluted.

Zenkuro UNTOUCHED will complement the full range of wonderful food flavours.

17% ABV