It’s not often we come across wines that date back to 1398 but Chianti is no everyday wine, especially when it's labelled Isole E Olena. All grapes in this wine were hand picked. It's a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo and 5% Syrah, which balance each other nicely with their ripe red berry flavours of cherries and raspberries which sit alongside complex notes of spice, smoky leather and a hint of cedar. This wine's lively acidity adds a freshness and gives length to the wine. 

This great red will benefit from ageing thanks to stellar winemaking and viticulture from Paolo di Marchi, one of the kings of the Sangiovese grape, who took over the winemaking in 1976. He ended decades of sharecropping and focussed on fine tuning work in the vineyards and pioneered Tuscan reds made entirely from the Sangiovese grape, such as the great Super Tuscan, Cepparello; now one of the region’s most iconic wines. 

Isole e Olena Chianti Classico is one of the great Tuscan reds.Try it. 

THE CHIANTI CLASSICO APPELLATION

Chianti Classico is the heart of the wider Chianti production zone and its wines are distinguished by a trademarked black rooster on their labels. The wines of Chianti Classico are higher in quality and noticeably so in taste than wines labelled Chianti, which come from a broader area in Tuscany. The wines taste better because the vines are planted on hillsides with a higher degree of  iron rich soils and a greater diurnal temperature range, which provides more powerful, riper fruit flavours, which are balanced by higher acidity thanks to the cooler night time temperatures. 

The Sangiovese grape must make up 80% of all wines labelled Chianti Classico compared to 70% Sangiovese for wines labelled Chianti. 

Chianti was first defined as a wine producing sub region within Tuscany in 1716 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III, whose wanted to protect the integrity of the wines and prevent fraud. The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium was formed in 1924 with the distinctive Black Rooster trademark chosen to feature on the labels. 

Convergence is made from grapes sourced from five different vineyards in the Marlborough region. Each region offers its own flavour profile and unique character. 

This Sauvignon Blanc offers fennel, fresh herb and tomato leaf aromas with subtle notes of passionfruit and nettle. Dry and salty to taste, persistent flavours of zesty citrus and Greengage plum are revealed alongside bright, crunchy acidity. The flinty yet lively palate has a lovely creamy texture and a long smooth finish.

A great expression of Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir with earthy aromas and notes of wild thyme, raspberries and red cherries from the dramatic cool climate region. Coal Pit is an elevated hillside vineyard and small production are key ingredients that go into making Coal Pit Tiwha Pinot Noir a wine that stands out from the crowd with its earthy robust style and delicacy; the classic iron fist in a velvet glove.

Coal Pit Pinot Noir is a small scale wine made entirely from estate grown grapes on a sloping hillside vineyard planted on 12 hectares in the Gibbston Valley in Central Otago. The soils here are schist on these warm north facing slopes and the Pinot Noir clones planted are a mix of 115, 10/5, 777 and 5. Some vines here date back to the original plantings in 1994 and remain on their own roots while others are now grafted. The Coal Pit Winery is owned by Rosie Dunphy, who bought the site in 2001 and built a winery onsite in 2007. She named the Tiwha Pinot Noir in tribute to her late father. The Coal Pit winery name pays homage to the early pioneers and gold miners in the region.  

The artwork on the Tiwha label is by Chris Heaphy and the original painting is on the wall inside the winery's tasting room.

A great lunch time wine from Mt Edward Wines in Central Otago, one of the region's most adventurous producers with its range of interesting, high quality, dry white wines. Pinot Blanc makes a fabulous alternative to Chardonnay and this dry wine has beautifully fresh white stone fruit aromas with a citrusy taste mid palate and layers of freshness. 

Ata Rangi Pinot Gris is modelled on the classic style of wines from Alsace in France and is made from vines which are now over 23 years old. 

The grapes are fermented in older oak barrels, which provide texture and body to the finished wine, which tastes spicy and has flavours of beeswax, lemon curd and fresh pastry, all of which add complexity and softness to this smooth off dry white from one of Martinborough's first four wineries.

The name Ata Rangi is Maori for dawn sky and was chosen to portray the new beginning that the start of this winery represented for founder Clive Paton in the late 1970s.

The Calvarino vineyard is in the heart of the Soave Classico zone and represents the core of the ancient family estate, bought at the beginning of 1900. The soil here dates back to the tertiary era and is rich in clay and tufaceous basalt which give the wine an attractive savoury, mineral quality. This is a dry, well-balanced and elegant wine which offers notes of citrus and white flowers along with a generous touch of acidity.

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. 

The sunny coastal terroir of southern Languedoc is perfect for crisp whites like Picpoul. This is a fresh and crisp Picpoul with great concentration and depth of flavour. Aromatic and fresh, with notes of pear and citrus on the nose. The palate brings a touch of minerality and lime-like acidity. The finish is persistent, with a distinct aniseed flavour. Picpoul is a perfect match for seafood or light Mediterranean foods.

Made by one of the Beaujolais masters, one of the earlier pioneers of 'natural' wine. Made to be drunk young. This is 100% Gamay. Serve chilled. 

Our ideal is to make wine from 100% grape juice. 
-Marcel Lapierre

Les Griottes is a perfect example of what makes good Beaujolais so popular. It's made from the youngest vines on the estate so it's all about fresh fruit flavours and juicy acidity. It is called Les Griottes because the bottom of the vineyard is lined with cherry, wild cherry and morello cherry (griotte) trees. 

It's a fruit driven Beaujolais with spicy intense cherry flavours, just like its name suggests.

This wine represents great value for money as it shows what good Beaujolais is about. 

Drink lightly chilled.

A beautiful Blanc de Noir made entirely from lightly pressed Pinot Noir grapes and made by Clos Henri in Marlborough. The light pressing provides no colour to the wine but retains all the savoury, earthy, toasty flavours you'd hope for and expect from this great red grape variety. 

All grapes are hand picked grapes and the wine is aged on fine lees for 10 months, partially in stainless steel and partially in old oak. The wine was stored in the winery's cellar to allow a slow bottle fermentation and secondary aging on yeast lees for a minimum of 18 months. A few hundred bottles are disgorged at a time to release onto the market, leaving the remainder aging on its lees (sur lattes). 

Clos Henri began 22 years ago in Marlborough when the French Bourgeois family expanded their winemaking from the heart of Sancerre in the tiny village of Chavignol to Blenheim, in 2001. Now that their vines are 22 years of age , the family feels that they are only now starting to reflect and express the taste of the land. This family retains their land and winemaking in Chavignol where they have made wine for 11 generations.

This wine is great value for money from winemaker Simon Waghorn, who says Chardonnay is his first love in wine. He makes this creamy, dry and citrusy version from four different clones of Chardonnay, all grown on his family's home block vineyard. 

All grapes were hand picked, whole cluster pressed fermented with wild yeasts in barrel followed by lees aging in French oak with battonage (stirring of the lees). The result is a full bodied wine offering impressive depth and layers of stonefruit and citrusy flavours at a relatively modest price. 

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

This Grenache, Shiraz, Mouvedre show a classical bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, spice, and cocoa. The palate is full and round with concentrated dark fruits, keen acid and silky tannins. Winemaker Corey Ryan "cut his teeth” at Henschke where he worked for ten years.

Saddleback is the second label of Central Otago winery Peregrine. The region offers a cool climate with large diurnal (day to night) shifts in temperature, perfect for developing the subtle flavours and keen acidity that really makes Pinot Gris tick. This superb value wine is made with grapes from the Bendigo (39%), Pisa (34%) and Gibbston (27%) sub regions of Central Otago, is 100% hand harvested and fermented on the lees for 2 months prior to blending and bottling. A dry Pinot Gris  with floral, citrus and ginger aromatics and flavours of fresh pear, apricot and stonefruit.

This Blanc de Blancs is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes and is aged on lees for at least two years prior to disgorgement, which gives it a rich, full and creamy flavour combined with the freshness of aging wine on tirage (yeast lees following fermentation) in the bottle.

Number 1 Family Estate is owned by Daniel and Adele Le Brun who are the first to have made traditional method sparkling wine in New Zealand, bringing their experience in France to the early days of this country's modern wine industry. They celebrated 40 years of pioneering methode traditionelle in Marlborough in 2020. Le Brun comes from a long line French sparkling wine makers with family history in the Champagne region dating back to 1684. He has had a profound impact on the style and quality of New Zealand bubbles.