Dog Point Vineyards Chardonnay is one of Marlborough's great dry, full bodied, creamy whites made by Ivan Sutherland and James Healy, who are two of the most talented winemakers in the country. 

Their vineyards are 100% certified organic and their winemaking is second to none. Barrel fermentation, creamy, nutty flavours are complimented with a freshness that sees these wines last for the long haul.

This drinks well now and can age for up to a decade. A delicious taste sensation and a keeper. Win win.

Black Barn's most awarded wine. With aromas of stone fruit and citrus, layered with toast and spice from 100% barrel fermentation and extended barrel ageing.

This wine is a deep red with a bright magenta hue. On the nose there are vibrant aromatics of red and black berry fruits, a lift of violet florals, clove spice and mixed garden herbs. The palate is dominated by a lively burst of berry fruits, which are well framed by fine, powdery tannins. Juicy plum and blackberry flavours persist through the finish, with sweet spice to close

From the talented hand of John Quarisa using grapes from Coonawarra in South Australia.

Approachable, easy going and versatile, this wine has a nose of fresh, complex cassis and mint fruit flavours with some well integrated vanillin oak. The palate is full bodied with dense ripe cassis fruit flavours balanced with vanillin oak but yet long and smooth. This wine has the flavour, structure and balance to be enjoyed now but can benefit from further cellaring.

If you are looking for a treat yourself or for the wine lover in your life, here is a Spanish red that will surprise and please in equal measure. 

This full bodied wine has the dark fruit flavours of a Mediterranean wine but is beautifully balanced by the naturally high acidity of the Mencia grape, which provides a sense of freshness to the wine. This fascinating blend of five grapes is mostly Mencia which makes up 90% of the wine with the remaining grapes being Brancellao, Mouton, Souson and Garnacha Tintorera. The wine was aged for 12 months in old French oak barrels. 

Spain is known for its wealth of old vines, mostly grown en vaso (in the shape of a vase) and low to the ground to keep them anchored since there is no trellis they can rely on for support.

These sturdy vines have hefty trunks and, impressively, produce grapes even when they are 100 years of age and older. The fruit tends to taste extremely concentrated and is not exactly plentiful on these old vines, which can yield as low as one to 1.5 kgs of grapes per vine but the results are worth retaining these beautiful, noble and commanding old plants. 

Les Jamelles Clair de Rose is a blend of two red grape varieties, Grenache and Cinsault. The combination creates a clean, dry and refreshing southern French rose with floral and fruity flavours in a rounded, medium bodied style. Cool temperature fermentation in stainless steel tanks retails fruity flavours and is finished in a dry style. 

The grapes in this wine come from two distinctly different areas; the Herault Valley's sloping vineyards where the warm Mediterranean climate provides consistently sunny conditions and outstanding ripeness, along with the Narbonne, where sandier soils provide rich flavours and balance. 

Drink with a classic food match of melon and prosciutto on a sunny day or serve alongside salami and antipasto any time of year as a refreshing aperitif wine. 

* Les Jamelles is owned by winemakers Catherine and Laurent Delaunay, who founded their wine brand in the early 1990s.

In the heart of the Bordeaux vineyard, Chateau Carbonneau is situated 20 kilometres from St Emilion and 35 kilometres from Bergerac. In a unique and idyllic setting, the chateau offers luxury accommodation and fine wines on the slopes of Pessac sur Dordogne.

Shortly after 1992, Wilfrid and Jacquie Franc de Ferriere inherited the property and began by replanting the vineyard with grape varieties typical of the Bordeaux region, especially Merlot which grows well on the slopes of Gensac. Thus began the revival of wine at Carbonneau. The Vineyard covers 15 hectares planted on the clay/limestone soils of the slopes of Gensac.

Delightfuly rich pinot gris from one of the most consistent Alsace producers, Cuvee Anne Laure has an intense and expressive nose with hints of ripe fruits.

One of the world's great value sparkling wines, made the same way as champagne, often from the same grape varietiess and in France, only it is not aged for as long in the bottle. That said, the complex yeasty rich flavours and dry taste of this lovely Alsatian bubbly definitely give more than a hint of the depth of taste in a good champagne. 

Vegan and Certified Organic

Crater Rim is a small and high quality winery in the Waipara Valley in the heart of North Canterbury and this is a lovely earthy expression of Pinot Noir from this wine region. 

Savoury layers of smoked mushrooms and bright red cherry flavours combine in this lively red. Drinks well now and can improve for the next two to three years. 

Pinot Noir is the jewel in the crown of the evocatively named Mount Beautiful Wines and this producer makes several different styles.

This is the signature wine, made in the highest volumes and from a very different vintage; 2018, which was warmer, more humid and earlier than any other year on record with hand harvesting of the grapes starting 10 days earlier than usual on 21 March. For the 2018 vintage, 100% of the grapes were destemmed and the wine was gently plunged twice daily. This PInot Noir was aged in French oak, 20% new, for 11 months.

It's a ripe, fruit driven Pinot Noir with earthy flavours and represents great value for money.

Winemakers Rod and Emma Easthope make one of New Zealand's few Gamays from the Two Terraces Vineyards in Maraekakaho, Hawke's Bay. It's a vineyard owned by Ian Quinn, a fellow lover of the velvet smooth reds that the Gamay grape is capable of making. 

This lovely wine is made from hand picked grapes, which were whole bunch fermented, foot stomped and aged in a combination of old oak puncheons and stone eggs.

Bottled unfined, unfiltered and unsulphured.

Chardonnay that straddles both styles of creamy flavours with crisp fresh appeal. It's dry, medium bodied and refreshing; a great match for roast chicken or any chicken dish and a delicious example of Chardonnay from Marlborough.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery.

Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

Te Mata Tasting Note

Sparkling with a pale white-gold hue, Elston ’24 immediately reveals its richness on the nose. Aromas of crème brûlée, toasted sourdough, and vanilla intertwine with vibrant notes of grapefruit and ripe yellow nectarine. Subtle layers of oyster shell, hazelnut, and flintiness add further complexity and intrigue.

On the palate, it delivers a commanding presence – rich and textured yet finely balanced by a spine of electric acidity building delicious tension. The vivacious fruit sweetness combines elegantly with an energetic drive, creating a wine of remarkable elegance and fantastic length. The 2024 vintage captures Elston in its ultimate form.

Elston takes its name from the ancestral home of Charles Darwin, Elston Hall in Nottinghamshire, the UK, and tastes dry with ripe stone fruit flavours of peach and nectarines, balanced by a citrusy, creamy and lingering finish. 

A great wine to enjoy now and to keep.