Tasting Notes
Nectarine stone, honey dew and lemon zest on the nose lead to a rich creamy texture, finishing with freshness and poise. A fantastic aperitif style that is also well matched with richer dishes of cheese, pork, charcuterie, seafood and poultry.
About the Wine
Grown at Red Bank Vineyard, Alexandra and featuring the Proprietor’s Grandfather, Sydney Neill Wine Merchant, on the label, Picnic Riesling is our perennial favourite and a wonderful introduction to the pleasure of Central Otago Riesling. We think it is just as much a dinner wine as a luncheon – equally enjoyable at home outdoors, as at the Captain’s Table. Hand harvested and crafted in to a delicious refreshing off-dry style appealing to just about everyone on the planet.

Vintage Comments
A mild, wet 2022 winter meant soils held a lot of water going into the spring and inter-row companion crops including clover, phacelia and barley got off to a strong start. Early spring was very cold and then as spring warmed up in November shoot growth was strong. Flowering started the first week in December and fruit set was considered good on most blocks. Mid-summer heat was high and growing degree days were above 2022 and on par with 2019 by the end of the season.

Picking dates were moving forward until the second half of March when the heat ran out and the final ripening was slow and cool. Harvest started on the 27th of March at Red Bank Vineyard and finished on the 21st of April at The First Paddock, Gibbston. Cropping levels were just short of the optimum 2022 crop.

VINEYARD MANAGEMENT - Soils are schist based gravelly loams. Own roots – cane cuttings from Felton Road. Single cane, one bunch per shoot and very close planted at 5500 vines per hectare. Both shoot and lateral thinned to reduce crop load. Leaves that expose the grapes when ripening are also plucked off to increase sunlight exposure in to the vine canopy. Hand harvested.

WINE MAKERS NOTES - Hand harvested on the 17th April 2023 at 21 Brix and whole bunch pressed, meaning that the press was loaded with the grapes as intact bunches, versus removing the stems first. This pressed juice was then steeped on those skins (in wine language we call that ‘skin contact’) for 14 hours to extract aromatics and flavour and then it was inoculated with yeast and fermented to ‘just off-dry’ wine. We then left the wine sitting in tank on its lees (spent yeast cells that boost body and complexity) for three months before bottling. Please note the International Riesling scale on the back label.

Tasting Note: Tender and succulent, the plums are carefully hand-picked at the moment of perfect ripeness. In an aged-old tradition, they are fermented and then aged to ensure a rich, smooth flavour.

Product Details:
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol: 13.0%
Region: Fushimi

Beautiful Chaos Pinot Noir embodies a minimalist, mindful way of winemaking. Luscious biodynamic Pinot Noir grapes have been fermented in a small clay amphora pot. The result is an incredibly ethereal and silky expression of Pinot Noir, that is supported by layers of lush red fruits. The wine has been bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Certified organic and biodynamically grown
Suitable for vegetarians and vegans
No dairy products or eggs used during production

Commercial Description

This Pinot Noir is from our Ballochdale Vineyard, high in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough. This is the first wine Sir George made from this vineyard he acquired in 2023. The vineyard sits at 300m high and is one of the highest and most southerly vineyards in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough.

As soon as we released this wine, it was loved by all. It truly is a gorgeous example of a perfectly crafted Marlborough Pinot Noir. We are so proud to share it with you.

Our Iris Chardonnay comes from the gracious slopes of our Čuvar Terraces Vineyard in Bayview. First planted by George Fistonich in 1986 (he was yet to become Sir), this vineyard has one of the best views in the bay - looking out to the Pacific Ocean. This environment shapes the sunshine of this wine.

The forthright bouquet introduces bursts of candied tropical fruits intertwined with notes reminiscent of warm fruit crumble. Gentle oak wraps around the palate of balanced acid and ripe fruit. Nothing is too dominant — the fruit, oak, acid and flavours all sing in harmony

Tasting Note: Made with Iwai rice, a variety of sake brewing rice suited grown only in Kyoto Prefecture, the pristine water of Fushimi, and of course Gekkeikan?s skill and dedication to perfection, this sake is as Kyoto as they come, making it worthy of being the sake of Japan?s ancient capital city. A delicate fruity aroma and clean palate characterize this light and refined Tokubetsu Junmai sake.

Grape varieties: Gamay

Winemaking: Hand harvesting on very demanding terroirs offering highest potential regarding the preservation of fresh fruit aromas, Beaujolais features. Our winemakers aim the perfect balance between jammy fruit and tannic structure. Semi-carbonic maceration – alcoholic fermentation with daily rack and return – malolactic fermentation – blending and fining.

Soil: Granite, sand and silica.
Climate: Continental climate with cold and dry winters and hot and sunny summers.
Aging: Ageing in vats.

Tasting notes:
Beautiful ruby red colour of good intensity. Elegant, with fresh fig and ripe red berry aromas (black cherry, wild strawberry), as well as delicate spicy notes. Nice structure on the palate with a long liquorice finish.

Food matches: Cold meats, grilled poultry and cheese.
Best served between 14°C and 16°C / 57+F and 60°F.

Domaine Charles Audoin, based in Marsannay-la-Cote in Burgundy, has been a family-run estate since its establishment in the early 20th century. Under the leadership of Charles Audoin and later his son Cyril, the domaine has expanded to approximately 14 hectares across the Marsannay appellation. They are pioneers in promoting the quality of Marsannay, which is known for producing excellent red, white, and rosé wines.

The terroir of Marsannay, located at the northern end of the Côte de Nuits, is diverse, comprising predominantly limestone and clay soils. The vineyards used for ‘Cuvée Charlie’ are from some of the domaine's prime sites, with vines aged around 40 to 60 years. This maturity of the vines brings depth and concentration to the wine. The soils, rich in limestone, contribute to the wine’s minerality and elegance, while the clay content enhances its body and structure.

Rich, inky, dark plum coloured wine with intense aromas of cherry, cranberries and raspberry, complemented by an earthy herbal note. The sumptous palate offers baked rhubarb, damson plums and savoury notes, with a strong backbone of chalky fine drying tannins and focused acidity. It’s nicely integrated, complex, with excellent balance and persistent length - Simply stunning!

A single vineyard barrel aged Chardonnay from the alluvial soils of Hawke’s Bay.

Hand selected fruit with 12 months maturation in new and one year old French oak, the wine is beautifully textured, full bodied with butterscotch and spicy oak flavours.

Displaying mineral tones from the terroir, this wine has a delightful and very long finish.

Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay is made from a vineyard that was first planted in 1982 and originally produces grapes that formed a significant part of the original Kumeu River Chardonnay blend. The Hunting Hill Vineyard overlooks Mate's Vineyard in Kumeu and replanted in 2000, since then producing such outstanding grapes that the winemaking Brajkovich family decided to produce a single vineyard wine from here.

Hunting Hill has elevated acidity which lends this wine both a delicious vibrancy in its youth as well as great aging potential and longevity. It is fresh, piercingly zesty and full bodied with dry, savoury flavours and a long, tangy finish.

One of New Zealand's greatest Chardonnays both for drinking now and for cellaring for the long term.

Kumeu River Wines began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Katé Brajkovich, bought a small property with a vineyard on it. Their descendents now own and run Kumeu River Wines, which produces 250,000 bottles of wine annually from its owns 30 hectares of vineyards in Kumeu and from another 10 hectares, owned by local grape growers.

Rays Road is Kumeu River’s new vineyard site in Hawkes Bay. This limestone hillside is at 180 m altitude, with a northerly aspect. It is dry-farmed to yield high quality grapes for wine under the Rays Road name for our Kumeu River label.  This Chardonnay was hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and fermented with wild yeast in older French Oak barrels to give a wine that is zesty and fragrant, with mineral complexity that is very true to its site.