One of New Zealand’s best bubbles and one of its most consistent, complex handmade wines; it's typically a 70/30 blend of toasty flavours from Pinot Noir with crisp citrus creamy ones from Chardonnay. It comes from one of the country's oldest producers of traditional method sparkling wine - Rudi Bauer in Central Otago, who pioneered Quartz Reef Brut NV in the early days of Otago as a wine region.

Quartz Reef Brut NV began life when winemaker Rudi Bauer teamed up with a visiting French winemaker Clothilde Chauvet (daughter of champagne maker Marc Chauvet). Together they pioneered this high quality, traditional method sparkling wine, using mostly Pinot Noir (now 72% of the blend) with the balance being Chardonnay. The wine is typically aged for two years on lees in bottle following its second fermentation - longer than most champagnes. No wonder it massively over delivers on both taste and price. This is a stunning sparkling wine. Ignore at your peril.

Charles Wiffen and his family are well known for producing well priced (affordable), well liked (very good quality) wines in a range of styles, all from Marlborough grapes.

While Merlot is the second most planted red in Marlborough, it lags a long way behind the popular Pinot Noir, but wines such as this show another, softer side to the red wine story in this country's biggest wine region. Good drinking now and very good value for money.

From Skypunch vineyard, which lies on the slope next to Home vineyard on Black’s Ave.  We’re leasing and managing  Julianne and Conor’s vineyard here and we’re excited.  In conversion to organic with BioGro 5202.

Aromas of preserved lemon citrus, flint, almond, cardamon, and ginger. The palette is structured and vibrant with unique saline tension. Flavours of new season pear and apricot, white peach and vanilla bean. Un-fined, unfiltered.

TASTING NOTE From grapes grown on naturally low-yielding, old vines, this wine is vibrant and complex. Grapefruit, peach and earthy clay pot aromas complement a fresh and focused palate. Fine phenolic texture and mineral acidity add depth and length respectively.  The salinity from the ocean, oak influence, together with juicy tree fruit notes from the grapes, round out what is truly a charming wine. 

VINEYARDS & VITICULTURE Our Waiheke Vineyard is accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing NZ and is entirely owned and managed by Cable Bay Vineyards to ensure we produce the best quality fruit possible. We practice regenerative viticulture. The site is located on the sun-drenched, western side of the island, on steep slopes overlooked by Rangitoto volcano. We have predominantly mineralised clay volcanic soils over Jurassic era rock. This type of geology and soil provides wines with great mid-palate weight and minerality. This wine is a blend of Chardonnay clones 15, 95, 6 and 548. 

WINEMAKING The ripe fruit was hand-harvested early in the morning whilst the grapes were nice and cool, transported across the road to the winery, and immediately whole bunch pressed. It was settled and racked taking light lees, leaving textural Chardonnay juice to enter wild yeast fermentation. We allowed partial malolactic fermentation on this wine, to both develop mouthfeel while preserving the natural acidity of our warmer sub-tropical climate. Following barrel ferment, the wine aged in second use oak puncheons and barriques on full lees for 12 months before assemblage, and then a further 3 months integrating together as a blend in tank, before bottling.

86% Viognier, 14% Marsanne

TASTING NOTE Apricot, citrus, white peach and acacia blossom aromas burst from the glass giving this wine personality and intensity. The palate is concentrated, dry and savoury; salted plum and sake flavours with an earthy mineral finish. This wine has turned into a delicious, complex number with multiple layers, and is perfectly expressive of the vintage and site upon which it was grown. A wine that’s stands alone or can accompany a variety of dishes through all four seasons. 

VINEYARDS & VITICULTURE Crafted from two small blocks located on the Western point of Waiheke Island, Viognier and Marsanne thrive in the salt laden air. We have predominantly mineralised clay volcanic soils over Jurassic era rock with no irrigation. This type of geology and soil provides wines with great mid-palate weight and minerality. The grapes were hand harvested when flavours peaked inside the small window of optimum ripeness that occurs with Viognier. We practise regenerative viticulture in our vineyards to ensure resilience and longevity of our vines. 

WINEMAKING 2023 saw another load of happy staff foot stomp a portion of the hand harvested Viognier and Marsanne, whilst the remaining fruit was delicately whole bunch pressed. We fermented the juice in a large concrete egg and some French acacia barrels. The wine was then rested on fine lees for 9 months in these same vessels before assemblage and bottling.

TASTING NOTE Dark purple and ruby appearance with a pink rim leads to a bouquet of ripeness, concentration and power. On the nose, the wine bursts with aromas of fresh crushed blackcurrant, rosemary flower and violet, layered with smoky clove and new leather. The palate is opulent and velvety in texture, with concentration, ripeness and power. Plum, dark cherry and cocoa beans are vibrant and lingering. This wine is both intense and delicate.  A lovely reflection of the 2021 season. 

VINEYARDS & VITICULTURE Our Waiheke Vineyard is entirely owned and managed by Cable Bay Vineyards to ensure we produce the best quality fruit possible. We practice regenerative viticulture, and we are accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing NZ. We are located on the sun-drenched, western side of the island, on steep slopes overlooked by Rangitoto volcano. We have predominantly mineralised clay volcanic soils over Jurassic era rock. This type of geology and soil provides wines with great mid-palate weight and minerality. This wine is made from the Hermitage MS clone of Syrah. 

WINEMAKING These Syrah grapes were hand-picked in March 2021, on a cool morning, and immediately taken across the road to our winery. The ferment was 100% whole berries, which helps to enhance the floral and bright fruit characters in the wine. At pressing, only the free run wine was retained to ensure delicacy, and run to French oak puncheons and barriques. In 20% new oak, it aged for 21 months before assemblage and bottling.

Commercial Description

We are lucky at Čuvar to have arguably one of the best red wine vineyards on the Gimblett Gravels, which meant that the Syrah weathered the early cyclone and continued to ripen to produce fruit with depth of flavour and ripe tannins – the perfect palette to create this wine.

Firm, ripe tannins create a backbone enveloped in juicy sun kissed fruit that lengthens on the palate to leave you wanting more.

Commercial Description

made from fruit sourced from Ballochdale in the Awatere Valley. Proudly sitting 300m above sea level, the vineyard’s spectacular inland location provides the most desirable conditions for producing wines of identity and intensity.

Čuvar Guardians Pinot Noir 2023 is the first wine Sir George made from this vineyard he acquired in 2023. This wine displays vibrancy and a ripe red fruit profile typical of the regions, along with added depth, structure and spicy nuances from ageing in French oak barriques. While still youthful, the wine already shows nice complexity from the oak maturation and will age gracefully well into the end of the decade.

This bright ruby red Pinot Noir has aromas of ripe red cherry, cranberry and accented hints of savoury earthiness.

One of our favourite under $25 Pinot Noirs in store with its medium body and beautiful ripe red fruit aromas, earthy depth of flavour and impressive tannic structure thanks to Martinborough's dry, windy climate. This wine is good value and a clean, fresh style of Pinot.Luna Estate makes three Pinot Noirs, two single vineyards called Eclipse and Luna and this lovely refreshing estate blend. 

This Reserve Cabernet Franc is very robust with plenty of fruit on the nose along with some fine, dark red berry aromas. The barrel maturation has given a style with dark red fruit, cassis, sweet cedar and spice characteristics and that floral perfume characteristic of the Cabernet Franc variety.

Established in 1864 by Jean Désiré Féraud, Monte Christo is the birthplace of Central Otago wine. Our wines are made with 100% estate-grown fruit sourced from our vineyards across three distinct sub-regions, the Alexandra Basin, Bannockburn and Pisa. Utilising sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention methods in the winery, the outcome is elegant, refined, and impeccably balanced wines epitomising the terroir of Central Otago.

Tasting note Dry, medium-bodied and luscious, with pronounced notes of fresh yellow apple and pear, white peach, melon and honeysuckle.

VINEYARDS

Vineyard: Davishon (69%)

Subregion: Alexandra Basin 

Elevation: 160m 

Clone(s): 6, Mystery clone 

Soil: Blackmans alluvial sand, silt and gravels derived from schist and sandstone 

WINEMAKING

Brix: 22.3

Fermentation: 80% stainless steel and 20% neutral French oak

Aging: Four months in stainless steel Cases

Established in 1864 by Jean Désiré Féraud, Monte Christo is the birthplace of Central Otago wine. Our wines are made with 100% estate-grown fruit sourced from our vineyards across three distinct sub-regions, the Alexandra Basin, Bannockburn and Pisa. Utilising sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention methods in the winery, the outcome is elegant, refined, and impeccably balanced wines epitomising the terroir of Central Otago.

Tasting note An elegant yet complex Chardonnay with fresh lemon, green pear, white peach, hawthorn flowers, river rock and subtle baking spices.

VINEYARDS Vineyard: Davishon (69%) 

Subregion: Alexandra Basin 

Elevation: 160m 

Clone(s): 6, Mystery clone 

Soil: Blackmans alluvial sand, silt and gravels derived from schist and sandstone

WINEMAKING 

Brix: 21.6 

Fermentation: Wild yeasts in 72%  neutral oak and 28% stainless steel, 100% malolactic  

Aging: 11 months in 72% neutral French oak, 28% stainless steel 

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.