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Nautilus Albarino, made by Clive Jones at Nautilus winery where the cool temperature fermentation preserves the briny, salinity of Albarino's refreshing dry flavours. A brief period of ageing on yeast lees following fermentation adds a creamy balancing textural note to the taste and mouth feel of this lovely wine. 

The Albarino grape is originally from north west Spain and north west Portugal, where it's known as Alvarinho; same grape, different name. In Portugal it is used to make refreshing light bodied whites such as Vinho Verde and an increasing number of great dry single varietal white wines. 

Albariño is a classic Galician white grape variety from north western Spain, which thrives in New Zealand and tastes of fabulous aromatic lemon zest with green olive and freshly picked apple aromas. Forrest Estate winemaker Beth Forrest first encountered it in Spain and was smitten immediately. This led to Albarino being brought into New Zealand by Riversun Nurseries in Gisborne and, eventually, to growing in Marlborough where Beth and her famous winemaking father, John, Forrest, both love it and produce this fabulous dry white wine.

This wine shows all the classical Albariño elements with a New Zealand touch of vibrant acidity, white peach, pear, apricots and quince, with an orange zest undertone.

Exceptionally tasty Albarino made in a bone dry style with fleshy unctuous texture from skin contact. Outstanding flavours and depth. Great white in taste, value and the all important X factor wow.

An elegant floral and citrus driven wine with great purity, made with 100% Albarino from Rías Baixas in Spain's northwest. A perfect match for most seafood.

Region: Seaview, Awatere Valley,+Upper Wairau Valley (15%), Marlborough

The Story

Albariño is the voice of the Galician coast. We asked: what would it say on New Zealand's shores? We found our answer in a coastal vineyard, where cool sea breezes give the grapes a unique saline note. The resulting wine is linear and direct—an arrow delivered straight to your glass.

Tastes Like

Expressive Elderflower, zesty Grapefruit, Apricot Blossom, and a distinct sea-salt minerality on a textured, refreshing palate.

Pair With

The ultimate seafood wine. Try it with grilled prawns, mussels, fresh ceviche, or simple pan-seared scallops.

For the Geeks

Saline wind, plenty of sunshine and well-drained soil made our Albariño distinctive and memorable. Fermented and aged on fine lees in old seasoned French oak for 5 months.

With a solid Silver at the Bragato Wine Awards this cheeky little Albarino offers distinctive fruit coupled with a hint of sweetness balanced by crisp acidity. A perfect match for paella.

From Val do Salnes in Rias Baixas grown on Quartz Rich granite sandy soils & trained on traditional emparrada pergola's. on 20-25 year old vines. 

Fermented for 14 days in stainless steel. 

A brilliant expression of Rias Biaxas Albarino

Tasting Notes
This Albariño is a very lively pale gold, with green reflections. Pazo Cilleiro has an intense nose, with pronounced notes of citrus and white fruit (pears, apples and white peaches), as well as floral hints. The palate is vibrant and fresh, with the fruit from the nose filling the mouth. It has the typical intense texture of a well-grown Albariño, with a round, persistent and pleasantly refreshing finish.

Vineyards
The grapes are selected from small vineyards around the winery in Salnés Valley, which is the heart of Rias Baixas, along Spain’s northwest coast. The soil is granitic, rich in quartz, with a sandy texture, and the average age of the vines is between 20 to 25 years. The climate is Atlantic, with moderate temperatures and an abundance of rain.

Winemaking
The grapes were destemmed, gently pressed and then transferred to stainless steel vats, where they were fermented over 14 days. The finished wine rests in bottle for an average of two months before release.

Winery notes: 

The Brothers: The Albariño Brothers are three friends from dierent backgrounds in wine. Ollie, Shaye and Ant are passionate about growing and making world class Albariño and are working together to take New Zealand’s stunning Albariño wines to the world. 

Viticulture: Perfectly ripe Albariño picked on the 12th of March from this award winning vineyard located in the Bridge Pa Triangle sub-region of Hawke’s Bay, hot days and cool nights contribute to create signature Albariño. 

Winemaking: The free run juice was split into 3 dierent vessels including seasoned Oak Puncheons and left to ferment naturally with wild yeasts, creating a Wonderfully complex wine with mandarin and stone fruit aromas combined with a nutty character. A lovely balanced and round mouthfeel with the hallmark Albariño line of fresh acidity and long concentrated nish. 

Tasting Note: Enticing aromas of perfectly ripe white peach, nectarine and citrus owers. A lovely nely textured palate with incredible purity and crisp dry nish.

This is a pronounced skin contact expression of the Amphora Albarino with dried apricots, quince & orange rind notes. Appealing phenolic texture with treacle & marmalade, finishing with freshness.

As I was pressing the Albarino, (which had been macerating on skins for two weeks) the 'skins' portion began to turn a bright orange colour. I separated this amber portion into puncheon & barrel.

Later down the ageing track the pressings component from the Amphora Albarino announced itself as its own wine. So I paid attention and gave it its own voice.

The whole bunches were hand harvested, de-stemmed and macerated on the skins for two weeks time. A very light daily hand plunge and the addition of my active vineyard starter yeast which fermented underneath the vines. Biodynamic preparations 500, CPP were applied to the soil through out the year, as well as silica quartz (501) to the canopy.

Incredible Albariño grapes harvested from Doug Bell’s vineyard in Gisborne. These are the very first 18 rows planted in New Zealand – make that Australasia! Planted in 2009 with a mass selection of Albariño vine plantings and dry-farmed on clay loam soils.

This is Astrolabe winemaker Simon Waghorn's delicious take on Albarino and it's made from grapes grown in a quirky location, to say the very least. All grapes in this wine were hand picked from their coastal home at Kekerengu, south of Blenheim. It is the southernmost vineyard in the Marlborough region and only Astrolabe makes wine from the small vineyards planted there. This cool location provides slighter higher acidity and zestiness to the wines made from there.

Whole bunch pressing and fermentation on solids followed by lees aging provide this wine with depth and body, which balances the naturally high acidity that is innate to the Albarino grape - a native grape to north west Spain and Portugal and now at home in New Zealand. 

Flavours in this wine are all about green apples and lemon with a green olive note on its dry finish. 

This is the ultimate wine to drink with seafood on a hot day.

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. 

Pale yellow, dry, acidic, ripe citrus notes, minerally, peach notes, green pear notes, gooseberry notes

The 2025 release clocks over a decade of crafting this irresistible, sun-soaked Albariño - still utterly moreish, still mouthwatering, still our unofficial taste of summer.

Think warm evenings, bare feet, and salt on your skin.
A lifted nose of lime zest, sea spray and that first breath when you step onto the beach. The palate echoes the aromatics, woven together with bright, crystalline acidity that gives the wine its signature savoury edge.

Hints of oyster shell, fresh fennel and a cool, saline minerality glide through the glass, all wrapped in a dreamy, sun-drenched haze. There’s beautiful form here - poised, graceful, quietly luxurious.

Vineyard:

Site: Rosie’s Block - Upper Moutere, Nelson

Aspect: 90m Elevation, North Facing

Soil Type: Moutere Clay Gravels

Soil Composition: Deep sandy loam with clay content (19%). Little stone content.

Vineyard Established: 1999

Farming: Dry Farmed

Variety: 100% Albariño

Clonal Selection: 635, 636, 637

Hand Harvested: 100%

Seasonal Detail: The season began dry before shifting to a wetter-than-usual October, with an exceptionally warm December bringing ideal flowering conditions. While the Christmas and early January period posed some challenges, a return to warm, settled weather through February and March improving ripening. Occasional rain showers kept canopies refreshed, leading to a smooth, trouble-free harvest. The season produced wines of both volume and generosity.

Winemaking:

Harvest: 29th - 31st March 2025

Processing: 70% whole bunch press, 30% crushed fruit. Cool settled for 48 hours and racked

Fermentation: 100% Wild Yeast

Fermentation Vessel: 70% Stainless Steel, 30% Neutral Puncheon

Malolactic: None

Fining: None Filtration: Sterile Vegan: Yes

Bottling Analysis: 13.5% Alc, 3.29 pH, 6.7 g/L TA, 3 g/L RS

Full Bottle Weight: 1,265 g

Bodega Terras Gauda overlooks the gentle green countryside of Galicia in north west Spain where its vineyards are planted. Terras Gauda uses its own yeasts, selected from its vineyards. These yeasts are unique to the winery and have been patented. This is one of the reasons the TG wines are so consistent because they don’t need to rely on commercial yeasts.

Chill this wine to 12 degrees and break out your best seafood, recommends wine importer Sophie Cotter, who brings this wine into New Zealand. 

Albarino is on trend globally right now and originally comes from north west Spain and the north of Portugal, where makes its fresh, zesty, dry as a bone and super flavoursome taste go particularly well with seafood. This wine comes from Terras Gauda Winery on the Spanish side of the Minho River, which separates Portugal from Spain.This region and its Portuguese counterpart over the border is the original home for the Albarino grape, known in Portugal as Alvarinho.

A fruit salad of a wine! Passionfruit with white peach, apricot & a light smokiness.  A saline & refreshing acid profile with supple texture.

When I found out there was some Albariño available from the Two Terraces vineyard I was so excited to work with such a refreshing and versatile variety! Already familiar with the quality of the fruit grown by Ian and Linda Quinn, as well as the care and attention to soil health, I did not hesitate to jump at the opportunity.

The whole bunches were hand harvested, de-stemmed and macerated on the skins for two weeks time. A very light daily hand plunge and the addition of my active vineyard starter yeast which fermented underneath the vines. Biodynamic preparations 500, CPP were applied to the soil through out the year, as well as silica quartz (501) to the canopy.

After fermentation was complete the free run juice Albariño was pressed into a large spherical and small Tinajas for ageing on its lees.

Treixadura (90%), Albariño (5%), Godello (3%), Loureira (2%)

Appearance:  attractive pale yellow , steely border with greenish tinges

Nose: Great intensity with aromas of Fuji Apple and Williams Pear, stone fruit (white plum, lychee, peach).  Subtle notes of yellow flowers which lead to freshly-cut grass, moss, balsamic herbs and a mineral base of riverbed stones and a delicate smokey touch

Palate: Creamy, full entry leading to citrus notes (lemon peel, mandarin) and stone fruit.  Subtle hints of fennel. Vibrant and well-structured.  Powerful yet elegant.  Intense minerality (granite, riverbed stones).  Great character and structure with a long finish.

Food matching:  Shellfish (langoustine, soft shell crab, spider crab), oysters, clams and coastal fish (sole, bream, John Dory). Also poultry and game (rabbit, hare and quail)

Vinho Verde is Portuguese for green wine and is a refreshingly crisp dry white blend from the northernmost region of Portugal. This lively, zingy little number has the refreshing acidity of Alvarinho (also known as Albarino), the juicy citrus flavours of Arinto and the body of Trajadura, along with its beautiful lemon blossom aromas. Other grapes in this blend include Azal, Avesso and Loureiro.

Altogether, this quirky Portuguese white blend tallies up to a super drinkable, intensely fresh dry white with aromatic appeal and lightness adding year-round drinkability.

Full bodied, funky, dry and orange tinged, thanks to eight months of skin contact which provides colour and flavour. Clockwork Orange is all about texture and skin contact is its defining attribute. Flavours here are of zesty acidity thanks to the inclusion of Albarino, Riesling and Chenin Blanc - three great white grapes that all contribute zesty, zingy aspects from their naturally  high acidity. 

It's full bodied and, yes, has some orange tinges to its colour thanks to skin contact during the fermentation of this wine. 

It's a style that owes its origins to Georgia, possibly the oldest wine region on Earth.

Tasting Note: 100% Dolcetto from 30 year old vines. Ruby red colour, full and intense nose with florals and lifted red berries. Acidity gives definition, and the wine is appealingly fresh on the palate.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Variety: Dolcetto

Region: Diano d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy

Alba Original Sparkling Margarita - made with authentic Mexican tequila.

As diehard margarita fans we know the importance of using a good quality tequila and real lime juice to make the perfect drink. Our Original Sparking Margarita is just that.

Authentic Mexican Tequila, Mexican lime juice, agave, salt, and NZ sparkling water. 

250ml slimline can (10 pack)
5.9% alc per 250ml. 

The Alba Dorado tequila has a smooth and slightly sweeter finish with fruit characters typical in tequilas of this region. Alba Pure Dorado is a soft golden colour. Perfect for sipping or making cocktails. Soft, round caramel notes with a hint of dried herbs and honey.