I'm back in New Zealand, where mussels are the size of plum tomatoes and eight bucks worth does lunch for four. Where fish is just-caught, flavoursome and plentiful. And where wine, grown under the dazzling sun through languorous, never-ending summer months, jumps out of the glass, bursting with freshness and flavour.
Picking season is well underway down under and winemakers on Waiheke Island, a 40-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland, are upbeat about the quality of this year's harvest - despite a fairly tough La Nina-influenced growing season.
Aromatic white and Bordeaux red varietals are widely planted on the island. Merlot and friends are not homesick as they inhale Waiheke's cooling sea breezes, sun themselves on its gently-rolling hillsides and dig their toes into the free-draining clay soil.
We visited a couple of the island's 30-odd wineries during a sunny early April weekend. Topknot Hill Wines produces a concise range from grapes grown on the east side of the island. Their tasting room shares premises with the Waiheke Island Brewery at the relaxed Wild on Waiheke complex, where you can have a casual lunch, play petanque, shoot a few clay birds or try your hand at archery between the rows of vines. The latter two pursuits are probably best attempted before a stint in the tasting room.
I liked their 2008 sauvignon blanc. It's always a nice change to drink sauv grown somewhere other than Marlborough. The regional differences are obvious. This racy number was like a summer fruit salad of grapefruit, apples and passionfruit with lime juice squeezed over.
Way over the other side of the island, the remote Man o' War winery must have one of the most relaxed little tasting rooms in the world. A converted caravan sits on a grassy clearing, surrounded by trees and with views out to the tidal flats and sea. You can do your tasting at a picnic table while enjoying the sunshine and view. There's even free sunscreen.
There were several really interesting wines on show here, including the 2010 Gravestone sauvignon blanc semillon. The 30% semillon component has been oaked, resulting in light smoke on the nose amid melon and apple aromas.
Their 2008 Ironclad red is a blend of 52% merlot and 27% cabernet franc with malbec, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot making up the rest. A quarter of it has been aged in new oak, predominantly French, with the rest in old barrels. Very firm tannins suggest it needs at least five years' more in the bottle, but there are beautiful ripe red berry and spice flavours coming through now. Decanter magazine's Steven Spurrier proclaimed it the best new world red in 2010 - an impressive achievement given the stiff competition it's up against.
If I had to pick a favourite I'd go for the 2010 Exiled pinot gris, grown on neighbouring Ponui Island. The grapes are a special clone with looser bunches, allowing later harvest. The result is a luscious, silky, medium-sweet wine with honeysuckle and tropical fruit flavours. Simply delicious.
Picking season is well underway down under and winemakers on Waiheke Island, a 40-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland, are upbeat about the quality of this year's harvest - despite a fairly tough La Nina-influenced growing season.
Aromatic white and Bordeaux red varietals are widely planted on the island. Merlot and friends are not homesick as they inhale Waiheke's cooling sea breezes, sun themselves on its gently-rolling hillsides and dig their toes into the free-draining clay soil.
We visited a couple of the island's 30-odd wineries during a sunny early April weekend. Topknot Hill Wines produces a concise range from grapes grown on the east side of the island. Their tasting room shares premises with the Waiheke Island Brewery at the relaxed Wild on Waiheke complex, where you can have a casual lunch, play petanque, shoot a few clay birds or try your hand at archery between the rows of vines. The latter two pursuits are probably best attempted before a stint in the tasting room.
I liked their 2008 sauvignon blanc. It's always a nice change to drink sauv grown somewhere other than Marlborough. The regional differences are obvious. This racy number was like a summer fruit salad of grapefruit, apples and passionfruit with lime juice squeezed over.
Way over the other side of the island, the remote Man o' War winery must have one of the most relaxed little tasting rooms in the world. A converted caravan sits on a grassy clearing, surrounded by trees and with views out to the tidal flats and sea. You can do your tasting at a picnic table while enjoying the sunshine and view. There's even free sunscreen.
There were several really interesting wines on show here, including the 2010 Gravestone sauvignon blanc semillon. The 30% semillon component has been oaked, resulting in light smoke on the nose amid melon and apple aromas.
Their 2008 Ironclad red is a blend of 52% merlot and 27% cabernet franc with malbec, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot making up the rest. A quarter of it has been aged in new oak, predominantly French, with the rest in old barrels. Very firm tannins suggest it needs at least five years' more in the bottle, but there are beautiful ripe red berry and spice flavours coming through now. Decanter magazine's Steven Spurrier proclaimed it the best new world red in 2010 - an impressive achievement given the stiff competition it's up against.
If I had to pick a favourite I'd go for the 2010 Exiled pinot gris, grown on neighbouring Ponui Island. The grapes are a special clone with looser bunches, allowing later harvest. The result is a luscious, silky, medium-sweet wine with honeysuckle and tropical fruit flavours. Simply delicious.
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