17
COROMANDEL LIFE
SPRING 2013
Cold Beer // Wine // Spirits
RTDs //Non-Alcoholic
As the year draws to an end, it’s time for a
fun recap of what the Tairua Wine Club has
been up to this year. We have sampled great
wines and food, presented by a variety of
passionate and interesting people.
Our first club night in February, Central Otagos
Peregrine Winery owner Greg Hay came to see us
at The Old Mill Café. It was Greg’s first visit to the
Coromandel. He was blown away by the natural
beauty of our region, and we were blown away by
his Rastasburn Riesling … Central Otago is just not
all about big bold Pinot Noirs!
If a medium dry style Riesling appeals, then
this is a must! They have captured the balance
of sweetness and refreshing acidity beautifully,
resulting in wonderful stonefruit and ripe citrus
characters. We enjoyed this wine with Goi Guon
– a Vietnamese marinated grilled pork spring roll.
Peregrine’s Chardonnay and late harvest Charcoal
Creek Riesling were other member favorites.
In March, we hosted Simon Avery from Sileni
Estate in Hawkes Bay. Most enjoyed were their
Cabernet Franc Rose and Sauvignon Blanc.
The roses are at long last being recognised as
a serious style wine, and this didn’t disappoint
– food friendly with lovely aromas of raspberries
and bramble fruits, with a soft, satisfying finish.
Sileni’s Sav Blanc, made with fruit sourced from
Marlborough, was good enough to earn an Air NZ
Pure Gold wine award. It is everything that you’d
expect a Marlborough Sav to be: ripe tropical and
gooseberry fruit flavours with great balance and a
zingy finish – perfect to be enjoyed alongside Thai
fish cakes. Try also their Springstone Pinot Gris.
Mike Herrick from Mt. Difficulty Winery was guest
in April. It was once again a Riesling which found
favour with the members. Medium in style, the
Target Rieslings citrus characters are then joined
by ripe tropical melon with hints of stonefruit,
resulting in a harmonious balance of fruit and acid.
The late harvest Pinot Gris was a fantastic way to
finish, superbly matched by a Shells Restaurant
hazelnut tart with poached pear and salted roast
peach sauce! Their Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and
Pinot Noir were popular choices on the night.
With the arrival of Winter in May, we got together
with South Australian winery Yalumba, and Sonja
Scarth showed us an array of reds from this well
respected family winery. Starting with the Y Series
Shiraz Viognier blend, we then moved to ‘The
Strapper’, a crafted blend of Grenache, Shiraz and
Mataro. Yalumba’ s ‘Patchwork’ Shiraz, the wine
of the evening, was well matched with
a spiced pork and shitake mushroom
crepe. We rounded the night with ‘The
Cigar’, an impressive Cabernet Sauv
and ‘The Signature’, a powerful but
elegant Cabernet Sauv Shiraz blend.
The dark chocolate tart and blueberry
compote was a match made in heaven!
(FYI, Shiraz and Syrah are the same
grape variety, but as we are a cooler
climate than Australia, we call it Syrah.)
In June, the larger-than-life, Tim
Turvey from Clearview Estate dazzled
us with his stories, paired with their
award winning Hawkes Bay wines.
by Gary Barker
Manager of Golddiggers in Tairua
Wine Club meets the last Thursday of the month.
Enjoy wines from featured wineries matched
with food courses – a great way to increase your
knowledge while learning about food and wine
pairing. See Gary about attending and ask about a
free Golddiggers Bar Tab Card.
An excellent pair! The Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir with
Shells Restaurant hazelnut tart with poached pear
topped with roast peach sauce.
June’s Wine Club gathering featured Tim Turvey (right)
from Clearview Estate in Hawkes Bay. Their Sea Red was
voted Wine of the Night. David Stott (left) won a magnum
of one of their award winning wines. Also pictured, Gary
Barker and Lisa Clarke from Clearview as well.
Three wines vied for the wine of the night, and their
classic meal finisher, ‘Sea Red’, was the winner
just pipping the equally stunning Gewurztraminer
and Reserve Chardonnay.
Sea Red is a fortified red wine with an initial
sweetness and a weighty palate featuring dense
berry fruits and plums. The finish is opulent and
rich – just perfect alongside a Shells homemade
fruit mince tart with brandy crème anglaise! If
you haven’t tried a Gewurzt yet, but want to be
adventurous, then Clearview’s is a great one, full
of Turkish delight and ginger, with a semi-sweet
tropical finish. If you are a serious Chardonnay
lover, then you should know this wine: Clearview’s
multi-award-winning Reserve Chardonnay!
In July, we hosted our last Hawkes Bay winery
of the year: Esk Valley and Winemaker Gordon
Russell. Gordon introduced us to two new varieties
with his Verdelho and Chenin Blanc. Verdelho is a
full bodied wine with fresh acidity and aromas and
flavours of peach, musk and mandarin; his Chenin
Blanc is a medium bodied white with characters of
honey, quince and green fruits. Both rather nice!
While the praises were received for his barrel
fermented Pinot Gris, it was his much anticipated
Chardonnay that proved to be the night’s winner.
Full bodied but elegant, stonefruit and melon
tinged with butter, grapefruit and oak resulting
in a rich and complex wine. His Air NZ Pure
Gold Marlborough Pinot Noir and Hawkes Bay
Merlot/Cab Sav/Malbec blend rounded out a very
enjoyable evening – however who could not but
remember his stunning ‘mystery’ liqueur!!
