25th Anniversary - Wine Tastings
We could not celebrate our 25th Anniversary without including a special wine tasting and were delighted to welcome back three of our former tutors who are also our past students.
New Zealand wine writer, Joelle Thomson presented an intriguing line-up New Zealand Pinot Noirthat heralded from wine regions other than Central Otago.
Joelle started at the most southern region, Waitaki Valley and moved north to the Crater Rim from Canterbury and on to Clos Henri from Marlborough ending up in Martinborough, Joelle's new home.
For each region, Joelle highlighted how the physical attributes such as climate and soil impact on the style of each wines.
Follow and view her website Joelle
The wines tasted were:
- Big Sky (Martinborough)
- Clos Henri (Marlborough)
- The Carter Rim (North Canterbury)
- Valli (Waitaki Valley)
Past students Tori Haysom, Victoria Biddick and Charlotte Barker.
FORTIFIED REVIVAL - CONNAL FINLAY
Connal Finlay presented a selection of lesser-known fortified wine with the aim of introducing something new.
Line up of Fortified Wines.
- Tio Pepe En Rama Fino Sherry
- Barbeito Boal Med-Sweet Madeira
- Campbells Rutherglen Muscat
- Williams & Humbert Don Zolio 12 year PX
NZ PET NAT AND GROWER CHAMPAGNE -JOY BATES
PET NAT, or petillant-naturel is a modern revival on what is essentially an ancient wine making technique where wine is bottled before the primary fermentation is complete. This results in a lightly sparkling, unfiltered wine which is commonly cloudy with some sediment.
Joy Bates, who has recently returned from the UK where she completed the WSET Diploma with distinction, lead a New Zealand PET NAT and Grower Champagne comparative tasting.
Joy Bates. Past students Kerrie Clark from California, Yoko Kikamura and Briana Moses listen.
New Zealand PET NAT:
- Black Estate Netherwood 2019
- The-Super-Nat Sauvignon Blanc 2019
- Cambridge Road The Naturalist
Grower Champagnes are wines made in the methode traditionelle style from northern French region of Champagne region. They are generally small, family producers and wines are artisan by nature allowing for more unique characteristics to develop.
Grower Champagnes:
- Champagne Bouby Brut from Dhall and Nash
- Champagne Assilly Grand Cru from Peter Maude Fine Wines
