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It’s Friday which means that wine o’clock is rapidly approaching! Although I’m sure most nzgirls love nothing more than a delicious glass of vino, how many of you really know what makes a good wine? What do you look for and how should you drink it?
We caught up with Tamra Washington, one of the rising stars of the New Zealand wine industry to ask her about her five fav wines, and tips for getting the most out of them. Tamra is an nzgirl who has already captured attention for crafting award-winning wines in Europe, and is now applying her skill at Yealands Estate, one of New Zealand’s leading sustainable wineries based in Marlborough. 1: Rose Rosé is my first pick. However, not the sugary, sweet styles that were in vogue a few years ago, it has to be dry. In my opinion, the best Rosé in this country comes from the merlot grape. Rosé wines made from Pinot Noir can be enjoyable too, but often lack the body of those from their merlot counterparts. Rosé is very versatile with all manner of food styles and is best served nicely chilled. Oh and if you like a bit of fizz – try Pink Champagne!
2: Sauvignon Blanc
I like it chilled down, bursting with fruit flavours and lively, zesty acidity. I am really enjoying the Awatere/Marlborough style Sauvignons that tend to have more fresh herbs, nettle and black currant flavours with beautiful structure and finishing with a lovely tight acidity, just like our Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon is perfect with or without food. It is fantastic as an aperitif or just winding down with after work accompanied by some breads and dips. It is great for lunch with lighter meats such as chicken and seafood, but also works well with dinner. My favourite food match for Sauvignon Blanc is seafood based pasta - simply divine! 3: Riesling Riesling can be many things to many people: dry, off-dry, medium and also sweet. I like my Rieslings, dry-ish with nice racy acidity. However an off dry style can work well for other dishes. The sweeter the wine is the lower the alcohol, so the sweeter styles are a good brunch or lunch option. The key to good Riesling is balance, so the sweetness has to be balanced with good acidity, making them taste a little dryer than they actually are. When you get this balance, I like nothing better than fish and chips on the beach to accompany my Yealands Riesling, with the acidity cutting thru the grease perfectly! Beautiful with Oysters too. 4: Soave From a tiny town, near Verona in North East Italy, the wines from Soave are usually predominately made from the Garganega grape variety. Like many of the European wines, they choose to put the name of the place on the front label, and hence the name Soave. Medium alcohol, and often with a little more weight on the palate than say a Sauvignon Blanc, and not as much as a Chardonnay, they are a versatile wine, than can be enjoyed with all manner of seafoods and fish, along with roasted veggies. Some producers make a richer style that actually spends time in oak. These are usually hard to come by but well worth hunting out! 5: Pinot Noir I do tend to drink less red wine in the summer, particularly reds that are heavy. So a good Pinot Noir is perfect, being typically lighter bodied with beautiful pure fruits and savory notes… Fantastic to accompany duck, chicken and red meat dishes along with cheeses after the main meal.
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