New Zealand Wine Discovery

Yesterday was the New Zealand Wine Discovery held in San Francisco at the Intercontinental Hotel and sponsored by KGO Radio and supporting the Christchurch NZ Earthquake fund. Cost was $35. I arrived at about 2 PM after it had been running for an hour. I missed Gene Burns who was broadcasting his "Dining Around" radio show from the event and I wanted to tell him I was glad he was back and hoped he was doing well.

I estimated that at any one time there were about 100 people in the 2 rooms of the event. So I assume that overall there were more. There was some food, chocolate and cheese available which I mostly avoided since I was "tasting". I also think that i was one of the few who was actually spitting - it was more of a drinking crowd. This gets interesting because like many tasting rooms, people are crowded around the table - and the spit bucket. So when you don't want to swallow you have to work your way through the crowd to get to the bucket. Then you have to move them out of the way of any splashes and also protect the water pitcher. All this without being able to talk. This really works better when the buckets are in the middle of the floor rather than at the serving tables.

There were 20 wineries pouring about 90 wines, mostly Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir, however with some Pinot gris, Chardonnay, a Gewürztraminer and even a Tempranillo thrown in.

I didn't taste every wine - a few wineries were pouring 7-8 wines and my program with them was to ask them to pour the top 3 wines that the pourer liked.

In general, my taste tends towards Sauv. blancs with some citric and a touch of zest to them. I like my Pinots with good fruit, low tannins, and some earthy complexity. I found several wines that I liked, a number that I didn't care for, and some on which I am not so sure ... I am sensitive to bitter tannins, and if I get one, it can throw off my taste buds for any even slightly tannic wine that follows. This happened, and so a few of the Pinots that i downgraded for harshness might have been better liked if I had tasted them in a different order.

I can say that I wasn't impressed with any of the Chardonnays or especially the attempts at Pinot gris. the Pinot gris were totally neutral with no character and the Chardonnays ( that I tasted ) tended to be over oaked. Now I am OK with oakey Chardonnays. I think Rombauer is awesome and Kendall-Jackson was better than good. I just didn't relate to what these winemakers were trying to do.

Here are some of the ones I liked and some I wouldn't go near again at least for this vintage.

I liked:

Kim Crawford Sauvignon blanc - Marlborough 2010 ($16.99) ++ aroma and taste
The Crossings Awatere Valley Sauvignon blanc Marlborough 2010 ($15.95) ++ aroma and a slight citric
spritz that added to it.
Matua Valley Regional Sauvignon blanc Marlborough 2010 ($12.00) ( Matua valley also had an estate SB
for $22 - my notes say I liked the Estate by my brain remembers the Regional as being much nicer )
Sileni Estates cellar selection Sauv blanc Marlborough 2010 ($n/a) - very bright with a long finish.

Babich Pinot noir Marlborough 2008 ($18.00) + aroma and taste
Kim Crawford Pinot noir Marlborough 2009 ($17.99) + aroma and taste
Wairu River pinot noir Marlborough 2008 ($20) - classic profile with a little smokiness. slight tannic edge.

I didn't like
Babich Headwaters Organic Sauv blanc 2009 ($20). Didn't taste like a Sauv blanc.
Mt Beautiful Pinot noir North Canterbury 2009 ($23) neutral flavors and tannic burn.
Rock Ferry Wines - i tasted Sauv blanc, Viognier, and Tempranillo and wasn't excited about any of them.
Sileni Cellar Chardonnay Hawkes Bay 2010 ($n/a) - un-integrated oak.
Whitehaven Pinot noir Marlborough 2008 ($25) - tannic

Other wineries poured good, generally unremarkable wines. I was a little surprised at the lack of Merlots or Cabernets for which several areas on the North Island have a good reputation. I was also surprised at the lack of good Chardonnays. For several years in the late 1990s NZ Chardonnay was my favorite. Nothing from this (admittedly small) group of producers interested me.

Summary: This was a nice venue, not too crowded. Several producers showed why NZ Sauvignon blancs and Pint noirs are well regarded. There were more wines that I liked or though were OK than ones that I didn't like. The cost was reasonable. It was worth doing once. I probably won't go again.

john