New Zealand had five vineyards as long ago as the 1830s, but it was only in the last quarter of the 20th Century that serious winemaking began to spread and winery owners hit pay dirt by discovering the right vines for the right sites.
Marlborough, in the south of the nation’s two islands, received its first vines in 1973. There followed a decade of overplanting, followed by a severe cutback in vineyard acreage, followed by–in the late ’80s–international recognition of the quality of New Zealand wines made from classic grapes such as chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir, merlot and sauvignon blanc.
British wine authority Oz Clark, in his 2002 “New Wine Atlas,” writes of New Zealand today as a “vibrant, self-confident, exciting place to be.”
Sauvignon blanc is largely responsible for that situation.
With this grape, in that location, Clark writes, winemakers had “created a classic wine style so thrillingly different that it has been the standard bearer for New Zealand ever since.” No previous wine, he continues, “had shocked, thrilled, offended, entranced the world with such brash, unexpected flavors of gooseberries, passion fruit and lime, or crunchy green capsicum and asparagus spears” and developed a wine style “that the rest of the world has been trying to copy ever since.”
Though some of these wines have gained worldwide distribution, others, from producers with limited product or money, have been kept at home. On Monday, though, more than three dozen owners and winemakers will be pouring sauvignon and other New Zealand wines at a tasting here.
The event takes place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Biggs Steakhouse, Seafood & Wine Cellar, 1150 N. Dearborn St. Admission is $30 in advance and $40 at the door. For tickets, call 847-421-5324 or e-mail
leahcallahan@earthlink.net.
To discover what to expect when given the opportunity to taste so many wines from such a faraway place, Good Eating conducted a blind tasting of 19 sauvignon blanc wines, all but one from the current vintage, 2002. The presence of an American sauvignon in the tasting was unknown to the tasters.
The tasters consisted of sommeliers Brian Duncan of Bin 36 and Scott Tyree of TRU; Robert Bacon, a frequent visitor to New Zealand, and this writer and Andrew Badeker of the Good Eating staff. The wines were tasted and scored, using a 100-point system. A perfect score, then, would have been 500 points. “Comments” are composites of judges’ descriptions of each wine.
In general, the wines met expectations. Crisp, mildly herbaceous and boldly fruity, they sent pleasant suggestions of citrus fruits, melon, passion fruit, gooseberry, apples and pears. Most were aromatic; none were overtly sweet. The key to success is balance. There must be enough fruit to keep the wines’ vibrant acidity under control.
A real surprise was the cluster of scores; only seven points separated Wine No. 4 and Wine No. 14. That reflected how similar were the wines in quality, if not in flavor and effect.
Sauvignon blancs with the vivacity of the New Zealand wines are rightly popular as aperitifs, but comments about several in the tasting suggested they would be better with food than on their own. And the range of foods with which they can match is impressive, from pork barbecue to sushi and asparagus.
New Zealand has been a leader in another direction: Many winemakers have decided to close their bottles with screw tops instead of corks, which had been tainting too much wine.
“They were losing as many as one bottle in a 12-bottle case,” said Bin 36’s Duncan. “They were the farthest from Portugal, so they got the least reliable corks.” Selling wines with screw tops hasn’t been difficult, at least at TRU, sommelier Tyree said, though some customers remark on the novelty when the wine is presented.
Tasting results
1. Palliser Estate, Martinborough, 441 points. Comments: Aroma elements include grapefruit peel, litchi, gooseberry and passion fruit; mouth-filling flavors of peach and ripe tropical fruits; very well balanced; pleasing finish. $17
2. Highfield, Marlborough, 433 points. Comments: floral nose with candied grapefruit aroma and hints of mineral; delicate green apple flavor; good acidity, no oak aromas; showcase for herbaceous freshness of New Zealand sauvignon. $17.50.
3. Babich, Marlborough, 431 points. Comments: Clean, toasty aroma; grapefruit and pineapple stand out among subtle mineral and tropical fruit flavors; crisp with a long finish; excellent aperitif selection. $12.
4. (tie, at 427) Omaka Springs, Marlborough. Comments: Well-balanced wine; pristine flavors of mineral and fruit; aroma carries hints of grapefruit, asparagus and toast. $14.
Tohu, Marlborough. Comments: Pleasant, slightly tannic with a concentrated honey note in the aroma; tastes of green apple and pineapple; intense with a long finish; a good food wine. $15.
Spy Valley, Marlborough. Comments: Grass and mango infuse racy citrus aroma; flavors of passion fruit, grapefruit and green apple make a pleasant blend. $12.
7. (tie, at 426) The Crossings, Reserve, Catherine’s Run, Marlborough. Comments: Generously aromatic with pleasing tropical fruit sweetness; lots of acidity; spicy, good balance. $20.
Craggy Range Winery, Martinborough. Comments: Aromas of pineapple and passion fruit; long, zingy grapefruit finish; big but graceful, pour with food. $18.
9. (tie, at 425) Allan Scott, Marlborough. Comments: Clean, crisp, short aftertaste; hints of sage, gooseberry and grapefruit; flavors of lime and green apple; lively acidity. $11.
Glazebrook, Marlborough. Comments: Classic sauvignon grassy aroma with passion fruit and mineral notes; tart taste with lemon and grapefruit overtones; lingering acidity masks fruit. $14.
11. Trinity Hill, Shepards Croft, Hawkes Bay, 424 points. Comments: Somewhat delicate with integrated fruit aromas including pear, plus mineral and grassy flavors; good balance. An aperitif or food wine. $15.
12. Mount Riley (2001), Marlborough, 423 points. Comments: Clean, graceful aroma of ripe peach and herbs; lemony flavors; good acidity. $15.
13. Kim Crawford, Marlborough, 422 points. Comments: Medium weight; mouth-filling citrus flavors, especially grapefruit; French style, a good food wine; grassy, peppery; good balance, short finish. $18.
14. Goldwater, Dog Point, Marlborough, 420 points. Comments: Somewhat austere, mildly herbaceous; medium body, typical fruit and finish; refreshing. $19.
15. Staete Landt, Marlborough, 417 points. Comments: Grassy, green apple nose with hints of mineral; flavors of grapefruit, lemon and lime zest supported by bracing acidity; a lean wine. $15.
16. Thornbury, Marlborough, 415 points. Comments: Mild grapefruit flavor; clean finish; bland, lacks complexity. $17.50.
17. Te Kairanga, Martinborough, 414.5 points. Comments: Relatively uncomplicated; earthy tropical aroma; honeydew melon, green apple flavors; short fruit finish. $16.
18. Matariki, Hawkes Bay, 407 points. Comments: Muted citrus-apple aroma; tastes thin; mineral flavor, aggressive acidity. $15.
19. Canyon Road, California, 403 points. Com-ments: Overtly floral nose; tastes one-dimensional and slightly diluted; high acid, short finish. $9.
Kiwi availability
Restaurants report that wines from New Zealand are much in demand, so their wine lists are starting to reflect that. Wine shops in the Chicago area that carry at least some of these wines include: Armanetti’s Willowbrook, BJ Foods, Trotter’s To Go, Wine Discount Centers, Whole Foods Markets, Famous Liquors, Gold Standard, Binny’s, Orland Park Wine & Spirits, Schaefer’s (Skokie), Marshall Field’s, Howard’s Wine Cellar, Bin 36, Main Street (Countryside), Worldwide Wine & Spirits (Palatine), Vin Rouge (Mundelein)
