New Zealand Riesling and Pinot Noir San Diego & Las Vegas Tasting

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO ENJOY A TASTE  TOUR OF  THE EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL CHARACTER IN RIESLING AND PINOT NOIR.

March 30  and  April 7 2009  

Image New Zealand Wine Growers

New Zealand Wine Growers will be hosting these events for wine industry media and trade people in San Diego and Las Vegas. New this year will be this special tasting to showcase the regional characteristics of both Pinot Noir and Riesling. The event will also include wines from around the country from leading wine producers.

The Walk Through Taste Tour has been laid out in a self-pour format, where you can taste at your leisure with all information at hand. Please also take one of the seminar packs available which includes reference detail on the seminar. Our New Zealand Winegrowers team are available to assist with questions should you have any, so please don’t hesitate to ask.

Here is a summary provided by New Zealand Wine Growers — thanks.

New Zealand produces a number of Rieslings in varying styles, anywhere from bone dry, to late harvest style sweet wines. The selection today runs the gauntlet of styles and caters for all tastes.

• “In New Zealand its just as common to find top Pinot producers who skip Chardonnay in favor of Riesling. When you consider that Pinot and Riesling are the hottest red and white varieties in the U.S. market these days, it shows how cutting-edge these Kiwis are. If you haven’t
  tried good New Zealand Pinot or Riesling in a while, I recommend you get to it.” Jordan Mackay, www.chow.com

New Zealand has long been famed for the success of its Sauvignon Blanc. More recently however the darling of the wine world, Pinot Noir has proved itself to be a viable competitor for the spot as New Zealand’s most acclaimed variety. Recent awards and recognition have only fuelled this flame, with highly regarded examples being produced in many of New Zealand’s wine growing regions. Today we invite you to ascertain for yourself the emerging regional distinctions and discover why Pinotphiles from all around the globe are coveting New Zealand Pinot Noir as a strong deliverer of elegance, distinction and value for money.

• New Zealand excels beyond Sauvignon Blanc. The country can produce distinctive wines from diverse selection of grapes.”
  Paul Lukacs, Washington Times

To attend these trade and media,events please RSVP with New Zealand Wine Growers – links are San Diego and Las Vegas.

To learn more about New Zealand wine and New Zealand wine events around the world please visit New Zealand Wine Growers.

Ash Ridge Wines Harvest News

Emma Peet from Ash Ridge Wines in Hawkes Bay sent this harvest update from last week. Thanks to Emma.

Friday 13^th is known as Black Friday for some, but for Ash Ridge it was anything but black as we harvested 4 tonnes of first crop Chardonnay from Cardoness Vineyard.  The sun was shining as the grapes were hanging golden in the sun.  Within a couple of hours all of the grapes were picked and safely transported to the winery. 

 

This wine has a lot of promise as the first year a vine is harvested is generally thought to produce pretty special wine and it’s often an indicator of the quality of fruit to come in future years. We are really excited about this wine and are looking forward to launching our first Ash Ridge Chardonnay for sale later in the year.

 Our Sauvignon Blanc was harvested the previous week and is already fermenting in barrel.  We tend to produce intense flavours in our wines from Ash Ridge vineyard due to the diurnal range of temperatures: from the intense heat of the day to the much cooler nights. 

 So, the whites are in!  But we are still only half way through vintage with all our reds still to pick: Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.  Let’s hope that  the weather continues to be kind.

• To follow what’s happening on the vineyards and in the winery follow NZWineDog on social networking site Twitter.
• To experience fine wine from the newest boutique winery in Hawke’s Bay, Ash Ridge Wines are available via the website: Ash Ridge Wines