Tag: Oyster Bay

Winemaking has been around for hundreds of years.  We are very familiar with wines coming from Europe, in particular France, where we talk about Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne.  We typically call Europe the “Old World” wine region, while wines made from the southern hemisphere, are known as the “New World“, plus North America.  But where did the grapes come from…

Did you know the first recorded planting of grapevines in New Zealand was at the Bay of Islands in 1819?  Wine was being made by Scottish, French, and Croatians making a new life in New Zealand.  But powdery mildew, phylloxera, and prohibitionists together brought a halt to wine production.  In the early and mid-1900’s wine production grew very slowly, but the…

Yes, Pinot Noir is the signature red wine grape for New Zealand, and Sauvignon Blanc is their signature white grape.  I asked this question as Sauvignon Blanc can get most of the world’s attention with its greater extent of vines (at 20,497 ha as of 2015), compared to the next largest production of Pinot Noir at 5,514 ha.  Pinot Noir…

I made this original post 2 years ago, and have been updating it in subsequent years.  I think there is still an interest in having some fun for New Year’s Eve.  Sparkling wine paired with caviar I think fits that category.  I’ve added some additional text and champagnes for you.  Hopefully you will be able to find these more recent…

In Part 1 of my Review of the New Zealand Wine Fair 2012, I talked about New Zealand’s sustainability goals, and provided tasting notes on the New Zealand wine makers’ upcoming varietals to the rest of the world of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Syrah. But there is also Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and more to try during this tasting. …