Toast to fu, gai, and so from Chan family

Press, 25 September 1980, Page 10

Toast to fu, gai, and so from Chan family

Maurice | Hunter’s

GRAPEVINE

Top marks for enterprise this week go to the Chan family of Thames. Totara ’’ineyards S.Y.C., Ltd, has been operating under the present ownership since 1950, with the usual run of good luck and bad luck as far as competitions go. Generally speaking, the. wines have been of good quality, though not out-

standing. But they have been insufficiently promoted for them to be well . known in the South Island. It is unfortunate that their mediocre labelling

did not do the contents justice. The scroll style lettering, one colour on a white background, with the proprietor’s initials “5.Y.C.,” (Stanley Y. Chan) prominently dis-

played, invited many a humorous, but unkind, comparison with the D.Y.C. brand of vinegar. The latest release from the only winery in the South Pacific owned by Chinese New Zealanders indicates that significant changes may be under way.

Fu Gai is a white table wine produced specifically for drinking with Chinese cuisine. It is medium dry and is made from Golden Chasselas and Riesling Sylvaner grapes back-blended with free run White Muscat juice.

The riesling character predominates in the bouquet and, although the aromatic sweetness of the muscat is apparent at first taste, the wine finishes medium dry, giving an over-all impression of freshness with a good lasting aftertaste. It is unusual and intriguing enough' to make one reach for the wok and prepare to enjoy it to the full under working conditions. The presentation is excellent and looks most authentic. Against the background of a red, black and gold label is pictured a reclining mandarin holding a cup and beaming ecstatically, while the initials “5.Y.C.,” have been replaced with what appears

to be the Chan crest. Chinese characters on the neck label complete the oriental impression. A nice touch is the explanation that the Chinese, apart from fine food and wine, place great value on Fu, Gai and So, meaning “Prosperity, Honour and Longevity,” and the Chan family wdsh all who drink their wine to be so blessed. This leads to the thought that Fu Gai could

be the forerunner of. a range of wines to be drunk with the foods now available in the many ethnic restaurants which have been established. Our extensive pine forests, for instance, could provide unlimited supplies of pine resin for a New Zealand style Retsine. Asfor what authentic wines to drink with Indonesian, Indian or Jewish food, L wouldn’t know, but it would be intriguing to find out. More overseas honours have been won by Corbans wines, the 1978 Claret having been awarded the grand diploma of honour with grand gold medal at the twenty-sixth international wine fair in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. This is the one which, under the name of Pinotage, was recently chosen as wine of the week by one of California’s leading wdne writers.

Corbans 1979 Sylvaner Riesling won a grand diploma w’ith gold medal, and the 1979 Liebestraum and 1979 Pinot Chardonnay both received grand diplomas with silver medals.

The release of the Pinot Chardonnay is imminent, upon which all will be freely available.

Montana Wines have released Blenheim Dry

White. to replace their Chablis, the reason being given is that it has been a point of contention whether the wine has been a traditional French-style Chablis.

The move away from European terminology is a good one. A true Chablis comes from the village of that name in Burgundy and, now that New Zealand wines are standing on their own two feet in the august company of world competition, the need no longer exists to indicate style by copying traditional names.

Blenheim Dry white is a welcome 5 addition to the range available to those who look' fdr taste ex-, periences beyond riesling sylvaner. It has good fruit bouquet and is dry and clean, with very good balance, right through the palate.

Montana Fairhall River Claret is to be released in October. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Pinotage, all Marlbor.ough-grown grapes.

A silver award winner at last year’s competition, I found it to be a wine of good balance and pleasant astringency right through to the back palate, when it tended to fall away.

Perhaps a little more time in the bottle will round it off.

Villa Maria Wines were a little slow in adopting the bag-in-box, or winecask pack but are now' making up for lost time.

In addition to the three litre packs of Mountain Valley dry white and River Gold Moselle, many visitors to the Industries Fair w'ill recall sampling Brookvale Riesling which is making fast inroads into the back-blended riesling market. Something new has been added in the form of Gamay Beaujolais. This is a light bddied red designed, in true Beaujolais style, to be drunk young and fresh.

Its ruby red .colour makes it attractive in the glass, while the full fruit bouquet is impressive. With the fruit quality being carried through to the flavour, and its softly dry finish, it is difficult to imagine any situation in which it could not be drunk with enjoyment. In fact, sipping now as I write, and with the almost unprecedented spell of fine spring weather showing promise of a long, hot summer, my first impulse is to check the barbecue facilities.