A cause for celebration: New Zealand white, and selected reds

Press, 26 February 1981, Page 10

A cause for celebration: New Zealand white, and selected reds

Maurice Hunter’s GRAPEVINE

Bill yette 3 ’lives in San Jose, s&iifdrnia He is. a businessman accustomed • to;- some of the refinements ,of living and, being in the middle of a wineproducing area, it is pot. surprising that, during the. years, he . has'.-, become' sojnethirig of -a Hisudnterests- also'- include ham radio; In the course . of<'<Qpdra'tlrig his ' radio, he/has- developed a . friendship ..with another ham .radfo operator . in ; Christchurch. . They have a fortnightly “sked,” which is ham radio talk for a schedule, an appointed time for a friendly talk across . 6000 miles of ether. On a recent “sked,” the Christchurch man told Bill that it was his wife’s, birthday, and. in the typi-' cally outgoing Californian manner, Bill told him to f buy a bottle of champagne and to send him the account. They didn’t, of course, but it was a nice thought. A few days later a letter arrived bearing a San Jose postmark and dated the day of the “sked.” “I simply can’t wait,” it read, “until the next sked to share ■ with . you the beautiful experience we had helping you celebrate your birthday. As I told you we would, I dug out a bottle of your New Zealand wine —- the Montana Marlborough Riesling. “I want to tell you that it is one of the finest wines I have tasted. Delicate, fruity, extremely well balanced, just crisp enough, neither too dry (as some of our rieslings are) nor t 0 0... sweet (as many of the German rieslings • are). A far better wine than at least 80 per cent of the Californian rieslings, whether they be called ‘grey’ ‘white,’ ‘Johannesberg,’ or whatever.

New Zealand can well

be proud.' of their; facility v ■in at least .this instance;’ Such is the’ camaraderie of ham radio • that,.-. even though they have never met, the two families exchange gifts from time to time.' Z’;;,' ■?' •' ■■ ■ , Preparafibns.j. are., now under'way to, send'Bi.ll anotherparcel ,of Tlew >Zea'•land wipe-? Enthusiasm like that' Should be Encouraged —' and it will '• also prove that' the . .Marlborough Riesling wajj.no fluke. A reader has. written in giving me the simple details of her case ’history of wine drinking. She began with Cooks Chasseur eight years ago and has since developed a liking for Montana Blenheimer and Corbans Sylvaner Riesling. But she doesn’t like red wines, and asks whether I can suggest the best ones for her to try. The progression from medium sweet white to dry red may be made over a short period, but it is more likely to take some time, even years, depending upon how often one partakes. If attempted in one fell swoop the palate is likely to react violently.' It would probably be a m o u t h-puckering experience. So I suggest that the lady begins with a rose — Corbans Riverlea Rose would be most suitable. It’s not Very much different in the degree of sweetners but, being, made

from a red grape, there .is a difference in grape flavour./. , Having accepted that one, she could then progrees to something drier — my favourite Sutton Baron Rose of Pinotage, for instance, followed by a wine with a little more body, such as Weingut Refosca or Cooks Alicante. There are several, fullbodied reds to follow — Villa Reoja, Oaklegh Burgundy — all medium style with asoft finish, to be sampled in that order. After, that I suggest Corbans Cabernet Pinotage. Although also produced in the medium, softfinish style, the flavour of the two most used red grapes comes through and prepares the palate for what is to follow. The ultimate is to progress to the fully dry pinotages and cabernet] sauvigons. But, before taking the final step, I feel that it would be wise to try a slightly milder dry red, such as Cooks Pinot Meunier o.r the several easily - available pinot noirs - Montana, Marlbor-i ough, Corbans, Nobilos or Chateau Yelas.. Since all have been given different treatment the way is opened np for one or two very interesting tasting sessions to compare one against the other. If my programme has been followed through to this stage, our reader will have developed! the ability

■ to discriminate. She will be able to detect the; nuances of bouquet, flavour, grape age. A whole new world of experiences will be before her. But it must not be rushed. At each stage he i must be perfectly, at home with the wine before moving on to the next. She must be prepared to '.wait • until her palate dictates.. the time for change. . There am one or two points about handling, however, which the beginner should know, , - The rose-, for -instance,’ should be lightly ( chilled for about one and a half, hours in the household refrigerator. If quick chilling 1 is required, immense the bottle in a container with as much ice as it will hold and add water to bring the level as far up the neck of the as possible for half art hour. Some peop’e usa the deepfreeze cor toartm’ent but,> apart from the obvious danger of a- shattered bottle, it is no-; nearly asefficient. The Alicante and Refosca may also be ligjibly chilled, if required. All of the others t should have the corks drawn or, preferably, be decanted for about two hours before use in the room in which it will be served. This assures the correct temperature and allows the wine to breathe, a process which brings up the bouquet and smooths : out the balance. If the wine is a few years old it may throw out tartrates which accumulate, if it has been correctly stored- horizontally, on tin side of the bottle. This is called'crust. It is a good sign, indicating a well-matured wine. But in this case the bottle should be placed upright for at least twelve hours, so that the crust settles in the bottom, and decanting is essential-. Decanting should be carried out carefully against a light background and should be stopped as soon as the crust is seen to be moving into the neck of the bottle.