17 May 2012

Friendly savs

Rebecca Taylor

28/09/2011 10:34:00 a.m.

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SAUVIGNON Blanc is what made the New Zealand wine industry, and it’s important to remember to give it its due, but when poorly made it can be aggressively acidic and mean. Encountering one of these wines on a Friday night after work and before any food appears can be a recipe for heartburn.
We have a number of Sauvignon Blancs produced right on our doorstep from the wider Wairarapa region that strike a harmonious balance between the green spectrum of flavours and higher acidty typical of the Marlborough style and the more tropical characters that crop up as you move further up the North Island. Unmistakably Sauvignon Blanc, but just a little more approachable, these wines can really get the juices going but without bringing a tear to the eye. The region of origin is not the only factor in this though; the selection of grapes and the winemaking decisions made about the wine will also have an effect on the finished product. Often the wine you’re drinking is the result of careful blending of several different batches that have been treated in different ways. A well-made wine is necessarily a well-conceived wine.
Three different Sauvignon Blancs from Gladstone Vineyard neatly demonstrate the influence both of the place of origin and the winemaker.
12 000 Miles Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – the 12 000 Miles range is built around an easy drinking philosophy where the wines are crafted to be fruit forward, expressive and just as enjoyable with or without food. This shows plenty of aromatics and tropical notes on the nose, but these are underpinned by pungency. It’s actually quite broad in the mouth (from a bit of lees influence) with friendly acidity. $20.00 Gladstone Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – is made using riper fruit picked from older blocks. There’s also more lees influence, and a portion has been fermented in barrels and blended into the final wine. It’s almost floral on the nose, with a mealy nuance, a very textural palate and savoury notes on the finish. $25.00
Gladstone Vineyard “Sophie’s Choice” Sauvignon Blanc 2009 – this has had the most work done to it, and has been 100% barrel fermented, it has the broadest texture of the three and quite a different flavour profile. It’s quite creamy, with lemon curd and stonefruit flavours and cashew nuts. This is a very food versatile wine. $39.00
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Cover Story

Best of Wellington 2011

Briefs

  • A question of nutrition

    Controversial Washington-based nutritionist Sally Fallon-Morell is to speak in Wellington on March 29.
    Fallon-Morell is the co-founder of the American food lobby group the Weston A. Price Foundation and the author of Nourishing Traditions. She advocates for the consumption of nutritionally dense foods such as lacto-fermented vegetables, stocks and broths, and whole raw dairy products.
    Fallon-Morell will speak at St Patrick’s College Hall on March 29.

  • Relay for cancer

    Organisers say Sunday’s Relay for Life is full to capacity with hundreds of Wellingtonians registered for the event.
    A total of 88 teams, made up of 10 to 500 members, plan to take part with a further 25 teams on the waiting list.
    The 24 hour relay, the Cancer Society’s biggest fundraising event of the year, takes place at Frank Kitts Park from 4pm on March 31.

  • Osteoarthritis awareness

    Arthritis New Zealand has launched a nationwide campaign raise awareness about osteoarthritis. 
    Arthritis is New Zealand’s leading cause of disability, affecting 305,000 adults, and osteoarthritis is its most common form.
    The campaign features television commercials and an interactive website.


  • Wild walk

    Take part in the Big Walk at Zealandia on March 31.
    Walkers can choose a two, five or 10 kilometre walk catering to all fitness levels.
    Money raised will go to the Foundation for Youth Development.

  • School pool

    The opening of the new Khandallah School pool this week means hundreds of children will be able to continue their swimming lessons.
    The pool was the first to receive a grant from Wellington City Council’s Schools Pools Partnership Fund, a fund set up in 2010 to help schools improve their pool facilities.
    Grants from the fund have also been made for pools at Wellington East Girls’ College, Barhampore School and Tawa School.

  • Easter bikers

    Motorcyclists are invited to get on their bikes and collect Easter eggs for families support from the Wellington City Mission.
    The charity run on April 1 is organised by motorcycle lobby group BONZ.
    Eggs can be donated at Red Baron Motorcylces in Alicetown. The registration fee for bikers is $10, plus the cost of Easter eggs.

  • Crafty

    Made on Marion opens on the site of the former Golding Handicrafts site in Marion St, from April 1.  They will continue to supply craft materials.

  • Ze upgrade

    Taranaki Street fuel users will notice that the Z Energy’s former Shell Service Station is closed.  Z are doing a “total revamp”.
    The job will take four weeks.

  • Newlands Moves

    Developer Ayal Aharoni has agreed to build only 90 instead of 220 houses on his six and a half hectares above Ngauranga Gorge in Newlands.  Only low density occupation will be allowed on the remaining 8.4 hectares.


  • Baring Head

    There's a new  draft plan out for what should happen at Baring Head.  It outlines how the Greater Wellington Regional council would like to manage the newest addition to its regional parks network. Grazing animals will go, motorised vehicles will be prohibited, predators will be controlled, and the lighthouse will be preserved. Submissions are invited.


  • It’s a wonder

    A new childcare centre in Newtown says it is dedicated to helping kids grow up healthy in mind, body and spirit. Little Wonders Childcare on Rintoul Street is an independent early childhood education and learning centre, the sixth centre to be opened by its Auckland-based owner. It caters to 100 children aged between three months and five years old and has been open for a little more than seven weeks.

  • Festival treats

    CHILDREN have not been forgotten by organisers of the New Zealand International Arts Festival.
    For a perfect first theatrical experience White tells the story of friends Cotton and Winkle who live in a world where there is no colour and everything is startlingly white. That is until a brightly coloured egg tumbles out of the sky and changes their world for ever.
    White plays at Capital E from March 7-11.
    The tale of Peter and the World also promises to be a magical night for all ages. Sergei Prokofiev’s classic children’s tale is told through film and live music from the NZ Symphony Orchestra at the Michael Fowler Centre on March 9.
    March 11 is Young Writers and Readers Day and readings from children’s writers and illustrators Lynley Dodd and Gavin Bishop.

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