Autumn/Winter Newsletter 2013
W
elcome to our Autumn/ Winter Newsletter and a chance to tell you of what has been happening in the life of TOSQ. It always amazes us how fast the seasons come around. We have just completed our 10th harvest since planting the vineyards in 2001 - and we think it was the best ever ! We hope you enjoy the Newsletter Sue & Carl
T
o introduce you to our wines and new releases, we have put together a
Discovery Case
a 6 or 12 bottle pack of our current range at a very special price.
Save $50 on the 6 pack or $100 on the 12 pack. Click here for further details.
Six pack contains:
Twelve pack contains:
2 bottles TOSQ Pinot Noir 2010 1 bottle TOSQ Pinot Noir 2011 1 bottle TOSQ Pinot Gris 2011 1 bottle TOSQ Pinot Gris 2012 1 bottle TOSQ Flora 2012
3 bottles TOSQ Pinot Noir 2010 3 bottles TOSQ Pinot Noir 2011 2 bottles TOSQ Pinot Gris 2011 2 bottles TOSQ Pinot Gris 2012 2 bottles TOSQ Flora 2012
Mixed case offer - 6 pack
or 12 pack
save up to $100 Details online www.tosq.co.nz
Harvest 2013
Y
es it was a wonderful summer. Across the country everyone is talking of vintage 2013. For us a wicked springtime frost on the 4th November did some damage and meant that our yields were held in check. The cold part of the season delayed the vines' development and meant that by the New Year, we were still anticipating harvest to be about two weeks behind the norm.
H
owever after New Year we had cloudless hot days. The sort of summer Central Otago is known for. The vines caught up and we picked when we normally would have expected. The Pinot Gris harvest was a day out for friends and family - including teenage boys!
Men at Work!
TOSQ’s
Mother of all Composts
T
he work never stops! Harvest is over and autumn is the ideal time for compost, both in the making of it and its application to the vineyard.
T
his year we’ve taken our compost-making to a new level. Twenty two tonnes of cow manure from an organic southland dairy farm have been mixed with piles of tree mulchings, lucerne straw and grape marc, to make a heap probably ten times the size of previous attempts.
O
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nce the breakdown process is complete this big heap will have been transformed into wonderful dark humus-rich material, full of worms. Put out next autumn, it will be a feast for the soil and the vines.
Vintage 2013 Pinot Noir Pinot Gris Flora As a result of the great summer ripening season, the fruit came into the winery in perfect condition, beautifully clean, with thick skins and lovely ripe tannins - all ingredients that go toward making excellent wines.
“ Pigeage à pied” Part of the process of extracting colour and tannins from the skins of pinot noir comes from “plunging the cap”. The pips and skins float to the surface of the crushed grapes in open top fermenters and need to be re-submerged at regular intervals. This can be done “a pied”
Introducing
Flora
Of particular excitement and interest this year has been the treatment lavished on our Flora grapes by our wine-maker Sarah-Kate and her assistant Vanessa. Using indigenous yeasts the grapes have been fermented on their skins in old oak barrels without any sulphur added. By doing this we hope to catch more of the variety’s subtle spicy flavours together with the natural preservatives from the tannins in the skins. The wine now rests on its lees (the spent yeast cells that have completed their task and have fallen to the bottom of the barrel). This will help to build further complexity and palate weight.
Wine makers Vanessa and SK critiquing the Flora at the Winery. A work in progress.......
New Releases
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e have now released our TOSQ Pinot Noir 2011. This was a product of a cooler summer. It is an elegant wine showing the fine structure characteristic of the fruit from our vineyard. It is already drinking well. Our TOSQ Pinot Noir 2010 continues to develop. From a vintage with very ripe firm tannins, the fruit expression has been tightly bound. Best decanted or allowed time in the glass, it is now starting to soften and display its potential deliciousness!
Our Stocks of TOSQ Pinot Gris 2011 will soon be depleted, and we are now releasing our TOSQ Pinot Gris 2012 This is equally moreish and a great follow-on from our first release, for which we have received excellent feedback
TOSQ Flora 2012
W
e’re also excited to announce the release of our first Flora 2012. Flora is a rare variety in New Zealand. We don’t know of any other South Island example. The vine is a cross between Gewurztraminer and Semillon.
The wine is delightfully aromatic - not unlike the Pinot Gris, but with a touch more spice and citrus notes. Its clean fresh flavours and defined structure stand well alongside spicy food, making it a great partner for asian cuisine, as well as salads and fish dishes
N
othing’s more welcoming than being able to offer something you’ve cooked yourself when you have friends dropping in for a drink.
Q
uick and easy to prepare from items you probably already have in your store cupboard, these tasty biscuits go down a treat with a glass of TOSQ wine. - my sister Sally shared this recipe ....
TASTY CHEESE & OLIVE BISCUITS Ingredients: 1 cup plain flour, sifted 115 gm butter (at room temperature) 115 gm tasty cheddar, grated 50 gm pitted green olives 2 anchovies (I use the tinned ‘Fragata’ olives already stuffed with anchovies, very convenient!) pinch of cayenne pepper and salt egg-wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with dash of milk)
Method: Put the sifted flour and seasonings into the food processor with the butter cut into small pieces. Process to resemble breadcrumbs. Add the other ingredients and whizz to combine. Roll out and cut into triangles. Brush lightly with egg wash. Place onto baking tray, either lightly greased or lined with baking paper. Bake at 200 deg c for approx 12 mins till golden Makes about 30 triangles
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