EAT, DRINK + BE MERRY
PHIL PARKER: EMPTY NESTER PART 2 If you read my last column, you would be aware that my dear stepdaughter has moved to Wellington to start her first year of studies at Victoria University. And with her absence, the home has taken on a whole new (quiet) ambience. Maybe it was the right time. She was getting a wee bit tetchy. She had itchy feathers and was ready to fly as soon as year 13 finished. We did have one last summer together as a family, but we didn’t see much of her, other than regular huge piles of washing dumped in the laundry, random articles of clothing left abandoned throughout the house, and a bedroom that looked like a crime scene. She would emerge mid-morning, grumpy and hungry and then disappear for the day – returning just in time for dinner. And then ... not that we were worried or awake or anything ...she would go out and then sneak in at about 4.00am. Anyway, there is wine for parental consolation in times of need.
price of Bogle (my fave Calif chardonnay), but more subtle at 13% alcohol. Good match for creamy seafood dishes or chicken. Available: Point Chev Organic Wines.
19 Crimes ‘Hard Chard’ Chardonnay South Eastern Australia 2020 - $15 From the third largest Australian producer, Treasury Estates (who also own New Zealand’s Matua). A great value entry level priced chardonnay for fans of the big, bold and buttery. Generous palate of canned peach, mango, butterscotch and toffee. The label celebrates female English convicts who were exiled to Australia rather than face execution. Each screwcap details one of the pitifully trivial reasons for conviction. Erm. Cheers. Available: Countdown.
De Martino Estate Carmenere (Chile) 2018 - $20 Formerly a French Bordeaux variety, carmenere (AKA carménère), has found a new home and loyal following in South America. Chile now grows more of it than anyone else in the world. This wine presents as a youngster with ripe blackberry, boysenberry, cigar smoke and spice. Very smooth and ripe with soft tannins. Tonight’s match - BBQ steak and snarlers. Alternatively, ratatouille or tomato-based pasta dishes. Available: Meldrum Philips, Advintage, Blackmarket
Land of Saints Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2018 - $45 Another ripper USA chardonnay for fans of oak and butter. Sealed with a plastic look-a-like cork that was nigh on impossible to extract from the bottle. Grrr. Otherwise, a creamy and medium bodied style with peach, honey, vanillin oak and a dry finish. Not quite as lusty and at twice the
De La Terre Hawke’s Bay Reserve Chardonnay 2016 - $40 Former Church Road winemaker Tony Prichard makes limited quantities from hand-picked fruit. 100% barrel fermented with a mixture of wild and commercial yeasts in 50% new French oak. Soft and creamy palate, like a scaled back version of the Land of Saints (above). A hint of tropical pineapple, with ripe stone fruit and a dry tangy finish. Great with crayfish. Available: Prego and delaterre.co.nz
La Marca Prosecco Veneto - $22 Made in Veneto, North-Eastern Italy, using the stainless-steel secondary ferment ‘prosecco’ process from the native Glera grape variety. At 11% alcohol, it’s not a lightweight quaffer at all. Fine beaded frothy mousse, with flavours of apple cider and grapefruit and a dry yeasty finish. This is a great aperitif. Available: Fitzroy Lounge Bar, Herne Bay Cellars, Point Chev Organic Wines. (PHIL PARKER) PN www.finewinetours.co.nz
FINE WINE & FOOD TOURS “No. 2 Auckland Wine Tour” – TripAdvisor Your host, Phil Parker wine writer. Affordable tours for small and large groups.
E: phil.parker@xtra.co.nz
50 PONSONBY NEWS+ April 2021
www.finewinetours.co.nz
PUBLISHED FIRST FRIDAY EACH MONTH (except January)
