SUN AND FUN IN NELSON WINERIES

Charmian Smith Visits Nelson Cellar Doors

There are gems to be found at Nelson’s cellar doors. Many wines, especially from smaller wineries, are not available elsewhere except in a few local restaurants. I loved the aromatics - riesling, pinot gris and even sauvignon blanc. There are excellent chardonnays and pinot noir can be a star. It’s exciting to discover unusual varieties such as albariño, chenin blanc, würzer, zweigelt, and the increasingly rare gewürztraminer. Cellar door opening hours are volatile in today’s Covid climate. Check websites or phone before visiting. Some, not included here, require appointments if you want to visit.

Neudorf

Neudorf is Nelson’s most acclaimed winery. Tim and Judy Finn planted it in the 1970s and are still at the helm with Todd Stevens as winemaker and general manager and daughter Rosie (after whom Rosie’s Block vineyard is named) has returned from London to join the team. The cellar door opens on to a lawn shaded by a large box elder tree planted by the Finns some 40 years ago. Here you can enjoy a tasting, a glass of wine and some light local snacks with the organic vineyard alongside. For those wanting a more in-depth experience, Jude has recently transformed Tim’s old lab into a five-seater, private tasting room. Neudorf’s wines are precisely balanced, fresh and textural, all fermented with indigenous yeast, and often in older barrels - or even clay amphora as is the wonderfully poised, textural and seriously delicious unoaked Rosie’s Block 25 Rows chardonnay. Don’t miss the delicately floral and unexpectedly powerful 2000 pinot gris or the mouth-watering fruit of the fragrant Rosie’s Block dry riesling 2021. A newcomer to their portfolio a few years ago was the Rosie’s Block albariño. The 2021 is refreshing and textural, oozing citrus blossom and elderflower, with a bright, crisp finish.Chardonnay is Neudorf’s most acclaimed variety. There’s the charming, nutty, creamy, citrusy Tiritiri chardonnay 2019 from young vines, and the prized Home Block Moutere flagship. The 2020 Moutere is gloriously harmonious, all citrus, stone fruit and nuts, textural and complex with a mineral backbone and taut, integrated finish. Like earlier vintages this has all the marks of developing beautifully over the next decade or so. Tom’s Block pinot noir 2019 is one of the most delicious Nelson reds, oozing red cherries and red currants, intense, crisp, taut and textural with savoury undertones and a surge of flavour at the end. neudorf.co.nz

Riwaka River Estate

Paul Miles and Amber Robertson’s family-oriented lifestyle on their vineyard, hop garden and olive grove is about as far as you can imagine from their former corporate lives in risk management in London.“Once you’ve tasted childhood here you don’t want your kids to grow up in London,” Amber said.