DISH 117COMFORT ZONE WINES BEGONE!
Stuck in your pinot gris and merlot
rut? Fret not, here at Dish we’re all
about helping wine lovers broaden their
horizons. Here are a bunch of rare and
groovy new wine grapes on the block
that will take your tastebuds from the
domestic terminal to international
departures in no time...JUDGE ROCK CENTRAL
OTAGO ST LAURENT
2013 $35
St Laurent is the most popular red
grape grown in the Czech Republic and
the third most popular in Austria. Dark
and glossy in the glass, pepper, bay and
earthy notes, hints of leather, pepper
dried herbs, violets, red rose, tangy and
taut and a terrific example of a Euro
classic. Pronounced “saint lorr ent”.SEIFRIED NELSON
ZWEIGELT 2014 $17
Hermann Seifried hails
from Austria, just like this incredibly
aromatic, violet and rose-scented red.
It’s a lighter styled red, juicy, succulent,
tangy redcurrant and cherry-chock
wine that’s a favourite at Seifried family
gatherings. Just 11 rows of zweigelt
are planted at their Brightwater
vineyard, totalling less than one hectare.
Pronounced “zwhy-geld”.STANLEY ESTATE
AWATERE VALLEY
LAGREIN 2014 $22.99
Bright violets and spice notes abound in
this local version of an Italian stallion. A
new and rare variety in NZ, it has a lovely
leafy, herbaceous note, bouquet garni
and blackcurrant, lush and punchy on the
palate – only 2236 vines in the ground.
Pronounced “lah-grain”.AKE AKE NORTHLAND
CHAMBOURCIN
2016 $25
Made by John Clark, it’s a vegan-friendly,
unrefined, unfiltered example with
masses of baking spices, clove and huge
youthful tannins. It’s a monster wine
that’s just screaming out for a slab of
red meat. Pronounced “shom-bor-sahn”.Sauvignons from ’17 ahoy
Right about now a tsunami of shiny new sauvignon blancs from 2017 will be hitting our shop shelves and
from what me and our Dish team have tasted so far, the fuel which powers the engine room of our nation is
looking very tasty indeed – hooray!
HOW OLD IS AN “OLD VINE”?
Fans of Australian shiraz have no doubt clocked the words “old
vine” on increasing amounts of wine labels, but what really
constitutes a gnarly old original, or one that’s possibly just
slightly menopausal? Wine has been made in the Barossa Valley
since 1842, meaning it’s home to some of the oldest vineyards
in the world. Wineries and growers in the region have decided
to instigate an “Old Vine Charter” to clarify the term and to
help and protect these viticultural treasures from ever being
pulled out. So, in the Barossa at least, “old vine” means the vines
are between 35–69 years old at harvest date. “Survivor vine”
vineyards are between 70–99 years old and have weathered
storms such as the 1980’s Vine Pull scheme. “Centenarian vine”
means the vines are 100–124 years old and, finally, “ancestor
vine” wines come from extremely rare vines that are at least 125
years old and represent living tributes to the early European
settlers of the Barossa.