Anyone for a nightcap?

[midwestyankee]

The Australian whites give me a headache: I always drank red when I lived in Australia. Now a crisp New Zealand chardonnay... yeah, then you'd be talking!

Hmmm....I wonder what sort of nasty things the vineyards in Australia do that makes their products cause problems only for the Kiwis?

On a separate but related note, your post caused me to check on something that I'd wondered about for a long time: the relationship - if any - between golfer Frank Nobilo and the Nobilo vineyard. It seems that he is actually a descendant of the winery's founder, Nikolai Nobilo and recently was signed on as an ambassador for the winery (i.e., he'll be a paid endorser).

 

[FungiUg]

On a separate but related note, your post caused me to check on something that I'd wondered about for a long time: the relationship - if any - between golfer Frank Nobilo and the Nobilo vineyard. It seems that he is actually a descendant of the winery's founder, Nikolai Nobilo and recently was signed on as an ambassador for the winery (i.e., he'll be a paid endorser).

Oh lordy. Nobilo make cheap plonk. I wouldn't touch the stuff! They do make a nice dessert wine... the rest, no thank you. Actually, the winery is just up the road from us.

 

[midwestyankee]

Oh lordy. Nobilo make cheap plonk. I wouldn't touch the stuff! They do make a nice dessert wine... the rest, no thank you. Actually, the winery is just up the road from us.

What would you suggest as a representative good quality wine from NZ? I'm always willing to try something new.

 

[FungiUg]

What would you suggest as a representative good quality wine from NZ? I'm always willing to try something new.

New Zealand wines are hard to find. Which is strange, because they export as much as they can! I have literally walked into a winery and been unable to buy a bottle of something I liked because an American buyer had just walked out with every single bottle they had.

Anyway, if you can find them, I can recommend the following brands (in no particular order from the top of my head, only including stuff I have personally tried and bought):

Matariki (they have a Sangiovese to die for!)
Kim Crawford (my favourite Chardonnay at the moment)
Wither Hills
Sacred Hill (cheaper stuff, but still reasonably good)
Clearview Estate
Heron's Flight
Ascension
Cottle Hill (boutique, so you'd be lucky to find this one)
Church Road (fairly mainstream, but possibly easy to find)
Mission Estate
Cloudy Bay (one of the best SauvignonBlancs in New Zealand)
Babich
Mills Reef
Matua Valley
Pegasus Bay
Villa Maria (local for me, I tend to go there to stock up every three months)

New Zealand varieties I can recommend:
Whites
Sauvignon Blanc
Chardonnay
Reisling
Gewurtztraminer
Pinot Gris (NZ equivalent to Pinot Grigio)
Viognier

Reds
Syrah (NZ equivalent to the Australian Shiraz)
Cabernet Sauvignon (and blends)
Merlot (again, often used as a blend)
Pinot Noir (this one is still growing on me, only found a few I like)
Sangiovese (Italian style wine)

A good NZ wine guide can be found on www.cuisine.co.nz -- I don't always agree with their ratings, but they're pretty good.

If you like port, there's (again a local) Auckland winery named Mazurans that do a great range. They won an international competition in California last year with one of their ports.

Also, a lot of companies (including Nobilo) do some excellent dessert wines. Normally too sweet for me, but on the odd occasion I enjoy them.

So hopefully there's enough of an idea for you to look for.

 

[midwestyankee]

Thanks. I'll keep my eyes open and then take this list with me next time I go to a good wine shop.

 

[Netzach]

Oh wow, thanks Fungi -

I swear the lush club is the most educational thread on Lit.

Except maybe for me that Gaultier thread.

I'm copying this list.

 

[FungiUg]

Oh wow, thanks Fungi

You are most welcome.

 

[LilyBart]

Looking forward to a crisp Australian chardonnay and some spicy hot crab soup tonight.

Hot crab soup....they weren't offering that in my suburban Chicago hotel restaurant this week.

Damnit!

I had to settle for a salad.

 

[midwestyankee]

Hot crab soup....they weren't offering that in my suburban Chicago hotel restaurant this week.

Damnit!

I had to settle for a salad.

You were within an easy cab ride of excellent food - no need to settle for a hotel salad ever when you're within 50 miles of downtown Chicago. Ever. You hear me?

 

[LilyBart]

You were within an easy cab ride of excellent food - no need to settle for a hotel salad ever when you're within 50 miles of downtown Chicago. Ever. You hear me?

I hear you! Loud and clear!

 

[LilyBart]

New Zealand wines are hard to find. Which is strange, because they export as much as they can! I have literally walked into a winery and been unable to buy a bottle of something I liked because an American buyer had just walked out with every single bottle they had.

Anyway, if you can find them, I can recommend the following brands (in no particular order from the top of my head, only including stuff I have personally tried and bought):

Thank you for your list. I'm always up for new recommendations to try.
I have had the Kim Crawford Chardonnay and liked to very much. And its fairly reasonable at US $12 - $15 a bottle.

Lily (the lush)

 

[FungiUg]

Thank you for your list. I'm always up for new recommendations to try.

Welcome!

I have had the Kim Crawford Chardonnay and liked to very much. And its fairly reasonable at US $12 - $15 a bottle.

Lily (the lush)

Aha! It can be found in the US!

Kim Crawford is one of the most gorgeous vineyards in New Zealand I have ever seen. I'll see if I can dig out some photos of the place at some point. Basically, imagine a stony vineyard outlooking a bay on the coast... fantastic.

Oh yeah, the wine is good too.

Cleaview Estate is also right next door to them.

 

[LilyBart]

Aha! It can be found in the US!

Kim Crawford is one of the most gorgeous vineyards in New Zealand I have ever seen. I'll see if I can dig out some photos of the place at some point. Basically, imagine a stony vineyard outlooking a bay on the coast... fantastic.

Oh yeah, the wine is good too.

Cleaview Estate is also right next door to them.

I first had it at a restaurant but found it at my local grocer (Safeway).
I have not seen Clearview Estate -but then, I wasn't looking. I will look for that one next, though. As in tomorrow, perhaps....

 

[intothewoods]

mojitos ...

 

[LilyBart]

Sadly, no luck on Clearview Estate today.

I'm currently reading Julia Child's autobiography, My Life in France, and am in awe of the amount and variety of wines she and her husband drank (in the company of amazing food, of course.)

This is when I feel I was born at the wrong time.

Although I doubt I will ever choose to eat a pigeon.

 

[midwestyankee]

Sadly, no luck on Clearview Estate today.

I'm currently reading Julia Child's autobiography, My Life in France, and am in awe of the amount and variety of wines she and her husband drank (in the company of amazing food, of course.)

This is when I feel I was born at the wrong time.

Although I doubt I will ever choose to eat a pigeon.

Squab is good eats. You just have to have a surgeon's touch to get at all the tiny little bits of meat.

 

[intothewoods]

Beringer's Founder's Estate Cab. Not bad! In fact, nice and smooth.

 

[LilyBart]

Squab is good eats. You just have to have a surgeon's touch to get at all the tiny little bits of meat.

Ahhh...perhaps that is why I (wisely) chose not to be surgeon.

I put most game birds in the same category as crabs (and I love crab!) They're all diet food. You burn more calories getting to the meat than you ingest. But I don't dismiss them all...I just need to be in the mood. Or feeling fat.

 

[LilyBart]

Beringer's Founder's Estate Cab. Not bad! In fact, nice and smooth.

I'm still on my budget Mirassou Chardonnay run. I bought a lot!

 

[intothewoods]

I'm still on my budget Mirassou Chardonnay run. I bought a lot!

This was a gift to Mister Man for his birthday. And I drank most of it! *hiccup*

 

[LilyBart]

This was a gift to Mister Man for his birthday. And I drank most of it! *hiccup*

Welcome to the Lush Club!

 

[midwestyankee]

Beringer's Founder's Estate Cab. Not bad! In fact, nice and smooth.

I have a kind of allergy to big-label wineries like Beringer and Kendall Jackson. It's kind of snobbish, I suppose, but it's who I am. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Tonight was a bottle of Wolf Blass Cab Shiraz. Quite drinkable.

 

[intothewoods]

I have a kind of allergy to big-label wineries like Beringer and Kendall Jackson. It's kind of snobbish, I suppose, but it's who I am. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Tonight was a bottle of Wolf Blass Cab Shiraz. Quite drinkable.

Ouuuuch. I have the same snobbery, yanks. I actually toured this winery, but only because a boyfriend at the time dragged me. It's actually one of the oldest in the Valley, so it's interesting from that perspective. As I said, I didn't purchase it, and probably never would have, but it's quite smooth and drinkable.

Oh, and KJ sauvingon blanc is drinakble in a pinch. I don't buy it, but I've been in some odd restaurants where it was the only option. Oh, the horror!

 

[intothewoods]

Welcome to the Lush Club!

Danke. I've been more of a drinker this year, though not a drunk. Considering, it's not the worst sin in the world.

 

[midwestyankee]

Ouuuuch. I have the same snobbery, yanks. I actually toured this winery, but only because a boyfriend at the time dragged me. It's actually one of the oldest in the Valley, so it's interesting from that perspective. As I said, I didn't purchase it, and probably never would have, but it's quite smooth and drinkable.

Oh, and KJ sauvingon blanc is drinakble in a pinch. I don't buy it, but I've been in some odd restaurants where it was the only option. Oh, the horror!

My sister is stuck on KJ and I'm trying valiantly to wean her away. She complains that there are no good wine shops nearby where she could trust the proprietor to give her good advice. She does live near a lot of wild critters and rednecks so I suppose she does have a point. But my point is simple: a bottle of halfway decent wine costs between 10 and 20 dollars so there really isn't all that much risk should you happen to select one that doesn't quite work out.

I'm saving my best ammo for later: telling her that she's stuck in what I think of as McDonaldsland - where the need for consistency wins out over the pleasure of surprise and delight.