Bird nests among the vines at Pegasus Bay

Taking bird protection netting off the vines prior to harvesting

THE VENDAGE OF 06

Vintage, or as the French say vendage, is to a winemaker rather like a fish is to a fisherman. Someone has always got one that is bigger or better than yours. I have a sneaking suspicion that this especially applies to the vintage of wine that is on sale. Well, we are not trying to push our 2006 wines at you yet, but having recently washed our picking secateurs and buckets we would like to tell you about the vendage of 06.

Perhaps you have already heard the vintage of 06 was an angler’s dream, being the biggest New Zealand has ever seen. It was not, however, our largest. This was because early in the season we carefully estimated our crop levels and we could see that Mother Nature had been too kind and had given us too much fruit. Too much fruit! Can you ever have too much? Yes, because if the crop is large your wine will lack concentration, structure and depth of flavour, even although it might ripen well. We thus did what is perhaps the hardest task in the vineyard, and at an early stage cut off lots of potential crop. It is not that the work is physically demanding, but at the time it appears as though bank notes are fluttering away in the wind, like old leaves being blown off the vine. You have to keep saying to yourself “quality, not quantity”. The fact that the weather over flowering had resulted in a small previous vintage made it all the harder.

Well, the season trundled along quite nicely until we got to the middle of autumn. We then had several weeks of the coldest autumnal weather in over a decade. We began to worry. There followed the most marvellous Indian summer, with unseasonably warm, dry weather, which resulted in the whole crop ripening beautifully. If we hadn’t reduced our crop at an earlier stage the vines would not have produced enough energy to fully ripen the fruit.

Grapes are one thing, but what about the wines? What have they turned out like? Considering we won’t release some of our 2006 reds for 3 more years it is rather early to make a definitive judgement, but we have noticed our winemakers are very happy and it is not because they are taking Prozac!

SPURRIER THE WINE SHAKER

While James Bond insists that his Martinis are “shaken and not stirred”, we have a definite preference for having our wine unperturbed. We were, however, delighted to recently welcome to Pegasus Bay one of the world’s greatest wine shakers (and movers), namely Steven Spurrier, Master of Wine and consultant editor for Britain’s top wine magazine, Decanter. In 1976 he gave the world of fine wine an overdue shake-up from which it has never fully recovered. Although British, he was living in Paris where he was a wine merchant and ran a school on wine appreciation, L’Académie du Vin. Until then the general feeling was that New World wines were pretty good but not up to those produced by France. Steven hit upon the idea of having a blind tasting in which the top wines of California would be put up against the best from Bordeaux and Burgundy. People had done such tastings before but they were held mainly in the USA and if a Californian wine did well it was clear the tasters weren’t up to it, the judges were biased or the French wines had been disturbed by travelling. Steven Spurrier chose to have his tasting in Paris, the judges were all French and they consisted of the most highly regarded rofessional palates available. It was obvious from the start that the interlopers would come in for a good trouncing.

Quelle horreur! When the wines were unmasked, the top red and top white were both from California, having beaten French First Growths and Grand Crus of great years, and 6 of the top 11 wines were American. Needless to say Steven’s courage and foresight didn’t win him a lot of friends in France and in some places the reaction was openly hostile. He recounted to us how he was physically thrown ut of a Burgundian wine cellar onto the road.

James Bond look-alike Steven Spurrier at Pegasus Bay explaining the finer points of shaking

The importance of this tasting was enormous, not only for Californian, but all New World wine producers. It confirmed that, given the right conditions, it was possible for New World wine to compete with the best France had to offer. But, the wines, in what has come to be known as The Judgement of Paris, were all relatively young and top French wines have a reputation for aging well. The upstarts might nosedive after a few years. This year Steven Spurrier hosted a rerun of the 1976 tasting using the same reds, even although some of them were now 36 years old. They had matured well and the wines were “amazingly fit”. Once again, overall, the Californians came out on top!

It is tastings like these that have encouraged the development of vineyards and wineries in far-away countries like New Zealand and unlikely places like Waipara. Wine lovers world-wide owe a lot to Steven Spurrier and like-minded unbiased wine merchants and wine writers. What did he think of our wines? We wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to give our own comments but he has subsequently recommended and written up 6 of them in Decanter!

THEY'RE CHANGING THE GUARD AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE...

They say that love is blind and you don’t have to look far to see that it is true. For example, many parents feel their children are the most perfect and beautiful in the world and often find it hard to accept that they might not be. Winemakers can be similar with their babies and think that their wines are exceptional, even if they’re downright awful. It’s what’s called a cellar palate. We often like what we get used to, even although nobody else can acquire the taste. It thus gives us a buzz when somebody else thinks our wines are OK.

Well, some years back our winery had a visit from a group of men with heavy American accents who wanted to buy quite a few bottles of our wine. Perhaps it was the sunny day that required them to wear dark glasses. Initially we didn’t give the matter much thought but they turned up a week later with the same request. In fact, we had several further visits. When we learned our wine was to be served to the US President we imagined them feeding it to rats, followed by monkeys and then volunteers, before it was allowed to go anywhere near the President’s palate. We don’t have confirmation of this, but we jest not.

Over the years our wines have been drunk by many of the world’s important and famous people, such as Prime Ministers, other Presidents, royalty and the like. The President of China featured our wine at a banquet which he hosted and, while we do not for one minute suggest it is responsible for their longevity and good health, both Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh have sipped on Pegasus Bay.

Perhaps you have heard that they are changing the guard at Buckingham Palace and Alice is presumably blinded by love, as she is marrying one of the guards, or so the song says. Amongst the other things they have changed at the Palace of recent times is their wine. We were delighted to hear they have ordered our Pinot Noir and think it is a right Royal compliment!

THE FAMILY COMES UP GOLD

Part of our overseas marketing is done in conjunction with the Family of Twelve, a group of like minded wineries which work as a team in the export sector. A few months back, the Family, which includes Ata Rangi, Palliser, Villa Maria, Brajkovich, Millton, Craggy Range, Neudorf, Fromm, Lawsons Dry Hills, Nautilus, Felton Road, as well as ourselves, had a very successful trip to Australia’s main centres, where we promoted the New Zealand wine industry to Ozzie restaurants, trade and wine writers. After returning we learned the marketing brochure we use, The Family of 12 Album (by Ocean Design), had been awarded a gold medal, out of more than 1000 entries in the Pride In Print Awards, which is the national forum for recognising the achievement of excellence in New Zealand print. If you think of it as a mini Oscar, you won’t be far wrong. Naturally we are all chuffed.

THE QUEEN OF KIWI COOKING

Last autumn we had a phone call to ask if we would have lunch with the uncrowned Queen of Kiwi cooking, Alison Holst, in our Pegasus Bay restaurant. We were, of course, honoured and delighted. She is a household name in New Zealand and we have been long time fans of her expertise and experience. She has authored many books, written innumerable articles and hosted television shows on cooking, always making it seem so disarmingly simple. How does she do that! She came with her publisher with whom she was discussing a new book, but it was really time out. She did, however, ask about several of our recipes so it was a bit of a busman’s holiday!

The Queen at the bay

THE RESTAURANT THAT NEVER RESTS

Just as New York is called the city that never sleeps we like to think of ourselves as the restaurant that never rests. Although we were named as one of the 2 best Kiwi restaurants and the best casual dining restaurant in New Zealand by Cuisine Magazine, we have no intention of sitting on our laurels. In fact, we would sooner try them in our meals, bay leaves being a form of laurel. We are thus continually adapting our menus, adding new flavours, textures and ideas. We don’t intend to throw the baby out with the bath water, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say the food out with the scraps. We try to refine and improve what we have, in addition to offering tantalizing new treats. As always, our dishes are based on fresh seasonal cuisine and we use what we can from our own gardens. We give suggestions about the wines we think will match our food. Now that the weather is getting warmer come to see us. It is best to reserve by ringing 03 3146869 ext 1, but drop in for a tasting at any time.

FROM THE PRESCRIPTION PAD

Earlier this year there was a scientific article in the International Journal of Cardiology under the engaging title of The Cow and the Coronary. It confirmed what doctors have known for a long time, namely the more milk you consume the more likely it is you will get coronary artery disease and die of a heart attack. The authors suggested wine might be a good antidote for the harmful effects of milk. But wait, don’t rush to put this into practise by organising a wine and cheese evening because another study from Davis University in California suggests this is not a match made in heaven, at least with regard to red wines.

A group of trained tasters carefully evaluated a range of red wines that were first drunk alone and again after eating a variety of cheeses. They found that all of the wines’ parameters, such as fruitiness, oak flavours and mouth-feel, were dumbed down by cheese, with the exception of any buttery character, which was enhanced. Strong cheeses suppressed the wines’ expression more than milder flavoured ones. An expensive wine might end up seeming like a bottle of cheap plonk. It was suggested that the fat molecules in cheese might coat the palate but the explanation has to be more complex as flavours are actually perceived by the nose. Perhaps the flavour molecules become bound by the cheese. Cheese and red wine both contain lactic acid, which gives a buttery flavour, so it is not surprising that this particular sensation was increased.

Did we actually need a scientific study to show that cheese affects wine appreciation? Definitely not, but it doesn’t do any harm to have the interaction formally recorded and measured. While it takes two to tango, any serious wine and foodie could have told you that red wine and cheese dance out of step and fromage often treads on vin rouge’s toes. Blue cheese can be particularly sadistic with it’s partner and something mild mannered, like brie, is definitely more agreeable. Vin blanc is a more skilled choreographer so white wine is less of a problem, as is sweet wine. The English didn’t get it wrong when they got into the habit of serving Port with their stilton! It’s also common experience that bread is a great mediator in any wine and cheese clash. Ever been to France and seen Pierre having his fromage and bottled lunch without the aid of a baguette? Certainement non!

Interesting although these studies are they are merely scratching the surface of the whole issue of wine and food. Having judged in the Sydney International Wine Competition for many years, I am fully aware how not just cheese, but all foods, can change the perception of wine. As far as I am aware, this is the only wine competition in the world which judges wine while eating food. While there are some beverage wines that are suited for drinking by themselves, say as an aperitif, most wines are made to be consumed with food. In the Sydney International, wines are initially tasted alone and then with food. The difference caused by this change in mouth chemistry can be striking and wines which look strong by themselves can fall over when accompanied and vice versa. It is vital to have dishes which will bring out the best in most wines and, as the Davis study showed, this generally means using mild, rather than dominant, flavours. Such matching takes skill and at the Sydney, they have it. They have been doing it for a long time.

To my mind, an equally important question, which the Davis crew ignored, is what did the wine do to the food. Wine is also a food, although a liquid one, and undoubtedly affects the flavour of things you eat with it. A writer commenting on the wine and cheese study said he felt that the question of the two’s compatibility was one of the least significant issues confronting mankind. I would have to disagree. As a medico who has spent years dealing with disabled patients I know that enjoyment and personal satisfaction are amongst the most important things in life. Getting pleasure out of wine and food, for the majority of people, is not far from the top of the list. If it takes your fancy you can drink sweet chocolate sauce with your steak, but it wouldn’t give most people a buzz. It pays to experiment. There are many tried and true food and wine suggestions but space does not permit, so instead I will go to sort out a nice bottle of vino that may compliment my evening meal.

Cheers, Ivan Donaldson